David Yates talks HRH final scene, J.K. Rowling in new interview
Potter director David Yates recently spoke with Manila Bulletin about his experience making four of the HP movies, about Dan, Rupert and Emma's final scene together, J.K. Rowling, and his future plans. Here are some excerpts (he gives a bit of a spoiler about the end of Deathly Hallows Part 2):
You came into the series at sort of that middle point. When did you realize the magnitude of the fan base. And what did you think about it? It was probably a phase in the cycle around about this stage when you do your interviews and you meet the press and walk up the red carpet. Obviously, you notice the fact that it’s globally popular, but it’s just when the fans come from Mexico or Argentina and camp out all night, you realize what it means to them. And it’s a huge responsibility, actually. Also, there are massive expectations on every movie, and in a curious way, you do your very best with the film. And I’m very proud of this film.
On the last day with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, when they were on set together and filmed their final scene, what was that like? We shot the scene on the viaduct, outside Hogwarts, and it was really peaceful. It was a really sunny day. It was all backlit. And it’s a very tender scene where they sort of reflect on everything that’s happened, all the battles and everything, and they hold hands, and the camera falls away. It’s a really tender, lovely scene. I said to them, ‘Look, guys, this is the last scene we’re all going to do with you three together in front of the camera. So, it’s not just the last scene of these three characters in the movie, this is your last scene in this series of films. That’s what today is about.’ And it infused it with a kind of emotion which was really moving actually.
Did you ever talk to Jo Rowling about adapting these books and the choices you made, particularly in terms of its contemporary feel? We never had a big conversation about that because it was very present in the book. She read the script and she was totally cool about the way we’d adapted it. She was always just very enthusiastic about the whole first script, generally. But she’s been really helpful and we had a good chat about a couple of scenes in Part 2. I asked her, ‘What were you thinking when you wrote these scenes?’ And she was really helpful.
Jo was a producer on this film, so how was that? How was her expanded role on it? You know, it hasn’t really changed from the other movies, honestly. She’s just always our biggest supporter. And always very graceful and kind and I think, because she’s been there throughout, it was time her name was up there. She wants to be up there with us; it’s a real privilege.
Do you have another movie brewing after all this? I’ve got so many scripts coming in, I can’t tell you. In fact, I told them to stop sending them. [Laughs] Because I haven’t read any of them. They’re just all piled up. But I’m so ambitious, I can’t tell you. It’s a strange thing about Harry Potter because I don’t feel any sense of ownership, in a way. I don’t feel territorial about it. I feel it’s a bit of a national treasure that I’m curating. For everything I can enter, I try and do my very best. And I’m very proud of the work I’ve done. But post-Potter, my career sort of starts again really. And I won’t feel like I’ve made four of the biggest films in the world. I’ll feel like, ‘Well, that’s it. I’ve done Potter now.’ And I’ll have all these beautiful scripts and I can begin in a way. That’s my plan. And I’m going to do big things and tiny little things. And they won’t have wizards in them.
No wizards? No wizards.
You can read the whole interview here. Thanks to Snitchseeker for the tip.
In the past few months, we here at HPSupporters have shared rumors with you about the expansion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida and here is more news. New permits surfaced last week providing us with more information suggesting that Universal Orlando is building a working Hogwarts Express. If you’ve missed any info about the expansion, you can find it in previous posts from December 2011, January 2012 and lastly, March 2012.
The new permits, which were filed on June 1 by Universal Orlando, call for three new elements to the park including a North Station, South Station, and Connector. I’m assuming that the station would start in Universal and travel through the parks into Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Sources at Hypable.com think that the North Station would house the Hogwarts Express in Universal and South would host it in Islands of Adventure. I couldn’t agree more.
The first on set photos from Tom Felton’s upcoming drama Therese have been released online. The film is based off Emile Zola’s Therese Raquin of Budapest, Hungary and has Felton starring as ailing Camille Raquin. He is joined by Elizabeth Olsen and Jessica Lange, who are portraying his wife and mother respectively. There is no set release date currently available. Thanks to Snitchseeker for the amazing photos.
At its E3 conference yesterday, Sony announced a new game made in collaboration with JK Rowling, called Wonderbook: Book of Spells. The game will include brand new written content by JK Rowling about the spells in the Harry Potter universe. Here is a trailer:
Now, this game looks cool and I’d love to play it and read the new writing by JK Rowling. The problem is, I won’t be able to. You need to own a Playstation 3, a Playstation Wonderbook, a Playstation Eye, a Playstation Move controller, and of course you’ll need to buy the game itself. There is no chance I could or would pay all that money for this. And this I’m sure will be a huge issue for most fans around the world.
With the new Wizard’s Collection DVD set, the re-release box-set of the three companion books, and now this, I really feel like the fans’ enthusiasm is starting to be abused. We are not made of money.
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