Thanks to our amazing news mod Pottermaniac, we now have the transcripts to the Order of the Phoenix Press Conference in which David Yates, David Heyman, and Michael Goldenburg talk about several things concerning the movies. You can read it below.
Also, we'd like to thank the News Admin, katiebell, for providing us with the audio!
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David Heyman: Hi Everybody. I'm David Heyman.
David Yates: I'm David Yates.
Michael Goldenburg: I'm Michael Goldenburg.
DH: Two Englishmen and an American. (laughter)
Question: So, what was the unique challenge of - I mean, I think this is one of the most exciting of the Harry Potter novels, and it's not a three-hour epic movie - what was the biggest challenge in doing Order of the Phoenix?
DY: You know, fundamentally, these are huge books to condense, so the first challenge you face is the adaptive process ... and making choices, really. Making choices about what you keep and what you loose ... and I think we're probably all Harry Potter fans ... I mean, these films are made by fans, people who love this material. So, it was a very, you know, that's the hardest part in starting that; [the] series of choices, about what you're going to let go, because you know every time you let something go, you know a fan somewhere is really gonna miss it, and we really missed a lot of that stuff that we let go. So, that's probably the biggest challenge, deciding. And then, I think, the other ... what we, what we really felt we wanted to try and achieve was a story that felt organic, and felt like it had an arc, and felt like it wasn't a series of episodes or chapters. So we all set out to make sure that we had a film that felt cohesive and felt like it had a really ... clean through line.
Q: So, specifically, what was the arc, or the through line?
DY: Well you know, for Dan, and for Harry, it's really a journey of feeling isolated and misunderstood. And feeling outside of a community, feeling ... that a place that had been very familiar, and very special, suddenly felt very cold and uncomfortable. And then realizing, suddenly, that that community that turned it's back on him suddenly needed him. And ... skills that he had, because of this intrusive, political regimen that suddenly arrives at Hogwarts. And it's about him coming to terms with the fact that it's probably better to work with his friends, and to help them, to fight the dark forces from without ... and parallel with that is a journey about a kid just wrestling with his own inner demons, you know? And trying ... That stage, where a lot of us have been through, when we're growing up ... which Jo captures beautifully in the book. This ... this sort of teenage stage, where you kind of struggle with yourself a little bit .. you fight, and you kind of get, you know ... That's ... that's probably the most dramatic part of growing up, because anything could happen. You know, a lot of kids go badly wrong between ages thirteen and seventeen, 'cause you've got all these hormones raging around you, and that's a very dramatic stage of childhood. And Jo captures that in the book, and we were really keen to express it metaphorically in this story, with Dan's kind of obsession about ... Is he becoming dark? Is he loosing control? And the whole Voldemort thing, allowed us to express that in a metaphorical, magical way.
Q: How much work on this film did you do with J.K. Rowling, and can you tell us which scenes specifically she had a hand in?
DH: Um, I mean, Jo is a big part in all of these ... Umm ... Obviously, the books required a foundation from which she built. She is a dream collaborator, in many ways. She's busy, she's writing books, so she's not on set, and she's not intrusive in any way. But she's there when we need her, in terms of answering questions. In example, [mumbling], the one about the Black Family Tree, something that is ... How many names were engraved in the book, but it's very few. And she ... when you're making it into a film, you're visualizing ... does it need to be more than four or five names? And so ... fifteen minutes later this drawing arrived of the family tree, which was seventy-five names and five generations, with birth dates, death dates, marriage dates, who was married to whom, who'd been exocrised from the family ... like, Sirius with the black hole. She's remarkable, she's ... we talk quite a bit, I think, about the ending, actually, which we're trying to make that ... I think that's one of the challenges, I'd say, in the film, was that she [was] providing the language for the end of the film, because it's a very internal journey ... We talked to her about the prophecy. But really, the books provide the line share of the information. And then, David and Michael are brilliant.
Q: Hi, um, we had a question, um, about adapting this very thick book down to a two and a quarter hour movie. Do you set out in terms of "I'm gonna write one hundred and twenty pages" or do you just go and see how it’s gonna, you know, whatever works out, whatever works, you know, then you’ll turn later. And secondly, I wanted to ask David Yates about collaborating with the kids who are already familiarly with their roles and how much you can talk really about the dialogue with them about where they are with these characters in this movie and developing them.
MG: It’s actually, it wasn’t as daunting as it might appear, at least to me, in the sense that even though it’s a very long book. The amount of story in it, I don’t think is considerably more than in the other books, there’s a lot of wonderful digressions, and wonderful details, and side journeys. But when you boil it down to the basic narrative, it was pretty self-contained. And the decision that we all made very early on was that the spine of it was going to be Harry’s emotional journey. And once that decision was made, it made things much easier that became through the organizing principle through the entire film.
DH: He is painfully modest.
MG: And, so I didn’t think that supporting that story, and fed into that, and helped to illuminate different aspects of that. We kept in and things that didn’t unfortunately, uh, we left out… Although we did try really, cause as David said, we’re all fans and to have the sense that the story elements that weren’t in the film were happening just off-screen somewhere that you could imagine that these other stories were taking place simultaneously and have a very rich and generous film in the same way that those books are so rich and generous. For me it was just, it was a process of finding Harry’s story, how the other stories reflected that thematically in terms of his journey. His coming of age, for me, was always something that was at the core of it. And moving from a more childish world view where you see things black and white to a more nuanced view where you see shades of gray. And David said it beautifully, one day when we were talking, he said: “You know, it’s Harry learning that the world is complicated, and that he himself is complicated.” And that all really came from the book, there’s a line in the book, for the first time I read it… Triple underline. Sirius says to Harry, he says: “You know, Harry, the world isn’t divided between good people and Death Eaters.” And um, that really struck me in a way that’s for me kind of his journey… You know there are lots of scenes that support that, you know that support that, the revelation about his father, the figures, the authority figures who he’s both idealized and demonized in previous books turn out to be quite a bit more complicated than he first thought. And it’s also about kind of coming out of that self-absorption of adolescence and that anger, and realizing that there are bigger problems in the world and that by connecting to his friends, Hermione, first and foremost, and then the larger group of Dumbledore’s Army, the larger group of Hogwarts, and the Wizarding World in general, having responsibility to protect them and then go battle for them actually gives him purpose and connection that he was missing at the beginning of the story. It all tied in together pretty elegantly. And it’s all from the book.
DH: It didn’t all come out in the first draft, let me tell you. No offence Michael. Michael worked long and hard, we all did, Michael and David worked long and hard to make it, to shape it, and I think you’re right, that the fundamental structure that Michael defined in the first draft remained the fundamental structure that we carried on, but the script was worked and worked and worked and worked, right up until the last day of shooting.
MG: But I love that, I mean, that was not at all the burden, and we were all the same, I think really, on the same page from the beginning, it was a really, I mean for me, um, a kind of utopian ideal, it was an incredibly collegial and civilized and fun process. And the first time David called me about doing the film I said to him: “This is gonna be fun, right? Doing a Harry Potter film should be fun.” And he absolutely delivered on that so… And that re-writing, I mean we all felt like we wanted to… Every re-write was a chance to make it better, you know, was a chance to improve it even more, find something new, find something better. So right up ‘til each sequence was shot, we would kick the tires and look at it again and see if anything that David had learned from the actors or from just what was working best in the process… You know “Oh we should really have some of that.” So it was a very organic process and great fun for me.
DY: It was a very secure, creative environment where you’re prepared to kind of test things and kick the tires and… Cause I think when you make something like this, you got such a responsibility to kind of exceed the audience’s expectations because they’re waiting to see it, and there’s not an answer of complacency. What I find remarkable about David. Five of these films now, and he’s still got the enthusiasm of a fifteen year old. And any normal human being would prob… should be thoroughly exhausted by it. And he’s not. And so, that spirit is infectious. And so we were really, you know we had a great, we did have a really jolly time making the film, and pushing the script. And as far as the actors go, and Dan, and Rupert, and Emma, what’s unique, probably, about this franchise compared to any other, is the audience witnessing these characters and these actors grow older in front of them. And that’s a kind of really extraordinary thing. And for me as a director, that you know, they weren’t the same people at the end of the shoot as they were at the beginning, you know they changed, they’re just, you know, they’re more curious, they were more inquisitive, they had more confidence, they’re physically different, you know, they just got bigger. And that change continues. So for me, as a storyteller, what’s wonderful, is that I get to take advantage of the relationship they’ve shared for all these years. Which is very tender and supportive with each other. To see them away from the camera is wonderful sometimes because they really watch out for each other. And they’re very… They’re just great kids basically, and great young people. And, so you kind of… you really work with that. And, you know, what was great with this film for me and for them was they were doing things they hadn’t done in some of the other films necessarily, you know stretching themselves, certainly Dan with Harry’s character. It was a bit more emotionally complex for him this time, it was a bit more difficult for him, you know, he was going threw things he’d never been through in any of the previous film. And Emma was really getting confident about changing gears as an actress. You know, we try a line that was funny one way and then we just say “well let’s put it on his head now and try another way.” And she really embraced that opportunity to… And I think, for me, you know, it’s all about script and it’s all about performances. And they particularly responded, I think, to someone who really cared about how good they were in a particular moment. And I pushed all of them. A lot. And they really like that, I think. And they really responded to him.
Q: The films, like the books, seem to get darker with each installment, and this is the darkest one yet. And you don’t seem to shy away from any of those elements that were there in the book. With Harry’s anger and some scenes that might be quite scarier for the kids, for you know, ten year olds, or younger kids who may be Harry Potter fans. So can you talk a little bit about those elements.
DH: Did you never enjoy being scared when you were a kid? When I was growing up, my favorites moments was while I watched TV and Doctor Who would be on. You know, I loved being scared, I think children love to kind of be taken into that territory, cause it sort of makes them feel vital and alive. You know, it’s a really important thing, I think. And for two hours and ten minutes, or however long this movie is they will be buzzing around before it. And you know, they have Coca Cola cups this big (laughter) and they’ve consumed so much chocolate and bloody kind of stuff. When they start the movie, they’re like this (acts like a hyper kid), and then the movie plays, and you can feel the stillness in the room. And these are very young kids, and they like things that don’t talk down to them. They like things that make them think. I think that’s a really beautiful thing, if we can achieve that.
DY: As David said, I think kids do like to be scared a bit. There’s a literary tradition of, you know, children’s fiction that most certainly is every bit as scary as this is. And it’s funny, people talk about it being darker, I actually think it’s, maybe, why it’s dark is cause it’s more emotional. And you connect with it more emotionally. To me, that’s really exciting, because I think that means we’re being true to the book. You’re right, the films are growing up, and the books are growing up. And um, I think that um, if we would, as David said, if we were to be anything other than what we are, the children would be patronized, and we would lose our audience.
Q: But you don’t have Dolores torn to bits by the centaurs. Isn’t that…
DH: She wasn’t… No, no.
Q: She was just taken away into the forest?
DH: Yep, I mean, you can imagine what happens off camera. Dolores and the centaurs, but I… It’s not in the book.
MG: I actually think, I mean, it’s the great thing about it being Harry Potter, is you have not only the opportunity and the responsibility to be true to the book, so I found that terrifically liberating… Because the whole world’s watching… We have to be true to that. And Jo has, you know, very ambitiously staked out that territory, with each book. And it’s one of the things I respect so enormously about her gifts, is that she’s using the, you know, kind of capital of her success to really push envelope in interesting and ambitious ways. And write, write, you know, books that she wants to read. And to have an absolute integrity to them, internally and emotionally, and the film should nothing less.
Q: In the previous press conference, the actors were laughing about the filming of the scene with the on-screen kiss and the after-scene to that. I was wondering if you could tell us… talk about that from your perspective.
DY: Ah the kiss, yah, I think, you know, we just wanted to create, really, for the kiss itself, an environment which felt very… We cleared the set. If you have ever done sex scenes in the past with a film, you ought to get anyone who’s not essential out of the way. Because everyone wants to gawp for start. And of course, just outside the set, there’s a monitor, and everyone’s gawping. (laughter) So everyone can see. And Katie was very sweet and charming and… Dan was very sweet and charming. And I just want… we talked about first kisses generally and what first kisses felt like. And um, I just wanted it to fee… And Michael had written it in this way, to be as tender and as true possible. And it was fun, and what was really charming was the fact that many people had spent a lot of time with Dan growing up though these films. Amanda who does his make-up, and you know, he’s got a lovely chap who dresses him as well, and they all gathered around the monitor and they felt very, it was like they were watching someone they loved very much… snogging (laughter) for the first time. And they got very emotional, actually. It was quite sweet, they got quite choked up watching this. Very odd, strange thing, but a very beautiful thing. And then after, it was that scene after, what was lovely about that for us was that they know each other so well Rupert, Emma and Dan, and we used a lot of improvisa... Michael had written a beautiful scene but we kind of improvised a little bit. And I encouraged them to kind of… Because it’s odd, sometimes you turn up on the floor, and you’re working on the scene, and you can feel something in the room. You can feel an atmosphere. And that day, there was just something about the way they were all a bit giggly together and a bit… And I just encouraged them to kind of embrace that and have fun with it. And Emma, in particular, she had such a fit of hysterics that went on for about five minutes, and she couldn’t stop. And we kinda caught it in a bottle really, and I’m very proud of that scene.
DH: The end of the scene, it was literally when Emma and Rupert are laughing, is not… That’s not acting, that’s actually, that… Sorry not meaning to take away your work… sorry David. But literally, the scene was over and they were just being. And one of the things I love about David is about finding moments in unexpected places. And he just let the camera roll, because they were having a good time together. And it was really beautiful. Going back to the kiss, you know, I mean it is… As probably you know, the one person who’s been with them since the beginning. It is a weird, and it was a very weird and emotional thing that kiss, you know. Here’s somebody who you are very protective of, who you care for immensely. Who you’re close too and who you’ve seen grow up from the age of ten. And you know, I saw Dan, and I remember when I first saw Dan in the theater. It was you know, obviously a significant moment for me. And then to be 15 feet from him kissing is both really moving and also really uncomfortable (laughter). I mean let’s face it, it’s not really comfortable standing fifteen feet from anybody when they got their tongue down someone’s throat (laughter). But when it’s somebody that you care for as many of us cared for Dan, it was weird. Um, but really moving, but when you saw it in dailies. And that was one of the best attended dailies of any… You know, and people were choked up and really moved by it. It was really beautiful. And I think one of the things David captures not just in the kiss but throughout the film, and he talked a little about it, is that he really encouraged… He really encouraged the kids to push their craft. But he also encouraged them to bring as much of themselves to the table. I think more so than ever before. You know, he’s asked them… They’re older now they’ve had more experience, they’ve got more to draw upon. And he encouraged them to participate in their performances, much more than they have ever before. That’s partly because they’re able. They sorted out, and they really took it. And what I love about the way David works and what I think I really love about this film is the truth of it. It feels to me very real. And it’s one of the reasons why, you know, way back when, you know, I was interested in David Yates doing the fifth film. It’s because I wanted to feel real, and true, and honest, and emotional. And he’s livid on all of that. And it’s the thing I’m most proud of in all of these films. Because for all the special effects and for all the fantastical things that no question people are drawn to and people come to see. What really makes the books what they are, and what makes the films what they are, is the characters. And uhm, David, you know, allows, and he’s enabled these characters to live in this film. I mean, Jo has done it brilliantly in all the books, Michael has done a brilliant job at adapting it. And then making it comply with what David did with the film. It’s just beautiful.
Q: Could the two Davids talk about the contribution of Imelda Staunton to this film. And how difficult was it to cast that role?
DY: Oh, it was very easy to cast. (laughs) I walked into the office. The conversation of who should we cast went like this: David said “How ‘bout Imelda Staunton?” and I said “Great” (laughter). And then I went off, had coffee with Imelda, looked her in the eye, and I just thought ‘Oh God, she can do this so…’ You know, we just knew. So, it wasn’t really a competition or a kind of… We just knew really. And I think Imelda is such a gifted actor. And uh, what was lovely about Umbridge as a character is that she is actually quite… She has also sorts of layers, you know, as a character, she’s desperate to be liked, she’s so officious, she’s such a bureaucrat, she’s quite a fundamentalist really. And yet she’s deeply repressed. And so, it’s actually… There are quite a lot of complicated corners in there. And uhm, and also, she had to be quite good fun as well. And Imelda got all of that. And I love Imelda when… One of my favorite seems in the film is when she takes Harry into detention. And what we explored there was this slightly religious, this cleansing thing. She’s convinced that Harry had done something terrible, and lying. And she just wants to cleanse him of his sins. And I thought, that was something that we both found could be very interesting for the audience. It’s actually quite an interesting scene for younger audience to see. That you know, an adult can be quite abusive, in that way. And uh, so… Cause that’s something I don’t think we’ve quite seen in these films before. It’s very subtle form of abuse and uhm, so… But it was great fun and we had a blast anyway with Imelda. Yah, she’s a bloody good actor, actually, yah.
Q: Matthew Vines from Veritaserum.com. Mr. Heyman, you’ve been on this, obviously, since the very beginning whereas Mr. Yates and Mr. Goldenberg, this is your first involvement in the series. So I was wondering, were there any aspects of your visions for this film that were conflicting versus how it fits as a piece in the overall puzzle and how the film works in its own right? And how did you reconcile those?
MG: Well David has this, uh, quill (laughter) that he makes us use when we disagree with him and... No, I, actually, I felt like we were all on the same page from the very beginning.
DH: And it all comes from the books. I mean, you know, it’s a really organic process. Jo has created already a vivid world. And Michael, I’ve spoke to Michael about the first film, and we, you know, I’ve admired him for ages, he’s been a Potter fan, and we’ve known each other for quite a while. And he’s a huge Potter fan, the fifth book wasn’t the first one he’d read. He’s a big fan so… There was not really any question about this is… This is not… We’ve discussed amongst ourselves as Potter fans all of this… What you could get away with and what you could not get away with, maybe not the best way of putting it. How far you can push things, and would this exist in the Potter world? And we ever got into to much conflict, it’s not a dictatorial environment… Except for David (laughter). It is the most collaborative environment. We all are in it together. And if there really was anything that we would be uncertain about, we would call Jo… (laughter)
DY: We can always call Jo. (laughs)
DH: And that actually was never an issue. There was one time, there was a character we were going to cut out. And we sort of discussed that amongst ourselves, and Jo reads each draft… reads the screenplay. And um, she said “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. (laughter) Or you can. (laughter) But if you get to make a seventh film (laughter) you’ll be tied in knots, and it’ll cause you some difficulties, so you might want to…” I can see your mind racing Mr. Veritaserum.com (laughter). This man probably knows Potter better than anybody in this room, no disrespect. But, you know, she made sure that that character… She didn’t make sure, she just recommended it. And um…
Q: What character was it?
DH: I thought you might answer that question. I’m not going to say. (laughter)
Q: So, the kids… As you were saying, as the director, you let the kids to really come into the room. But this is so dark, and there’s so much subtle bullying, with Luna. And Umbridge who’s like the most poisonous pinks psychopath. That she was aced in that, I loved her. How did you actually encourage the kids, or where did you… How did you help them to feign that well, the depth of the darkness, the betrayal, the bullying, the stuff like that. I’m sure, hopefully, most of them never encountered that. So what did you do to bring that out of them.
DY: You know, it was the same process, I always engage with any actor. It’s ultimately, you just talk about the story, you talk about the character. For example, Dan has got amazingly vivid imagination and uhm, there’s a moment were doing at the beginning of the film, and he sat on the swing and he’s had a long hot summer. And Harry’s been kind of neglected by his friends, he’s felling very lonely. And, uhm, he says “I think this is probably what it feels like to be a Vietnam vet. You know, one of those guys who came home from the war, and no one understood them and they were ignored by everybody.” So he’s really well read and intuitive. But it’s a process. The word truth, I use a lot. And it’s basically, you want to talk about what must it feels like to experience this. So it’s easy with these big films, I think often for it all to become a bit generic. And a bit “With one bound, you’re free.” But we would say, if Imelda points a wand at you, it’s like she’s pointing a loaded gun at you, and it will kill you, and your friends will never see you again. And so I would always try and pull in something from the real world to try and allow them to lock into. And with Dan, we got this bereavement counselor in. And Dan and I spent an afternoon with the bereavement counselor to talk about her experience of dealing with people who’d witnessed horrible things. Because in the previous film, he’d seen Cedric Diggory get killed. And he asked some really bright questions. And it really responded to taking their journeys and stories within the film. Taking it that seriously. You know, and really thinking about it deeply. And they loved that, and it made them work really hard. And that’s not to say that the film isn’t playful, and eccentric, and all the other things, hopefully, that all the other lovely Potter films have achieved. We wanted to do all of that. But we just, cause they’re getting older, and the characters are older, and Michael had started us off before on this journey of something that felt richer and darker. Uhm, it was just a process we felt we had to do.
Q: In a similar vein, the film seems to raise some interesting political questions about law and order… In developing the project were you cognizant of connections between this story and the muggle world that we all live in?
DY: It’s always nice to have a bit of politics with a small pea I think. But you’re inevitably affected by what’s going on. A little bit. But we weren’t aiming to do anything to clever in that direction to be perfectly honest. We just wanted to make a really entertaining, witty film. But there are lots of interesting things in Jo’s work which are… I mean one of the most interesting things is the kind of educational parable… This notion that, you know, what is education, and how do you deliver the best education to kids. You know, there is something there, interesting, you know. In this country for example, in the UK. Our administration, have introduced all these kind of measures and tests for teachers, you know which they spend more time kind of getting assessed and assessing, and then they do teaching. That’s how some of them feel. And so, there are things that Jo’s introduced in books, which, I think it good to put in a mainstream popular film, and good for kids to see and experience, you know, cause it might be… So it was nice to have a sprinkling of some of that muggle paradox stuff. Cause I think it makes the experience a bit richer, I feel anyway, it makes it a bit more relevant. But you don’t want to hang the whole thing from that, I think.
DH: I think Jo, there is clearly, in the book, threats of nazism, and racism, and, you know, this feels, I think Hogwarts… Again, one of the reason why I was really true onto David as director for this is, I thought he would handle this sense of resistance movement, World War 2, French resistance movement you know, which is in a way what Dumbledore’s Army is, really well. And I think there are… History does unfortunately repeat itself. You know, I think it is the book and the film does have echoes of what’s going on today. But alas, it also have echoes of what’s gone on in years past, many times in years past.
Q: Ah, to Mr. Yates, um, you’ve signed on for the Half-Blood Prince. Can you talk about how that came about?
DY: Hah, well we just had such a nice time making this film and, it just seemed, I don’t know it just felt, I just felt like it was really fun. It’s a very difficult world to live. I mean, you’ll have to ask David, cause David was very instrumental in asking…
DH: You know, these are marathons, and we’ve been very pleased with the directors we’ve had. Alfonso Cuarón was asked back for the fourth and Mike Newell for the fifth. Um, but they didn’t have the stamina frankly, because these are, and that’s no disrespect to them, these are really tough films to make. And they’re big, there are so many component parts, they’re really fun. And I think everybody, each… I think if you speak to each of the directors, they would say it’s been a good experience and it’s been a fantastic world to be a part of. But David did have the fortitude and strength to carry on. And I think, I think he is… You know, he does such a great job, and the kids form such connection for them. And the important thing is, for the kids, to keep challenged, and to keep it fresh. And David kept it fresh until the last day of shooting for them. And each of them whispered in my ear “It would be great if David came back.” Now, they don’t have director approval, they don’t have anything like that. But uhm, their enthusiasm spoke volumes of the experience they had working with him. And for me, it’s been, you know, a dream experience working with David and Michael. You know, it’s such an open and collaborative place. And yet, you have a leader, someone who is leading you to make the, and pushing to make the very best film possible. And is determined as we all are to… There’s everybody involved to make a great film. And you know, there was something I just wanted to go back to, somebody mentioned before you, you may have mentioned it. But somebody was talking about the audience. I know this sounds really strange, but the audience, it’s not really… It’s all about the audience, but first, it’s not about the audience when you’re making the film since you’re making the best film you can. We’re huge Harry Potter fans. We are more critical of… We know everything that’s not right, every breath of these films, I do, David does, Michael… We are hard, hard, hard… And we love Harry Potter, we love it! It’s passion. And so, for us, it’s about making the very best film you can. And if you make the best film, we’ll be pleased, the world will be pleased, the audience will be pleased. And I know that David’s standards are about as high as they can be. For me, it was an obvious thing, it was an exciting thing, and I know that it will make a great film.
DY: Yah, I find it very difficult leaving the world, having had such a brilliant time and also knowing that, you know, the next one is going to be very different to this one. I’m very, very proud of this film and what we’ve achieved. And I think it’s… And the next one’s a very different rhythm, you know, and, and it’ll be very different for the kids as well. I couldn’t bare to kind of leave it.
DH: They are sequels, each book has got the same characters but, they exploit such different things. It’s a similar world, the characters are growing up, they exploit such different things. As Michael said, as he came to write, it was a different Harry, that he was writing. Or Harry at a different stage. And that’s exciting, David talked of my enthusiasm being that of a fifteen year old. It’s because each one is different, and it’s not difficult to be enthusiastic about this world.
MG: This, it really does start with David. And from the very first day, he created an environment where both David and I felt completely protected and safe to try everything. And he’s the one who really creates this incredibly warm, familial, inviting work atmosphere, and everything starts with that. And I think it’s a tribute that… I mean he’s been an amazing steward of these stories, and he’s an encyclopedic resource on the films. You know, it’s not… Sometimes you don’t… A producer… you don’t want in the room, but David you always want in the room. (laughter)
DH: I’m a pain in the…
DY: Most of the time. (laughter)
MG: He’s an incredible resource, because not only does it come from his fundamental… Just, in his bones love of the books and the stories. And this fierce determination to protect them. But uh, I mean he’s… Any Potter problem he’s come across before he’s just ah… An incredibly sort of creative and inventive… In a way that sometimes it isn’t the case, and David was always there with a great idea, or an unexpected solution. You know, supportive of risks that David and I wanted to take. And flexible, and collegial. And we can’t ask more than that.
DH: Thank you, Michael.
Moderator: And on that note, I have to break this press conference because we have to take the gentlemen upstairs for some other interviews.
Q: What’s the schedule for the next one?
DH: Um, come out in end of next year.
Q: When do you start shooting?
DH: September.
London press conference transcripts - Phoenix crew 
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A true friend | You're here 'til the end 
