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
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter year 2000, Heyday Films leased the site for the "Harry Potter" films. Over the next ten years all of the "Harry Potter" films were made there, along with some other notable Warner Bros. productions, with the series eventually becoming the most successful film series in history. As the eighth and final Harry Potter film was nearing completion, in 2010, Warner Bros. announced their intention to purchase the studio as a permanent European base. By November, Warner Bros. completed its purchase of Leavesden Studios and announced plans to invest more than £100m into the site they had occupied for over ten