An Insider's Look at New 'Potter' Film
The film franchise has netted more than $3 billion, with more to come.
July 16, 2007 -- The richest woman in show business not named Oprah is a 41-year-old Brit who, before completing the first episode of her epic anthology of wizards and Muggles, was living on the dole as a single mom in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Her name is J.K. Rowling, and she is the author of the "Harry Potter" series -- the book-turned-movie franchise that has netted more than $3 billion for Warner Brothers.
The fifth film in the series, the just released "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," will add significantly to that total, cementing the series' place in the pantheon of entertainment juggernauts.
But that doesn't mean fans should expect more of the same from the latest installment. By producer David Heyman's own admission, this new chapter trends much darker. Gone are the carefree afternoons of quidditch -- not to mention screenwriter Steven Kloves, who wrote the scripts for the first four films. "Phoenix," Heyman said, "is the most emotional of the films yet."
"I think it is more mature," he said. "We're definitely growing up… it's not divided into black and white and good and bad. It's a more complicated. It's a world of gray."
Heyman, whose work as producer on each of the previous movies has earned him the unwavering support of the author and studio, not to mention a fair share of the proceeds, made sure the tone of "The Order of the Phoenix" grew with Daniel Radcliffe, the now 17-year-old actor who portrays Potter.
Radcliffe is no boy anymore, as evidenced when he appeared in a particularly racy role on the British stage. To ignore his growth might have resulted in Steve Urkel-esque embarrassment -- something the producers were keen to avoid.
"The trials and tribulations of teenage romance" figure heavily in the film, Heyman said.
"Here's this boy who we've seen since the age of 10, and now he's 17 and having a kiss," the producer said, equal parts impressed and melancholy in the face of the changes the cast has undergone since the first film debuted in 2001.
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