Harry Potter: “The Half-Blood Prince is the Love, potions and rock'n'roll episode”

In 2009, David Yates spoke to Première about his second production of the saga. In total, he directed seven Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts opuses.

The Half-Blood Prince, sixth part of the saga Harry Potterwill return this Wednesday evening on TMC. Like every year since the release of The School of Sorcerers (in 2001), First got news from the team, a little before the release of this sequel, in 2009. This time, David Yates then answered us by telephone because he was already on the set of the last two films.

For the filmmaker, “The Half-Blood Princeit's the Love, Potions and Rock'n'Roll episode: the emotional stakes are high, and I wanted to capture these torments in a very realistic way. But, rest assured: no drugs and no sex at Hogwarts.”

Fifteen years ago, the saga Twilight was starting to give the wizards some competition. But when we mentioned this other saga, the response was categorical: “Frankly, it has nothing to do with it!”

Another revelation from the British director? His desire to turn more towards European cinema to design this sixth opus of the saga:

“I was still in full production of The Order of the Phoenix when the studio asked me to direct The Half-Blood Prince. The production was delighted with the dailies of The Order that we sent him and so we started the discussion before the film was released. It was necessary to launch the production of Prince quickly. I immediately imagined The Half-Blood Prince like a mixture between the darkness ofAzkaban and the epic and fantastic side of The Goblet of Fire. Even more than in the previous one, I think I brought a very British side, as well as great emotional authenticity.

The Order of the Phoenix was an angry film, which told the story of this moment in adolescence when we enter into rebellion. For The Half-Blood PrinceI needed to immerse myself in a more serene environment. It's a film that I thought was more expressive, more European in a sense. And that's why I chose Bruno Delbonnel for the photo. He had worked on Amélie Poulain and I was looking to visually soften the saga. Bring it a little romance, color, a unique richness of texture. Bruno brought all that and more.”

The full interview with David Yates and the rest of the team Harry Potter 6 can be found in our online kiosk, within our special issue n°15 devoted to the entire saga.

Here is the trailer for Half-Blood Prince :

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