Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Sunday, August 12

Film at 6 PM

$5.00

Rated PG

Box Office opens 30 minutes prior to screening

Let the magic begin.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) is a fantasy-adventure film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first installment in the popular Harry Potter film series and is written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman. Upon his 11th birthday, Harry Potter, who lives in misery with an aunt and uncle that don’t want him, learns from a giant named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) that he is the orphaned son of powerful wizards. Harry is offered a place at prestigious Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizards that exists in a realm of magic and fantasy outside the dreary existence of normal humans or “Muggles.” At Hogwarts, Harry quickly makes new friends and begins piecing together the mystery of his parents’ deaths, which appear not to have been accidental after all. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry’s best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The adult cast features Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman and Ian Hart. Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the book in 1999.

Production began in 2000, with Columbus being chosen from a short list of directors to create the film. Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British or Irish, in keeping with the cultural integrity of the book and the film. Rowling also approved the screenplay, written by Steve Kloves. The film shot primarily at Leavesden Film Studios, as well as historic buildings around the country, and was released in the United Kingdom and the United States in November 2001. Along with mostly positive critical reception, it made in excess of $976 million at the worldwide box office, received three Academy Award nominations and is the sixth highest-grossing film of all-time.