Harry Potter is considered the highest grossing film series of all times. This is of course without factoring in inflation. The series is composed of 7 movies with the last which is yet to be shown split into two parts. All six that have already been released are on the list of top 25 most watched films worldwide. In fact three of them, the first, the fifth and the sixth are part of the top 10. Not including those who watched Harry Potter videos copied illegally, the worldwide ticket booth sales show that practically most young boys and girls all over the world have seen at least one of the films already released.
When the thought of making the 1st book Harry Potter and the philosopher’s Stone into a movie first cropped up, many directors have been considered including Steven Spielberg who later backed out. His original intention was to make an animated film about it. The directorship then landed in the lap of Chris Columbus. He also made the 2nd film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
If selecting the director was a major concern, casting for the main role of Harry was equally tedious. It took the whole production team about seven months to finally cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry. This is not actually his first shot at being an actor but this is his biggest break which then already had the potential of being a worldwide hit. There are anecdotes that say that Rowling, after watching the screen test, really felt that Radcliffe would be the best choice for the role of the most famous wizard. Later, that screen test of Radcliffe was released as one of the many Harry Potter videos available for adoring fans.
The last installment Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which is divided into two parts is now probably on its last stages of filming or already on the post production stage. David Yates who directed the 6th book Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is again directing both parts. The first part is intended to be shown worldwide on the 19th of November, 2010 and the second part on the 15th of July, 2011. In the mean time as you eagerly await for the last two parts, content yourself with watching the six Harry Potter videos as many times as you want.
