C.G-B.M#肥胖人生五四三

A few weeks ago, we asked you to submit your questions for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 director David Yates. We received so many great questions, and David was kind enough to take the time to answer some of them below. Read on to learn about David's experience working with Dan, Rupert and Emma, the films getting darker, his most challenging scene to shoot in the upcoming film and his favorite part about working on Potter.

From Facebook fan Landon Manias:  Mr. Yates, you have been a wonderful asset to the movie franchise. When you first started directing The Order of the Phoenix, did you ever think you would go on to be the director to finish up and complete the movie franchise?

Never.  It was an amazing opportunity just to be asked to come and do one Harry Potter film. I loved what Alfonso Cuaron had done with Azkaban, and Mike Newell’s film was so generous, and, of course, Chris had set the whole world up with the first two movies, so it was a real incredible, exciting opportunity for me, and I figured I would just be there for one movie.  But, interestingly, when I was starting to edit the film, I’d had such a good time shooting it and making it, I used to joke with my editor, Mark Day, and say to him, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we did another one?”  And then I’d say to him, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we finished the last three?” Because at that time there were only going to be three movies.  And we used to joke and fool around about it.  And then I was finishing [Harry Potter] 5, and the guys asked me if I would be interested in doing Half-Blood Prince, and then it just kind of rolled in…so I never, ever anticipated I would stay.

From Twitter user @KatieHagueee: For this last film, how close do you think you stayed to the book? And did you have to cut anything major out of it?

We wanted this film to include as much as possible – that’s the reason we split it across two movies.  I would say there’s nothing of significance that we took out.  We were very, very careful to try and be as generous as we could be.  We added a couple of things, actually, which were in the spirit of the book and that were recorded in the book, but not as a kind of foreground story.  In the book, Hermione talks about obliviating her parents, and it’s such a beautiful and haunting story in the book that you felt, “Oh God, we should see that…we should see what that feels like.”  And all the wonderful emotional tensions between Harry and Hermione in the book, we thought we’d try to express in a scene of Harry and Hermione dancing in the film, but there was just sort of a distillation of all the lovely moments in the book that we sort of poured into that one scene.

From Facebook fan Brandon Allen Locke: What was it like to work with Daniel, Rupert and Emma?

It’s so delightful.  All the time. And I’ve worked with them now for five years effectively, so it’s a long time seeing the same people all the time.  Dan has just outstanding energy and enthusiasm and passion for the work and the people he’s with – it’s always admirable.  Emma is bright and funny, conscientious, and always questioning in a good way, and I encourage that.  And Rupert hasn’t changed much.  He’s always chilled out.  And probably the coolest person I know because he’s just got his own way of doing things…his own rhythms.  He’s a really impressive young man.  So it’s never not been enjoyable.  It’s always been a joy.  And as we’ve moved towards the end, it becomes more emotionally significant because this is it.  They’re going to do their last couple of films now.  This is the last time they’re going to play those characters.  So, if anything, it became more emotional towards the end.

From Twitter user @deepestdespairs: Which was the most difficult scene to film in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1?

The most difficult scene in Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is a big chase sequence in the beginning of the film, which I worked on with another partner I have as I make these films – a chap called Stephen Woolfenden.  He’s the second unit director, and he’s a remarkable man.  He gets all the tricky bits of action that need to be shot, and much more besides that.  He’s like my right hand man, basically.  And that sequence took months and months to film, and we had to go on location to tunnels in Liverpool at night with dozens and dozens of stunt cars and stunt drivers, and there were lots of days in rigs inside the studio.  And it was difficult because it was complicated.  And Stephen shouldered a lot of that.  We worked very closely together and I trust him implicitly, and he’s a hugely loyal part of this whole creative team to work with and behind me.  So that scene was probably the trickiest I think.

From Facebook fan Erin Hancock: Will this movie be darker and more intense than the 6th one? 

I think it is, actually.  And they keep getting darker.  I think audiences like intensity.  What makes it dark is that we’re away from Hogwarts, and Hogwarts is a beautiful place of familiarity and comfort, even when big, bad things happen there.  Those walls that surround you there make you feel safe in a way.  Because we’re away from Hogwarts with this movie, it has a very different tonality.  It’s quite exciting and liberating because of that as well as edgy, and I think audiences like the edgy, dark stuff because it’s part of life in a way and they respect and enjoy it being a part of the storytelling process.

From Facebook fan Omar Dyette: Was it more challenging to film on location than at Hogwarts?

No, it was great.  It was really good to be out.  Going on location with the crew is a big adventure.  And it helps everybody.  It clears the mind.  When you spend too long in the studio, the rhythms get a bit same-y, and it’s important sometimes to break it up, so we love being on the road.  It was really healthy and good.

From Facebook fan Nur Dinah Syafiqah: Which was the MOST enjoyable and memorable part throughout the whole process of filming the movie?

It’s mainly working with the people you work with – you have such fun.  Film sets can sometimes be places of great tension and politics because movies cost so much money to make, and everyone’s desperate that they go right.  It doesn’t always bring out the best in people.  With Harry Potter, there’s the complete opposite of that – it brings out the best in people.  Because the series is successful, the studio feels safe, we feel safe, we get on with our work, and we all come to work wanting to give the best.  Whether you’re an actor, you work in wardrobe or you do the visual effects, you’re working on Harry Potter, so you put in a lot, and, consequently, there’s a really good vibe and that means you create relationships and build relationships and you have a lot of fun as you make these movies.  And so I kind of miss that energy.  It’s like a big family.  That’s something that will be sad to let go. 

From Facebook fan Vito Scocozzo IV: If you could pick any prop to keep, what would it be?

Well, I have a couple of nice props, which were gifts.  I didn’t steal them.  I was thinking about trying to stuff them in my briefcase and get through security, but I was worried about getting caught, and that wouldn’t be a good headline.  I was given a Beedle the Bard book, which is the book that Hermione reads in Deathly Hallows, which was a gift from Dumbledore to Hermione, and I have the Deathly Hallows symbol.  I also have a wand. The props department is amazing on Harry Potter.  There’s a chap there called Peter Dorme, who works with Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan, and towards the end of shooting, they presented me with a wand, which I can use on my next film, of course.  They’re the things I’m taking away… legitimately.   

From Facebook fan Jorel Andrew Flauta: Is there a possibility for a movie adaptation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard? 

Oh, wow, that’s a great idea.  I think that’s a really smashing idea.  I think Jo would have to give her blessing to that whole notion, and I’m sure it’s been discussed or conceived as a great idea within the studio.  Honestly, I’m concentrating on getting Part 2 ready and then having a break.  Then I need to get away from wizard-y things for a bit because I’ve been doing it for five-and-a-half years,  so I’m probably going to look for something completely different to do straight after.

From Facebook fan Shane Christopher Kivell: David - how do you feel about this mega series ending, and what will you take from these movies to future films you will direct? 

Well, I’ll always try to take the vibe that we have, which is to remove fear from the process as much as possible.  You encourage and you try and inspire people to bring the best out of them.  That’s the kind of ethos of making these films – they allow them to be what they are.  And visual effects experience.  I’ve learned so much about visual effects.  When I started these movies with The Order of the Phoenix, I had never made a visual effects picture.  And now I’ve made four big ones. I’ve learned a lot and feel very comfortable about the currency of how you present visual effects and how you deliver and conceive them.  So that’s what I’ll probably take with me. And some amazing memories of the people and being a part of this whole incredible thing.