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
Harry Potter (film series) Grint, and Emma Watson as the three leading characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Four directors worked on the series: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates. Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (2007), while the remaining films had their screenplays written by Steve Kloves. Production took place over ten years, with the main story arc following Harry Potter's quest to overcome his arch-enemy Lord Voldemort. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", the seventh and final novel in the series, was adapted into two feature-length parts. "Part 1"