Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Directed by Chris Columbus

Amazing. I thought it would be very helpful for me to see all four Harry Potter films at one time. However, I gave up when I finished the second one which was also directed by Chris Columbus. I was fascinated with the characters and the world in the film and how he managed to create the environment.

"When I sat down with Jo (J.K. Rowling), we immediately clicked. [...] And I just explained to her what I wanted to do. I told her what my vision was for the movie, how I saw it, how I wanted to cast it. [...] my desire was to remain faithful to the story, the characters and the integrity of those characters. After about 45 minutes she said, 'Yea, that's exactly the same type of movie I want to make.' It was a great meeting because I realized that I had found a solid collaborator. And it was important because she knows this world better than anyone else."

This is about the same topic but from different interview.

"The key was really the intensive work with Jo Rowling. [...] she was just so open in terms of information. ... I think for every novel she’s written, she has another novel’s worth of information about the characters and their past, all this great information for me, for the actors, for the production designers. So, keeping her involved was key to me, just to keep the books alive. ... [Screenwriter] Steve Kloves, David Heyman ... and myself are really [such] truly obsessive fans about the book that we wanted to protect it for the fans. We wanted all the people who love the books to feel like they were experiencing [the book] ... as much as you can give [that to] them in a film."

He's also directed "home alone" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" (I didn't know that...), and this actually fascinated me a lot because I remember watching these movies when I was kid.

"It's always about the search for a family or the redefining of who your family is [...] I guess it's the fact that sometimes you play on your biggest fear. My biggest fear in my life would be to lose my family. So I've always been drawn to that theme. I mean, it's odd. I never really talked or thought about it much, but if you look at the films I've done, particularly the films I'm really most happy with, and even the films that weren't that successful, I think there is a thematic link. Most of them are about someone potentially losing their family."

I hope I can finish the rest of H.P. by this weekend.