‘Potter’ films find right director
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, July 17, 2009
NEW YORK — Speak to many 12-year-old fans about the various filmmakers behind the “Harry Potter” films and you’re likely to realize that the auteur theory is alive and well.
Yes, the belief that a movie is ultimately authored by its director applies even to the billion-dollar franchise spawned by J.K. Rowling’s best-sellers. The films have had four directors, and the fingerprints of each are evident to Potter fans, young and old alike.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
David Yates said ‘Harry Potter’ movies ‘are bigger than the writer.’
Despite the turnover, Hogwarts finally has its filmmaking headmaster: David Yates. Just as he helmed the last “Harry Potter” film, he directs the latest, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which opened in theaters Wednesday.
Yates is also in the midst of shooting the adaptation of Rowling’s final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
It’s an unlikely match for the soft-spoken Yates, whose previous work was almost entirely in British television.
By bringing his own sense of realism — and by incorporating the approaches of the previous three Potter directors: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell — Yates has settled into the “Potter” directing chair and brought the franchise its best reviews yet.
“It still is a surprise to me, sometimes,” said Yates in a recent interview. “I’m just really glad that I’m doing it. I enjoy it and I’m proud of the work.”
Yates is generally credited with helping his young stars mature in their acting. Emma Watson, the 19-year-old who plays Hermione Granger, recalled him negatively critiquing her for “acting” in one scene. After a good, more natural take, though, Watson said Yates will boyishly clap his hands.
Yates and the cast have already returned to shooting in England. Of Part 1, which is due out in Nov. 2010, Yates says he’s taking an approach “like a documentary.” Part 2, expected in summer 2011, has a more epic feel, he says.
Though Yates believes he’s left his imprint — like any director would, he says — on “Potter,” he admits, he’s still only a small part in the giant apparatus.
“These films are bigger than anyone — they’re bigger than the producer, they’re bigger than the writer,” says Yates. “And I’m totally cool about that.”
