HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

About The Production
With over 100 million copies sold in over 46 languages, J.K. Rowing's best-selling series of books based on the adventures of the world's most beloved wizard, Harry Potter, have truly become a worldwide phenomenon, touching and capturing the imaginations of readers of all ages around the globe. However, the book was barely in print when it captivated British producer David Heyman. the former Hollywood studio executive- turned-producer of such acclaimed independent films as Juice and The Daytrippers.

In 1996, Heyman returned to London from the U.S. to set up his own production company, Heyday Films, with a vision of producing truly international films for both Europe and the United States. "Having a brother and sister who were 10 and 14 at the time, I was very interested in finding a children's film that I could enjoy as much as they would," Heyman recalls. "My team at Heyday was aware of this and my Head of Development, Tanya Seghatchian., read an article about a new children's book by a then- unknown author. The agent sent her a copy and my assistant Nisha read it over the weekend. Nisha reported that it was a curious book about a young boy who goes to wizard school. I thought it was a wonderful idea and read the novel that evening. What I thought was a great idea turned out to be an even more remarkable book, and so much richer than the idea that initially attracted me. I realized this was something very special and began pursuing the rights the following morning."

It was during his auspicious first meeting with author J.K. RowIng in early 1997 that Heynian made his commitment clear. "I made a promise to Jo RowIng to be true to her vision," Heyman says. "This was and has been the most important consideration to me throughout the process.

But finding a director who shared Rowing and Heyman's passion, commitment and vision for the film adaptation proved to be a challenge. Chris Columbus, renowned for directing the blockbuster hits Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire. made the short list of those considered for the daunting but prestigious task.

"My daughter Eleanor was reading the book at the time and insisted that I read it as well," Columbus remembers. "I started reading it, finished it in one day and couldn't stop thinking about turning it into a flint But, at that point, the film was already in the hands of another director. A few months later. I received a call from my agent, telling me the book was again available. There was only one problem: several directors were now also interested in making the film. Warner Bros. and producer David Heyman began a lengthy process of interviewing the potential candidates. Nevertheless, I wasn't intimidated by this. I felt that if I could articulate my passion and obsession with the material, if I could clearly specify how I would make the film, David and the Studio would realize that I was the man for the job."

The next step was meeting with the author, J.K. Rowing. "At first I was nervous, being such a big fan of the books," Columbus says. "But I immediately felt comfortable with Jo. I explained that I would protect the integrity of the book. I told her how I wanted to keep the darkness and the edge of the material intact. I also think Jo was excited by the fact that I wanted her to be involved in the creative process. And she was an invaluable collaborator. Her inspiration and ideas were absolutely wonderful."

"There was a lot of interest from numerous directors who wanted to be involved with Harry Potter," Heyman says, "but Chris emerged as the person with the greatest passion and understanding of the books and the desire to remain faithful to Jo's vision."

Indeed, Columbus, like Heyman and Warner Bros. Pictures, had no desire to deviate from the world that Rowling had so meticulously created. "I'd heard these horrendous and actually quite amusing stories about how certain directors had wanted to adapt the book," Columbus recalls, "like changing the locale to a Hollywood High School or turning Harry, Ron and Hermione into American students or making the entire film as a computer animated picture. I was stunned by some of these notions. I mean, it all feels painfully obvious to me. There's a reason why millions of children and adults have fallen in love with the Harry Potter books. To destroy the basic foundation of this world and these characters would alienate our audience. So I was adamant about being incredibly faithful to the books, which means shooting the films in England, with an all British cast."

"There was never any desire to make the film in America," Heyman reports. "In spite of the book's 'Britishness' and its specificity in terms of locale, it is in fact a universal story."

Once Columbus came aboard and it was agreed that the film would be shot in England, the filmmakers moved on to perhaps their greatest challenge: finding the right boy to play Harry Potter.

By March 2000, Chris Columbus and David Heyman were deep into pre production. The search for a boy to play the role of the beloved wizard had yielded no convincing results. Heyman and the Potter casting directors had been auditioning hopeful young actors since 1999. meeting thousands through open casting calls and advertisements, but they had yet to find the Harry.

"It was not easy to find a boy who embodied the many qualities of Harry Potter," Heyman explains. "We wanted someone who could combine a sense of wonder and curiosity, the sense of having lived a life, having experienced pain; an old soul in a child's body. He needed to be open and generous to those around him and have good judgment. Harry is not great at academics; he has flaws. But that's what makes him so compelling, so human — that he's not perfect. Harry has an 'everyman' quality, yet he is capable of great things. He makes us all believe that magic is possible."

Columbus was also ensconced in the seemingly endless quest. "We had auditioned hundreds of potential Harry Potters, and I was still unhappy with the results," he recalls. "The first casting director, in a fit of total frustration, threw up her arms and said 'I just don't know what you want!' Sitting on a shelf in the office was a video copy of David Copperfield, starring Daniel Radcliffe. I picked up the video box, pointed to Dan's face and said 'This is who I want! This is Harry Potter!' The casting director said, 'I've told you before, he is unavailable and his parents aren't interested in him doing this film.'"

The search continued. Ironically, a few months later, Heyman and Harry Potter screenwriter Steven Kloves decided to take a break and go to the theatre. "We bumped into an agent I know, Alan Radcliffe," says Heyman, who was immediately struck by the look of the child sitting with the agent. "Alan and his wife Marcia introduced us to their son Dan during the intermission. It was all the cliches — lightning struck and the skies opened! All through the second half of the play, I couldn't concentrate. The Radcliffes left before I had a chance to speak to them, so I had a very sleepless night before calling Alan the next morning."

The Radcliffes expressed caution when approached about involving their only son Daniel in Harry Potter. "I completely understood their reticence and caution in allowing their child to play a role that would inevitably change his life," Heyman says. "But, we arranged a meeting over tea that afternoon with Dan. We talked for an hour and a half His energy and enthusiasm were wonderful. I had a feeling then that this was our Harry."

"To the Radcliffes' credit, they were totally aware of the enormity of the project and for the sake of their child, were not going to make this decision lightly," says Columbus. "We made it very clear to the them that we would protect their son. We knew from the start that Dan was Harry Potter. He has the magic, the inner depth and darkness that is very rare in an eleven year-old. He also has a sense of wisdom and intelligence that I haven't seen in many other kids his age. We knew we had made the right choice after sending Jo [Rowing] a copy of Daniel's screen test. Jo's comment was something to the effect of 'I feel as if I've been reunited with my long lost son."'

Eleven year-old Daniel Radcliffe had first been tipped off about the auditions for the much sought-after role some months earlier by a school friend, but had dismissed his chances. "I thought, there are millions of boys auditioning for that part and I know I won't get it!" Radcliffe remembers fondly.

After completing several auditions and that fateful screen test, Daniel's life- changing phone call finally came. "I was in the bath and talking to my Mum when the phone rang and Dad came in and told me I'd got the part.," Radcliffe recalls with wonder. "I was so happy, I cried a lot! That night I woke up at two in the morning and woke up Mum and Dad and I asked them 'Is it real? Am I dreaming?' I was so excited!"

For both Chris Columbus and David Heyman, finding the right boy to play Harry Potter was fundamental to the casting of the key roles of fellow wizards-in-training Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. "We'd been simultaneously looking to fill the other roles, but the casting of Harry was the peak of the triangle, and without him none of the rest would make sense," Heyman explains. "We brought in several children for screen tests, but it soon became apparent who were the three."

"We immediately fell in love with Rupert Grint," Columbus says. "He's extremely funny and has such an incredibly warm presence. Emma Watson embodies the soul and the essence of Hermione Granger. When we saw Dan, Rupert and Emma together onscreen, they had amazing chemistry. It was electric. We knew we had found the perfect team."

Rupert Grint had no previous professional acting experience apart from school plays, but the self-described "biggest Harry Potter fan ever" badly wanted to play the part of Ron. "Ron is one of my favorite characters and I can really relate to him," Grint says. "I've got loads of brothers and sisters and I know what it's like growing up in a big family. And I still get hand-me-downs!"

Grint learned about the casting search for the role of Harry Potter's best friend Ron Weasley while watching a children's news show on BBC television. "I was watching Newsround and they told us how you could audition for a part in the Harry Potter film," Grint remembers. "I sent in a form and a photograph and a month went by and I heard nothing. Then I was on the Newsround website and found out that one boy sent in a video of himself reading a little piece from the script. So I put together a video, sent it off and I got an audition!"

For Emma Watson, the chance to play Hermione Granger was the culmination of several years of acting, dancing and singing in school plays. "When I read the book I thought that Hermione would be a great character to play," Watson says. "But I had to go through a lot of auditions. It wasn't easy. Then one day, they sat Rupert and I down in David Heyman's office and simply told us we'd got the part. It didn't sink in at first. I just stood there looking blankly at them for about five minutes!"

Watson outlines some basic similarities and differences between herself and her character. "Unlike Hermione. I've never been top of my class. In fact, quite the opposite! Although I am very bossy and my little brother tends to suffer a bit."

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