Potter premiere a gala event at Leicester Square |
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Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:05
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LONDON: There were gala festivities at London's Leicester Square Sunday when "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" went on a world premiere. The Square was transformed into a scene from the movie with fire-breathing dragons and hooting owls. And, it was full of fans from all over the world waiting in the rain for their favourites.
There was pop star Madonna, who attended the show, so were supermodel Claudia Schiffer, actress Kate Beckinsale and the cast of the movie -- Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Potter, Robbie Coltrane, who plays Harry's friend Hagrid, Michael Gambon, who stars as the kindly Albus Dumbledore, and Maggie Smith, who plays Professor McGonagall.
The movie, described as the darkest episode from J.K. Rowling's seven-book series, has the young wizard Harry getting tested in a magic tournament and meeting his nemesis Lord Voldemort in the climax. The film is ruled as unsuitable for viewing by under-12s without accompanying guardians, the first Potter movie to get the PG12 rating. It has death and destruction at one extreme and love blossoming at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the other.
Daniel Radcliffe, the 16-year-old lad, who plays Harry, got the highest applause from girls, who were waiting for hours in the rain. In a demonstration of his star power, he waved at some fans, who shrieked back. He said later: "It's amazing to be able to get that reaction with just a wave, it's bizarre. But it's fantastic, these are like the hardcore fans - they've waited out here in the rain for so long and they don't get to see the film, they just wait to see everyone come in. I have so much respect for everyone that's here. It's amazing!"
Madonna made her nine-year-old daughter Lourdes field questions by the media. Does she prefer Harry Potter books to her mother's children stories? "I like both of them," she was tactful. .
Though described as the darkest among the series, the film's director Mike Newell said people should not be afraid of taking their children along to see it.
Rowling did not attend the show as her husband was undergoing a surgery. She has completed six of her promised seven books on Potter.
The move, made at a cost of an estimated $130 million to $170 million, is expected to get substantial returns for the producers, Warner Brothers. The earlier instalments got the studios as much as $2.5 billion at the box office. The fifth in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", is due for release in 2007.
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