Introducing Harry

Members of the world's press yesterday met the three child stars of the Harry Potter movie and within minutes there was no question that the casting agents had done a brilliant job. Daniel Radcliffe, a shy and gawky 11 year-old wearing Harry Potter glasses, was the reluctant star, admitting that he hadn't read all the Potter books. Having cried when he heard he'd won the role, the youngster - whose mother is a casting director - seemed thoroughly unfazed by his good luck and felt that he was a 'tiny bit like Harry - I'd like to have an owl'. Hockey-playing Emma Watson said that while that she's not a 'top-of-the-form, goody two shoes,' she felt she looked like her character. Certainly Emma's cut-glass accent and general self-confidence left no-one in any doubt that this was a perfect Hermione. 'I'm pretty excited,' she told the assembled journalists, 'and I'm really looking forward to filming.' Finally there was red-haired Rupert Grint, who is in his own words, 'scarily like my character' - he comes from a family of seven children - who all turned up to the conference yesterday prompting one journalist to note that the Weasleys had arrived. Quizzed on what he wanted to do with his star salary, Grint quipped that, 'Speaking as a wizard, I'm going to be paid in muggle money and I don't really understand it!' Director Christopher Columbus said that his main concern for his young stars were that they didn't go down the same road as child star Macaulay Culkin, who he worked with in Home Alone. Columbus, who hasn't spoken to Culkin for the last eight years, said he was 'concerned when I got this job that when we dealt with the children who would eventually get these roles that we would also make absolutely certain that the parents were wonderful parents as well.' Cast members confirmed Talking about the search for Harry, Columbus said he had seen thousands of kids and, despite rumours to the contrary, it had always been his intention that every member of the cast would be British and went on the confirm several new cast members - Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw as Harry's Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia and Ian Hart as Professor Quirrell. The movie, which begins filming in London next month will be shot mainly in the capital, Columbus confirmed, with the crew going outside London to shoot in various imposing buildings including Gloucester Cathedral. Commenting on the recent protests by Christians about the filming at the cathedral, Columbus called it 'all a bit silly'. Two versions of the movie will be shot - one called The Sorceror's Stone for the US market and The Philosopher's Stone for the UK with the cast shooting alternate takes for the six or seven times the title is mentioned in the film. Asked whether Daniel, Emma and Rupert were signed up for more than one movie, Columbus said that he intends to 'examine the possibilities of an ongoing film series. Obviously the complexities of the books in terms of special effects and the amount of preparation and planning makes it a little difficult to do one of these films a year, so there will probably be a point when the children outgrow the roles. So I couldn't really tell you how many films we can do with this particular cast.' The special effects for the film are being spread out over a number of companies including ILM and Jim Henson's Creature Shop, with Nick Dougman - who was responsible for The Phantom Menace - doing the prosthetics work. Columbus intends to work closely with Potter author JK Rowling during the course of filming for one good reason, 'I wanted to have the opportunity to call or email her and say; "What colour are the wings of the Golden Snitch? Or how many uses are there for dragon blood?"'