Harry Potter’s magic casts a spell over London
Showbiz Desk

LONDON—Overcast skies and driving rain in the British capital 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 1.35 billion pounds (1.99 billion euro, 2.36 billion dollars).
Rain-sodden signs showed contingents from as far afield as Spain, Iceland, Mexico and Japan. “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, told newsmen why she and her friends Marie Schulz and Jeannette Seers had spent overnight 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.”
Schulz, also 21, and originally from Eisenach, eastern Germany, agreed. “You can leave all your troubles behind and go into a world that doesn’t exist” she said. 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.”
Sheltering under umbrellas — as the sound of teenage girls screaming, owls hooting and the roar of a mechanical dragon echoed through the square — were hotel receptionist Ellie Shaw and Lizzie Bradbury, a primary school teacher. The 22-year-old friends took up their position under the promotional Hogwarts banners late Saturday night. “It was cold and uncomfortable,” said Shaw, from Leicester, central England. “I don’t envy tramps.”
“Doing something like this makes you have a little bit more realisation about what goes on after dark. We saw a drunk-driver run over some pedestrians,” said her friend, from Oxford, about 67 miles (108 kilometres) northwest of London. But warming to her theme, Bradbury said the change in directors had kept the genre fresh. The latest film is directed by Mike Newell, famous for “Four Weddings and A Funeral”.
“It’s had a positive effect,” she said. “Fresh ideas are coming through. They’re getting darker as the films progress. Each director is doing something different.” 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 Friday as an early high school graduation present from his mother.