Harry Potter and Nielsen should have created a separate game-show list when "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" dominated the ratings. In 1998, Rowling sold the film rights of the first four "Harry Potter" books to Warner Bros. for a reported £1 million ($1,982,900). Rowling demanded the principal cast be kept strictly British, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion of Irish actors such as the late 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. After many directors including Steven Spielberg, Terry
Harry Potter prequel Harry Potter prequel An 800-word, untitled short story, unofficially known as the Harry Potter prequel, was written by J. K. Rowling in 2008 as part of a charity auction event, for which it fetched £25,000. The story recounts an encounter with Muggle police experienced by Sirius Black and James Potter, taking place before the events of the "Harry Potter" series. The manuscript was stolen in 2017. Two Muggle policemen chase a speeding motorbike into a dead-end alley, cornering its riders: Sirius Black and James Potter. As the policemen confront the pair, three men fly down the alley on broomsticks. James