First film in the epic Harry Potter series
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, (released in the United States, India and Pakistan as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) is the first instalment of the hugely successful Harry Potter film series.
The book, which was Rowling's debut novel, was written between approximately June 1990 and some time in 1995. In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with an initial print-run of 500 copies in hardback, three hundred of which were distributed to libraries.
Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the book in 1999 for a reported £1 million. Production began in the United Kingdom in 2000, with Chris Columbus being chosen to create the film from a short list of directors that included Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner.
The story follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday, when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school, and with the help of his friends, Harry faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents, but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.
Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British and Irish, and the film was shot at Leavesden Film Studios and historic buildings around the United Kingdom.
The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger.
JK Rowling on casting Daniel Radcliffe... He is a truly miraculous find. At least 40,000 child actors tried for the role. But when I saw Daniel Radcliffe's screen test, I knew he would be ideal. Daniel has just the right sense of vulnerability, which is crucial.
It became a critical and commercial success, grossing £750 million at the box office worldwide.
John Williams composed the score at his homes in Los Angeles and Tanglewood before recording it in London in September 2001. One of the main themes is entitled Hedwig's Theme - Williams retained it for his finished score as everyone seemed to like it and therefore it was a recurring theme throughout the series.
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