[Ninja Duck]

Director: Harry Potter kids can last the series
Staff and agencies
Wednesday May 26, 2004

Despite their evident advance into adolescence, the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban believes his three sort-of-child stars can continue in their roles for the rest of the movie series.
"It would be amazing to have the whole series with the same kids," Alfonso Cuarón said. "It would be priceless. It would be something very special, for the ages."

The three actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint - who have signed up for the series so far on a film-by-film basis - have already begun work on the fourth instalment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, being directed by Mike "Four Weddings and a Funeral" Newell. Yet commentators have wondered whether their collective progress into adulthood may well outstrip that of their characters before the sixth and seventh films of the series.

Cuarón, however, remains confident: "Right now they're doing number four. There's only three more to go.

"I just hope they keep the same cast for the whole thing," said Cuarón, adding he would love to direct the trio again.

The books advance one year at a time, but the films are taking longer to shoot, so the actors are outgrowing their characters.

"So far, they're holding up very good, the way that they are aging," the director said. "I don't think Dan is going to get way much taller or suddenly grow another eye. Same with Emma, and Rupert is OK.

"Let's hope. In the last one they're supposed to be 17. Say they're 19, I think they're going to be very good. That would be very special."

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is released on Monday May 31.

http://film.guardian...1225084,00.html

Cool! Anyone else feel ready to bring back slavery?

[Heccubus]

I don't see how this is slavery. It actually makes sense that the director would want the same actors to remain in the series. Hell, I'd rather see the same actors playing the same characters. If someone had suddenly replaced Harrison Ford for Return of the Jedi, I think everyone would've caused a big fuss over it, and I think that the same would happen if someone replaced Radcliffe for a Harry Potter movie. If the actors themselves are willing to stay on for the entire series (and let's face it, woud YOU leave? You're pretty much guaranteed millions by staying on) then I think it's a good idea. No one's forcing them to stay.

[Ninja Duck]

I always thought that working all the time like that would ruin one's childhood. I mean, Michael Jackson never got to have a childhood, and look what happened to him.

And I think it's safe to say that guaranteed millions are forcing them to stay on the project. Who wouldn't jump through hoops for a director for a decade if they were promised more money than some people make in a lifetime?

[civilian_number_two]

Michael Jackson didn't work in the relative security of the film set; he paraded and danced in front of thousands every night, and was likley surrounded by grown women offering to have sex with him as early as thirteen. He retreated into childhood (and probably pederasty), and maybe we shouldn't be surprised.

These kids would be asked to work three months a year for the next four years.

Numerous other actors who worked constantly through childhood went on to lead normal adult lives. As examples I'll produce Roddy McDowell, Shirley Temple Black and Jodie Foster.

[Ninja Duck]

They may come out normal, but I can't get over the feeling that they're being commerically exploited now. Alfonso Cuarón (director of Prisoner of Azkaban) is talking like they're objects, or animals trained to fight so people can bet on them. "It would be amazing if milk every drop of moneymaking potential out of these kids."

Sure, the movies would look better if the actors were the same, but it looks to me that they're more worried about how many tickets they'll sell rather than anything else.

[Chefelf]

There's three more left to go? Is it just me or do you think these kids are looking PRETTY old these days. Keep in mind that I know NOTHING about Harry Potter but it is to my understanding that they aren't grown adults in the fourth book.

[barend]

well, Michael J fox played a 17 year old in 1984(class of 1984), 1985 (BTTF1), 1990-2 (BTTF2,3).

they'll still pass for teenagers for at least 10 years....

the only real problem is the girl... by the time harry potter 6 comes out, she'll be, well... you know... all shaped up into a 'woman'

[Heccubus]

But if they just have her wear a witch-y type robe, then problem solved. It would cover up any noticeable curves nicely, without being too conspicuous. And of course they're thinking of how many tickets they can sell. This is Hollywood, I'm going to break this to you gently, okay? Hollywood is not a very nice place sometimes.

[civilian_number_two]

The characters are aging by one year per book. So far it's all going according to plan.

I have no idea how they'll bring GOBLET OF FIRE in under three hours, and really, they should. And his latest book THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, is nigh unfilmable. It's clear she has a three-book conclusion planned, because absolutely nothing happens in this book, and it clocks in at about 160000 pages. They could make an 88-minute movie, and no-one would know what got cut. Rowling wrote better on the first three books than on the last two. She should have taken a nod from the Narnia series, and made her books stand alone (apart from his last one, that is). Once she got the idea of a long story arc, she blew it.

And yes, they want to sell tickets. So having the same kids would be great. And yes, for their careers it would be good for them to distance themselves from this series. But there's another way to do that, and that's to do other work at the same time, which is what got Harrison Ford away from the STAR WARS movies.

I think it would be just as bad for these kids to get fired as to be asked to work more movies. And frankly from a film history point of view, such a thing has never been done. Part of the interest in the upcoming films may be to watch the actors grow up. However, if they do have to fire any of the kids, I say they should let that Draco Malfoy kid go. He sucks. They should replace him with the kid who played Peter in PETER PAN.

This post has been edited by civilian_number_two: 27 May 2004 - 03:25 AM

[Despondent]

Saw the preview today and they look pretty old to me.

I know nothing about the HP films or books, but when goblet of fire came out as a book I thought the title character looked pretty androgynous on the (US) cover. (you're imagining it- a good friend told me)

Mad magazine has a send up this month with captions to stills from the film. one of which is:
"All right kids, in this scene I need you to act terrified-- like you've just seen what your careers will be like 20 years from now."