great faith in Warner’s commitment to that.”
It was announced that the world premiere for
Sorcerer’s Stone
would be on November 4 in London at the Odeon Cinema located in Leicester Square.
While speaking to
Nickelodeon Magazine
, Harry star Daniel Radcliffe admitted, “The first day on the set, I was very nervous. I was used to rehearsing with about eight other people, and then I got to the set and — including the extras — there were, like, 150 people there.” He also pointed out that he did many of his own stunts: “There was one shot where I was hanging one hundred feet[away] from my broomstick, 22 feet in the air. I was wired up to the broom, with a huge airbag underneath me, and they moved me around up there. That was pretty cool.”
The grounds of Alnwick Castle were where the first-year Gryffindors learned to fly in
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
(Fionna Boyle)
J.K. Rowling was among those honored at the Whitaker Gold and Platinum Book Awards because her novels had been such an enormous presence on the bestseller lists over the previous four years.
Britain’s toy store chain The Entertainer announced that they would not be carrying Harry Potter merchandise for fear it would attract children to the world of the occult. As silly as it may seem, this was just the latest in a wide-ranging, and long-running, controversy both in America and abroad concerning whether or not there was a darker subtext to the Harry Potter novels that celebrated evil over good. In the end, of course, the
vast
majority of people believed the opposite to be true.
October 2001
British undergraduate student Michele Fry saw her thesis —
Heroes and Heroines: Myth and Gender Roles in the Harry Potter Books —
published in an academic journal. Noted Fry, “Most critics argue Hermione is an accessory, but I would say she is the real power behind Harry Potter. Without her, he could not beat the evil villain Voldemort.”
Corporate tie-ins for
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
had to be handled gingerly, as J.K. Rowling did not want her creation to be overly exploited. As a result, Coca-Cola’s $150 million deal allowed them to put Harry Potter “imagery” on its products
without
utilizing photos of the film’s cast. One part of the promotional program was for Coca-Cola to donate $18 million to the Reading Is Fundamental program in the United States, which encourages literacy in children. Coca-Cola consultant Manny Goldman pointed out that “Harry Potter is the right direction to take. Coca-Cola is supposed to be about something special and this is something special.”
George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic was awarded the effects job for
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
.
Returning director Chris Columbus told the media that filming had already begun on the second film, even though the first hadn’t even reached theaters yet.
Among the merchandise manufacturers tying into the first film were Lego, Mattel, Tiger Electronics and Electronic Arts.
In a bid to raise money for the MS Society of Scotland, the QXL Web site auctioned off a dozen tickets to the preview screening of
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
.
Actor Kenneth Branagh was announced to play Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
. Offered Chris Columbus, “Ken is one of the great stage and screen actors of our time, and a great filmmaker. He’s a perfect fit for our all-British ensemble, and he’s one of the few younger actors who can hold his own against the likes of Richard Harris, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. I couldn’t conceive of anyone else playing Gilderoy Lockhart.” David Heyman elaborated, “Lockhart is amongst the most challenging roles in either of the two films. We needed someone who could be both annoying and charming, who would embrace Lockhart’s narcissism, be hysterically funny, and still keep him grounded in reality.”
Kenneth Branagh shared his feelings about
It was announced that the world premiere for
Sorcerer’s Stone
would be on November 4 in London at the Odeon Cinema located in Leicester Square.
While speaking to
Nickelodeon Magazine
, Harry star Daniel Radcliffe admitted, “The first day on the set, I was very nervous. I was used to rehearsing with about eight other people, and then I got to the set and — including the extras — there were, like, 150 people there.” He also pointed out that he did many of his own stunts: “There was one shot where I was hanging one hundred feet[away] from my broomstick, 22 feet in the air. I was wired up to the broom, with a huge airbag underneath me, and they moved me around up there. That was pretty cool.”
The grounds of Alnwick Castle were where the first-year Gryffindors learned to fly in
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
(Fionna Boyle)
J.K. Rowling was among those honored at the Whitaker Gold and Platinum Book Awards because her novels had been such an enormous presence on the bestseller lists over the previous four years.
Britain’s toy store chain The Entertainer announced that they would not be carrying Harry Potter merchandise for fear it would attract children to the world of the occult. As silly as it may seem, this was just the latest in a wide-ranging, and long-running, controversy both in America and abroad concerning whether or not there was a darker subtext to the Harry Potter novels that celebrated evil over good. In the end, of course, the
vast
majority of people believed the opposite to be true.
October 2001
British undergraduate student Michele Fry saw her thesis —
Heroes and Heroines: Myth and Gender Roles in the Harry Potter Books —
published in an academic journal. Noted Fry, “Most critics argue Hermione is an accessory, but I would say she is the real power behind Harry Potter. Without her, he could not beat the evil villain Voldemort.”
Corporate tie-ins for
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
had to be handled gingerly, as J.K. Rowling did not want her creation to be overly exploited. As a result, Coca-Cola’s $150 million deal allowed them to put Harry Potter “imagery” on its products
without
utilizing photos of the film’s cast. One part of the promotional program was for Coca-Cola to donate $18 million to the Reading Is Fundamental program in the United States, which encourages literacy in children. Coca-Cola consultant Manny Goldman pointed out that “Harry Potter is the right direction to take. Coca-Cola is supposed to be about something special and this is something special.”
George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic was awarded the effects job for
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
.
Returning director Chris Columbus told the media that filming had already begun on the second film, even though the first hadn’t even reached theaters yet.
Among the merchandise manufacturers tying into the first film were Lego, Mattel, Tiger Electronics and Electronic Arts.
In a bid to raise money for the MS Society of Scotland, the QXL Web site auctioned off a dozen tickets to the preview screening of
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
.
Actor Kenneth Branagh was announced to play Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
. Offered Chris Columbus, “Ken is one of the great stage and screen actors of our time, and a great filmmaker. He’s a perfect fit for our all-British ensemble, and he’s one of the few younger actors who can hold his own against the likes of Richard Harris, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. I couldn’t conceive of anyone else playing Gilderoy Lockhart.” David Heyman elaborated, “Lockhart is amongst the most challenging roles in either of the two films. We needed someone who could be both annoying and charming, who would embrace Lockhart’s narcissism, be hysterically funny, and still keep him grounded in reality.”
Kenneth Branagh shared his feelings about
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