danefergus: Daniel Radcliffe Compares 'Harry Potter' To 'Star Wars'

Friday, 23 September 2011

Daniel Radcliffe Compares 'Harry Potter' To 'Star Wars'

In this 'Deathly Hallows, Part 2' Blu-ray exclusive, Radcliffe says literary beginnings set 'Potter' apart from other film franchises.
By Eric Ditzian

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"
Photo: Warner Bros.

He's the Boy Who Lived. And lived. And lived.

The "Harry Potter" film franchise has come to a close — taking with it $1.3 billion and counting at the international box office for the final part of "Deathly Hallows" — but the bespectacled wizard and his friends and foes are neither gone nor forgotten. There are still Blu-rays to nab, fresh footage to consume and things to learn about the series.

In an exclusive clip from the upcoming Blu-ray release of "Deathly Hallows, Part 2," which Warner Bros. just announced will be hitting shelves November 11, Daniel Radcliffe pointed out how J.K. Rowling's book series has given rise to an entire new generation of young people with a love of literature — something other big franchises cannot claim.

"I always think that that's one of the wonderful things about 'Potter' and the 'Potter' fanbase," Radcliffe says. "If you think about the other big costume-wearing [franchises] that go with it, things like 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek,' with 'Potter,' because it started off as a literary thing, has created a generation of the same kind of mentality ... with an appetite for reading and literature, which is kind of amazing."

Radcliffe's comments are included in a special Blu-ray featurette presenting a never-before-seen conversation between the actor and Rowling herself. That's one extra on the new release, in addition to behind-the-scenes footage and a preview of Pottermore, Rowling's online "Harry Potter" experience.

Start your pre-ordering now! Because 10 years into the franchise's run, fans still can't get enough of all things "Potter." Neither can Radcliffe, not even when the franchise intrudes into his post-"Potter" career, as it did at the end of a performance of his Broadway musical, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

"Somebody shouted, 'You're a wizard, Harry!' [during the end of a 'How to Succeed' performance], and I just went, in a way, 'I'm kind of annoyed at you right now, but on the other hand, you've done quite well to restrain yourself for two and a half hours and not shout that in the middle of the show,' so I kind of have to be grateful," Radcliffe told us this past spring.

Check out everything we've got on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2."

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