Harry Potter and the (Not So) Deathly London Press Junket, Parts 1 AND 2.

So I’m in London. And the good people at Roadshow have hooked me up with accreditation for the Harry Potter press junket. This is where international press gather to interview the stars and filmmakers in nice hotel suites.

While I’ve never had incredibly strong feelings either way for the Harry Potter films (except for this one: TOO. MUCH. CLAPPING), I’m excited to be here because this is after all the biggest film franchise in the history of cinema. Bigger than Lord of the Rings. Bigger than Star Wars. Bigger than Police Academy. And there’s no more appropriate place than merry old England to be celebrating its final chapter.

The proceedings begin with my seeing the actual movie. As luck, chance and fate would have it, where I’m staying necessitates my travelling to the media screening via King’s Cross station, which as any Potterfile worth his wand could tell you is where you would find Platform 9 ¾, from where the fabled Hogwarts Express departs. This puts me in a suitably Potter-y frame of mind.

The film impresses. Despite my earlier stated ambivalence, I find myself getting quite caught up in the story, which greatly benefits from a sense of finality. And as a filmgoer vehemently against the current 3D scourge, I must admit to be being somewhat dazzled by how it’s executed here, even if it does the goblin prosthetics no favours.

The next day, it’s down to London’s famed Claridge’s hotel for the roundtable part of the junket. This is when ten or so journalists sit, er, round, a table and hurl questions at the bewildered talent.

The mood is dour. We already knew that Daniel Radcliffe wasn’t participating (obligations across the pond), but upon checking in at Claridge’s, we are informed that Emma Watson has pulled out of her scheduled roundtables because she “isn’t feeling well”. She was clearly the star most of those present were relying on to centre their stories around and the hacks are not happy. I must admit to being somewhat disappointed myself. Oh well.

After being shuffled into our luxury suite, a veritable United Nations sits around a large table. France; Korea; Japan; Spain; Germany; Denmark (and New Zealand!) are represented in our room. I attempt to alleviate the prolonged silence by suggesting Gryffindor lose points for Hermione’s absence. It elicits a couple of chuckles. I try to make further small talk by mentioning that I spotted aspirational Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the street outside Claridge’s and managed to get a photo with him. This principally results in my attempting to explain who Mitt Romney is to my fellow “entertainment” journalists.

Finally, the talent arrives. It’s Neville Longbottom. Don’t laugh. As those who’ve read the book will know, Neville has a very important role to play in the climax of the story, and Matthew Lewis, the actor who plays him, is clearly relishing being at the centre of the action.

Lewis proves a forthright and relaxed young man who of course comes across much less meek than the character he plays. He has a grounded perspective on the series, and acknowledges that it will no doubt be the highlight of his acting career. He tells an amusing story about how Ralph Fiennes got scarily into character while filming their climactic showdown, and speaks reverentially of Alan Rickman’s acting advice.

Next up, Draco Malfoy himself, Tom Felton. Less pale and more smiley in person, Felton is a motormouthed charmer who is clearly looking beyond the series. He says he’s happy to be typecast as the bad guy, and describes with glee just how nasty his supporting character in the upcoming Rise of the Planet of the Apes is. He also mentions some other non-villain roles he has coming up. I wouldn’t necessarily have picked it from the movies, but this one obviously has bright things ahead of him. I am also distracted by how much (in person) he resembles Kiwi comedian Jamie Bowen.

Rupert Grint aka Ron Weasley is our third guest. Finally, some A-List talent. Considering his broad performances in the films, Grint is a remarkably soft-spoken and quiet young lad. He umms and ahhs through most of his questions, and seems uncomfortable in the room. Still, a nice guy. The most interesting thing I discover during our talk is that he owns his own ice cream van. This impresses me greatly, and is the kind of thing I’d like to imagine I would purchase if I was showered with riches. Of the three lead actors, he’s probably acted the most outside of the series, predominantly in comedy roles. He speaks of a desire to tackle more dramatic material, but isn’t too fussed about what roles will come his way.

The following two interviews are with producers David Heyman and David Barron. Heyman is the man who optioned J.K. Rowling’s book before it was published and found himself with the biggest film franchise in history; and Barron is a English production work horse who helped oversee six of the eight films.

Heyman speaks paternally about his cast and expresses confidence in their future. I enquire as to what he believes the legacy of the films will be, and he speaks proudly of how the films elevated the English special effects industry, and proved that the biggest blockbusters can be uniquely English in nature. I have been thinking about this a bit. Is the final lesson from these films that English blockkbusters can now sit alongside American ones, or that popular book series are the future of large scale entertainment? Barron suggests the latter, and questions whether or not any films of this scale could ever be mounted again without the benefit of widely known source material.

Our final roundtable interviewee is director David Yates, who got onboard with part five, and saw the franchise through to this final chapter. He is a soft-spoken but eloquent and friendly chap, who immediately identifies me as a New Zealander when I suggest that his giant battles from the final movie were influenced by Peter Jackson’s staging of similar scenes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I am surprised by his candor when he says he’s not a fan of 3D either, although he was mostly happy with how it was executed in this film. I’m further impressed when he agrees with my suggestion that the goblin mask prosthetics suffer for being in 3D. Like most helmers of big spectacles, he acknowledges that there’s always further fine-tuning to be done, and talks about aspects he will be tweaking for the DVD release. He also (understandably) speaks to his desire to make a small film next. As we get the “final question” indicator from a stern-faced publicist, I take the opportunity to ask what he thought of the Hollywood adaptation of his stellar 2003 mini-series State of Play. His candor again proves refreshing when he agrees that it was pants.

That’s the roundtables over, and we’re bussed across town back to King’s Cross/St. Pancras station for the Harry Potter press conference. It’s a giant to-do with 250 journos and cameras and lights galore. 20 cast members and the three aforementioned Davids adorn the stage. Emma Watson is here. She looks the picture of perfect health. There are disgruntled murmurs amongst the assembled press.

Watson gets pummled with questions for the first half hour or so, and her youthful charm seems to make everyone forget about her junket no-show. Eventually everyone on stage gets to say their bit, even those two annoying Weasley twins. Jason Issacs (aka Lucious Malfoy) makes an impression as one of the more charmingly vocal of the assembled cast, and I’m slightly star struck when Ralph Fiennes opens his mouth. Most everybody talks about how honoured they are to be involved and how wonderful everybody else is. The most amusing moment comes when Matthew Lewis and Rupert Grint both excuse themselves for a pee break.

Robbie Coltrane (famously the first person cast in the series, and J.K. Rowling’s only choice for Hagrid) gets quite wistful, but we can barely hear his raspy voice – he attributes his smokey tones to a being on a film set swamped with dry ice. I’m disappointed that Alan Rickman isn’t here, but I feel much better about the whole thing when Emma Watson darts a twinkly smile straight at me. In all journalistic objectivity, I think she’s smashing.

Radcliffe’s absence is supplanted by a video message from New York, where he makes the point that he’ll most likely never get to play an action hero again because of his diminutive stature. Such issues never stopped Tom Cruise, but it’s an interesting acknowledgement from the actor whose only post-Potter film is so far period horror The Woman In Black. Although that does look awesome.

Following the press conference, we’re invited to join the stars for drinks in the ridiculously ornate bar adjacent to the press conference. The cast don’t hang around for long though (except for good sport Jason Issacs and those Weasley twins) and I finish the evening wandering through King’s Cross with a mild peach bellini buzz.

The next day is the actual premiere. Hoo boy. Squares Leicester and Trafalgar are rammed with fans and media and partitions and miles of red carpet. It’s total insanity. After fighting my way through about five different security guards, I manage to score my press pass in the Odeon West End, where I am amused to observe police inspecting the candy bar for potential threats. We cannot rule out bombs in the Frozen Coke.

Press pass in hand, I enjoy the unmistakable highlight of my week by walking down the entirety of the considerably lengthy red carpet to access the media area. Fans lining the partitions who’ve been camped out for days stare me down with barely contained contempt. I feel extremely important. It is fleeting.

The press pen is rammed and uncomfortable. Everyone there is in a flutter as word of News of the World’s closure has just emerged. Some “journalists” from glossy rag Heat magazine pass the time by asking each other questions from Sex and the City trivia cards. New Zealand’s movie doyenne Kate Rodger arrives and stops for a chat. The afternoon drags out. I didn’t bring a water bottle.

Eventually the various cast members arrive and undulating waves of screams fill the air. They take seemingly forever to make their way along the red carpet, and I find more amusement in attempting to assess the social status of the various “normals” attending the premiere.

Everyone present is appropriately acknowledging of the fans, and all the cast members (including Radcliffe who has swung into town for the premiere) stop to sign endless autographs. The local (and indeed international) reverence for the series is palpable, and although I’m thirsty and hungry and my feet hurt, it’s a treat to be here to witness it all.