While many of us were celebrating the conclusion of Fantastic Beasts and missing our favorite characters in the Harry Potter films, one man was working hard to bring the magic of Rowling’s universe to life on the silver screen.
The screenwriter behind some of the most memorable scenes in the Harry Potter series, David Shannon, recently took the stage at the BAFTA Screenwriters’ Symposium and revealed the secrets behind his brilliant work.
Shannon began by paying tribute to J.K. Rowling, whom he called a “genius” and a “wonderful woman.”
“It’s an amazing accomplishment that she’s written seven books and she’s still going strong,” he said. “Not many writers can write a book and still have something new to say. She’s proven time and time again that she can.”
As for why he decided to write the story of a lawyer turned superhero, Shannon said that he initially wanted to write about real-life heroes who fought for “noble causes.” But after some research, he decided that a super-powered attorney would make for a better story.
“I realized that there wasn’t really much material out there about normal people who become superheroes,” he said. “This is something that I’ve always wanted to do; to write about something that I feel is not usually portrayed accurately in media: the struggle of a normal person who decides that he’s going to fight for what’s right and defend the innocent.”
The writer discussed some of the most significant scenes from the movie, including the courtroom battle between lawyer Matt Murdock (played by Ryan Reynolds) and the wicked nemesis Wilson Fisk (played by the incredible Kurt Russell). Watch the courtroom scene below:
“Matt’s defense of those who cannot defend themselves is one of the great themes of the movie,” Shannon said. “It’s interesting how it turned out, because I remember pitching that scene to Warner Bros. and saying, ‘I don’t think they’re going to go for this. This is too extreme.’ And they said, ‘No, we love it. This is exactly what we need.’”
As a self-described “immersive storyteller,” Shannon discussed the importance of bringing the story to life through effective use of immersive techniques, visual effects, and costume design, in addition to scripting and acting.
“You can put somebody in a virtual reality headset and have them walk around a courtroom or have them sit in a chair and look at the scene from a different point of view,” he said. “This kind of thing allows the storyteller to experiment with what she’s writing and give the reader a better experience.”
The screenwriter also discussed the challenges of adapting a child-friendly book series for an adult audience, especially one that is very familiar with the source material, and how he dealt with them.
“It was tricky,” Shannon said. “It took me about a year to finally feel like I had something that could work. And we had to change a lot about the way the book is structured; a lot about the way the characters talk and act.”
Despite those changes, Shannon said that he still considers the Harry Potter series to be one of his favorite projects. He credits the incredible team he worked with for helping him bring the story to life on the big screen:
“I enjoyed working on the series a lot and I learned a lot,” he said. “Even now, when I think about it, I have a smile on my face. It’s not an easy thing to say no to $100 million.”
Shannon finished by discussing some of the most significant upcoming projects he’s involved in and looking ahead to the future.