As you may recall, SnitchSeeker attended the Los Angeles premiere for Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last month where SSer
cursedkatie and I had the opportunity to interview the cast and crew from the film. We now have our footage up from director David Yates and Imelda Staunton (aka Dolores Umbridge).
Watch the video interview here
Read a written transcript below.
Quote:
Channel 18: (On Cho Chang) Everybody hates her. Was that your idea?
Yates: That was a new idea from the book. Ultimately, in the end, we realize it’s been so unfair, what’s happened to her. You know, and Dan realizes it’s so unfair, what’s happened to her. So, it was something we wanted to keep … we wanted to keep Cho a central part of the story as much as we can. She’s such a great character. Katie plays her beautifully.
On making such a long story fit into such a short timeframe:
Quote:
Yates: It’s a real challenge, you know. We concentrated on the things that matter to you, which is the emotional story … and for me it was Harry’s story and the conflicts he has. You know, trying to work out who he is, and all of that. So that, for me, made it a lot – and Michael Goldenberg here who adapted that - made it easy for us.
Quote:
Channel 18: Do you think you’ll do the last two?
Yates: I’m certainly doing the next one. I have to figure out if I’m standing up for the last one. So, we’ll see.
On
Phoenix:
Quote:
Yates: It’s more intense, a lot more emotional, it feels a bit realer and it’s got some real dark corners in it. And I think the audience whose grown up with these stories are ready for that.
Imelda Staunton on playing Dolores Umbridge:
Quote:
Staunton: Horrible, horrible.
Channel 18: Was it a challenge for you?
Staunton: Yes, it was. You know, she has to be ridiculous but she has to be real. And it was hard.
Channel 18: What was the most fun part?
Staunton: The fun part was being picked up by Grawp. I liked that. It was good fun.
Quote:
SnitchSeeker: Did you really slap Dan? Did you enjoy it? And how many takes was it?
Staunton: I did slap him. Of course I didn’t enjoy it. And we did quite a few takes. And he was very brave.
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Exclusive: Did Imelda Staunton actually slap Dan Radcliffe? 
