Chris Columbus compares directing 'Harry Potter' and 'Percy Jackson'

Chris Columbus directed both Harry Potter and the new Percy
Jackson film. (Photo: Twentieth-Century Fox).

Chris Columbus compares directing 'Harry Potter' and 'Percy Jackson' - Chris Columbus, the director of the new film, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief, is also the director of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  How did he find working on the new film compared to the blockbuster Harry Potter films?  Both are fantasies based on bestselling books, and the Percy Jackson books, written by Rick Riordan, have frequently been compared to the Potter series.

In an interview in ScreenStar, Mr. Columbus says that he needed to like the first Jackson book to take on the film, and when he read it, he found the book intriguing.  He said he'd never seen anything like it.  "You've got the creatures and the stories of Greek mythology all intertwined with modern American society. I thought, 'Wow, that's a cool idea for a movie,'" he said.

The director spoke about the irony of starting what could be a new fantasy book-to-film franchise just as the Harry Potter books adaptations are coming to an end.  As the director of the first Potter movie, it was Chris Columbus who helped cast Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint in their now well-established roles that will eventually stretch through eight total Harry Potter films.

"Every time I see a Potter film it's always bittersweet for me," Columbus says. Knowing the actors so well as younger children and seeing them grow up into "really wonderful actors," he feels almost like a "distant parent who hasn't seen his kids in awhile."

As for staying away from techniques that would harken back to Potter and keep things fresh for Percy Jackson, Mr. Columbus says that he was actually less than satisfied with the special effects in his first Potter movie, and is now able through technology to bring effects closer to his vision. He says that young people will have the opportunity with Percy Jackson to see "seamless, state-of-the-art" special effects that help bring the creatures in the film to life. 

The question of whether Mr. Columbus will start another adaptation franchise, then hand it off as he did with Harry Potter remains to be seen.  Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune, reviews the movie, saying "this could be the start of something adequate."  He writes that Columbus's "casting instincts have let him down here a bit" and concluded "The movie, which of course owes a lot to Harry Potter and company, won't ruin anybody's life. But even with all its computer-generated fireballs, it's lukewarm medium-budget blockbustering." Ethan Alter in a Reuters review, says, "What's really lacking in 'The Lightning Thief' is a genuine sense of wonder, the thing that brings viewers back to Hogwarts over and over again. Percy's world seems like a decent place to visit, but it's just not magical enough to make you want to live there." 

The cast for Percy Jackson includes:  Logan Lerman (Percy); Brandon T. Jackson (Grover); Alexandra Daddario (Annabeth); Sean Bean (Zeus); Pierce Brosnan ( Chiron); Steve Coogan (Hades); Rosario Dawson (Persephone); Catherine Keener (Sally); and Kevin McKidd (Poseidon).

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief opens in theaters on Friday, February 12, 2010, just in time for the President's Day and mid-winter holiday when many American students have a day or more off from school.

SEE ALSO:

'Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' stars Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' earns Oscar nod

Oscar nominations 2010 for Best Picture include 4 adapted from books

Literature Examiner

Young Adult Pop Culture Examiner

Connie Ann Kirk is the author of 10 books and has a Ph.D. in English.  She is currently at work on a novel and a screenplay.  Check out all of her Examiner pages: National Literature; National Books on Film and National Young Adult Pop Culture. Feel free any time to visit Connie's website.

Email Connie at: ConnieAnnKirkOnExaminer@gmail.com.