ap_Adaptations


 * See also: ****Harry Potter (film series)**
 * In 1999, Rowling sold the film rights of the first four Harry Potter books to ****Warner Bros.** ** for a reported £1 million ($1,982,900).[117 ] Rowling demanded the principal cast be kept strictly British, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion of many Irish actors such as the late ****Richard Harris** ** as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and ****Eastern European** ** actors in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where characters from the book are specified as such.[118 ] After considering many directors such as ****Steven Spielberg** **, ****Terry Gilliam** **, **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Jonathan Demme** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">, and **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Alan Parker** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">, on **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**28 March** <span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> <span class="wiki_link_ext">**2000** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">, **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Chris Columbus** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> was appointed as director for <span class="wiki_link_ext">Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (titled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in the United States), with Warner Bros. citing his work on other family films such as <span class="wiki_link_ext">Home Alone and <span class="wiki_link_ext">Mrs. Doubtfire as influences for their decision.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[119 ] After **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**extensive casting** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">,<span class="wiki_link_ext">[120 ] filming began in October 2000 at **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Leavesden Film Studios** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> and in London itself, with production ending in July 2001.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[121 ] Philosopher's Stone was released on **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**14 November** <span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> <span class="wiki_link_ext">**2001** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">. Just three days after Philosopher's Stone's release, production for <span class="wiki_link_ext">Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, also directed by Columbus began, finishing in summer 2002. The film was released on 15 November 2002.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[122 ] **
 * <span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">Chris Columbus declined to direct <span class="wiki_link_ext">Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, only acting as **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**producer** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">. Mexican director **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Alfonso Cuarón** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> took over the job, and after shooting in 2003, the film was released on 4 June 2004. Due to the fourth film beginning its production before the third's release, **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**Mike Newell** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> was chosen as the director for <span class="wiki_link_ext">Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ,<span class="wiki_link_ext">[123 ] released on 18 November 2005. Newell declined to direct the next movie, and British television director **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**David Yates** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> was chosen for <span class="wiki_link_ext">Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , which began production on January 2006,<span class="wiki_link_ext">[124 ] and was released on 11 July 2007. Yates is in the middle of directing <span class="wiki_link_ext">Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ,<span class="wiki_link_ext">[125 ] for release on 17 July 2009.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[126 ] In March 2008, Warner Bros. announced that the final instalment of the series, <span class="wiki_link_ext">Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , would be filmed in two segments, with part one released in November 2010 and part two released in May 2011. Yates is expected again return to direct both films.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[127 ] The Harry Potter films were huge **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**box office** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);"> hits, with four of the five on the **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**20 highest-grossing films worldwide** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[128 ] **
 * <span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">Opinions of the films are generally divided among fans, with one group preferring the more faithful approach of the first two films, and another group preferring the more stylised character-driven approach of the later films.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[129 ] Rowling has been constantly supportive of the films,<span class="wiki_link_ext">[130 ]<span class="wiki_link_ext">[131 ]<span class="wiki_link_ext">[132 ] and evaluated Order of the Phoenix as "the best one yet" in the series. She wrote on her web site of the changes in the book-to-film transition, "It is simply impossible to incorporate every one of my storylines into a film that has to be kept under four hours long. Obviously films have restrictions novels do not have, constraints of time and budget; I can create dazzling effects relying on nothing but the interaction of my own and my readers’ imaginations".<span class="wiki_link_ext">[133 ] **
 * <span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">A musical based on the series is currently being planned, tentatively scheduled for a 2008 run in **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**London's West End** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">.<span class="wiki_link_ext">[134 ] <span class="wiki_link_ext">The Sunday Mirror reports that producers are hoping to have a "big-name composer" write the music. It has not yet been decided whether the production will tell the entire story, or focus on one particular **<span class="wiki_link_ext">**sub-plot** **<span style="background-color: rgb(221, 113, 14);">, though they do hope to include "spectacular flying scenes, live Quidditch and big showdowns with Voldemort".<span class="wiki_link_ext">[135 ] **