Last year, while discussing the many projects he could potentially direct next, Harry Potter director David Yates said one script on his table had an “amazing role” for Potter actress Emma Watson. No other details were given at the time, but now Deadine reports that the project in question is called Your Voice In My Head, and it looks like Yates will direct it next.

Your Voice In My Head is a drama written by British author/journalist Emma Forrest which follows “a young woman who attempts suicide before being saved by a New York-based psychiatrist who’s dying of cancer.” Deep stuff all round. Sounds a bit like Oscar-bait too.

Warner Bros. is keen to keep David Yates around after what he did with the last 4 Potter movies, and the studio is apparently looking at Tom Hanks or George Clooney to play the psychiatrist role opposite Emma Watson. Before joining Potter Yates worked in TV on dramas such as State of Play, so he’ll be happy to return to smaller projects after years of wizards and dragons. No word on when filming would begin, but if things develop it could shoot sometime this year.

Watson will be seen later this year in The Perks of Being a Wallflower opposite Paul Rudd and Logan Lerman, and she may return to the fantasy genre in a live-action Beauty and the Beast movie which is being produced by Guillermo del Toro.

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While promoting the DVD/Blu-ray release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 last month director David Yates announced he would be teaming up with the BBC to bring Doctor Who to the big screen. At the time he said though “Russell T. Davies and then Steven Moffat have done their own transformations, which were fantastic, we have to put that aside and start from scratch”. Basically saying the movie will be separate from the current TV show.

Well Steven Moffat, head writer and executive producer of the BBC series, has insisted that the planned movie adaptation will not be a reboot and would star whoever plays the Doctor on the TV show (whether Matt Smith or the next Doctor).

Moffat tweeted:

To clarify: any Doctor Who movie would be made by the BBC team, star the current TV Doctor and certainly NOT be a Hollywood reboot.

Movie thing: David Yates, great director, was speaking off the cuff, on a red carpet. You’ve seen the rubbish I talk when I’m cornered.

Yates could have been speaking “off the cuff” like Moffat suggested, but I can’t see why Yates would suggest starting from scratch if that wasn’t being discussed or the intention. Following Yates’ announcement last month Moffat didn’t seem too keen on the idea, and had a little dig on Twitter about how they’re making the movie public when it’s still in the early stages.

Announcing my personal moonshot, starting from scratch. No money, no plan, no help from NASA. But I know where the moon is – I’ve seen it.

It can’t be fun working on the Doctor Who TV show (which will return later next year) knowing someone has plans to do their own movie version in a couple of years, ignoring yours. These conflicting reports from Moffat/Yates could suggest there’s an internal struggle going on at the BBC (TV show people vs. movie people) regarding the direction of the movie.

Still, earlier this week Yates told MTV “it’s a long journey and we’re going to take our time with it”, so they’ve got plenty of time to decide whether it’ll be a continuation of the TV show or not.

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Filmonic reviewer/reporter Joe Belcastro covers the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 release event live at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

On the weekend of the home video release (11/11/11) of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, an assortment of the cast and crew from the Harry Potter realm all gathered at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, to yap with the worldwide press and mingle with fans in attendance throughout the three-day event.

Friday was the press conference as everyone from actor Rupert Grint to director David Yates – who helmed the last four Potter flicks – all descended upon the theme park that was inspired by J. K. Rowling’s literary gems in conjunction with the vision of the respective filmmakers, which was brought to life these last eleven years.

Saturday saw a massive red-carpet spectacle that ran through the entire re-created world, with the cast all going up on stage at the base of Hogwarts, while a firework display went off celebrating all they have accomplished.

So without any further ado, yours truly chatted with just about everyone at the presser and the red carpet.  Read some quotes and take a listen to a portion of the press conference below:

On whether the cast is sad that it is all officially wrapping up…

“I don’t whether sad is quite the right word,” says Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick & Griphook).

“I mean, it’s sad the paychecks aren’t coming through anymore,” he says with a grin.  “I suppose the thing that might be sad is not seeing everybody so often.  We are all used to going to work and hanging out; certainly with members of the cast together, and also the fantastic crew we had at the studios.  Going to that place every day felt secure.”

The animated Mark Williams (Mr. Weasley) added, “People ask us that question and we hesitate to reply and I think the reason is that this has never been done before.  And we are kind of struggling to understand what’s being achieved.  But I think celebration is a good word, I’d go with that one.”

Also reflecting on the moment was director David Yates; who in his gentle voice chimed in with this…

“It was always a very family atmosphere when we made these movies.  A real sense of community.  And I think that what we all will carry that forward with us, as well as the pride in the work.  It’s hard to get an angle on it; we’re so close to it.  It was such an extraordinary amount of work that we did together.  It’s hard to really contextualize it at the moment.  I think Rupert used the word surreal; it feels a little surreal at this point because we are that close to it.  But I think we’ll see each other whenever we pass and we’ll always be grateful for the experience and they will be relationships that will continue.”

The family theme came up a lot in all of their response.  Mainly because they all realized that this was going to be special.  As Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) succinctly put it…

“We all felt like we were privileged to work there.”

Isaacs also had an interesting response when people come up to him and say they are the biggest Harry Potter fans…

“The biggest fans of Harry Potter that I have ever met are at this table and the table before,” (referencing all the cast & crew that took part in the press conference).

A prime example of that is Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood); who admittedly came from the fan world and she is still in awe of being a part of something she loved so much.

Stanislav Ianevski (Viktor Krum), also a fan, gave a deep response to what’s going on in his mind…

“To be honest, it’s very difficult for me to take in the moment that it’s come to an end.  I’d rather believe that it’s never going to come to an end, because Harry Potter and everything that’s done – for over eleven years now – you know, I think is going to live on forever in people’s hearts.  I’d rather think that, we are going to live in their hearts forever.”

That thoughtful answer put Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley) in an interesting spot (for he was next to answer), as in: how do I follow that?

“Yeah, what he said (smiling).  It’s amazing.  So good to see everyone again, he says laughing.”

Focus shifted to David Yates and he revealed what his personal goals were when taking over the franchise…

“I think we had to absolutely get the last film right in its totality; because there was so much pressure riding on that story,” says Yates.  ”People had followed that story for ten years and there was a huge expectation about the finale.  So we carried that pressure with us for some time.  It was tricky of getting that balance of comedy, adventure, action sort of coordinated in the right way.”

And his most memorable directing achievements while working on the films…

“One of the scenes I’m proudest of, which I adore, is the kiss between Ron and Hermione in Hallows Part 2, just because of its charm.”

“I still remember the scene very fondly with Rupert and Emma; it was a delicate scene to get right because Rupert and Emma know each other really, really well.  And it’s quite a challenging thing to snog someone you know really well.”

The overall tone of the press conference was celebratory and that stemmed from the questions being asked.  They all talked about the little souvenirs they “took” from the set while filming.  Producer David Barron gave a funny story how passionate (or rabid) the fans are, when one approached him for an autograph.  Rupert Grint briefly told one that happened at one of the premieres…

“Yeah, I had kind of an encounter with an interesting character,” says Grint.  ”It was actually at one of the premieres, the fourth film maybe, in New York, and we were just about to be put away in the limo, and this man in a wheelchair grabbed onto the back bumper.  And we towed him along for a few yards.”

Grint also elaborated on how he and his now infamous “Ron” persona coexist…

“I kind of feel we merged into the same person in a weird way.  I always could relate to Ron, and not just cause we’re both ginger.”

With the home video release (DVD, Blu-ray, Download & Ultra Violet Digital Copy) producers David Barron and David Heyman said those expecting extended or a bunch of deleted scenes will be surprised that there are not that many on the disc.  Just about all the the footage that they shot was used in the film (Good!)

The inevitable chance of another movie had to be asked.  Artistically, there is no need to ever try to add on to this amazing achievement in filmmaking.  Well, unless J.K. Rowlings decides to conjure up another phonebook sized novel.  But with the business of Hollywood and how nothing is sacred, David Yates and David Barron answered with this…

“You could only do something additional to the eight films we have if it originated from Jo herself (Rowlings),” says Barron.  ”We would have to have the integrity she would give it.  And I can’t see what it would be, because she told a singular story over seven volumes that we took eight films to tell that same story.  And we reached the end of that story.  I can’t really imagine what it would be.  We know what happens to Harry – he got married, he had kids, he rebuilt the school, it’s no big mystery.  I think she did that on purpose really, so it was not left open”

“And there’s a sort of a time and a place for a story such as this,” added Yates.  And it seems wonderful to leave it where it is somehow.  I think that will gain value in time.  And I think it would be a real shame to continue.”

“But we’d like a part,” says the quick-witted Mark Williams.  And David Barron appropriately followed that up with, “And we would like to work on it, too.”

Finally, we come to the A-Ha moments.  The moment when they all personally realized that this Harry Potter phenomenon was bigger than they thought.  And they were a part of it.  A few of them – including Rupert Grint, James and Oliver Phelps (Weasley Twins), producer David Heyman, Jason Isaacs, Evanna Lynch, George Harris (Kingsley Shacklebolt), Nick Moran (Scabior), David Bradley (Argus Filch) and Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan) – specifically recalled what they were doing and/or where they were when it more-or-less “hit” them that they played a role in the biggest movie franchise of all-time…

Below are a few audio interviews containing their ‘A-Ha’ moments:

In order: Nick Moran (Scabior), David Bradley (Filch), David Heyman (producer), George Harris (Kingsley), Phelps Twins (Weasley Twins), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood)

Rupert Grint

Devon Murray

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While promoting the DVD/Blu-ray release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 director David Yates told the Orlando Sentinel that he has a few potential projects lined up. One has an “amazing role” for Potter actress Emma Watson, while the others range from “inter-galactic sci-fi epics to three character dramas set in a New York apartment. Thrillers, comedies, every conceivable genre.”

Following on from this Yates spoke to Variety and revealed what the “inter-galactic sci-fi epic” was. It’s Doctor Who.

Here are the details:

“Harry Potter” director David Yates is teaming up with the BBC to turn its iconic sci-fi TV series “Doctor Who” into a bigscreen franchise.

“We’re looking at writers now. We’re going to spend two to three years to get it right,” he said. “It needs quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena.”

“The notion of the time-travelling Time Lord is such a strong one, because you can express story and drama in any dimension or time,” Yates said.

“We want a British sensibility, but having said that, Steve Kloves wrote the Potter films and captured that British sensibility perfectly, so we are looking at American writers too,” he explained.

The movie won’t follow on from the current TV show, which stars Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor. Yates said he would “start from scratch”, so the film will probably be a reboot for the big screen.

For those unaware of Doctor Who, it’s a British TV show which originally ran from 1963 to 1989, and then was successfully rebooted in 2005 with actor Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor. David Tennant took on the role in the second series, and Matt Smith gained the role in 2009 with Steven Moffat (The Adventures of Tintin) on writing duties.

In the show The Doctor is a Time Lord, an extraterrestrial from the planet Gallifrey, who travels through time and space in an internally vast time machine called the TARDIS. Two films were made in the 60s, but this will be the first time the property has been given a big budget outing. The possibilities for story-lines are endless, and with The Doctor regenerating into a new body every few years it won’t be restricted by one actor’s availability/interest/salary.

Yates has already proven he can handle both fantasy and drama with Harry Potter, so it’ll be interesting to see him turn his hand to sci-fi.

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Just a few months ago we heard that Harry Potter director David Yates may re-team with Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves for an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1974 novel The Stand, but now according to Deadline Ben Affleck has been chosen to write and direct the movie.

The Stand tells the story of a full-scale apocalypse, driven by the accidental release of a biological weapon and the ensuing struggle of good versus evil carried out by the world’s final survivors. The original version of the book was 823 pages long, but a “complete and uncut” edition was released in 1990 with a whooping 1,141 pages.

Going from David Yates to Ben Affleck in the space of a few months is an interesting scenario, as one is comfortable with grand fantasy movies, where as the other makes gritty thrillers such as Gone Baby Gone and The Town. A Yates and Kloves team-up seemed well suited as The Stand is a dark novel which could potentially take place over several films. They’ve covered all those areas (very well) with Potter, but their attention could have been diverted elsewhere (they are no doubt in demand), and Affleck is now up for the challenge.

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It was a risk giving David Yates, a TV director at the time with no experience working on big-budget fantasy movies, directing duties on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but luckily for Warner Bros. the risk paid off.

Yates stuck around for 5 more years and ended the franchise in epic fashion this summer with Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Naturally the studio wants to keep Yates close by, and the director may be about to re-team with Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves for an adaptation of Stephen King’s 1974 novel The Stand.

According to HitFix Warner Bros. is in negotiations with the duo, and it is “a priority project for the studio and for Vertigo Pictures” so the deals are likely to come about quickly. Having Yates and Kloves adapt The Stand makes a lot of sense. It’s a book, it’s dark, and it could potentially take place over several films. They’ve covered all those areas (very well) with Potter.

The Stand tells the story of a full-scale apocalypse, driven by the accidental release of a biological weapon and the ensuing struggle of good versus evil carried out by the world’s final survivors. The original version of the book was 823 pages long, but a “complete and uncut” edition was released in 1990 with a whooping 1,141 pages.

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Over a year ago we heard that Tim Burton and Angelina Jolie were loosely attached to Disney’s Maleficent, a live-action take on the wicked fairy godmother who cast the original spell on Sleeping Beauty. Burton never officially signed on, but he got his Alice in Wonderland screenwriter Linda Woolverton to write the script.

After a year with little news on the project Heat Vision now reports that Burton has moved on and is no longer directing, but with Angelina Jolie still interested Disney are in search of a new director.

One of the names that has apparently surfaced in the early search is David Yates, director of the past four Harry Potter movies including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which looks nothing short of epic. Yates would be a great choice, but after spending the last 6 years in the fantasy genre he may want to do something different before diving back into magic and dragons.

If a director is found it could still be a year or two before it actually gets made as Jolie and Sony are currently searching for a director to helm Cleopatra, with David Fincher being a possible candidate.

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Yahoo! has released what will likely be the first of many behind the scenes featurettes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. This video is called ‘Epic Finale’ and begins with a montage of footage from the previous films, followed by a closer look at Part I.

We get to see a few new shots including more of Hagrid and Harry trying to escape from the Death Eaters, and we also get our first (blink and you’ll miss it) look at Neville on-board the Hogwarts Express.

Watch below:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is released on November 19th.

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Fresh on the heels of the “Adrien Brody/Jonathan Rhys Meyers for Reed Richards” rumors, it seems 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot has again commanded the attention of the blogosphere with yet another set of rumors – this time regarding a potential director. There’s also the possibility of an A-list star providing the voice for the all-CG version of The Thing that will inhabit the film. Hit the jump to find out who’s being considered.

Comic Book Movie reports that David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces), and James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) are in contention for the director’s chair.

I’d take this list as more of a wish list than a group of definite candidates, but with all of the casting rumors flying around, I’d imagine that Fox will announce a director (and possibly confirm some of that cast) sometime very soon. After all, they’re trying to lock the F4 reboot into a 2012 release date, so they better get started on preproduction if they want to meet their deadline.

If I had to choose a director from this list, I’d say give it to Yates. I’ve literally never seen one of his films, but I’d much rather Carnahan spend his time on an A-Team sequel (I quite enjoyed the first one) and McTeigue move on to more interesting projects after his Edgar Allen Poe murder mystery film.

And perhaps the most realistic bit of news also comes from CBM, who claim that Bruce Willis is being sought to provide the voice work for Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. I can totally see this happening; Willis will be busy for a bit shooting Rian Johnson’s Looper and perhaps appearing as a super villain in a sequel to The Expendables, but doing voice work seems like something he might be able to fit into his schedule.

What do you all think? If the director must be one of these three, who would you rather see lead the Fantastic Four into a new era? And what do you think about “Bruno” as the next big Thing?

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Today some lucky lucky people got the chance to attend the very first showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I at a test screening in Chicago. Warner Bros. President Alan Horn and director David Yates were in attendance, most likely to see how the audience reacted to the movie (which apparently still had green screen in places and a temporary score).

The following reviews contain spoilers:

Kyle’s review from Mugglenet;

First off, this is the most perfect Harry Potter film ever. The movie on a whole is amazing and dark. Everyone was on top of their game. Everything was perfect. Dobby’s death was done perfectly. You could see the emotion in Harry and the gang. We saw green screens of course (because the film’s digital effects were not yet complete), but it didn’t affect me at all. The audience LOVED Dobby. Everyone was clapping when we saw him.

The Ron and Harry fight was so well done. The score sadly was not real – that’s the only thing I hated really. Voldemort was in the movie a LOT, but I didn’t care – that’s what made it so real for me. Him and Snape on screen together was amazing. This IS the movie we have been waiting for.

The Seven Potters scene was so well done. The part I loved the most was the Ministry of Magic scenes. This film will get a hard PG13 rating by far. The Horcrux scene was so well done. All the performances were so well done. I can’t wait to see Part Two. Everyone put their heart into this. There is one scene I particularly liked when Harry tried to cheer Hermione up. So cute.

One last thing: The wedding was so great. Kingsley’s message was so dark and powerful that you knew things were about to go down.

Here is a rundown of what was seen from The Leaky Couldron:

• Director David Yates, and Producers David Heyman and David Barron were in attendance at the screening.
• The current running time for this rough cut was about two and a half hours.
• Some select graphics and CGI enhancements were not fully complete in this screening.  Some moments were only rendering.
• Green screens, cranes, and other movie props appeared in places.
• The film contained a temporary soundtrack; the full soundtrack is still being composed and recorded.
• A unique and innovative animation tells the story of the Deathly Hallows.
• David Barron confirmed that the final split for the film will indeed be when Lord Voldemort takes the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s grave.
• The crew has not yet finalize their choice of composer for the second part of “Deathly Hallows.”
• The Seven Potter sequence features Mr. Radcliffe changing, character by character, as the camera pans around the room.  He is left in the original clothes of the character, and with their voice.
• The film opens on the Minister of Magic speaking to the press, promising the wizarding public safety and protection of their liberties.
• This leads into the Dursley’s leaving their home, and Harry being left in the empty Privet Drive house with Hedwig.
• Hedwig does die, returning to the chase sequence to defend Harry from Voldemort.
• The title card did not contain and “Part One” distinction.
• Both Kreacher and Dobby do make an appearance in the film.
• The Death Eater meeting is featured, an unshaven Lucius Malfoy shakes below Voldemort’s gaze.
• A series of flashbacks and memories are used to tell both the select back story of the Hallows and Horcruxes.  Dumbledore, Slughorn, and more were featured in this telling.
• The Death Eater chase ranges from highway action with other cars, featuring Hagrid and Harry on the motorbike doing a loop around the ceiling of a tunnel.
• Hermione is shown to obliviate her parents, and make out her way out of the house.  When she casts the spell, family photos on the wall are magically wiped of Hermione’s presence.
• Hermione is tortured by Bellatrix at Malfoy Manor, after they are captured by the Snatchers.  Quite graphic and jarring.
• Umbridge returns.  Part of the new Death Eater Ministry which takes over.
• Death Eaters crash the wedding.
• A new stone statue in the Ministry is created, wizards behind held up by a twisted jumble of muggles.
• Madam Maxine is featured at the wedding as well.
• Ron’s turn against Harry and Hermione builds throughout the first half, his leaving is very dramatic.
• Ministry of Magic is turned into a propaganda factory, with posters, pamphlets, and other anti-Muggle propaganda.
• Harry and Hermione dance to Nick Cave’s “The Children.”
• Dobby makes a fun, funny, and heartwarming return.  Humorous interaction with Kreacher.
• The Trio are found by the Death Eaters when Xeno says “Voldemort,” a tabooed word.
• When Ron is destroying the Horcrux, Harry and Hermione appear as silver porcelain figures, taunting Ron.  The engage in a very sensual kiss, which ignites Ron into destroying the Horcrux.
• Dementors float above the courtroom where Umbrdige interviews.
• The enchantments Hermione puts around the test when Snatchers come up to their camp.
• The memorial to the Potters does not appear when Harry and Hermione go to Godric’s Hollow.
• Nagini comes from the mouth of Bagshot.  The fight crashes into the children’s room of the house next door.
• In the Silver Doe scene, Harry breaks his way though the ice to retrieve the sword.  When he gets close, the locket around his neck chokes him and drags him under the ice.
• When Harry opens the locket, a Voldemort Horcrux tornado appears from the locket, speaking to Ron, and unleashing spiders onto the ground before Ron.
• Wormtail lives after Dobby stuns him to free Ron and Harry from the cellar of Malfoy Manor.
• The film ends with Voldemort going to a small island where Dumbledore’s tomb is set; he cracks open the white marble, stares into the blank face of Dumbledore, and takes his wand.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I will be released in Novemeber so we will be able to see it for ourselves then! A new trailer is also expected over the upcoming weeks.

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