Harry Potter (film series) was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, allowing nevertheless for the inclusion of many Irish actors, such as Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and Eastern European actors in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" where characters from the book are specified as such. Rowling was hesitant to sell the rights because she "didn't want to give them control over the rest of the story" by selling the rights to the characters, which would have enabled Warner Bros. to make non-author-written sequels. Although Steven Spielberg initially negotiated to direct the first film, he declined
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series in Lewiston, Maine, has held several annual gatherings at which he cuts the Potter books up with scissors." Some evangelicals have supported the Potter books: evangelical author Connie Neal, in her books, "What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?", "The Gospel According to Harry Potter", and "Wizards, Wardrobes, and Wookiees: Navigating Good and Evil in Harry Potter, Narnia, and Star Wars", wrote that the books preach Christian values and can be used to educate children in Christian tenets. Mike Hertenstein of "Cornerstone" magazine, in his article "Harry Potter vs the Muggles, Myth, Magic & Joy," uses the term 'Muggles,'