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Compiled by: Jack Foley
Q. As one of the newcomers, what was it like to join
this very successful production? Was it at all daunting?
A. It’s very daunting to start with. The book’s
as big as a house brick and I was very unsure quite how one would
attack it. But of course you come after these wonderful guys.
You come after Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuarón and you
are guided through this minefield by David Heyman [producer].
Little by little you lose your terror of it. After a bit I think
the thing itself just overwhelms you and what you do is you try
to get from day to day and at the end of the day, looking back,
I’m terribly proud of it.
Q. How did you find the balance between what to keep
from the book and what to leave out?
A: David [Heyman] was very clear to me when we first
started to talk about making the film that if I could see a way
of making it in one film, then we could continue to talk. If not,
then we should part friends. There was a time when people were
thinking about making two films.
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I read the book very carefully and
I felt that there was a way of making one film, which was as a
thriller. It was the fact that Voldemort and Ralph Fiennes were
really in charge of events from the very beginning and only little
by little did Harry catch up with what was happening to him until
it was too late.
There he was, facing the devil in a graveyard. As soon as I could
see that I felt that I could stay true to the book and keep the
length down.
Q. There has been a story in one paper that you were
angered at the lack of cash to make the film. What’s your
take on that?
A: I’m terribly sorry but that was a vast piece
of quoting out of context. Let me tell you what I actually said.
What I said was that when I began, the sheer scale of the film
was daunting. And then after a little bit, like every director,
and in every film I’ve ever made, big or small, you feel
that there isn’t quite enough money to put the absolute
top little bit of topspin on it. And, of course, you start to
feel aggrieved that you have so little money.
It’s a monstrous nonsense, and it answers the question:
‘how long did you stay frightened?’. And the answer
to the question is ‘not very long’.
Q: So what was the final spend on the film then?
A: I can’t tell you that, and nor am I going to.
Related stories: Read
our review
Daniel Radcliffe
interview
Emma Watson and
Rupert Grint interviews
David Heyman (Producer)
interviewed
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