This was a big weekend for the fans of the best-selling "Harry Potter" series, as the fourth movie in the cinematic adaptation of the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," was released at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
James and Oliver Phelps, who play the Weasley twins, Fred (James) and George (Oliver), in the films, visited the Hollywood Blvd. Theatre in Woodridge, Ill., Saturday. The twins shared their thoughts on acting and what it has been like filming the Harry Potter series.
Q: How was making "Goblet of Fire" different from the first three.
James: It was different because there was a bigger cast in it. The Beauxbatons came in then the Durmstranges, then Rob - Rob Pattinson, who played Cedric - then Katie, who plays Cho, Stan, who plays Viktor Krum, and everyone came in, and we all gelled really well and had a great time shooting, yeah.
Q: Well, like you were saying with Katie and the others, how did you get along with the new people that came onto the scene?
J: We gelled just like that. We hung out outside of the film. I went to see Oasis with Rob, who plays Cedric. We just hung out when we weren't filming on the weekends down in London with the other guys. We had a great time, yeah.
Q: But, again going along with the actors who play your siblings - Rupert, Bonnie - and Mark, who plays your father, is it like family-like, or is it just like everybody else?
Oliver: I think, well with Rupert we hung around him a lot more now than we did. He doesn't do schooling anymore, and James, myself, don't. We're old enough not to do it. So we, um, hang around a lot when we are filming in the studio, and then we'll go to, um, like we did go see a few concerts with Rupert. ... So yeah, we hang around with Rupert a lot, and we hang around with Bonnie a little bit as well, and there's never a dull moment, especially when Mark and Julie Walters are on set. ... You're guaranteed to laugh all the time.
Q: Do you hang out with the others, like Dan and Emma, any?
J: Yeah, we, when we were on location, Emma came out a few times with us, cause it was, we were in Oxford and Emma's from Oxford, so she was like, "You got to go here to eat, and you got to go there, and you got to see this."
Q: So what are your plans once Fred and George are kind of not in the Hogwarts scene anymore, like for the next movie?
J: Um, I'd stay in something in the industry. I've been doing a bit: About two months, I've been what's called "running," which is sort of like ... go between different departments behind the camera on the new "Da Vinci Code" film. Um, a few of the guys who do the back crew on "Potter" went on to do "Da Vinci." and I said, "Well, if you ever need someone to help out, give me a ring." And so they did. And so I've been doing that for a few weeks now, and that's finished, and they've gone on to another film, which they've asked me to go and help with, so hopefully something like that.
O: Yeah, I'm the same, really. I mean, yeah, I would like to stick with the industry, whatever it is. Hm, maybe in a bit, go to college or something like that. Right now with the film, we're away about 70 percent of the time.
Q: Ok, what is it like to know millions of people all over the world know who you are and that people have dedicated web sites to you? Is that weird?
J: Yeah, I'd say weird, especially like when there was one time when we were in Mexico in the sea, a woman swam over to us and asked if we were Fred and George. We were in the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of miles away from home, and people know who we are. We were just walking down the street here in Chicago, and someone knew who we were.
Q: What's your favorite part of the united states you've been to?
J: I've liked quite a bit of it. I liked New York. I've only been in Chicago for a couple days, and I really like this place. And I did like Salt Lake City, just because it was surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and actually I thought it was beautiful. Yeah, all of it I suppose.
Q: What has been your favorite moment in the 'Harry Potter' series you've filmed?
O: That we've filmed? Um, I'd say the Yule Ball in the fourth one. Just because we had to learn the waltz for it.
J: You ain't gonna learn it like normally. It was quite cool when we came home from a week of filming, though, and the weekends our [grandmother] would go over it with us.
Q: Are you guys planning on signing up for the fifth film?
Both: Yep. Yeah we are.
O: Yeah, that should be pretty cool to do.
J: Yeah.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
