Potter casts a spell on London
2005-11-07 11:12
London - Overcast skies and driving rain in the British capital on Sunday failed to dampen the spirits of fans of schoolboy wizard Harry Potter as the latest film of his adventures had its premiere.
About 5 000 fans young and old - many of whom arrived in London's Leicester Square early Saturday night - clamoured to catch a glimpse of their heroes as they arrived for the first showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
With three blockbuster films already based on the best-selling books by Joanne ?JK" Rowling, Harry, his friends Ron and Hermione, and Hogwarts School continue to cast a spell.
Outside the Odeon cinema, the faces in the crowd reflected the global book sales of more than 300 million and combined worldwide box office takings of £1.35bn (about R15.8bn).
"It's just a bizarre experience," said Daniel Radcliffe, the 16-year-old actor who has played Harry since he was 11 said of the crowds after arriving for the showing.
"It's incredibly strange and incredibly wonderful," he told BBC News 24 television. "They (the fans) have been waiting for hours and they don't get to see the film. They're the most amazing people. They're the hard-core of fans."
Earlier Kelly Yeoman, a 21-year-old student from Hull, northern England, said why she and her friends Marie Schulz and Jeannette Seers had spent overnight on Saturday standing behind a security barrier in central London.
Under a banner advertising their internet fan site to Rupert Grint, who plays Harry's red-headed friend Ron Weasley, she said: "You can lose yourself in it. It's for both kids and adults."
Asked about the fans later, Grint said he was still perplexed at the attention.
"It's still a bit strange," he told BBC News 24. "These (premieres) are always really crazy to do, but fun as well."
Among the good-natured crowd was the women's online correspondent, Dominick Costa, 18, from Allentown, in the US state of Pennsylvania.
The student - who also has his own fan site - flew in specially on Friday as an early high school graduation present from his mother.
"JK Rowling is an amazing author," said Costa's mother, Julie, a 5th grade learning support teacher. "The fact that she's got kids reading again is wonderful. It's a great passion for my son to have.
Elsewhere among the Hogwarts scarves and witches hats, were Matt Latter, 23, and Paul Bradley, 38, who had spent 16 hours exposed to the elements in the hope of securing autographs from some of the film's stars.
"There's some fantastic British actors on display," said Bradley, northern England, reeling off a list of names including Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith.
But he also said the books, films and premieres helped him break free from the everyday.
"It gives me a bit of an outlook on life," he said. "Coming to premieres builds up confidence and you go home with some memories. You've got something to look back on."