Harry Potter fans everywhere were exasperated when Warner Bros. pushed back the release of the film adaptation of J.K. Rowlings' penultimate novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 2008 to July 2009. Outraged fans expressed their displeasure in letter-writing campaigns and viral videos, but the long wait is nearly over and the stars of the latest installment in the Potter franchise are out promoting the film in force.
After a revolving door of directors, the franchise finally got some consistency in David Yates, who directed the previous installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and is currently working on the follow-up to Half-Blood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In a recent interview with Wizard Magazine, Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger, was asked about the challenges of working with different directors and had this to say:
It was a lot of fun having new directors because there was more energy and you knew there would be something new every time. But David is a very good director and I think he's done a really good job with it. When you get to know someone, you can trust them and it gave him more a chance to try different things out.
Watson was only nine years old when she was cast in the role of Hermione and has been portraying the character for the past decade. When asked about portraying such a popular character in such a monumental franchise, Watson said:
The funny thing is I never realized that I was going to be famous. It never really occurred to me. When you're doing a movie you're kind of in a bubble and you don't really realize the impact it's having on the rest of the world.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince also stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore.