UK: Director Michael Nevill and his young cast discuss the latest Potter movie, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'

Less than a month before the world premiere of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" hits cinemas across the world, the first major press conference starring all the main child actors took took place in London on Tuesday (October 25). British director Mike Newell believed he was chosen to direct the fourth movie of the highly popular, and lucrative, series because of his reputation both for romantic humour, as in "Four Weddings and a Funeral", and for darker films like "Donnie Brascoe". The result is a movie that ranges from the comic awkwardness of teenage romance as the pupils of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry prepare for the Yule Ball, to fear and danger as Voldemort tries to destroy Harry. The 63-year-old director described the resulting two-and-a-half hour feature as "a kind of fusion of a children's film and an adult's film." He did not disclose the budget of "Goblet of Fire", which goes on general release on November 18, although entertainment magazines have speculated the costs were somewhere between 130 and 170 million in U.S. dollars. What was most on his mind whilst filming the movie, was that he wasn't viewed as an authority figure by the child actors, but rather as 'one of them' so that they felt they could speak up and make suggestions: "What I always felt was there was maybe a problem in that these guys (gestures to Rupert, Radcliffe, Watson) would think of me as a teacher or an authoritative figure and I didn't much like the thought of that, because I wanted to get - I felt they'd had grown up to the point where they've got a lot to give, and one of the wonderful things about them is they all want to be better. All of- all of the actors want to be better, which is terrific, but of course if they take you as an authoritative figure, then they're obedient and they're not giving properly and so there was a day I found myself having a fight with one of the Weasley twins, in order that I would lose my dignity. I couldn't possibly be treated as an authority figure if I was a fat middle aged man rolling in the dust with a 17 year old boy, so.... Actor Daniel Radcliffe proved that he has done a lot of growing up since shooting to fame as the young bespectacled Harry Potter - he now has a taste for French novelists, grungy music festivals and glamorous Hollywood beauties - and growing up with Harry is fairly easy: "It makes it easier to play Harry because I've been going through all the hormone stuff like Harry has relatively recently so it's fresh in my mind, in fact it continues." All three actors - Radcliffe, Grint and Watson also disclosed that they weren't doing so well in the boyfriend/girlfriend department , but as for Watson she hopes that at least her screen alter-ego will soon get it together with friend Ron. "About future instalments: Hermione and Ron have got to get it together , it's been so long now, come on, so I hope they will...sorry to make you uncomfortable there ( to Rupert Grint who plays Ron) ...that's my hope for future instalments there. As for the next movie in the series, director David Yates has signed up for the next Potter instalment after Newell turned down the offer of doing another Potter film. The world premiere of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" will take place in London on Sunday, November 6.

ITN Source | October 26, 2005

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