On paper, everything about this summer is big. It's filled with mammoth sequels such as Transformers 2 and Angels & Demons, mega-series reboots such as Terminator Salvation and Star Trek , and superstar (and super-director) vehicles such as the piquantly misspelled Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino guiding Brad Pitt).
The culture hero to beat is still a bespectacled British schoolboy. His last outing, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, grossed more than $900 million worldwide and was often called the best of its kind. Fans hungry for more Quidditch cried foul when the producing studio, Warner Bros., moved the release date of the next one, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, from Nov. 21 to July 15, precisely to capitalize on the warm-weather audience that helped make Phoenix such a smash.
But Potter mavens have begun to realize that Prince may offer another enthralling fantasy adventure and a glimpse into the future of the franchise. Not only has Phoenix director David Yates returned for Prince: While putting the finishing touches on it, he was also editing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I and shooting Deathly Hallows Part II.
Yates' guidance of four Potter movies, twice as many as Chris Columbus (who started the movie series), makes him the person to exert the greatest influence over the series' legacy than anyone except J.K. Rowling - although Yates, like every other Potter director, deflects all praise back to Rowling. Even when international names such as Alfonso Cuaron (Children of God) and Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco) make Harry Potter movies (Cuaron with The Prisoner of Azkaban and Newell with The Goblet of Fire), Rowling's reputation as the series' original author overshadows them. Two years after Ph oenix opened, Yates is still better known for directing the BBC miniseries that became the Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck thriller State of Play.
Although few have given him credit for creating the most broadly successful debut film of all time (not even George Lucas, Steven Spielberg or Peter Jackson came close with their first features), Yates says his anonymity suits him. Over his cell phone from England, he chalks up his success to "the wonderful franchise bounce." He says, "I was thrilled we did so well; we weren't expecting to do quite so well. You're always thinking, a string of movies like these could just peter out at the box office, but they show no sign of doing that. It's a remarkable thing."
