An Eighth Harry Potter Film

This month's announcement that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would be made into two films has provoked much discussion. There are those who think it is a cynical money-grubbing move from Warner Brothers, while others welcome the fact that a novel of this length will get more proper treatment and suffer fewer cuts than some of the other films. There are also those who simply do not want the magic to end.

Apart from the problem that by the time they get around to making Deathly Hallows II both Emma Watson and Bonnie Wright will be old enough to be married and pregnant, and some of the older actors may have retired or died, it's actually not a bad idea.

One wonders if, somewhere in the Warner Brothers vaults, complete versions of all the books exist, just waiting for the right moment to re-issue the whole series as 'director's cut' editions. This would, in part explain why Rick Mayle was credited as Peeves for several of the films, even though he did not appear. (IMDB has now removed him from the list of credits). However, his scenes, apparently, were made and must still exist somewhere.

One also thinks of other Hollywood stories. When David Lean made Doctor Zhivago in the 1960s, the story was that the whole mammoth book was turned into a screenplay and filmed, resulting in a film that ran some 24 hours. From that pile of celluloid, the existing film was carved. There is also the story about the 1970s films The Three Musketeers and The Return of the Three Musketeers. It was said that they shot both films as one film and then split the results in two. The controversy was that the actors had been contracted to make one film and had been conned into making two for the price of one.

Whether or not either of these stories is true, it does suggest that there is enough Harry Potter material on film to bring out new versions of the existing films.

Even if there isn't, you can bet that someone in Hollywood is already considering the possibility of bringing out a "new" version of the whole series - complete with every chapter and scene - for television.

We should live so long.

A good year

A Year in the Life of J K Rowling has been showing over the past few weeks, and I encourage everyone who has an opinion of Harry Potter to see it.

While there are few surprises, what comes across is a very genuine, warm person who has worked very hard and is doing her best to come to terms with global fame and great wealth. On the evidence of the film, she is succeeding admirably.

Oscar Wilde once exclaimed 'Heaven save me from my disciples' and one can imagine J K Rowling feeling that way as she is surrounded by children with painted on lightning scars, girls dressed in Beaubaton school uniforms and pointed hats.

That's actually unfair, as Jo seems more at home surrounded by children than she does in the business meetings. She takes her writing seriously, but appears somewhat overwhelmed when it comes to films, theme parks and merchandise.

Her charitable work is also featured and it is something she obviously takes very seriously.

One of the most human and endearing scenes - apart from her tearfully revisiting the apartment where she wrote The Philosopher's Stone to discover a full set of Harry Potter books on the shelves of the new tenants - was when she sketched out the family trees with all the children of the Hogwart's children. She likened the activity to a runner running beyond the finish line and said that she needed to know how these things turned out. To me, this indicated her real concern for her readers and empathy with them.

J K Rowling seems to be a very private person who has been thrust into a very public life. Her husband speaks of her self-contained and private nature. Her sense of duty to her readers and Harry Potter fans motivates her punishing schedule of readings and book signings, and she seems to carry them out with good grace.

It's easy to be cynical and say, 'Well, she can afford to,' but the point is, she can afford not to, but does.