Free The Making of the Potterverse by Edward Gross Page A

emotional and magical about kids, and I do think that they really want to believe in magic. Some of the questions for the kids at a press conference were, “Do you believe in magic?” Well, no one really believes in people who fly around on broomsticks. It’s like the guy who said that they were flying the wrong way on broomsticks. I said, “Well, if one of these ‘witches’ wants to fly up to me the right way on a broomstick, I’ll redo the shot.” But yeah, I think that it’s the belief that magic and hope can potentially exist in your life. You know, I think that you get that in the book, obviously, in a non-sentimental way and a really straightforward way that touches people.

RICHARD HARRIS
    (Professor Dumbledore)
    QUESTION: Did you enjoy making this film?
    HARRIS: Well, I enjoyed seeing it more than I enjoyed making it. I enjoyed watching it, and I think that it was great. We had a whole bunch of kids there yesterday. They were children too young to go to the premiere, who were kind of my godchildren and they sat through it, and I said, “Was it too long?” and they said, no, they could have done another hour. It was unbelievable.

    Richard Harris originally turned down the part of Dumbledore, until his granddaughter threatened to stop speaking to him if he didn’t take the role. (Max Nash/AP Photo)
    QUESTION: Was the shooting difficult?
    HARRIS: It’s difficult, because you only have so many hours a day to work with the kids. The laws here are very strict, and quite rightly so. So when your turn comes to perform, they watch you and tell you that you have an hour to do it, because the kids are back in an hour. So, you have to get in and get it done quick; but yeah, I enjoyed it. It’s a wonderful job for a guy my age.
    QUESTION: Are children challenging to work with?
    HARRIS: They’re marvelous, and I’ll tell you what happened. When Christopher Columbus, the director, asked me to come down and meet the kids, I met Ron [Rupert Grint] and Dan [Radcliffe] andEmma [Watson], and I kind of hung around them for a couple of hours to get to know them. And then, Chris Columbus asked me if I would mind reading with them, doing scenes with them, and I said, “Sure.” So, we played all the scenes, all the scenes that we had to play together, and when it was all finished, Rupert looked at me and he said, “That was quite a good reading that you gave. I think that you’ll be okay in this part.” An eleven-year-old!
    QUESTION: How much Dumbledore came from the book and how much came from discussions with Chris Columbus?
    HARRIS: I just talked to Chris and I said, “I know what I’m going to do,” and that was to find a voice, because there are no references. I mean, he has no scenes, in this picture anyway, except with the boy, and they’re just lectures. There are no acting exchanges between me and the kids in the picture. All he’s doing is lecturing and giving speeches.
    QUESTION: Would you say that kids are going to be your biggest critics?
    HARRIS: Oh, you bet your ass. A young girl, yesterday, she was the daughter of a journalist that I had to give an interview to, and she was at the picture in the afternoon, and Molly was her name, and she was sitting there, and I said, “What did you think, Molly?” She said, “I liked it, it’s good, but of course, it wasn’t called the Dark Forest, it’s called the Forbidden Forest in the book,” and she’s only about nine. Then she said, “Hermione, she’s all wrong,” and I said, “What do you mean?” “Well, she’s supposed to have buckteeth.” These kids know every single thing about that book and if you put a finger wrong, boy, they jump on you. They wanted to know, some of the kids that were there from my family, the young ones, eight, nine and ten, they said, “Well, your beard was slightly wrong,” and I said, “What?” They said, “Well, your beard was supposed to be under your belt.” Critics.
    QUESTION: Why do you think Harry Potter