| 
Story by: Jack Foley
DAVID Yates, the man behind such TV classics as Sex Traffic,
has been confirmed as the next director to take on the Harry Potter
franchise, The Order of the Phoenix.
The choice was confirmed by series producer, David Heyman, at
the London press conference for the fourth film, The Goblet of
Fire, on Tuesday, October 25, 2005.
Heyman revealed that Mike Newell had been asked to take on the
fifth, based on positive test screenings for The Goblet of Fire,
but had declined.
He also admitted that directing the movies was a 'real endurance
test' and thanked Newell for his efforts on the fourth film -
which is the darkest so far.
Yates is expected to begin filming The Order of the Phoenix in
February next year, when cast regulars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert
Grint and Emma Watson will reprise their roles.
|
 |
Speaking at the same press conference,
Heyman went on to defend the higher certificate awarded to The
Goblet of Fire, which is the first Harry Potter movie to be awarded
a 12A.
He said that the film didn't exclude younger viewers so long
as they attended with an adult. But he maintained that the tone
of the film was in keeping with the darker direction of JK Rowling's
books and that it would have been wrong to make any changes to
keep a PG.
He also maintained that at test screenings, it was the adults
who were concerned their children would be scared rather than
the children actually being scared themselves.
More often than not, he added, the children were embarrassed
that their parents might think they would be scared.
Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire opens in UK cinemas on
November 18 and is expected to be another big box office hit for
its distributor, Warner Bros.
Keep checking back for more details on the press conference and
interviews with Mike Newell and his young cast nearer the time
of release.
|
