For me, Jo's book was an adventure, but it was also about character and emotion and the power of love. Family entertainment was not at the centre of film culture in the way it is now. TS: It was not a sure thing by any means. Warner Bros were not immediately enthusiastic. David asked what it was called and I told him: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.ĭH: I said: "I'm not sure about the title." But I read it and fell in love the world Jo had created was so rich. I came in raving about it on Monday morning. It was brilliant – a huge, original story which felt so visual and filmic. NP: I read the first Harry Potter at home on a Saturday morning. There was a slight gloom in the air about that.ĭH: Each Friday, we'd decide what everyone would read over the weekend. Nisha Parti, production consultant, HP1: We'd been running the company for a while and hadn't found the big thing Warner Bros was hoping for.
I rang Christopher Little, Jo Rowling's agent, to introduce myself and win him over if I could.ĭavid Heyman, producer, HP 1-8: When the proof copy of the first book came in, it sat for a few weeks on my bottom shelf – low priority.
#WHO MADE THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES SERIES#
It said it was going to be one in a series – so that's a franchise.
I remember a friend of mine, Tony Garnett, who produced Kes, saying to me: "Listen, this deal will only last if you find Warners the equivalent of the Bond franchise." I read an article on a book that was due to be published, about a boy who discovers he's a wizard. We had a deal with Warner Bros to be the eyes and ears of the studio in the UK. Tanya Seghatchian, co-producer/executive producer, Harry Potter 1-4: I started working with David Heyman at Heyday Films in 1997.