London - Boy wizard Harry Potter returns to the big screen this month looking to convince sceptical peers of the return of his evil nemesis Lord Voldemort - and getting his first filmed kiss. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, depicts a darker Harry who is not only preparing himself for an eventual battle with Voldemort, but also combating an increasingly Orwellian regime at the Ministry of Magic. "A lot of people said that they disliked Harry, because they disliked how angry he was.
.. He has a right to be angry," Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe told reporters ahead Tuesday's official world premiere in London.
The new film, which cost $150-million (about R1,4-billion), begins with Harry returning from a summer largely spent alone after having fought Voldemort. He finds that he has been expelled from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for using magic in the presence of muggles - normal humans - but successfully appeals to the Ministry of Magic with the help of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. However when he returns to Hogwarts, the wand-waving schoolboy finds himself questioned by his peers and his teachers as to the truth of his claims to have fought the dark lord.
In consequence he becomes increasingly distant from his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, played by Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. To make things worse, the Ministry of Magic has appointed a new teacher at Hogwarts, Dolores Umbridge, to instruct the trainee wizards in the Defence Against the Dark Arts and, perhaps more importantly, to keep the school's students in line. Umbridge tortures the students, demeans the other professors, grabs power from Dumbledore, and generally makes life difficult for those at the school.
As the students find Umbridge's instruction lacking, they look to Harry to teach them to use their magic against Voldemort and his minions in the expectation of an inevitable battle. Through it all, the film continues the series' history of depicting Harry and his friends confronting the struggles of adolescence as well. And in a scene which is eagerly awaited by a legion of teenage female fans, Harry experiences his first on-screen kiss, with classmate Cho Chang, played by Katie Leung.
The scene sparked a bout of nerves for all involved, with David Yates, directing his first Potter film, clearing as much of the set as possible to make for an intimate setting, to help Radcliffe and Leung feel comfortable. Even the crew found themselves feeling slightly uncomfortable, as producer David Heyman admitted: "Many of us have known Daniel since he was 10 years old..
. I kept thinking, 'I shouldn't be watching this'." The move concludes with an epic battle, described by Yates as "the climax of the first five stories thus far", at the Ministry of Magic pitting Voldemort and his clan against Harry and his friends.
The film is set to be released in the United States on July 11, and in Britain the following day. It comes less than two weeks before the eagerly-anticipated publication of the final book in JK Rowling's seven-part series: Harry Potter And The Deathly Gallows. Rowling has said she will kill off two characters in the final book, without revealing which ones, sparking feverish speculation.
London - Boy wizard Harry Potter returns to the big screen this month looking to convince sceptical peers of the return of his evil nemesis Lord Voldemort - and getting his first filmed kiss.
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