The Harry Potter Film Franchise

The Harry Potter Film series began in 1999 when J.K.Rowling sold the film rights for the first four Harry Potter books to Warner Brother Studios. In the negotiations, Rowling insisted that all the principle cast members be kept strictly British. She was also granted quite a bit of creative control for the film, which the directors welcomed. After a seventh month search, the coveted role of Harry Potter went to child actor Daniel Radcliff. Rowling has said she couldn’t imagine there was anyone better to play Harry. Cast to play Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger were two unknown actors, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

There were quite a few directors who worked on the films including Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newekk, and David Yates. All the directors worked very well together and helped their successor with the next film. Some critics have said that the result of different directors has made the series disjointed. However, some appreciate the individual style and evolution of the series as a result. Steve Kloves wrote all but one (the fifth) of the screenplays for the series and thanks to Rowling’s participation with screenwriting the scripts all stayed fairly true to the books. There have been six different cinematographers in the film, with Bruno Delbonnel being nominated for an Academy Award for The Half Blood Prince. John Williams provided the haunting and well known Harry Potter theme music for the series, known as Hedwig’s Theme. Sadly he was actually only able to work on scoring for the first three films.

Since the first movie’s release in 2002, the Harry Potter series has respectively grossed over $7.7 billion worldwide. Each movie has been nominated for Academy Awards, some of which include Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Makeup. They have all been consistently well rated, earning an average rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. The success of  the Harry Potter  franchise has made it a major contender to Hollywood’s elite films such as James Bond, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Why Did I Choose Harry Potter?

Why did I choose J.K.Rowling and the story of Harry Potter? It may seem like a silly and trivial book for it to have been one of my favorites, but I believe that this series played a huge role in my love of reading. This was the first real book that I had ever read. I didn’t enjoy reading when I was younger and previous to Harry Potter it was more a nuisance and something I was forced to do at school. I remember reading the first book and for the first time in my life I was sucked into a book. I couldn’t put it down. After I was finished I immediately had to read the second book. Again, I couldn’t put it down. Sadly, the second book had just been released so it would be a while before I could read more.

After reading the series I had a new perspective of books. If these were that good, I was sure there were others out there too that were equally as entertaining. I began reading more and feel in love with books. I read a lot of fantasy books and have gone through several series in that genre. It has opened me up to new worlds and new stories. I love being able to be transported to another place when this world gets to be too much. If it weren’t for Harry Potter I may never have discovered my love for reading. It opened the door and peaked my interest in reading, and because of that it will never be just a silly series.

I still enjoy reading the series to this day. I have read all the books, and my family also enjoys listening to the books on tape during road trips. I was even proudly at the bookstore at midnight when the final book was released. My wife and I fought over it for a couple of days, but we both finished in record time. I have a deep respect for the Harry Potter series and I think it is an important and effective tool to introduce kids to the love of reading.

Who is Harry Potter

The Harry Potter series highlights the adventurous life of Harry Potter, a wizarding student who lost his parents to a dark curse as a baby. The wizard who cast the curse, Voldemort (or he who must not be named), meant to kill Harry along with his parent’s but only left a small lightening bolt shaped scar on the baby’s forehead. The result of the spell backfired and the once all powerful dark wizard was killed (or so they thought). Ultimately Voldemort returns and is the antagonist throughout the series ultimately leading to a final deadly battle.

In the first book we are introduced to Harry Potter. His Aunt and Uncle begrudgingly raised him and were terribly cruel, keeping him from knowing the truth about his parents and the magical world that he came from. Hagrid, the man who brought Harry to his Aunt and Uncle as a baby, was the one who introduced Harry to the world of magic on his eleventh birthday. He soon finds out that he is sort of a celebrity in this new world. Although he just found out that this world existed, everyone knows the famous story of the boy who survived a deadly curse with nothing more than a lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead. He meets two other students who will become his best  friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. They trio will face dangerous and trying situations all the while attending school and honing their skills as a witch and wizards. It is at this school that Harry meets Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster. He becomes like a father to Harry and is forefront on the quest to end Voldemort.


In every book the three main character’s always have an action packed and dangerous confrontation with Voldemort, or his evil group of followers, the Death Eaters. They deal with Voldemort’s rise to power and try everything thing can to bring him down again. Throughout it all the friendship of Harry, Ron, and Hermione is put to the test and inevitably comes out stronger. There are twists and turns, well developed stories, action, adventure, romance, and tragedy.

Who is J.K.Rowling?

Joanne Rowling was born on July 31, 1965 in Yate, Gloucestire, England.  Rowling has admitted to being a day dreamer as a child, and would write fantasy stories. She seemed to gather inspiration around her, for instance the headmaster at her childhood school, Alfred Dunn, is rumored to be the inspiration behind her famous character Albus Dumbledore. The character Hermione is loosely based on Rowling herself. However, she has said that only one character was purposefully written about a specific person, Gilderoy Lockhart, although she refuses to reveal the identity of that person.

After divorcing from her first husband, a Portuguese tv journalist named Jorge Arantes, Rowling found herself a struggling single mother on welfare. She was diagnosed with depression and her experience with the illness gave her the idea for the gloomy, happiness draining Dementors in Harry Potter. She still dreamed of becoming a writer and for six years worked on a book that she began on a lengthy train ride. After her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Rowling had a difficult time convincing anyone to publish it. Even when someone finally agreed to publish it they  told her that she should probably find a day job, as she was most likely not going to make any money as a children’s author. A year later Scholastic Inc. won the rights to publish the novel in America for an astounding 105,000. Rowling said that she “nearly died” when she found out the news.

The Harry Potter brand is now worth an estimated $15 billion dollars. Rowling is now Brittan’s 13th wealthiest woman and is even wealthier than the Queen. There are seven total Harry Potter books totaling 4,195 pages, and has been translated into 65 languages. Although the Harry Potter series is complete and there are no current plans to expand, it is not completely ruled out. She married anesthetist Dr. Neil Murray in 2001 and has two children with him. The mother of three has proven to be wildly successful, despite her humble beginnings. She seems to have quite a soft spot for those less fortunate and has dedicated a lot of time and money into several philanthropic organizations.