Read Online The Making of the Potterverse by Edward Gross - Free Book Online
Authors: Edward Gross
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would be difficult to give a figure, but it is in the hundreds.”
Customs officers in Hong Kong arrested 10 people and charged them with bringing bootleg copies of
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
into the country.
A Johannesburg, South Africa, woman named her newborn daughter after Hermione Granger.
The ABC television network announced that they had acquired the broadcast rights to
Sorcerer’s Stone
and its sequels in a deal that would span 10 years.
CAST AND CREW INTERVIEWS FOR
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
In time for the film’s release, certain actors and filmmakers met with the press, and what follows are highlights from sessions with Robbie Coltrane, who plays Hagrid; director Chris Columbus; and the late Richard Harris, who originated the role of Professor Dumbledore.
ROBBIE COLTRANE
(Hagrid the Giant)
QUESTION: Children are going to be your biggest critics, right?
COLTRANE: Absolutely. I got a letter from a woman the other day, and it started off very sweetly, “I’ve been a big fan of yours for X amount of years,” and then, she said, “We’re so glad that you’re playing Hagrid because it’s going to be very, very difficult to get thatblend between scariness and humor and millions of children throughout the world are relying on you.” So, I thought, “No pressure there, then” [laughs], and of course, she was right.
QUESTION: Are they really tough with you on this one?
COLTRANE: Well no, it’s their little world, you know. I have to treat it with respect.
QUESTION: How did they pull off the effect of making you appear to be a giant?
COLTRANE: I couldn’t tell you that, because it would spoil the magic, you know. I mean, it’s like Orson [Welles] says, “Everyone knows that the lady don’t really get cut in two,” and so, I’m leaving that one. It really would spoil it. If you knew, you would agree with me, trust me.
QUESTION: You mentioned achieving a balance. Was that really tough to do?
COLTRANE: No, it isn’t, because you see, he is very scary. I mean, he’s half a giant, and the giants aren’t very nice as you will discover later on, and so, he has to have that edge to him, and they did it very cleverly. They said, when he kicks the door in and then says, “Sorry,” I mean, that’s the real Hagrid, do you know what I mean? He forgets how strong he is and he could break your neck with a snap of his finger.
QUESTION: Does it change the way you approach a character when people expect you to do it a certain way?
COLTRANE: [Laughs] No, not really. I mean, it was quite clear to me how the character should be played in the books and also, of course, Jo [Rowling] and I, we’re great friends, we talked on the telephone for hours like a couple of adolescents about everything.
QUESTION: Like what?
Robbie Coltrane got the role of Hagrid, the lovable giant. (Diane Bondareff/AP Photo)
COLTRANE: Well, the books are about everything. The books are about friendship and peer group pressure and how you discover your individuality and are you prepared to be unpopular and all those things that fuel your childhood, really. The magic, in a sense, is not really what they’re about, I would suggest. That’s the icing on the cake, I think.
QUESTION: What did J.K. Rowling reveal to you about Hagrid’s character?
COLTRANE: Well, she said, “Imagine a Hell’s Angel who gets off his Harley Davidson and comes into the part, but doesn’t really move like in the biblical epic, you know, with the Red Sea.” So, he starts with a cup of tea and talks about his garden — I thought that was great, because I have known people like that, but if you say anything rude about their garden, they will take you out and beat [you up], of course. That’s Hagrid, really.
QUESTION: Was there a period where you had to determine the balance in Hagrid between humor and being serious?
COLTRANE: Well, it’s quite clear, really, in the writing where he’s supposed to be funny. I mean,
Customs officers in Hong Kong arrested 10 people and charged them with bringing bootleg copies of
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
into the country.
A Johannesburg, South Africa, woman named her newborn daughter after Hermione Granger.
The ABC television network announced that they had acquired the broadcast rights to
Sorcerer’s Stone
and its sequels in a deal that would span 10 years.
CAST AND CREW INTERVIEWS FOR
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
In time for the film’s release, certain actors and filmmakers met with the press, and what follows are highlights from sessions with Robbie Coltrane, who plays Hagrid; director Chris Columbus; and the late Richard Harris, who originated the role of Professor Dumbledore.
ROBBIE COLTRANE
(Hagrid the Giant)
QUESTION: Children are going to be your biggest critics, right?
COLTRANE: Absolutely. I got a letter from a woman the other day, and it started off very sweetly, “I’ve been a big fan of yours for X amount of years,” and then, she said, “We’re so glad that you’re playing Hagrid because it’s going to be very, very difficult to get thatblend between scariness and humor and millions of children throughout the world are relying on you.” So, I thought, “No pressure there, then” [laughs], and of course, she was right.
QUESTION: Are they really tough with you on this one?
COLTRANE: Well no, it’s their little world, you know. I have to treat it with respect.
QUESTION: How did they pull off the effect of making you appear to be a giant?
COLTRANE: I couldn’t tell you that, because it would spoil the magic, you know. I mean, it’s like Orson [Welles] says, “Everyone knows that the lady don’t really get cut in two,” and so, I’m leaving that one. It really would spoil it. If you knew, you would agree with me, trust me.
QUESTION: You mentioned achieving a balance. Was that really tough to do?
COLTRANE: No, it isn’t, because you see, he is very scary. I mean, he’s half a giant, and the giants aren’t very nice as you will discover later on, and so, he has to have that edge to him, and they did it very cleverly. They said, when he kicks the door in and then says, “Sorry,” I mean, that’s the real Hagrid, do you know what I mean? He forgets how strong he is and he could break your neck with a snap of his finger.
QUESTION: Does it change the way you approach a character when people expect you to do it a certain way?
COLTRANE: [Laughs] No, not really. I mean, it was quite clear to me how the character should be played in the books and also, of course, Jo [Rowling] and I, we’re great friends, we talked on the telephone for hours like a couple of adolescents about everything.
QUESTION: Like what?
Robbie Coltrane got the role of Hagrid, the lovable giant. (Diane Bondareff/AP Photo)
COLTRANE: Well, the books are about everything. The books are about friendship and peer group pressure and how you discover your individuality and are you prepared to be unpopular and all those things that fuel your childhood, really. The magic, in a sense, is not really what they’re about, I would suggest. That’s the icing on the cake, I think.
QUESTION: What did J.K. Rowling reveal to you about Hagrid’s character?
COLTRANE: Well, she said, “Imagine a Hell’s Angel who gets off his Harley Davidson and comes into the part, but doesn’t really move like in the biblical epic, you know, with the Red Sea.” So, he starts with a cup of tea and talks about his garden — I thought that was great, because I have known people like that, but if you say anything rude about their garden, they will take you out and beat [you up], of course. That’s Hagrid, really.
QUESTION: Was there a period where you had to determine the balance in Hagrid between humor and being serious?
COLTRANE: Well, it’s quite clear, really, in the writing where he’s supposed to be funny. I mean,
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