This morning I walked across

This morning I walked across the street to get a bagel. Low and behold, there was a copy of next month’s Premiere. So I’ve scanned in the images and will include the text. My comments are in bold and click on the pictures to get a much larger example. (Note: These images are © Premiere Magazine, May 2001 edition)

Children know. The way to get to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is to board a scarlet steam engine at platform nine and three-quarters, King’s Cross station, London. For years now, the only way to get there has been through the pages of J.K. Rowling’s dazzling srries of Harry Potter novels. But that’s about to change.

On November 16th, Warner Bros. will release Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first of a planned series. Directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone), the tales of the neglected waif who discovers his magical destiny stars Daniel Radcliffe, an 11-year-old British newcomer, as the boy with the lightning-bolt scar. “He’s got a deep center about him,” says Columbus. “I haven’t seen that in many child actors.”

Pictures:

Harry and his owl, Hedwig, in a scene shot on a location at King’s Cross.

Harry, his enemy Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), and a dog named Fang enter the Forbidden Forest in search of an injured unicorn. (This is a great scene because you can pick out Malfoy ahead of Harry who’s walking next to Fang just based on their profiles.)

Richard Harris plays Professor Dumbledore, Hogwart’s benevolent headmaster. “He told me that this means more to his granddaughter than anything else he’s done,” Columbus says. (Note all the packages and candy on the table at the foot of the bed. This is the scene in the hospital wing just after Harry wakes up from his battle with Voldemort and Quirrell)

Designed by Oscar winner Stuart Craig (The English Patient), the interiors at Hogwarts are housed inside a converted Rolls-Royce factory on the outskirts of London. To create Harry’s world, Columbus and Craig consulted with Rowling on major aspects of the School’s architecture. “I had her draw me a map of where buildings were located,” says Columbus. “She said Hogwarts is a place that looks as if it were put together by magic. We took that literally and ran with it.”

Pictures:

Maggie Smith, who plays Professor McGonagall, awaits the arrival of the first-year students.

Robbie Coltrane, as Hagrid the groundskeeper, leads Harry into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry, who was orphaned shortly after birth, is living with the Dursleys, his miserly Muggle (i.e., nonmagic) relatives, when he discovers his true calling. “We wanted [the Muggle world] to feel cooler, duller, a little dreary,” Columbus says. “When we get to Hogwarts, suddenly the colors get warmer, the blacks get richer, and everything becomes more magical.” So does Harry’s live, as he and pals Hermione granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) unravel the wonders – and dangers – of their new world. “Like the books, we’ve kept the film a little scary, a little dark,” Columbus says. “We haven’t flinched.”

Pictures:

the Dursleys – Harry’s cousin (Harry Melling), uncle (Richard Griffiths), and aunt (Fiona Shaw) – react to the news that Harry is going to be schooled at Hogwarts.

In a scene shot at the Harrow School (Winston Churchill’s alma mater), Hermione (far right) shows off her wand-wielding for Professor Flitwick (Warwick Davis), irking Ron (second from right) and impressing Harry. The kids have gotten very into their characters. “Emma feels that she is Hermione,” Columbus says. “She certainly stands her own with the boys; she’s tough. They’ve really formed this great group – it’s like a little repertory company.” (If you look closely, you can see a great picture of Flitwick, in the back row there are Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws alongside Gryffindors, and compare the pictures of Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan) with the boy next to Harry in the shot, you’ll see a match.)