Johnny Depp has been good to me. I realize that this sounds like an exaggerated form of name-dropping, but I should state that simple fact at some point, and I guess this is that point. I'm not sure when it dawned on me that he wasn't just being his charming self--which everyone will tell you is his standard demeanor to all--but he was serious about...More
I've now covered six HARRY POTTER movies. As I went off to cover the latest (HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE), I took a nostalgic look at Daniel Radcliffe in a photo that my friend Gino was kind and quick enough to snap of the two of us outside of this castle-like manor house on the outskirts of London where we did the first set of interviews the night before HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE had its world premiere. What hits me about this photo of me hovering over the young boy in an unconsciously protective manner is that it's a record of the last 24 hours when Daniel was just another person; the following night, as the excited crowds in and outside of the premiere site screamed their enthusiasm for the young actor who was perfect for the immensely popular title character of the world's most successful book, his days of normality ended.
That was in 2001, and he's spent this entire century to this point as one of the most famous people in the world. He's also remained gracious, self-deprecating, and secure in himself. That's an amazing accomplishment. The same can be said for his costars, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Think of it: the first one in 2001; THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS the next year; THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN two years later; then THE GOBLET OF FIRE in 2005; THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX after another two years; and, up to date but with more to come, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE now. Those of us who were there at the beginning have literally watched not only the stars, but also many of the supporting players, grow up. When I talked to Emma on the red carpet, I asked her if it sometimes seemed like there was a small group of media people stalking her, and she showed her new maturity by saying, graciously, "No, just the opposite, I feel like you are part of my family. You've been there from the start, and it just seems natural to me to see you again, each time a new one of these comes out". Of course, we also lost Richard Harris along the way--the original Dumbledore. What charming rascal he was. He did the interviews sitting cross-legged in the chair, and showing on his face not only the aging you would expect but also the craggy result of a life spent living on the edge with his buddies Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton. Somehow that just makes it even more amazing that they held onto their Harry, Ron and Hermione for all of these years, not to mention the supporting players that have become more important in the later stories (like Tom Felton's Draco Malfoy, Alan Rickman's Snape, Bonnie Wright's Ginny Weasley, Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid and, especially for those of us who know her legendary status, Maggie Smith's Professor McGonagall). In this latest film, the excellent actor Jim Broadbent plays--with a wonderful range of nuance and eccentricity--Professor Slughorn, and the part could not have been better cast. David Yates is the director again, and his sense of dark romanticism is ideal for this one. That's important because J. K. Rowling's series of novels does something that no other grouping does, that comes to mind: each of the books (and, therefore, each of the films) is aimed at the age group that Harry inhabits at the time. Now, it goes without saying that people of all ages enjoyed and continue to enjoy; in fact, I'm one of the proofs of that (I even took HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX into Hyde Park in London when I was there to cover another movie and spent a free day reading it under a huge oak tree with the clouds swirling around as if they wanted to add to the atmosphere). There are two more films to come over the next two years since they've split up the lengthy final book, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. Needless to say, they need to get all of that done before the stars exit into overly obvious adulthood. Even in this latest film, the sexuality of the plot will bother some people who don't want them to grow up. It will be hard to let them go. I loved the books; I feel a ridiculous pride in the young people that have kept their dignity and decency when so many people with far less reason to implode have done the opposite; yet, both the fictional characters and the young actors need to move on to other things pretty soon. Rupert Grint said that he was beginning to realize that this life he's led and this family he's known won't be there that much longer. That reality is something all of us need to consider from time to time--whether wizards or just us earthbound creatures. To check out more on films and their stars, go to: http://www.whyy.org/flicks and you can follow Patrick Stoner on Twitter by clicking on the link there |
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