Producer David Heyman gave a few teasers about the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie with Total Film magazine (which sadly had no new photos), including Newt Scamander's background and Eddie Redmayne's casting,
Harry Potter author's input to the filmmaking process, and the upcoming two sequels.
Screenwriter J.K. Rowling's involvement in the film process:
Quote:
“Jo was on set and has been an incredible support to us,” says Heyman when asked just how involved Rowling, who wrote the screenplay(her first), has been. “We’d run concepts by her, she’d give her thoughts and we’d adjust accordingly. She certainly was aware of all the lead casting choices before we finalised them.”
On casting Eddie Redmayne being the first and only choice of Newt Scamander:
Quote:
“Newt is someone who communicates better with his creatures than he does with people,” he smiles. “He’s a Brit who finds himself in the US, and the American magical universe is different to the British one. Eddie was our first choice. He’s very good at playing characters that are out of step, as it were, and bringing to them a real heart and compassion. He has a desire to bring truth to every moment. He’s very charming and appealing to men and women alike. And he’s a timeless actor, so he fits perfectly into 1920s New York.”
On how the titular Fantastic Beasts will come to life in the film:
Quote:
“The beasts are going to be all shapes and sizes!” laughs Heyman. “They’re all going to be digital. These are extraordinary creatures.I don’t know how they could do this practically– as wonderful as animatronics are, you can’t get the detailed movement or flexibility that you can with the digital universe. We have explored animals in the real world. We’ve done a lot of research on movement and look because we want to make our creatures grounded. They should seem like they really could exist, so they’re not just pure fantasy.”
On the upcoming two sequels to Fantastic Beasts, out in November 2018 and 2020.
Quote:
“Well, at the moment we’re concerned with making the first one as good as possible.In a way, that was the approach with each oft he Potters – you try and make each film as good as it can be. And if it’s as good as we want it to be, then the rest will follow.”