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INTERVIEWS
CHRIS COLUMBUS (2)
BBC
Was it easier to do the film second-time round?
It was a lot easier. On the second film we really just had more fun. It was
intense, because I wanted to make a film that was better than the first time.
I felt slightly more confident, I know the young actors felt more confident
- you can see it in their performances. We were able to improvise, which we
were never able to do on the first film.
Did you take in any reaction to "Philosopher's Stone" in the
course of doing "Chamber of Secrets"?
Not really. We really didn't have time to even think about the reaction, which
was probably good for the kids [the actors] as well as those of us making
the film. "Philosopher's Stone" opened on the Friday and we were
back filming "Chamber of Secrets" on the Monday.
We always knew "Chamber of Secrets" would be stylistically a little
different from "Philosopher's Stone" - it was a darker picture,
edgier, with a bit more of an action-adventure/suspense slant. The first movie
had 45 minutes of introduction. We immediately get into the story this time,
which I think makes a huge difference.
How did you squeeze the novel down into the script?
I think the biggest omission was not to keep the Death Day party in the movie,
which was one of our favourite scenes from the book. I think the film would
have lost some of its intense pacing by putting that sequence in.
We knew with "Chamber of Secrets" that we had two opportunities
for action sequences, and that's really what attracted me to the story. I
always ask the kids on set, "What's your favourite "Harry Potter"
book?" The "Chamber of Secrets" is rarely mentioned. And it's
a great book because it's got one of the strongest and simplest stories to
translate to screen. It also enables you to take sequences - the basilisk
sequence, the spider sequence - and turn them into full-fledged action sequences,
which to me as a filmmaker was just so exciting. I was like an eight-year-old
kid again, I couldn't wait to get to the set the days we were shooting those
scenes.
Can the child actors play their characters in all seven movies?
Logically it's going to take us longer to do the third than it has the first
two films, which we've basically shot back-to-back. In the books, as you well
know, the kids get progressively older, so they could presumably play the
roles for all seven films. It's really up to them, and how much excitement
and stamina and energy they have.
Did the sheer scale of working with so many special effects ever compromise
your ability to work with the actors?
Not really. The one thing I learned on the first film, and the one thing I
wanted to improve upon on the second film, were the visual effects, I felt
we could have done better. We had three months on the first film; we shot
all of the visual effects scenes first for "Chamber of Secrets",
giving us eight to nine months. I think the effects are much better on this
film.
I realised after doing the first film that with technology these days, you
can do basically whatever you want, so it opens you up as a filmmaker. You
can add a character wherever you like, so your imagination is freer and more
open. It's been an incredible experience, and it hasn't hurt the actors at
all, they love it.
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