The Movie (sorry if already posted)

[the_mad_cowtipper]

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No: HPFGUIDX C4108
From: the_mad_cowtipper
Subject: The Movie (sorry if already posted)
Date: 7/12/00 7:12 pm  (ET)

http://mrshowbiz.go.com/news/Todays_Stories/711/harrypottermovie071100.html

Is the veddy British Harry Potter getting Hollywoodized?

Author J.K. Rowling is insisting that in Harry Potter and the Sorceror's
Stone, the first film based on her wildly successful book series, Harry
be played by a British unknown.

But we hear that director Chris Columbus -- the American schlockmeister
responsible for such feel-good films as Home Alone and Bicentennial Man
-- is pressuring to cast an American in the lead and even to film the
darn thing on American soil.

According to MSNBC columnist Jeannette Walls, British casting agent Susie
Figgis has quit in a huff, saying that Columbus is undermining her efforts
by refusing to call any British boys back for second auditions. Figgis
has been replaced with an American casting director, Janet Hirshenson,
Walls says, leading to more whispering that Harry Potter really will
go Hollywood.

American tykes whose names have been floated to star as the magical lad
include The Sixth Sense's Haley Joel Osment and Malcolm in the Middle's
Frankie Muniz, neither of whom remotely resembles the character as
depicted in the book's illustrations.

So far, 40,000 young Potter hopefuls have applied for the star role,
and 300 have been auditioned.

At least the teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry may
have the right accent: Tim Roth, Maggie Smith, and Robbie Coltrane have
already been approached to join the Potter franchise.

One unidentified source tells Walls that Warner Bros. is definitely
eyeing the bottom line in making the all-important casting choice and
would prefer more of "an American flavor" to the film. "We're talking
about a potential difference in the eight figures. No decision has been
made yet, but it's something they have to consider," the source says.

Warner Bros. chose not to comment on the matter.

Filming is expected to start shortly and Warner Bros. is aiming for a
Christmas 2001 date, pushed back from the original summer 2001 release.