Hollywood: Lights, Ink, Entertainment!

….

The filming of [Harry Potter] is in its last schedule, which will go on for about three more weeks, and currently they are on a two day break.

After that, post-production would take over.

And then the real game would begin.

Publicity.

With filming of just a few weeks left in line, Red Studio decided to have a small press conference introducing the faces of the three main leads in central London.

It was planned to be the official first ever meeting and introduction of the three child leads inside a small room of press and media insiders.

Industry biggies already guessed - it was as much about PR optics as it was about the kids themselves.

Though most of the biggies know it is a kind of soft victory lap, showing that yes, they - a foreign studio - had managed to carry this massive production - with three young, first-time leads, and more than fifty child actors at sets everyday - without any injuries, incidents, or headline-worthy disasters.

It was small but chest-thumping as the studio is trying to increase their public image with England media - displaying their safety and quality of workstyle.

….

The conference room was small, carpeted in that neutral oatmeal tone you see in rental offices and wedding venues.

Rows of press had already gathered - about thirty people with most were armed with clipboards or mini recorders.

At the head of the room, a long table sat beneath a modest Red Studio banner.

Four chairs were lined up neatly with name cards placed in front of each.

====

Regal Seraphsail – Author, Writer, Director

Daniel Radcliffe – Actor

Lily Kate Dawson Harris – Actor

Rupert Grint – Actor

====

However, if closely noticed, there are three plush cushions placed over the three chairs of the actors - as the chairs are a touch too big for the young stars meant to fill them.

The door opened without announcement, and in came Daniel, Lily, and Rupert, followed closely by Regal, as the careful adult.

The press was buzzing, understanding the stakes of a children's film with the three little stars of what may well become one of the most valuable film franchises in history.

Nonetheless, they were instructed and self-conscious to not overwhelm the kids with flashes as they completely focused on the way kids handled - clearly looking for any signs of discomfort or any unease between them.

Alas, what they saw is just fumbleness, hesitation, overwhelming - common factors among first time actors - especially so with child actors.

Rupert even accidentally plopped down in Regal's chair, prompting a ripple of soft laughter across the room.

Regal gently motioned him over to the correct seat.

At that moment, they looked like kids. Which they were.

Eventually, they settled - three small figures perched on cushions in oversized chairs in front.

"Alright. Daniel, let's start simple." Inevitably the first question was the boy who will play Harry Potter. "Do you think you are anything like Harry?"

"I think I am a tiny, tiny bit like him… because I would like to have an Owl."

"Well, we hope so too… that is if your parents allowed it." - the journalist responded to the kids' wishes.

The next question came quickly. "What is your favourite subject in school?"

He hesitated and blushed. "Um, my favorite subject is… I don't really like school that much, but, um, science probably because I am good at it."

A moment of silence. Then a more thoughtful one: "Are you ready for how this might change your life?"

"I don't want to change, Uh, maybe not my personality…" He hesitated again. "But your whole life, well, so far it's sort of turned things around."

The press nodded and shifted their focus onto, next actor - Lily - who immediately felt the eyes and instinctively moved forward in her seat.

"Lily, what was it like getting the part?"

"I don't know, I have never had anything happen to me like this before and honestly, I have never wished to do anything like this either."

"However, I simply knew it's just going to be so amazing to see how things are done…."

"Rupert. Have you read the books?"

Getting suddenly asked, Rupert, sitting to the side with an almost awkward calm, scratched the back of his neck. "I have read the least Harry Potter in my class." He confessed. "Somehow I still got the part."

"How did you react when you found out?"

"I was really scared." He said, no embarrassment in his tone. "Well, because it's my first ever film audition. So I was very nervous, but not as nervous as I have been before this press conference."

"What do you think about becoming famous?"

"It's cool… I guess?" Daniler sounded happy, but he added mystically. "Then again I am not as famous as my director, and I instantly realised I am nothing."

A woman near the front stood and raised the microphone, her smile familiar.

"Director Regal. I wonder if you remember me?"

Hearing the implication, Regal studied her face - then it clicked.

He gave a small nod, lips twitching into a half-smile. She had interviewed him during the release tour for the UK edition of [Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone].

They had talked about the story, its impact on young readers, and - he remembered it clearly - the offhand question she had posed about whether he ever saw the book being adopted into a film.

That had been the first time, the word of [Harry Potter] adaptation began buzzing even if it was only amongst a small section.

"I do remember." Regal responded. "We talked when the first book came out, you brought up the movie idea before anyone else did, actually."

She laughed, pleasantly surprised. "I did, didn't I? Well, I must say, I wasn't expecting to meet you again here so soon - and this time as the director of that very film. Colour me surprised."

"I hope it's a good kind of surprise." Regal replied with a light grin. "The happy, I-told-you-so kind."

She chuckled. "It definitely is, Now, to my actual question there has been a lot of talk around your casting choices. What was your main criteria for selecting the kids? And how important was authenticity when it came to finding British actors for such iconic British roles?"

Regal gave a small nod. "To be frank, we weren't looking for polished performers or kids with long resumes, all we wanted were children who felt like they looked the character and were prepared to teach them how to act."

"If anything I was more concerned about this part, and I didn't shy away from the fact that I didn't have subsequent experience in dealing with children. For that, I was absolutely certain to need some good parents who could, you know, guide their children having to deal with an inexperienced adult like me on sets."

"I also believe the wonderful parents whom I had met clearly know the need to protect these kids against sort of the onslaught of publicity against what eventually can go wrong if you star in a film of this magnitude."

Regal took a pause, letting that sit for a moment.

The next part was something he had wanted to make clear from the start of the press meet - especially with a room full of seasoned English film journalists.

With the release looming and buzz rising, the last thing Regal wanted was to ignite unnecessary debate or create tension across industry lines. The film was already a cultural conversation.

His words had to show care.

He continued in a slightly serious tone. "As for authenticity… Yes, that mattered, this is a British story, the culture, the rhythm, the tone - it's rooted in that. So yes, we cast locally, and we leaned into the accents."

"Nonetheless…" He added stress to the next part. "I didn't let it be my fixation, and if I had found a better actor and genuinely appreciated the role - ready to put in the effort, I went with it."

…..

Immediately after that, the interview moved back to casual and cheerful questions - mostly focused on the kids and their life.

"So." One of the journalists with amusement. "What are you all planning to do with your earnings?"

Lily leaned in slightly, thinking it over before replying in her soft but confident voice. "I am probably just going to save it until I am eighteen."

"That's my girl!"

From the side of the room, Richard - who is now more of her grandfather than a senior actor, had been quietly watching from the press sidelines - puffed up with pride and called out loud enough for everyone to hear.

The room burst into laughter, warm and genuine, even the camera crew chuckled behind the lenses.

"And you, Daniel?"

"I don't really know." Daniel said, blinking. "Probably save it too. I don't have any idea."

The mic moved to Rupert, who was already grinning mischievously.

"Well…" He began slowly, dragging the moment for effect. "Speaking as a wizard… we are getting paid in muggle money, right? And I don't really understand how that works."

That one brought the house down.

It wasn't even a line - it was just Ron talking, accidentally and adorably.

Then came a vaguely phrased question from another journalist near the back.

No specific addressee, just thrown casually across the table:

"So… was there anything the director, Regal, was particularly strict or obsessive about on set?"

The kids looked at each other like they were genuinely trying to remember something. The pressure was slightly off now, and they had relaxed into the moment.

"I can't really think of anything." Daniel said with a squint. "Not one big thing."

"Yeah… What about you?" Lily asked, turning her head between the boys.

"Don't even ask me…" Rupert muttered playfully.

Lily glanced at Regal, forgetting entirely for a second that they were mid-interview. "Regal - you tell them."

Regal, leaning back with his arms crossed and just as informal now, exhaled like he had been pulled into a family conversation. "You are not allowed to eat red popsicles, because I can't have your mouths and tongues stained bright red on camera."

A collective groan went up from the kids.

"Ugh - not that part!" Lily said, dragging the words out with mock exasperation.

Rupert nearly doubled over with laughter. "I totally forgot about that! That was such a big thing!"

Daniel nodded, smiling now. "Does the 'break after every forty minutes' rule count?"

The journalist who asked the question chuckled. "Oh, absolutely, especially in this industry."

There was something quietly magical about that moment.

The way the three kids, now far more comfortable in their chairs, bounced their memories off each other - it gave everyone in the room something they hadn't yet had: a glimpse into the real chemistry behind the characters.

Whether or not these kids were brilliant actors didn't really matter at this point.

What mattered, what landed, was how easily people could see Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting in front of them now.

Not just casted but embodied.

Faces for names, voices for words they'd only read on the page until now.

And that was, truthfully, the entire point of the event.

"Oh wait." Rupert said suddenly, lifting a finger like the thought had just hit him. "The no-cursing rule! That one got so many people in trouble on set."

Laughter exploded again - this time even louder than before.

And for that brief moment, it no longer felt like a press conference.

It felt like a behind-the-scenes conversation, a shared space between cast, crew, and audience - where the magic wasn't in the story, but in the people telling it.

.

….

[To be continued…]

★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★

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