Guardian.co.uk has a new article about Harry Potter that includes a new photo from the Half-Blood Prince filming.  The article shows us a behind the scenes view of Harry Potter filming.  The article has interviews with Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Jim Broadbent, David Yates, David Heyman, and David Barron.  See the photo here in the gallery.

It is indeed fascinating to watch the young cast grow up on screen – have a look at early interviews on YouTube and you’ll notice their feet dangling above the ground – and Yates has also got around the potential problem of being lumbered with an existing cast by giving cameos to older actors with whom he’s previously worked. One of the best things about the Potter films has always been the appearance of national acting treasures such as Timothy Spall, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis and, in The Half-Blood Prince, Jim Broadbent.

I ask Broadbent about his experience of playing Horace Slughorn, Potions Master and head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts, and it seems that he, too, has been bitten by the Harry bug. “It was an extraordinary thing to be part of. The main sets feel so permanent, having been there since the start, which means it’s very easy to get drawn into the world of Hogwarts. It was rather daunting turning up on set with all these young actors; it could so easily have been a nightmare, given that the five films have had such huge success. But the kids turned out to be terrific. There was no brattish behaviour or starry, Fame Academy behaviour; they just get on with it.”

And perhaps this is the key to the success of the films: producers David Heyman and David Barron have created what the latter describes as “our reality”. The young cast have never been allowed to develop attitude. Each new director has had to stay within the perimeters of the world so carefully set up at Leavesden; accordingly, there’s no room for an individual director to take off on a flight of fancy. And the continuity of cast and crew is impressive, too; although Radcliffe initially signed on for the first two films and seriously debated doing three and four, he did finally sign up till the end.

The LA Times has a new interview online with Half-Blood Prince director David Yates!

“I think with each film the audience is surprised by how much [the lead actors] have grown up,” he said. “I think it’s unique in the history of film, really, given the popularity of the series and the way these young actors have grown up in front of us. It will be interesting in the years to come to see how they themselves look back on this experience.”

“It [the release date delay] was not something I warmed to initially. At the time, I was so adrenalized, I was so caught up in the process of getting the film in on deadline and making the movie on a certain schedule, and then the decision to delay was a huge anticlimax. There was a huge sense of disappointment, I must say. We finished the film a year ago, so it’s very strange to go all this time without seeing it with an audience, which is what you make it for. But the studio made their case for the move and I came to understand and appreciate their reasons and they are very good at delivering these movies and understanding the process of making a film successful and I think it wise to defer to their judgment.”

MSN UK recently did interviews with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and director David Yates.  Here are some segments:

QUESTION: Back to the world of Harry Potter. Will Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince show another side of Harry?

DANIEL RADCLIFFE: There’s friction in this film it’s much more to do with Ron and Hermione than it is to do with Harry. Harry is unhappy for a lot of this film, mainly because people keep trying to kill him. And his love life is awful, too. That’s what Jo [JK Rowling] does so well: combining everyday, mundane problems with this incredible other world.

QUESTION: How tough was it to have your character start a romance onscreen with Ron, especially since he’s played by an old friend?

EMMA WATSON: I don’t know that it’s tough. Rupert’s a really laid back guy but I’m really looking forward to it because I quite like the romantic comedy side of it. Rupert and I end up providing light relief, as the films get darker. It’s funny seeing Rupert struggling in the romantic stakes. Hermione and Rupert are so different yet they have this chemistry, so it’s interesting. It’ll be awkward doing those love scenes; there’s no other way to put it, but its all part of the job.

QUESTION: Was there ever any remote chance that you wouldn’t come back for this sixth Harry Potter film?

RUPERT GRINT: For me, there was no doubt. So long as they wanted me, I was coming back to do it. I really enjoy doing this and it’s really cool.

QUESTION: Have you noticed a difference in the cast who have been off to do big projects in the past year?DAVID YATES: Yeah, I have. They are getting better and better and Emma seems much more confident this time and much more at ease generally. And Dan, having done Equus, he’s just finding moments and beats that are really surprising and lovely. So, they’re all getting better and more sophisticated.

The Baltimore Sun has a new article online and it has a bunch of fun information such as an interview with director David Yates and Steve Kloves, the screenwriter for most of the Potter films!  They talk about bringing the Potter films to life.

Screenwriter Steve Kloves, a distinguished director himself (The Fabulous Baker Boys), has been working with Yates back-to-back-to-back on Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows I and II. He says Yates’ “vast resources of patience” are good to have on Potter films, “since the books are difficult to wrestle to the screen.” But “there is something else that separates David Yates,” says Kloves. “He is willing to do the heavy lifting, to make the difficult decision when necessary – something which many directors are not willing to do.” Kloves, the adapter of all but one Potter novel (Phoenix), writes first drafts that tend “to be both wishful and practical” in his desire to retain Rowling’s details and plot twists. “Wishful in the sense that I want to get the entire book on the page and practical in the sense that I know the wishful side of me is insane.”

Thanks to SS we have scans of the May issue of Total Film magazine.  It includes new interviews with Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, David Yates, David Heyman and David Barron.

We also have scans from the March 09 Issue of Entertainment Weekly where Harry and Voldemort were named in the Best Heroes and Villains.

View all the scans HERE in the gallery!

In a new article David Yates discusses Half Blood Prince.

“We’ve got some really playful sequences and some material that obviously dips into the darker world of `Potter,'” director David Yates said. “As the series matures, it tonally does get darker overall. It’s sort of inevitable as you follow the material. The kids are getting older, more mature and complex.”