The Movies > Sorcerer's Stone Production Notes

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE
THE WARNER BROS. OFFICIAL PRODUCTION NOTES

This is a copy of the complete production notes Warner Bros. generated for the 2001 movie. This document was sent out in press kits to newspapers, television stations, Web sites, etc., and also was published online at the Warner site. This is the United States market version. It is presented here at this site to see how the studio "packaged" the movie as it was promoted to mass media. You can learn more about the cast and crew beyond the biographies of them I wrote. The notes are presented in seven installments. Follow the links at the bottom to read them.

Harry Potter (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) has learned to live with his bullying Uncle Vernon (RICHARD GRIFFITHS), his callous Aunt Petunia (FIONA SHAW) and the constant whining of his greedy, spoiled cousin Dudley. He's even learned to live with sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs.

Harry's relatives have just as reluctantly learned to live with the unwelcome presence of their orphaned relation, a constant reminder of Petunia's "wayward" sister and brother-in-law and their mysterious and untimely demise.

Even the impending arrival of his 11th birthday offers no excitement for Harry - as usual, there's little chance of cards, presents or any kind of birthday treat.

This year, however, is different.

Based on the first of J.K. Rowling's popular children's novels about Harry Potter, the live action family adventure film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone tells the story of a boy who learns on his 11th birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. Invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. At Hogwarts, he finds the home and the family he has never had.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films/1492 Pictures/Duncan Henderson Production of a Chris Columbus film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, starring DANIEL RADCLIFFE, EMMA WATSON, RUPERT GRINT, JOHN CLEESE, ROBBIE COLTRANE, WARWICK DAVIS, RICHARD GRIFFITHS, RICHARD HARRIS, IAN HART, JOHN HURT, ALAN RICKMAN, FIONA SHAW, MAGGIE SMITH and JULIE WALTERS. Directed by CHRIS COLUMBUS from a screenplay by STEVE KLOVES, based on the acclaimed novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. ROWLING, the film is produced by DAVID HEYMAN. Chris Columbus, MARK RADCLIFFE, MICHAEL BARNATHAN and DUNCAN HENDERSON are the executive producers.

JOHN SEALE is the director of photography; STUART CRAIG is the production designer; RICHARD FRANCIS-BRUCE is the editor; and JOHN WILLIAMS is the composer.

The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has been rated "PG" by the Motion Picture Association of America for "some scary moments and mild language."

www.harrypotter.com/AOL Keyword: Harry Potter

ABOUT THE STORY

As Harry Potter's (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) 11th birthday draws near, he anticipates little in the way of excitement or presents from the Dursleys, Harry's unpleasant relatives who took him in following his parents' deaths and forced him to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs.

But this year, Harry's birthday will be different. A mysterious letter addressed to Harry arrives, written in peculiar green ink and accompanied by an owl. Harry is surprised and excited by the curious dispatch, but his horrified Uncle Vernon (RICHARD GRIFFITHS) destroys the letter before Harry has a chance to read it.

The next day, another letter and owl arrive, only to be squelched by the Dursleys. As each day follows the next, letters and owls continue turning up on Harry's doorstep until the Dursleys, fearing they can no longer suppress the contents of the peculiar correspondence, flee with Harry in tow to a remote hut where they're confident they cannot be found.

Their plan appears to be working when suddenly a LOUD CRASH carries the hut door off its hinges, revealing the awesome bulk of an enormous giant called Hagrid (ROBBIE COLTRANE). Furious with the Dursleys for destroying the letters and trying to conceal their nephew's real identity, Hagrid reveals the secret that will change Harry's life: he, Harry Potter, is a wizard!

Much to Harry's disbelief, it transpires that the puzzlingly persistent letters are invitations for him, on the occasion of his 11th birthday, to leave the regular world and join his similarly-talented peers at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hagrid goes on to explain that Harry's parents did not die in a car crash as his insecure relatives have repeatedly told him - they were in fact murdered by an evil wizard who in turn etched the distinctive lightning scar on Harry's forehead!

Harry is completely overwhelmed by the revelations about his parents and the invitation to Hogwarts. However, faced with another night in the cupboard under the stairs and a life of hand-me-downs, he doesn't hesitate in accompanying Hagrid to London's Kings Cross Station, where he discovers the secret Platform 9 3/4 and catches the Hogwarts Express.

Aboard the train packed with wide-eyed first year students, Harry befriends fellow wizards-in-training Hermione Granger (EMMA WATSON) and Ron Weasley (RUPERT GRINT). Together with his new friends, Harry embarks on the adventure of a lifetime at Hogwarts, a wondrous place beyond Harry's wildest imagination where he discovers his extraordinary talents and finds the home and the family he never had.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

FROM NOVEL TO SCREEN

With over 100 million copies sold in over 46 languages, J.K. Rowling'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. Rowling in early 1997 that Heyman made his commitment clear. "I made a promise to Jo Rowling 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 Rowling 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 film. 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. Rowling. "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.

THE SEARCH FOR 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 theater. "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 clichés - 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 11-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 [Rowling] 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!"

THREE'S COMPANY: CASTING RON AND HERMIONE

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."

CALLING ALL WIZARDS -- AND ONE GIANT

In addition to the tireless search for the child actors to play the roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione, there was also the not insignificant matter of casting the adult roles. "We asked Jo who she saw playing these characters and wherever possible, followed her suggestions," Heyman attests. "For instance, Robbie Coltrane was the first person she mentioned for Hagrid, and Robbie was the first actor we cast in the adult roles."

"Jo definitely had some ideas about casting and for me, a lot of these same actors came into my head while reading the book," Columbus says. "I put together a list of my dream cast. And every one of them said 'Yes.' That never happens. This is certainly the best cast I've ever worked with."

Robbie Coltrane makes no bones about his reason for accepting the role of Hagrid, the gentle, if not gentle-looking, giant. "My son would have killed me if I hadn't, so there was no question of me not doing it!"

Coltrane describes Hagrid as "a bit lacking in social skills. I don't think he would ever be asked to join the golf club, but he's a good sort of fellow who likes dragons and things like that. He's actually pretty fearless and very fond of wild animals, which most people are afraid of. He's a giant and generally they aren't very nice, but he's got the good genes and takes the children under his wing."

Like director Chris Columbus, Richard Harris, who plays Hogwarts' all-knowing Professor Dumbledore, was introduced to the world of Harry Potter by a child close to his heart. "I was asked to play the part and I wasn't going to do it for various reasons," Harris recalls. "Then my 11 year-old granddaughter Ellie telephoned me and said quite simply, 'Papa, if you don't play Dumbledore, I will never speak to you again!' So I didn't have much choice in the matter!"

In fact, Harris claims that Dumbledore proved to be the most difficult part he has ever played. "Dumbledore's presence is felt right through the books, even though you don't see much of him," Harris explains. "He's a very important figure in the stories, and I needed to find a rhythm and a metre in this beautifully written dialogue in order to be able to play the part."

Harris chuckles, remembering one magical casting moment. "Chris Columbus asked me to meet the young cast and I came out to the studio and read with them. When I finished the reading, Rupert Grint, the boy who plays Ron Weasley, turned to me and said: 'Mr. Harris, that was quite a good reading. I think you'll be quite good in this part!' "

Alan Rickman also found himself subject to pressure from the smaller members of the Potter community to play the role of eccentric Potions Professor Snape. "I have lots of nephews and relationships with friends' children," Rickman says. "They weren't so much excited as insistent that I do the part!"

Although Rickman didn't read the novel until after he read the script, he quickly came to appreciate the story's universal appeal. "It's like any great play or novel which obeys certain rules of storytelling," he observes. "You're gripped from the first page, and, as you keep turning the pages, you get involved with the characters and want to see what happens next. It's a simple rule, but one which requires great talent."

Dame Maggie Smith had already read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when she was asked to play the role of Professor McGonagall. "I thought it was such a terrific book for kids," Smith remarks, "and I was greatly interested to see how they were going to create this magic on film. What people don't realize is that jobs like this don't come up very often - this story has captured everyone's imagination! And how often do you get to walk around as a wizard wearing great clothes?"

For Smith, Harry Potter offered the added attraction of working with fellow David Copperfield castmate Daniel Radcliffe again. "I was thrilled when he got the part of Harry," Smith says. "He has such special qualities. All the kids in this cast have amazing stamina. This film has brought out the child in practically everyone involved in the production, but particularly Chris Columbus, who is terrific and has such patience and enthusiasm."

The filmmakers offered acclaimed actor Ian Hart the task of playing Professor Quirrell, Hogwarts' Professor of the Defense Against Dark Arts and foil to Alan Rickman's Snape. "The ingredients are all there from any great myth," says Hart, who was attracted to universal themes of the story. "You have good and evil and avenging the death of your family. These themes are timeless, but in this story, they're woven together in such a way as to be really funny. Although the film has a very serious side to it, there is also a lot of humor, too!"

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