Steve Kloves tries to please everyone -
Summary:
Steve Kloves, the writer of the scripts for the Harry Potter films says that it is hard to try and please everyone watching the films
Article:
Thanks to Wizardnews for the link
Quote:
"Kids have often said we cut too many things out; adults think they’re way too goddarn long. So we find ourselves in this weird place," says Steve Kloves, who has written the scripts for the first four books in J.K. Rowling’s best-selling series. "I made some big cuts in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Alfonso wanted to talk about the inner terrain of the characters, and we addressed each scene with the idea of [their] taking a step into adolescence. It may only be a couple of years’ difference, but it’s an absolute Grand Canyon in terms of the emotional distance."
If Azkaban was hard, Kloves says adapting number four, the even longer Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was "brutal. We did consider making it two movies. The feeling was it was very difficult to break at any point. What [director] Mike Newell and I are doing is much akin to what Alfonso and I did, which is, it’s what they’re facing at 14. It’s exciting in that sense, because the characters continue to grow."
In addition to pleasing the fans and the directors, Kloves, Oscar-nominated for his Wonder Boys screenplay, must please Harry’s creator as well. "We’re friends, so I can contact Jo any time," he says. "I tend to contact her when it’s pure information I need—what are the 14 uses of dragon’s blood, of whatever—or sometimes I say, ‘I want to lose this, but I want to make sure it’s not important later.’ She’s tremendously supportive, and she understands the differences between the books and the movies."
Kloves is undecided about continuing past book four. "I still haven’t written the [series] ending, and that’s maddening for a writer. And I really do love the world. I feel Jo has entrusted me with something, and I take that seriously. On the other hand, I see myself as a writer and director, and I have a book that Warner Bros. bought for me, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. But I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t a fan. It’s because I love it so much that I’ve given so many years to it."
Premiere Magazine