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Harry Potter fans in the US are to have their first glimpse of stills from
the eagerly awaited film of the bestselling children's book.

Vanity Fair magazine's October edition, out on Wednesday, is printing a
number of images from the movie, which is to be released in
November. The front cover shows the star of the film, Daniel Radcliffe, as
Harry the wizard, on his broomstick.

Other pictures by photographer Annie Leibovitz show staff and pupils of
Hogwarts, the school for wizards which Harry attends.
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, played by Richard Harris, and his
deputy Minverva McGonagall (Dame Maggie Smith) are pictured on the
school's staircase.

Another shot shows the dungeon of potions professor Severus Snape, played by
Alan Rickman.

Author JK Rowling told Vanity Fair she could not wait to see the
movie.  "I've been watching it in my head for nine years now - and finally
I'll get to see it along with everybody else," said Rowling.

The film's producer, David Heyman, said Rowling was amazed by the set when
she first saw Diagon Alley, the gathering place in London for wizards.  "She
was gobsmacked," said Mr Heyman. "She wanted to spend the rest of the day
alone in Diagon Alley. She said the layout
was exactly the way she'd been thinking of - and she and art
director Stuart Craig hadn't even discussed it."

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first book in the
series and the first to be turned into a film.

The film also stars John Cleese as ghost Nearly Headless Nick, Robbie
Coltrane as the school groundskeeper, and Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw
as Harry's uncle and aunt.

Rowling told the magazine she had turned down offers from several studios to
make a film but had said yes to Warner Brothers because
they were willing to stay true to the books.  "We were inundated with offers
from film companies and I said no to all of them - even
Warner.  But they kept coming back. I'm not against the idea of a film - I
love films. The vital thing for me was that it would be true to the book and
I have great faith in Warner's commitment to that.
Obviously there are some things that don't work on-screen, but I didn't want
the plot to change very much at all.  The crucial thing is that the
characters won't be led off in any inappropriate directions."

Director Chris Columbus, who directed the Home Alone films, said he was
determined not to deviate from the books.  "It was a very simple, logical
theory: if the books are so popular with people, why would
you change them?" he said.

Fans waiting for the fifth adventure in the Harry Potter series, Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will have to be patient a little
longer.  It is not expected to appear until the middle of next year,
according to Rowling's agent Christopher Little.

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