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Harry Potter was almost a Yankee LONDON - Can you imagine the world of Harry Potter being relocated to a trendy Hollywood high school? Don't laugh. In the days when the J.K. Rowling books were becoming international best-sellers and Hollywood was starting to see them as a potential cash cow, one Tinseltown filmmaker said he was ready to take on the project - but only if the Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry acquired an American identity and became a reworking of Beverly Hills 90210. Another filmmaker reluctantly conceded that if the first film, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, was to be made, it would probably have to retain its English setting - but in order to make the movie palatable, it would be necessary to turn Harry into an American. And there was a further proposal - that Harry's two friends, Hermione and Ron, should also be American because kids in the U.S. needed home-grown heroes who didn't have funny accents. British producer David Heyman winces at these memories, but he doubts that any such proposal could have made it to first base. To begin with, author J.K. Rowling had initially been reluctant to make a movie deal of any kind because she didn't trust Hollywood. Secondly, Heyman was there to protect her interests - to make sure that the movies would retain their British sensibility, use a British cast and be shot in the U.K. In a sense, Heyman has been a keeper of the grail for the reclusive author. That was how he won the rights to the books in the first place - by pledging the movies would be true to their originals. But 10 years ago, he had no concept of Harry's potential. "I optioned the book in 1997," he remembers. "What happened was that there was an article in a book publishing magazine, and a woman in my office read the article, called up the book's agent, and a copy of The Philosopher's Stone came in. It lay on the bottom shelf - our priority low point place - for several weeks." Heyman's office was constantly seeking out potential film material from the piles of new books. But it wasn't until his secretary became so fed up with the "rubbish" she had been reading that she decided to take the Potter book home. At the firm's Monday meeting, she reported that she had enjoyed this novel about a young boy in wizard school. "I thought - what a great idea," Heyman says now. "I read it and thought - this is fantastic. But I had no idea then that it would become the phenomenon it has become." Still, once he had optioned the film rights, he knew he had a responsibility to safeguard the interests of Rowling and the books. He understands why there were proposals for an Americanized Harry Potter, pointing out that the American film industry tends to be insular-looking in such matters. "Hollywood is risk-adverse and what makes them feel secure is to have an American in the lead," Heyman says. He's prepared to forgive industry colleagues for proposing an Americanized Harry Potter. "This was before Harry Potter was the big phenomenon that he became, so they were entitled to that view. But for me, it would have destroyed the stories. "For me, one of the things I responded to in these books is their Englishness. The story is very English. It has cultural specificity - but it has thematic and emotional universality."
Sex and the City Movie a Big Deal by Gina Serpe Take heed, Sex and the City fans. Your blue balls have not been for naught. After three years of near-incessant rumblings that Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York and Samantha Jones would rendezvous for one more round of cosmos, HBO and New Line Cinema have reportedly teamed up to finally give the girls the big screen sendoff (or, possibly, rebirth) fans have been waiting for. According to Variety, production on the long-gestating, headline-grabbing movie version will begin early this fall with all four leading ladies—Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis and Kim Cattrall—set to reprise their iconic roles. New Line's offices are closed this week and a spokesperson was not available for comment. A Sex and the City film has been rumored since 2004, when in her flurry of exit interviews, Parker assuaged fan fears with none-too-subtle hints that the HBO show's series finale wouldn't mean the last of the fab foursome. But as anticipation grew, so too apparently did Cattrall's demands. In 2005, when the other three actresses were all locked in to the project, Cattrall reportedly held out for a payday on par with Parker's, whose salary was greater than her costars due to her added role as executive producer. After more tabloid-ready reports of infighting between the women surfaced, along with rumors that Cattrall was also seeking script approval, the project stalled and plans for the film seemed irreparable. Earlier this year, however, both Parker and Cattrall gave new hope to their Manolo minions. While out promoting her new clothing line, Bitten, Parker fielded the inevitable questions about a big-screen reunion. "Never say never," she said. "It was such a great show it would be fantastic to go back." The Emmy winner also put the kibosh on speculation that a supposed rift between costars scuttled the Sex and the City movie. "It is a very complicated puzzle to put back," she said, "but not for the reason that people speculate about, because as far as I know, all of the actresses want to be together again for this movie." Cattrall chimed in that she had not ruled out reprising her man-devouring role. "With regard to a movie, I really can't say," she said. "There is a lot of speculation but, just put it this way, I don't want to jinx anything." When the show ended its HBO run in 2004, each of the women wound up paired off with her beau: Carrie with Mr. Big, Miranda with Steve, Charlotte with Harry and Samantha with Smith. While no deals have been inked to bring back the menfolk back, negotiations for supporting players are expected to begin closer to the production date, with Chris Noth expected to reprise his Big role. Details of the script are being kept under tight wraps, although it's unlikely the film will pick up immediately where the series left off, if for no other reason than the slight aging of the actresses. Longtime executive producer Michael Patrick King has already written the film and will also serve as director. King will also produce the pic alongside Parker, series producer John Melfi and series creator Darren Star.
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