October 25, 2001. Copyright, 2001, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Harry Potter set to conjure movie magic
By Mark Samms

LONDON, October 25, Graphic News:  A STORY that began life as the germ of an idea in the mind of an impoverished single mother as she scribbled away in her notebook in an Edinburgh cafŽ is destined to become one of the most popular and profitable movies of 2001.

Harry Potter and the PhilosopherÕs Stone is the first of J. K. RowlingÕs phenomenally successful books about the bespectacled boy wizard to make it to the screen, but itÕs
certain it wonÕt be the last. Indeed, the second volume, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is well under way.

J. K. Rowling herself was deeply involved with all aspects of the production, collaborating with Steven Kloves to write the script and ensuring that the film remained resolutely faithful to the original story -- one of the few deviations being the U.S. title, where the book was published as Harry Potter and the SorcererÕs Stone.

Such is the appeal of the genre that stars have been queuing up to take part. John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, John Hurt, Rik Mayall, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters represent the cream of British comedy acting talent, but as soon as the movie is released they will likely be taking a backseat to Daniel Radcliffe, best known for his portrayal as the young David Copperfield in the most recent BBC adaptation. He won the desperate scramble to play the title role and is reported to steal the honours from under the noses of his illustrious co-stars.

Much of this is due to the influence of director Chris Columbus, chosen because of his successful track record in making the most of themes that appeal on different levels to both children and adults in movies such as Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire.

Apparently Steven Spielberg turned down the opportunity to direct the movie because Òit would have been too easy.Ó He said: ÒI like a challenge, and that would have been like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank account.Ó

However, striking a blow for authors and screenwriters everywhere, there are hints that HollywoodÕs best-known director of fantasy movies withdrew after Rowling opposed his plan to transform Hogwarts into a U.S. high school and cast an American as Harry.
/ENDS

Release dates (correct as of October 25, 2001): 

November 4: UK (premiere)
November 16: UK (general), U.S., Canada, Taiwan
November 21: Belgium
November 22: Argentina, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore
November 23: Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden
November 29: Australia, Israel
November 30: Iceland, Norway, Spain
December 1: Japan
December 5: France
December 13: Hungary 
December 21: Estonia, Lithuania 
January 18: Turkey 
February 14: Czech Republic 

Source: www.imdb.com