It all ends . . .

After 10 years and eight films, the Harry Potter franchise is avada kedavra. The force may have been strong, but it was a glasses-wearing boy wizard that overtook Star Wars as the most successful film franchise of all time. Based on the best-selling books by British author J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter films have become a phenomenon in their own right. Just fours years after the first book was published, Warner Brothers pushed out Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone in 2001. It cast a spell on audiences worldwide, grossing a colossal $969M at the international box office and setting up a market for seven more films.

Director David Yates (below) has been responsible for the last three Harry Potter films (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1) and said going out with a bang was crucial for fans and the crew.
``It was important to end the series with an epic finale, so we have battles and dragons, spiders and giants,'' he said.
``But at heart, this is a story about the characters.
``Spectacle is important, but caring about the people in the middle of it is what pulls the audience into the journey with them.'' A bevy of first class actors have helped bring the colourful cast of Harry Potter to life over the past decade, including Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix LeStrange), Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) and many, many more. But the responsibility for bringing the most beloved characters from within the Harry Potter universe has fallen on three people; Daniel Radcliffe as the title character and Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as his best friends Ron and Hermione. The trio have become worldwide celebrities in the roles, starting as children and growing up on screen.

Yates said Rowling's message of the books goes beyond magic and without the pitch-perfect and relatable performances from the three young actors, that message could have been lost.
``In following the characters, many of the values that Jo (J.K. Rowling) celebrates in the books come to the fore in the films; the value of loyalty and love and friendship and understanding versus intolerance and evil,'' he said.
``One of the most interesting things about the way this story unfolds is that the line separating the forces of darkness and light is blurred and we see that certain people are more complex than they first appeared.''

Yates said now that Harry is out of the woods, literally, come the start of Part 2 he becomes ``ruthlessly sure of his task''.
``At the beginning of Part 2, Harry is a man rather than a boy,'' he said.
``He needs to kill Voldemort.
``He knows he must be the one to finish it and he is determined to see it through.''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is out Wednesday, July 13.

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