The cast and filmmakers share a decade’s worth of memories from the set. “Rubbish.” That was producer David Heyman’s first reaction to the long-winded title of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone that landed on his desk in 1997. Heyman was quickly bewitched by the story and brought the project to Warner Bros., where — under the Americanized title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) — it became the first chapter of the most lucrative movie series ever. It all started with a fateful meal… PART I – The Beginning DAVID HEYMAN: I first met Jo [Rowling] the day […]

How the ginger who scored the role of Ron Weasley — and stole the world’s hearts — is spending his time post-Potter Red hair. Big family. By his own admission, not the biggest fan of school. These things describe not only Ron Weasley but also Rupert Grint, a young man seemingly born to play Harry Potter’s best mate. In fact, a year before he was cast in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Grint entered a Ron Weasley look-alike contest sponsored by a London newspaper. “I won, too,” he says proudly. “I had always felt a connection to Ron.” Perhaps […]

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Nov. 16, 2001Fun Fact: “The kids liked to get the makeup people to give them gashes,” Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid, told EW in 2001. “Daniel got one to give him a black eye, and he came in in the morning and the other ones said, ‘Oh my! What happened?”‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nov. 15, 2002Fun Facts: Hugh Grant was in the running to play Lockhart, a part that ultimately went to Branagh. “Ken seems to disappear into any role,” Columbus told EW in 2002. “I didn’t want people to […]

After eight films, over $2 billion in box office, and countless moments of cinematic wonder, we reluctantly bid farewell to our favorite boy wizard Once upon a time, it was easy to be cynical about the Harry Potter movie franchise. When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was in production back in 2000, there were those in Hollywood who viewed Warner Bros.’ adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s novels as “easy money” — as if making blockbuster cinema out of a global kid-lit phenomenon were a simple magic trick. And there were those who believed that telling a single epic story in […]