Summit Executives, Melissa Rosenberg, and Chris Weitz Give Credit To Harry Potter Films

Erik Feig (a Summit Executive), Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight Saga screenwriter) and Chris Weitz (the director of The Golden Compass, New Moon and A Better Life) have cited the Harry Potter films as industry inspirations and changers. In the above photo, taken at the A Better Life premiere, Erik Feig is standing to Chris Weitz’s immediate left:

Erik Feig:

‘”There was a sea change with Harry Potter,” says Erik Feig, president of worldwide production at Summit Entertainment, which has made the Twilight movies. “The story has a younger protagonist, but the book series and the movies are greatly enjoyed by older people, too. I devoured the first book and gave it to every grown-up I knew. We saw the same thing with Twilight. We did not ghetto-ize it as a young-adult movie. Nor did they with Harry Potter. They drew all audiences. It was an inspiration to us.”

Chris Weitz:

“The impact of the Potter series has been tremendous in that it has essentially become the idea of a modern franchise,” says director Chris Weitz (Twilight: New Moon; The Golden Compass). “They latched onto something that has its own sequels built in. Now everyone is looking for a literary property that extends enough for them to keep on building.
“It’s led to this speculative bubble in mystical young-adult fiction. Twilight found its own way to hit upon the hunger for the supernatural and a particular time of life. But if you look at the bookshelves now, half of what is coming out in (young-adult) fiction is about a werewolf or a vampire or angels or demons. The other half is about magic and wizardry.”

Melissa Rosenberg:

“The Harry Potter filmmakers and screenwriter Steve Kloves really respected the fans,” says Melissa Rosenberg, who has written the screenplay for each Twilightmovie. “When you’re adapting a book series and you have that kind of fan base, you really have to deliver. You can’t just use the books as a jumping-off basis for another story. When I see a Harry Potter movie, I forget what is missing. Because Kloves is taking me and those kids on the same emotional journey as the book does.”

Do you agree with them?

You can check out the full article on USA Today.

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