Nico Liersch
German actor (born 2000)
Nico Liersch (born 17 July 2000) is a German actor. He is best known for his role as Rudy Steiner in the 2013 film "The Book Thief". He is also known for his work in the German television series "Das ist Gut" where he played Phillip Greenyard, a caveman without parents.
Personal life.
Liersch was born on 17 July 2000 in Munich, Germany. He is currently resided in Olching.
Career.
Nico started acting at the age of seven, when he appeared in a McDonald's Happy Meal commercial with Kai Pflaume. In 2008, he also appeared in a supporting role in "Der Einsturz".
In 2012, Liersch appeared in episodes of the German TV series "Inga Lindström" and "Das Traumhotel", then later feature film "Kokowääh 2", a sequel to "Kokowääh". In February 2013, he was cast in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Book Thief". He played Rudy Steiner, the best friend of the titular book thief, Liesel Meminger. Markus Zusak, who wrote the novel that inspired the movie, was pleased with Nico's portrayal of his character and wrote: ¨He's magnificent, indeed. He is Rudy.¨
References.
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Rollo Weeks
British actor
Rollo Percival Loring Weeks (born 20 March 1987) is a British former actor. He is best known for his titular roles in the films "The Little Vampire" (2000) and "The Thief Lord" (2006).
Early life.
Weeks was born in Chichester, England, the son of Robin and Susan Weeks, and the younger brother of British actresses Honeysuckle Weeks and Perdita Weeks. He attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School and Stowe School.
Career.
Weeks' first screen appearance was, according to his sister Honeysuckle, who told the story when appearing on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" in 2014, for a Devon Custard advertisement, aged 6, which ended abruptly when Rollo was sick whilst eating the sponsors product. Weeks' debut film, as a child actor, was playing vampire Rudolph Sackville-Bagg in "The Little Vampire" (2000), directed by Uli Edel, which earned Weeks a Young Artist Award nomination. He also appeared in Stephen Poliakoff's "The Lost Prince" (filmed 2002, released 2003) as the young George, Duke of Kent, in a film about the disabled Prince John. This was followed by roles in "Girl With a Pearl Earring" (2003) and "The Queen of Sheba's Pearls" (2004).
His second turn as a title character came as Scipio in "The Thief Lord" (2006), a movie based on Cornelia Funke's novel "The Thief Lord" and directed by Richard Claus. Weeks has also appeared in two television shows: "Berkeley Square" (1998) as Lord Louis Wilton and "Goggle Eyes" (1993) as Joseph. In 2009 he appeared in the second part of the "Shark Week" special "Blood in the Water" and played the character Guido in "Chéri". In 2010, he played Jacob in "Booked Out", about the lives of characters within an aging block of flats.
In 2016, Weeks was reported to be one of "a dynamic trio of young hospitality industry insiders" opening a new fast food outlet called Fancy Funkin Chicken in Coldharbour Lane, Brixton. The restaurant closed permanently in 2020.
Weeks now works as a photographer and advertising cinematographer, publicly appearing under the name ‘Rollo Wade.’

The Book Thief (film)
2013 film by Brian Percival
The Book Thief is a 2013 war drama film directed by Brian Percival and starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and Sophie Nélisse. The film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Markus Zusak and adapted by Michael Petroni. The film is about a young girl living with her adoptive German family during the Nazi era. Taught to read by her kind-hearted foster father, the girl begins "borrowing" books and sharing them with the Jewish refugee being sheltered by her foster parents in their home. The film features a musical score by Oscar-winning composer John Williams.
"The Book Thief" premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 3, 2013, and was released for general distribution in the United States on November 8, 2013. The film received mixed reviews upon its theatrical release with some reviewers praising its "fresher perspective on the war" and its focus on the "consistent thread of humanity" in the story, with other critics faulting the film's "wishful narrative". With a budget of $19 million, the film was successful at the box office, earning over $76 million.
"The Book Thief" received Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for its score. For her performance in the film, Sophie Nélisse won the Hollywood Film Festival Spotlight Award, the Satellite Newcomer Award, and the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Female. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 11, 2014.
Plot.
Set in Nazi Germany, "The Book Thief" (2013) follows Liesel Meminger, a young girl sent to live with foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann in the town of Molching during World War II. After stealing "The Grave Digger’s Handbook" at her brother’s funeral, Liesel develops a love of reading, encouraged by Hans, who teaches her to read. She befriends her neighbour Rudy Steiner and joins the Hitler Youth, though she grows disillusioned with the regime.
At a book burning, Liesel salvages a scorched book, an act witnessed by Ilsa Hermann, the mayor’s wife, who later allows her access to her private library. The Hubermanns hide Max Vandenberg, a Jewish man whose father once saved Hans’s life. Liesel and Max bond over books and shared trauma, but when Hans publicly defends a Jewish neighbour, Max leaves to protect the family.
Liesel briefly sees Max again as he is marched through town with other prisoners. Soon after, an unannounced air raid devastates Molching. Liesel survives in the basement, but Hans, Rosa, Rudy, and others are killed. She is later reunited with Max after the war and lives to old age, with the story narrated by Death, who reflects on her life and the enduring power of words.
Cast.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>* Sophie Nélisse as Liesel Meminger, the titular "book thief".
Production.
A search for an actress to play the eponymous book thief, Liesel Meminger, occurred across the world. On February 4, 2013, it was announced that Canadian actress Sophie Nélisse was cast in the role and that Australian actor Geoffrey Rush and English actress Emily Watson would be playing Meminger's foster parents.
Principal photography began in early March 2013 at Babelsberg Studio in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany. Locations included Marquardt Palace. The first trailer was released on August 21, with the Bastille song "Haunt" as the music.
Markus Zusak, Australian author of the best-selling, award-winning book on which the film is based, confirmed on his blog that the film would be narrated by the character of "Death", as was the novel. After some speculation that Death might be voiced by the anonymous American actor who was used in the official trailer, it was announced that English actor Roger Allam of "Game of Thrones" would portray Death in the film.
Soundtrack.
The music for the film was composed and conducted by John Williams, and the soundtrack album containing the score was released by Sony Classical and Fox Music. The album was released in the United States on November 5, 2013. It was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Original Score. It won Best Instrumental Album at the 57th Grammy Awards.
"The Book Thief" marked the first time since 2005 that Williams had scored a film not directed by Steven Spielberg.
Release.
Originally scheduled for January 17, 2014, "The Book Thief"'s limited theatrical release was moved forward to November 8, 2013, due to the fact that it was finished ahead of schedule and in order to compete in the 2013–14 award season. It premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 3, 2013, and was screened at the Savannah Film Festival on October 29, 2013. It expanded to a wide release on November 27, 2013.
Reception.
Critical response.
"The Book Thief" received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 49%, based on 151 reviews, with an average score of 5.80/10. The site's consensus states, "A bit too safe in its handling of its Nazi Germany setting, "The Book Thief" counters its constraints with a respectful tone and strong performances." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
In her review for the "New Empress Magazine", Mairéad Roche praised the film for providing a "fresher perspective on the war" through the experiences of ordinary Germans who lived through the Nazi era. In addition to the "Oscar-baiting beautiful" cinematography and John Williams's film score that contribute to the film's emotional appeal, Roche singled out the performance of young Sophie Nélisse as Liesel that "matches the well-measured and seemingly effortless efforts of both Rush and Watson". Roche concluded,
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />"The Book Thief" weaves a consistent thread of humanity through its narrative via the commonality of Death, storytelling, and the concept of free will. The disturbing sight of children in Hitler Youth uniforms and Allied blanket bombing, when shown through the innocence of a child, humanises the German generation just living their lives without the hindsight of history. A blurring of vision due to tears is to be expected, but that effect is delivered with respect and dignity to the audience.
In his review following the Mill Valley Film Festival, Dennis Harvey at "Variety" magazine wrote, "Rush generously provides the movie's primary warmth and humor; Watson is pitch-perfect as a seemingly humorless scold with a well-buried soft side." Harvey also praised the film's cinematography and film score, noting that "impeccable design contributions are highlighted by Florian Ballhaus'[s] somber but handsome widescreen lensing and an excellent score by John Williams that reps his first feature work for a director other than Steven Spielberg in years."
Stephanie Merry of "The Washington Post" was less impressed with the film, giving it two and half out of four stars. Merry felt that the film "has its moments of brilliance, thanks in large part to an adept cast" but that the film ultimately shows the difficulties of bringing a successful novel to the screen. In his review for the "Los Angeles Times", Robert Abele was also unimpressed, describing the film as "just another tasteful, staid Hollywoodization of terribleness, in which a catastrophic time acts as a convenient backdrop for a wishful narrative rather than the springboard for an honest one".
Home media.
"The Book Thief" was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 11, 2014.
References.
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Thief (film)
1981 film by Michael Mann
Thief is a 1981 American independent neo-noir heist film written and directed by Michael Mann in his feature film debut. It stars James Caan as a professional safecracker trying to escape his life of crime, and Tuesday Weld as his wife. The supporting cast includes Jim Belushi, Robert Prosky, Dennis Farina, and Willie Nelson. The screenplay is inspired by the memoir "The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar", by former cat burglar Frank Hohimer. The original musical score was composed and performed by Tangerine Dream.
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and James Caan's brother Ronnie, "Thief" was screened at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It was released in the United States on March 27, 1981, to widespread critical acclaim. "Thief" earned $11.5 million at the box office, on a $5.5 million budget.
Plot.
Frank is a jewel thief and ex-convict who has a set structure to his life since being released from Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois. With a pair of successful Chicago businesses (a bar and a car dealership) as fronts for his criminal enterprise, Frank sets out to fulfill the missing part of his life vision: a family with Jessie, a cashier he has begun dating.
After taking down a major diamond score, Frank gives the diamonds to his fence, Joe Gags. However, before Frank can collect his $185,000 share, Gags is thrown from a twelve-story window for skimming from the payments he had been collecting from loan shark clients. Barry, Frank's friend and associate making the pick-up, discovers that Attaglia, a plating company executive Gags was working for, is responsible for Gags' murder and stealing Frank's payoff. In a confrontation at the plating company, Frank demands his money back.
This leads to a meeting with Attaglia's employer Leo, a high-level fence and Chicago Outfit boss. Unknown to Frank, Leo has been receiving Frank's goods from Gags for some time. Leo returns the money and says he admires Frank's eye for quality stolen goods and professionalism. He wants Frank working directly for him, offering large profits. Their meeting is monitored from a distance by police surveillance.
Frank is initially reluctant, not wanting the added exposure or complications, but later that night, a conversation with Jessie changes his mind when she agrees to be part of his life, after he relates a tale of prison survival via a toughened mental attitude. Frank now agrees to do just one big score for Leo, telling Barry that this will be their last job. After being rejected at the state adoption agency, with Leo's help Frank is able to acquire a baby boy on the black market, whom he names David after his late mentor, nicknamed Okla.
After resisting a shakedown from a group of corrupt police detectives, and then subsequently ditching their surveillance, Frank and his crew are involved in a large-scale Los Angeles diamond heist organized by Leo. All goes well with Frank's "burn job" and he is expecting the agreed-upon sum of $830,000 for the unmounted stones with a wholesale value $4 million. But when Frank returns from the job, Leo gives him less than $100,000. This is all that Frank will receive in cash according to Leo, who says he invested the rest of Frank's cut in shopping centers in Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas, an idea Frank had previously rejected. In addition, Leo has set up a Palm Beach score for Frank in six weeks without consulting him. Frank tells Leo that their deal is over and takes the cash as he leaves, demanding the rest of his money in 24 hours.
Frank drives to his car lot, unaware that Leo's henchmen have already beaten and captured Barry and are waiting to ambush him. Frank is knocked out and Barry is killed by the enforcers. Frank awakens with Leo staring down at him, surrounded by his henchmen. Leo informs him that he, Jessie, their child, and everything he owns are Leo's property. He threatens Frank's family if he does not continue working for him. Leo warns Frank to focus on his responsibilities. When Frank returns home, he orders an uncomprehending Jessie out of their house, telling her their marriage is over, that she must immediately leave, and that he will not be joining her. Frank instructs an associate to drive her, the baby, and $410,000 in cash to somewhere where they cannot be located.
With nothing to lose, Frank blows up their home using high-explosive charges. He then drives to his business establishments and does likewise. Armed with a pistol, he quietly breaks into Leo's house in a peaceful neighborhood and pistol whips Attaglia in the kitchen. Frank hunts for Leo, killing him in the living room. Frank then pursues Attaglia as he tries to escape from the house, but is confronted in the front yard by Leo’s bodyguards. In the ensuing gunfight, Frank is shot, but manages to kill the trio. Frank loosens what appears to be a bulletproof vest he was wearing beneath his jacket, and walks away into the night.
Cast.
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Background.
"Thief" marked the feature film debut of Michael Mann as director, screenwriter and executive producer, after five years in television drama.
Mann made his directorial debut with the TV film "The Jericho Mile". This was partly shot in Folsom Prison. Mann says that influenced the writing of "Thief":
It probably informed my ability to imagine what Frank's life was like, where he was from, and what those 12 or 13 years in prison were like for him. The idea of creating his character, was to have somebody who has been outside of society. An outsider who has been removed from the evolution of everything from technology to the music that people listen to, to how you talk to a girl, to what do you want with your life and how do you go about getting it. Everything that's normal development, that we experience, he was excluded from, by design. In the design of the character and the engineering of the character, that was the idea.
Also notable is the scene where Leo disposes of bodies at an auto body shop, placing them in a plating solution in the exact same manner as used in the Charles Bronson movie The Mechanic.
Production.
Development.
Mann made James Caan do research as a thief for his role, and said:
I always find it interesting, people who are aware, alert, conscious of what they do and are pretty good at it… People who want to put in 50-60 hours a week and go home and are not really conscious of life moving by, don't really interest me very much... As part of the curriculum designed for an actor getting into character, I try to imagine what's going to really help bring this actor more fully into character. And so I try to imagine what experiences are going to make more dimensional his intake of Frank, so that he is Frank spontaneously when I'm shooting. So one of the most obvious things is it'd be pretty good if [James Caan] was as good at doing what Frank does as is Frank.The character Leo was patterned after Chicago Outfit bosses Felix Alderisio and Leo Rugendorf.
Casting.
"Thief" marks the first film appearance of actors Dennis Farina, William Petersen, James Belushi and Robert Prosky. At the time a Chicago police officer, Farina appears as a mob henchman. Conversely, John Santucci (real name: John Schiavone), who plays the role of corrupt cop Urizzi, was a recently paroled thief on whom the character Frank was partly based, and acted as a technical adviser on the film. Another actor in the film, W.R. ‘Bill’ Brown, was also a former safecracker and associate of Joseph Scalise. Chuck Adamson (Detective Ancell) and Nick Nickeas (Nick) were also Chicago police officers, while Gavin MacFadyen, who plays Detective Boresko, was a journalist who later served as adviser to Mann’s 1999 film "The Insider".
In 1986, Farina and Santucci both were cast in Mann and Adamson's TV series "Crime Story", Farina as a Chicago police lieutenant and Santucci as a jewel thief. Petersen, who later would star (along with Farina) in the Mann film "Manhunter", appears briefly as a barman at a club. The influential Chicago improv teacher Del Close has a brief appearance as a mechanic, in a scene that was improvised with the other mechanic actors.
Filming.
"Thief" was filmed on-location in Chicago and Los Angeles. Jerry Bruckheimer and Ronnie Caan served as the film's producers.
Being Michael Mann's feature film directorial debut, "Thief" showcases many of the cinematic techniques that would later become his trademarks. Chief among these is the cinematography (by Donald E. Thorin), utilizing light and shadow to give the proceedings, especially those taking place in the darkness of night, a sense of danger. The film also earns plaudits for its meticulous attention to detail: the tools and techniques of the trade, right down to the oxy lance used to penetrate a safe, are authentic, the result of Mann's decision to hire real-life thieves to serve as technical advisers.
The still of Frank holding a gun on Attaglia as he attempts to recover his money in an early scene was used for one of the movie's posters.
Near the end of the film, Frank destroys his house. The film company built a false front onto a real house and attempted to destroy it with explosives. The explosions severely damaged the real house, however, leading to its demolition.
James Caan's emotional several-minute monologue with Weld in a coffee shop is often cited as the film's high point, and Caan has long considered the scene his favorite of his career. The actor liked the movie although he found the part challenging to play. "I like to be emotionally available but this guy is available to nothing."
Music.
Mann has gained a reputation as a director who uses cutting-edge music for his films.
"Thief"'s moody soundscapes were composed and performed by Tangerine Dream, and was their second of many notable film scores composed by the group throughout the 1980s. The film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Musical Score, but that didn't deter Mann from choosing them a second time to compose the music for his next feature film, the ill-fated 1983 WWII fantasy horror "The Keep".
He originally intended to score the music with Chicago blues music. He said, "However, I felt that what the film was saying, thematically, and the facility with which the film might be able to have resonance with audience. I felt that to be so regionally specific in the music choice would make Frank's experience specific only to Frank. So I wanted the kind of transparency, if you like, the formality of electronic music, and hence Tangerine Dream." He utilizes jazz/blues in one scene when Frank races to meet Jessie after the offer from Leo, transitioning from the meetup, all the way to the jazz club.
Additional music cues were composed by Craig Safan.
Reception.
Under the working title "Violent Streets", the film debuted at the 34th Cannes Film Festival. It went on to open in theaters in the United States on March 27, 1981, earning a modest $4.3 million. While not a financial success in its initial release, the film has become a reference point in Mann's career, especially with the release of his crime epic, "Heat", with which this movie has many similarities.
Critical response.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, of 85 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads: ""Thief"'s enigmatic conclusion will rob some audiences of satisfaction, but it's an authentic and sleekly rendered neo-noir, powered by a swaggering James Caan at the peak of his charisma." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the a score of 78 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating .
Roger Ebert described "Thief" as "one of the most intelligent thrillers I've seen" and gave the film <templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" />3+1⁄2 out of 4 stars, writing that "If "Thief" has a weak point, it is probably in the handling of the Willie Nelson character" and went further, stating "Willie has played the character so well that we wanted more. But, then, I suppose it is a good thing when a movie creates characters we feel that strongly about, and "Thief" is populated with them. It's a thriller with plausible people in it. How rare."
References.
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Rudy (film)
1993 film by David Anspaugh
Rudy is a 1993 American biographical sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles. It was the first film that the Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus since "Knute Rockne, All American" in 1940.
In 2005, "Rudy" was named one of the best 25 sports movies of the previous 25 years in two polls by ESPN (#24 by a panel of sports experts, and #4 by ESPN.com users). It was ranked the 54th-most inspiring film of all time in the American Film Institute's "100 Years" series.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 18, 1993, and was released in the United States on October 13, 1993, by TriStar Pictures. It stars Sean Astin as the title character, along with Ned Beatty, Jason Miller, Robert Prosky and Charles S. Dutton. The film had supporting roles from Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, being both actors' first film roles. The script was written by Angelo Pizzo, who created "Hoosiers" (1986), which was also directed by Anspaugh.
Plot.
In the 1960s in Joliet, Illinois, Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger dreams of playing football at Notre Dame. However, he lacks the grades and money to attend along with the talent and physical stature to play major college football. Following high school, Rudy works at a steel mill with his father, a Notre Dame fan, and older brother Frank. After Rudy's supportive best friend Pete is killed in a mill explosion, Rudy decides to follow his dream.
In 1972, Rudy visits Notre Dame but is academically ineligible to enroll. With the help of local priest and former Notre Dame president Father John Cavanaugh, Rudy enrolls at nearby Holy Cross College, hoping to transfer. He approaches Fortune, head groundskeeper at Notre Dame Stadium, and is given a job. Homeless, Rudy sneaks into Fortune's office through a window to sleep on a cot; initially indifferent to Rudy's plight, Fortune later leaves him with blankets and a key to the office. Rudy learns that Fortune, despite working at the stadium for years, has never seen a Notre Dame football game.
Rudy befriends teaching assistant D-Bob, who helps him study in return for Rudy's helping him socially with girls. D-Bob tests Rudy for a learning disability; the results indicate that Rudy suffers from dyslexia, which he then overcomes to become a better student. At Christmas, Rudy returns home to find that his family appreciates his college academic achievements, but Frank still mocks Rudy for his attempts to play college football. Rudy persists, and even losing his girlfriend to his older brother Johnny does not deter him.
After two years at Holy Cross and three rejections from Notre Dame, Rudy is finally admitted and attends football tryouts in the hope of making the team as a "walk-on". Assistant coach Warren warns the walk-ons that 35 scholarship players will not even make the "dress roster" of players who take the field during games. However, Coach Joe Yonto notices Rudy's determination and gives him a spot on the daily practice squad. Rudy tells Fortune and persuades him to promise to see Rudy's first game.
Rudy's hard work and dedication in practice convinces head coach Ara Parseghian to let him suit up for one home game in his senior year. However, Parseghian retires following the 1974 season and is replaced by former Green Bay Packers head coach Dan Devine, who refuses to put Rudy on the game-day roster. Frustrated by not being on the dress list for the last home game, Rudy quits the team.
Fortune finds a distraught Rudy and reveals that he had actually played for Notre Dame years earlier. However, Fortune quit the team because he felt that his skin color kept him from playing; Fortune has regretted this decision ever since. Reminded that he has nothing to prove to anyone but himself and will forever regret quitting, Rudy returns to the team. Each of his fellow seniors, led by team captain and All-American Roland Steele, lines up to lay his jersey on Devine's desk. Each player requests that Rudy be allowed to dress in his place for the season's final game. Devine lets Rudy suit up against Georgia Tech.
With Rudy's family and D-Bob in attendance, Steele invites Rudy to lead the team onto the field, and Fortune is there to see the game as promised. With Notre Dame leading 17–3 late in the fourth quarter, Devine sends all the seniors into the game except Rudy, despite Steele's and the assistant coaches' urging. Fans are aware of Rudy's goal from a story in the student newspaper, and a "Rudy!" chant begins in the stadium. Hearing this, the Notre Dame offense, led by tailback Jamie O'Hara, overrules Devine's call for victory formation and scores a quick touchdown. This gives defensive player Rudy a chance to get in the game and be entered onto the Fighting Irish roster. Devine finally lets Rudy play on the Notre Dame kickoff to Georgia Tech. Rudy stays in for the final play, sacks the Georgia Tech quarterback, and is carried off the field on his teammates' shoulders to cheers from the stadium.
An epilogue states that since 1975, no other Notre Dame player has been carried off the field as of the time of the film's release in 1993. Rudy graduated in 1976, and five of his younger brothers went on to earn college degrees.
Cast.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>*Sean Astin as Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger
Production.
In 1982, Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger initially pitched a film project based on his life story to Hollywood executives but failed to generate interest. Later, he entered into a deal with a screenwriter who allegedly deceived him, resulting in the loss of his life savings. Residing in South Bend, Indiana, where the University of Notre Dame is located, Ruettiger found renewed inspiration after watching the 1986 film "Hoosiers". A fortuitous encounter in South Bend led him to obtain contact information for "Hoosiers" screenwriter Angelo Pizzo. Around 1989, Ruettiger persistently pursued Pizzo, who initially had no interest in creating another Indiana-based sports film, especially one set at Notre Dame, a school he disliked. Despite initial reluctance, Pizzo eventually mentioned the project to "Hoosiers" director David Anspaugh and producer Robert Fried.
In 1991, Fried successfully sold the project to Columbia Pictures, securing Anspaugh as the director and Pizzo as the writer. However, when Columbia's chairman Frank Price departed for Savoy Pictures, the new chairman Mark Canton put the film into turnaround in early 1992. Although Savoy Pictures nearly acquired the rights from Columbia, they opted out when foreign deals failed to materialize in time for an October 1992 production start.
TriStar Pictures joined the project in September 1992 and gave the green light to the $13-million film after resolving "last-minute rights claims against the property." Filmmakers had a two-week window to revise the script and just two days to secure permission to film at Notre Dame. The school had not agreed to allow its campus to be used as a film location since 1940's "Knute Rockne, All American". Initially uninterested in another film about Notre Dame football, the university's administration, led by executive vice president Reverend William Beauchamp, changed its stance after reading Pizzo's script. They recognized it as a "heartwarming, enlivening story" about hard work that embodied the school's values.
The 50-day filming commenced on October 26, 1992, on the campus north of South Bend. Notre Dame, Holy Cross Junior College, and the local bar Cap N' Cork, served as filming sites. Notre Dame-specific locations encompassed its twin lakes, Notre Dame Stadium, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and the Golden Dome. Crowd scenes were captured during halftime at Notre Dame football games against Boston College and Penn State. The pivotal scene where players carry "Rudy" off the field was shot during that year's Notre Dame vs. Boston College game, with the 59,000 fans present chanting Rudy's name. N.F.L. Films, the National Football League's cinematic division, handled the filming of football action scenes. Following the six-week stint in South Bend, the production relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where the Thompson Steel Mill was used. The nearby town of Whiting, Indiana, stood in for Joliet, Illinois.
Actor Sean Astin, portraying the titular character, experienced "head-to-toe bruises" during the filming process. Additionally, Astin's stuntman sustained injuries, necessitating knee surgery by the conclusion of the shoot.
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack to "Rudy" was composed and conducted by veteran composer Jerry Goldsmith. Goldsmith had previously worked with filmmakers Angelo Pizzo and David Anspaugh on their successful 1986 film "Hoosiers", garnering the film an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score and thus making Goldsmith their first choice to compose a soundtrack for "Rudy".
According to Soundtrack.net, "Tryouts" has been used in 12 trailers, including those for "Angels in the Outfield, BASEketball, The Deep End of the Ocean, Good Will Hunting", "The Little Vampire", "Mafia!", "Seabiscuit" and "".
In 2008, Senator John McCain used "Take Us Out" as an official anthem during his presidential run. The piece of music was played at major events such as after Senator McCain's acceptance speech to the Republican National Convention and after John McCain announced Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate in Dayton, Ohio.
"Take Us Out" was played in the pilot episode of "About a Boy", based on the 2002 film of the same name.
Also recorded in the film are performances of various Notre Dame fight songs by the Notre Dame Glee Club.
Historical accuracy.
In reality, Coach Dan Devine had announced that Rudy would dress for the Georgia Tech game during practice a few days before. The dramatic scene in which Rudy's senior teammates laid their jerseys on Devine's desk in protest never happened. According to Ruettiger, Devine was persuaded to allow him to dress only after a number of senior players requested that he do so. Devine had agreed to be depicted as the "heavy" in the film for dramatic effect but was chagrined to find out the extent to which he was vilified, saying: "The jersey scene is unforgivable. It's a lie and untrue."
As a guest on "The Dan Patrick Show" on September 8, 2010, Joe Montana, who was an active member of the team when Ruettiger played in the Georgia Tech game, confirmed that the jersey scene never happened, stating: "It's a movie, remember. Not all of that is true...The crowd wasn't chanting, nobody threw in their jerseys. He did get in the ball game. He got carried off after the game."
Nearly 10 years later in an interview on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast, Montana reiterated that the jersey scene and crowd chanting did not actually occur. He also implied that carrying Ruettiger off the field was sarcastic rather than celebratory, saying: "Was there a lot of things that happened? Yeah. He got in, he got a sack. Was the crowd chanting? No. Did I throw in my jersey? No. Did he get carried off the field? He got carried off by three of the biggest pranksters on the team."
Reception.
The film was the closing night gala at the 1993 Toronto International Film Festival.
"Rudy"


Christian Coulson
English actor
Christian Peter Coulson is an English actor known for playing young Tom Marvolo Riddle (Lord Voldemort) in the 2002 fantasy film "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets".
Early life.
Coulson was born in Manchester. He attended Arnold House Preparatory School in London, before attending Westminster School on an academic scholarship. He was a member of the UK's National Youth Music Theatre from 1990 to 1997, and went on to the University of Cambridge, where he received a degree in English from Clare College in 2000. While at university, he played the M.C. (Master of Ceremonies) in "Cabaret", Arturo Ui in "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" and Claire in "The Maids", as well as appearing in film and television.
Career.
Coulson gained worldwide attention and popularity for his role in 2002's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", in which he portrayed a 16-year-old Tom Riddle, even though he was 23 at the time. However, in 2007, director David Yates indicated on MTV that Coulson would not reprise his role in "Half-Blood Prince", since, at 29, he was by then too old.
He also wrote the lyrics and book for a rock musical called "The Fallen" which was performed at Bedford Modern School in 1998.
As of 2015, Coulson resides and works in New York City as an actor, director and photographer.
References.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
1998 fantasy novel by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the second novel in the "Harry Potter" series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls of the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of Secrets" has been opened and that the "heir of Slytherin" would kill all pupils who do not come from all-magical families. These threats are found after attacks that leave residents of the school petrified. Throughout the year, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione investigate the attacks.
The book was published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury and later in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc. Although Rowling says she found it difficult to finish the book, it won high praise and awards from critics, young readers, and the book industry, although some critics thought the story was perhaps too frightening for younger children. Much like with other novels in the series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" triggered religious debates; some religious authorities have condemned its use of magical themes, whereas others have praised its emphasis on self-sacrifice and the way one's character is the result of one's choices.
Several commentators have noted that personal identity is a strong theme in the book and that it addresses issues of racism through the treatment of non-human, non-magical, and non-living people. Some commentators regard the story's diary that writes back as a warning against uncritical acceptance of information from sources whose motives and reliability cannot be checked. Institutional authority is portrayed as self-serving and incompetent.
The film adaptation of the novel, released in 2002, became (at the time) the fifth highest-grossing film ever and received generally favourable reviews. Video games loosely based on "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.
Plot.
While spending the summer with the Dursleys, the twelve-year-old Harry Potter is visited by Dobby, a house-elf. Dobby says Harry is in danger and must promise not to return to Hogwarts. When Harry refuses, Dobby uses magic to destroy a pudding made by Aunt Petunia. Believing that Harry created the mess, Uncle Vernon locks him in his room. The Ministry of Magic sends a notice accusing Harry of performing underage magic and threatening to expel him from Hogwarts.
The Weasley brothers Ron, Fred, and George arrive in their father's flying car and take Harry to their home. When Harry and the Weasleys go to Diagon Alley for school supplies, they meet Gilderoy Lockhart, a celebrity author who is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. At King's Cross station, Harry and Ron cannot enter Platform 9¾ to board the Hogwarts Express, so they fly to Hogwarts in the enchanted car.
During the school year, Harry hears a strange voice emanating from the castle walls. Argus Filch's cat is found Petrified, along with a warning scrawled on the wall: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware". Harry learns that the Chamber supposedly houses a monster that attacks Muggle-born students, and which only the Heir of Slytherin can control. During a Quidditch match, a rogue Bludger strikes Harry, breaking his arm. Professor Lockhart botches an attempt to mend it, which sends Harry to the hospital wing. Dobby visits Harry and reveals that he jinxed the Bludger and sealed the portal at King's Cross. He also tells Harry that house-elves are bound to serve a master, and cannot be freed unless their master gives them clothing.
After another attack from the monster, students attend a defensive duelling class. During the class, Harry displays the rare ability to speak Parseltongue, the language of snakes. Moaning Myrtle, a ghost who haunts a bathroom, shows Harry and his friends a diary that was left in her stall. It belonged to Tom Riddle, a student who witnessed another student's death when the Chamber was last opened. During the next attack by the monster, Hermione Granger is petrified.
Harry and Ron discover that the monster is a Basilisk, a gigantic snake that can kill victims with a direct gaze and Petrify them with an indirect gaze. Harry realizes the Basilisk is producing the voice he hears in the walls. After Ron's sister Ginny is abducted and taken into the Chamber, Harry and Ron discover the Chamber entrance in Myrtle's bathroom. When they force Lockhart to enter with them, he confesses that the stories he told of his heroic adventures are fabrications. He attempts to erase the boys' memories, but his spell backfires and obliterates his own memory.
Harry finds an unconscious Ginny in the Chamber. A manifestation of Tom Riddle appears and reveals that he is Lord Voldemort and the Heir of Slytherin. After explaining that he opened the Chamber, Riddle summons the Basilisk to kill Harry. Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes arrives, bringing Harry the Sorting Hat. While Fawkes blinds the Basilisk, Harry pulls the Sword of Gryffindor from the Hat. He slays the serpent, then stabs the diary with a Basilisk fang, destroying it and the manifestation of Riddle. Later, Harry liberates Dobby by tricking his master into giving him clothing. At the end of the novel, the Petrified students are cured and Gryffindor wins the House Cup.
Publication and reception.
Development.
J.K Rowling found it difficult to finish "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" because she was afraid it would not live up to the expectations raised by "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". After delivering the manuscript to Bloomsbury on schedule, she took it back for six weeks of revision.
In early drafts of the book, the ghost Nearly Headless Nick sang a self-composed song explaining his condition and the circumstances of his unknown death. This was cut because the book's editor did not care for the poem, which has been subsequently published as an extra on J. K. Rowling's official website. The family background of Dean Thomas was removed because Rowling and her publishers considered it an "unnecessary digression," and she considered Neville Longbottom's own journey of discovery "more important to the central plot."
Gilderoy Lockhart's character was inspired by an acquaintance of Rowling who was, in her words, "even more objectionable than his fictional counterpart" and "used to tell whopping great fibs about his past life, all of them designed to demonstrate what a wonderful, brave and brilliant person he was."
Publication.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. It immediately took first place in UK bestseller lists, displacing popular authors such as John Grisham, Tom Clancy and Terry Pratchett, and making Rowling the first author to win the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year for two years in succession. In June 1999, it went straight to the top of three US bestseller lists, including in "The New York Times".
First edition printings had several errors, which were fixed in subsequent reprints. Initially, Dumbledore said Voldemort was the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin instead of his descendant. Gilderoy Lockhart's book on werewolves is entitled "Weekends with Werewolves" at one point and "Wanderings with Werewolves" later in the book.
Critical response.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was met with near-universal acclaim. On "BookBrowse", a site that aggregates book reviews such as media reviews, the book received a from "Critics' Opinion".
In "The Times", Deborah Loudon described it as a children's book that would be "re-read into adulthood" and highlighted its "strong plots, engaging characters, excellent jokes and a moral message which flows naturally from the story". Fantasy author Charles de Lint agreed, and considered the second Harry Potter book to be just as good as "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", a rare achievement among series of books. Thomas Wagner regarded the plot as very similar to that of the first book, based on searching for a secret hidden under the school. However, he enjoyed the parody of celebrities and their fans that centres round Gilderoy Lockhart, and approved of the book's handling of racism. Tammy Nezol found the book more disturbing than its predecessor, particularly in the rash behaviour of Harry and his friends after Harry withholds information from Dumbledore, and in the human-like behaviour of the mandragoras used to make a potion that cures petrification. Nevertheless, she considered the second story as enjoyable as the first.
Mary Stuart thought the final conflict with Tom Riddle in the Chamber was almost as scary as in some of Stephen King's works, and perhaps too strong for young or timid children. She commented that "there are enough surprises and imaginative details thrown in as would normally fill five lesser books." Like other reviewers, she thought the book would give pleasure to both children and adult readers. According to Philip Nel, the early reviews gave unalloyed praise while the later ones included some criticisms, although they still agreed that the book was outstanding.
Writing after all seven books had been published, Graeme Davis regarded "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" as the weakest of the series, and agreed that the plot structure is much the same as in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". He described Fawkes's appearance to arm Harry and then to heal him as a "deus ex machina": he said that the book does not explain how Fawkes knew where to find Harry; and Fawkes's timing had to be very precise, as arriving earlier would probably have prevented the battle with the basilisk, while arriving later would have been fatal to Harry and Ginny.
Awards and honours.
Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was the recipient of several awards. The American Library Association listed the novel among its 2000 Notable Children's Books,
as well as its Best Books for Young Adults. In 1999, Booklist named "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" as one of its Editors' Choices, and as one of its Top Ten Fantasy Novels for Youth. The Cooperative Children's Book Center made the novel a CCBC Choice of 2000 in the "Fiction for Children" category. The novel also won Children's Book of the Year British Book Award, and was shortlisted for the 1998 Guardian Children's Award and the 1998 Carnegie Award.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize 1998 Gold Medal in the 9–11 years division. Rowling also won two other Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". The Scottish Arts Council awarded their first ever Children's Book Award to the novel in 1999, and it was also awarded Whitaker's Platinum Book Award in 2001. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 23 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.
Main themes.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" continues to examine what makes a person who he or she is, which began in the first book. As well as maintaining that Harry's identity is shaped by his decisions rather than any aspect of his birth, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" provides contrasting characters who try to conceal their true personalities: as Tammy Nezol puts it, Gilderoy Lockhart "lacks any real identity" because he is nothing more than a charming liar. Riddle also complicates Harry's struggle to understand himself by pointing out the similarities between the two: "both half-bloods, orphans raised by Muggles, probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin."
Opposition to class, death and its impacts, experiencing adolescence, sacrifice, love, friendship, loyalty, prejudice, and racism are constant themes of the series. In "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" Harry's consideration and respect for others extends to the lowly, non-human Dobby and the ghost Nearly Headless Nick. According to Marguerite Krause, achievements in the novel depend more on ingenuity and hard work than on natural talents.
Edward Duffy, associate professor at Marquette University, says that one of the central characters of "Chamber of Secrets" is Tom Riddle's enchanted diary, which takes control of Ginny Weasley – just as Riddle planned. Duffy suggests Rowling intended this as a warning against passively consuming information from sources that have their own agendas. Although Bronwyn Williams and Amy Zenger regard the diary as more like an instant messaging or chat room system, they agree about the dangers of relying too much on the written word, which can camouflage the author, and they highlight a comical example, Lockhart's self-promoting books.
Antonello Fabio Caterino, an Italian forensic linguist and philologist, stated that the conversations Harry and Voldemort had through the diary could be considered a "modern transposition" of Petrarca's "Secretum", a text often compared to a diary, which details an imaginary dialogue between the writer and Augustine of Hippo. Caterino analysed similarities between themes found in both books, starting from the idea of a fragmented soul: Harry and Voldemort are both seeking Voldemort's Horcruxes, which are fragments of his soul, and Petrarca also focuses on the concept "animae fragmenta", meaning soul's fragments.
Immorality and the portrayal of authority as negative are significant themes in the novel. Marguerite Krause states there are few absolute moral rules in Harry Potter's world, for example Harry prefers to tell the truth, but lies whenever he considers it necessary – very like his enemy Draco Malfoy. At the end of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", Dumbledore retracts his promise to punish Harry and Ron if they break any more school rules – after Professor McGonagall estimates they have broken over 100 – and lavishly rewards them for ending the threat from the Chamber of Secrets. Krause further states that authority figures and political institutions receive little respect from Rowling. William MacNeil of Griffith University, Queensland, Australia states that the Minister for Magic is presented as a mediocrity. In his article "Harry Potter and the Secular City", Ken Jacobson suggests the Ministry as a whole is portrayed as a tangle of bureaucratic empires, saying that "Ministry officials busy themselves with minutiae (e.g. standardising cauldron thicknesses) and coin politically correct euphemisms like 'non-magical community' (for Muggles) and 'memory modification' (for magical brainwashing)."
This novel implies it begins in 1992: the cake for Nearly-Headless Nick's 500th deathday party bears the words "Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington died 31 October 1492".
Connection to "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".
"Chamber of Secrets" has many links with the sixth book of the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". In fact, "Half-Blood Prince" was the working title of "Chamber of Secrets" and Rowling says she originally intended to present some "crucial pieces of information" in the second book, but ultimately felt "this information's proper home was book six". Some objects that play significant roles in "Half-Blood Prince" first appear in "Chamber of Secrets": the Hand of Glory and the opal necklace that are on sale in Borgin and Burkes; a Vanishing Cabinet in Hogwarts that is damaged by Peeves the Poltergeist; and Tom Riddle's diary, which is later revealed to be a Horcrux. Additionally, these two novels are the ones with the most focus on Harry's relationship with Ginny Weasley.
Adaptations.
Film.
The film version of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was released in 2002. Chris Columbus directed the film, and the screenplay was written by Steve Kloves. It became the third film to exceed $600 million in international box office sales, preceded by "Titanic", released in 1997, and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", released in 2001. The film was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Fantasy Film, According to Metacritic, the film version of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" received "generally favourable reviews" with an average score of 63%, and another aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, gave it a score of 82%.
Video games.
Five unique video games by different developers were released between 2002 and 2003 by Electronic Arts, loosely based on the book:
References.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
2002 film by Chris Columbus
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. It is based on the 1998 novel "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling. Produced by David Heyman, it is the sequel to "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (2001) and the second instalment in the "Harry Potter" film series. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively. The story follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the Heir of Salazar Slytherin opens the Chamber of Secrets, unleashing a monster that petrifies the school's students.
The film was released in the United Kingdom and the United States on 15 November 2002, by Warner Bros. Pictures. Critics praised its darker plot, sets, performances (especially Branagh, Coltrane and Isaacs), and a story appropriate for a young audience, and it became a critical and commercial success, grossing $878 million worldwide (domestic 29.7% and foreign 70.2%) and becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 2002. The film was nominated for many awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Special Visual Effects. It was followed by "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004).
Plot.
While spending the summer with the Dursleys, Harry Potter meets Dobby, a house-elf who warns him not to return to Hogwarts or danger will strike. When Harry refuses, Dobby sabotages an important dinner for the Dursleys, who lock up Harry to prevent his departure. Harry's friend Ron Weasley and his brothers Fred and George rescue him in their father's flying car.
In Diagon Alley, Harry, the Weasleys, and Hermione Granger notice a book signing by Gilderoy Lockhart, Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. There, Harry sees Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius, slip a book into Ginny Weasley's cauldron. After being blocked from entering Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross railway station, Harry and Ron take the car to Hogwarts. They crash into the Whomping Willow, breaking Ron's wand, and receive detention.
In detention, Harry hears a strange voice and later finds caretaker Argus Filch's cat, Mrs Norris, petrified with a message written in blood: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir... beware." One of Hogwarts' founders, Salazar Slytherin, supposedly constructed a secret Chamber containing a monster that only his heir can control, capable of purging the school of Muggle-borns. To solve this mystery, Harry, Ron, and Hermione plan to question Malfoy, using polyjuice potion, which they brew in a bathroom haunted by Moaning Myrtle, a ghost.
During a Quidditch game, Harry's arm is broken by a rogue Bludger. Dobby visits him in the infirmary and reveals that he closed the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and made the Bludger chase Harry to force him to leave the school. He also reveals that the Chamber had been opened in the past. When Harry communicates with a snake, the school starts to believe he is the heir. Disguised as Malfoy's friends, Harry and Ron learn he is not the heir, but know that a Muggle-born girl died when the Chamber was last opened. Harry finds an enchanted diary owned by a former student Tom Marvolo Riddle, who opened the Chamber and blamed Rubeus Hagrid, leading to his expulsion. When the diary is stolen and Hermione is petrified, Harry and Ron question Hagrid. Professor Dumbledore, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, and Lucius arrive to take Hagrid to Azkaban and remove Dumbledore from office, but he discreetly tells the boys to "follow the spiders". In the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron meet Hagrid's giant pet spider, Aragog, who reveals Hagrid's innocence and provides a small clue of the Chamber's monster.
A book page in Hermione's hand identifies the monster as a basilisk, a giant serpent that kills people who make direct eye contact; the petrified victims only saw it indirectly. The school staff learns Ginny has been taken into the Chamber, and nominate Lockhart to save her. Harry and Ron find Lockhart preparing to flee, exposing him as a fraud. Deducing that Myrtle was the Muggle-born girl that the basilisk killed, they find the Chamber's entrance in the bathroom she haunts. Once inside, Lockhart tries to erase Harry and Ron’s memories so he can document this as his own adventure. However, because he was using Ron's broken wand, the spell backfired, erasing Lockhart's memory and causing a cave-in, separating Harry from Ron and Lockhart.
Harry enters the Chamber alone and finds Ginny unconscious. Riddle, who turns out to be Slytherin's heir and Voldemort's younger self, uses the diary to manipulate Ginny into reopening the Chamber. After Harry expresses his loyalty to Dumbledore, the latter's pet phoenix Fawkes arrives with the Sorting Hat, causing Riddle to summon the basilisk. Fawkes blinds the basilisk, and the Sorting Hat produces the Sword of Gryffindor, which Harry uses to kill the basilisk after a battle, but is poisoned by one of its fangs.
Despite being injured, Harry stabs the diary with the basilisk fang, destroying Riddle and reviving Ginny. Fawkes's tears heal Harry, who returns to Hogwarts with his friends and a baffled Lockhart. This earns Dumbledore's praise and Hagrid's release. Harry accuses Lucius, Dobby's master, of planting the diary in Ginny's cauldron and tricks him into freeing Dobby. The basilisk's victims are healed, Hermione reunites with her friends, and Hagrid is released from Azkaban.
Cast.
Several actors from "Philosopher's Stone" reprise their roles in this film. Harry Melling portrays Dudley Dursley, Harry's Muggle cousin. James and Oliver Phelps play Fred and George Weasley, Ron's twin brothers; Chris Rankin appears as Percy Weasley, Ron's other brother and a Gryffindor prefect; and Bonnie Wright portrays their sister Ginny. Tom Felton plays Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival in Slytherin, while Jamie Waylett and Joshua Herdman appear as Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's minions. Matthew Lewis, Devon Murray and Alfred Enoch play Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, respectively, three Gryffindor students in Harry's year. David Bradley portrays Argus Filch, Hogwarts' caretaker, and Sean Biggerstaff as Oliver Wood, the Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Leslie Phillips voices the Sorting Hat. Eleanor Columbus, Chris Columbus's daughter, appears as Susan Bones, Edward Randell appears as Justin Finch-Fletchley, Charlotte Skeoch as Hannah Abbott, and Louis Doyle as Ernie MacMillan; Hufflepuff students. Emily Dale appears as Katie Bell, Rochelle Douglas as Alicia Spinnet, and Danielle Tabor as Angelina Johnson; Gryffindor girls. Jamie Yeats appears as Marcus Flint, Scott Fearn as Adrian Pucey; and David Holmes, David Massam, and Tony Christian appear as Slytherin quidditch players. Gemma Padley appears as Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw student and Percy's girlfriend. Luke Youngblood plays Lee Jordan, the Quidditch comentator.
Christian Coulson appears as Tom Marvolo Riddle, a manifestation of young Lord Voldemort. Mark Williams portrays Arthur Weasley, Ron's father. Shirley Henderson plays Moaning Myrtle, a Hogwarts ghost. Miriam Margolyes appears as Pomona Sprout, Hogwarts' Herbology professor and head of Hufflepuff. Hugh Mitchell portrays Colin Creevey, a first year student that is a fan of Harry's. Robert Hardy appears as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. Toby Jones voices Dobby, a House-elf, while Julian Glover voices Aragog, an acromantula. Jim Norton appears as Mr. Mason and Veronica Clifford appears as Mrs. Mason. Alfred Burke appears as Master Dippet in a memory of Tom Riddle. Daisy Bates, David Tysall and Peter Taylor appear as moving pictures. Helen Stuart plays Millicent Bulstrode, a Slytherin girl.
Hugh Grant was rumoured to be the first choice to play the role of Gilderoy Lockhart, but due to reported scheduling conflicts he was unable to play the character. Columbus later denied that Grant had been considered and stated that they had not met. Alan Cumming and Rupert Everett were also considered for Lockhart. Cumming backed out over a salary dispute. Jason Issacs also auditioned for Lockhart, but was offered for the role of Lucius Malfoy instead, he was reluctant to take the role as he was already signed on to play Captain Hook in "Peter Pan" (2003), but his family convinced him to take the role and accepted it. Before Coulson was cast as Tom Riddle, James McAvoy and Eddie Redmayne – who later played Newt Scamander in the "Fantastic Beasts" films – auditioned for the role.
Production.
Costume and set design.
Production designer Stuart Craig returned for the sequel to design new elements previously not seen in the first film. He designed the Burrow based on Arthur Weasley's interest in Muggles, built vertically out of architectural salvage. Mr. Weasley's flying car was created from a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E. The Chamber of Secrets, measuring over long and wide, was the biggest set created for the saga. Dumbledore's office, which houses the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor, was also built for the film.
Lindy Hemming was the costume designer for "Chamber of Secrets". She retained many of the characters' already established appearances, and chose to focus on the new characters introduced in the sequel. Gilderoy Lockhart's wardrobe incorporated bright colours, in contrast with the "dark, muted or sombre colours" of the other characters. Branagh said, "We wanted to create a hybrid between a period dandy and someone who looked as if they could fit into Hogwarts." Hemming also perfected Lucius Malfoy's costume. One of the original concepts was for him to wear a pinstripe suit, but was changed to furs and a snake head cane in order to remark his aristocrat quality and to reflect a "sense of the old."
Filming.
Principal photography began on 19 November 2001, only three days after the wide release of the first film. Second-unit work had started three weeks before, primarily for the flying car scene. Filming took place mainly at Leavesden Film Studios in Hertfordshire, as well as on the Isle of Man. King's Cross railway station was used as the filming location for Platform 9¾, though St Pancras railway station was used for the exterior shots. Gloucester Cathedral was used as the setting for Hogwarts School, along with Durham Cathedral, Alnwick Castle, Lacock Abbey, and the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. The Burrow was built in Gypsy Lane, Abbots Langley, in front of Leavesden Studios.
Roger Pratt was brought on as director of photography for "Chamber of Secrets", in order to give the film "a darker and edgier feel" than its predecessor, which reflected "the growth of the characters and the story." Director Chris Columbus opted to use handheld cameras to allow more freedom in movement, which he considered "a departure for [him] as a filmmaker." University of Cambridge linguistics professor Francis Nolan created Parseltongue, the language spoken by snakes in the film. Principal photography wrapped in July 2002.
Sound design.
Due to the events that take place in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", the film's sound effects were much more expansive than in the previous instalment. Sound designer and supervising sound editor Randy Thom returned for the sequel using Pro Tools to complete the job, which included initial conceptions done at Skywalker Sound in California and primary work done at Shepperton Studios in England.
Thom wanted to give the Whomping Willow a voice, a deep growl for which he used his own voice slowed down, equalised and bass-boosted. For the mandrakes, he combined baby cries with female screams, in order to "make it just exotic enough so that you think, 'Hmm, I've never heard anything quite like "that" before.'"
Thom described the basilisk as a challenge, "because it's a giant snake, but it's also like a dragon — not many snakes have teeth like that. He had to hiss, he had to roar and there were times at the end when he was in pain." He mixed his own voice, tiger roars, and horse and elephant vocalizations.
Special and visual effects.
Visual effects took nine months to make, until 9 October 2002, when the film was finished. Industrial Light & Magic, Mill Film, the Moving Picture Company (MPC), Cinesite and Framestore CFC handled the approximately 950 visual effect shots in the film. Jim Mitchell and Nick Davis served as visual effects supervisors. They were in charge of creating the CGI characters Dobby the House Elf, the Basilisk, and the Cornish pixies, among others. Chas Jarrett from MPC served as CGI supervisor, overseeing the approach of any shot that contains CGI in the film. With a crew of 70 people, the company produced 251 shots, 244 of which made it to the film, from September 2001 to October 2002.
The visual effects team worked alongside creature effects supervisor Nick Dudman, who devised Fawkes the Phoenix, the Mandrakes, Aragog the Acromantula, and the first of the Basilisk. According to Dudman, Aragog was the most challenging character to create. The giant spider stood tall with an foot leg span, each of which had to be controlled by a different team member. The whole creature weighed three quarters of a ton. It took over 15 people to operate the animatronic Aragog on set.
The Whomping Willow sequence required a combination of practical and visual effects. Special effects supervisor John Richardson and his team created mechanically operated branches to hit the flying car. A 1:3 scale set was built on stage at Shepperton Studios, which featured the fully-sized top third of the tree with a forced perspective to appear a height of over high. The courtyard and the tree were built in 3D. Some shots ended up being entirely digital. Jarret identified the rendering as "the biggest challenge" of the scene, because "there was just so much going on in [it] ... It was simply massive."
Music.
John Williams, who composed the previous film's score, returned to score "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". Composing the film proved to be a difficult task, as Williams had just completed scoring "" and "Minority Report" when work was to begin on "Catch Me If You Can". Because of this, William Ross was brought in to arrange themes from the "Philosopher's Stone" into the new material that Williams was composing whenever he had the chance. Ross also conducted the scoring sessions with the London Symphony Orchestra. The soundtrack album was released on 12 November 2002.
Distribution.
Marketing.
Footage for the film began appearing online in the summer of 2002, with a teaser trailer debuting in cinemas with the release of "Scooby-Doo" that June. A video game based on the film was released in early November 2002 by Electronic Arts for several consoles, including GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The film also continued the merchandising success set by its predecessor, with reports of shortages on Lego's "Chamber of Secrets" tie-ins.
Home media.
The film was originally released in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada on 11 April 2003 on both VHS tape and in a two-disc special edition fullscreen/widescreen DVD digipack, which included extended and deleted scenes and interviews. On 11 December 2007, the film's Blu-ray version was released. An Ultimate Edition of the film was released on 8 December 2009, featuring new footage, TV spots, an extended version of the film with deleted scenes edited in, and a feature-length special "Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 2: Characters". The film's extended version has a running time of about 174 minutes, which has previously been shown during certain television airings.
Reception.
Box office.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" held its world premiere at Odeon Leicester Square on 3 November 2002, and was released in the United Kingdom and the United States on 15 November 2002. The film broke multiple records upon its opening. In the United States and Canada, the film opened to an $88.4million opening weekend, playing on 8,515 screens at 3,682 theaters, making it the third-largest opening at the time, behind "Spider-Man" and its predecessor "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". The film would hold the record for having the largest number of screenings until it was surpassed by "X2" the next year. It was also No. 1 at the box office for two non-consecutive weekends. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was the second 2002 film to return to the number one spot, just after Mel Gibson's "Signs". The film joined "Die Another Day" and "The Santa Clause 2" to outperform the weak opening of "Treasure Planet". Both "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "Die Another Day" were the most recent films to reclaim the number one spot for six months until June 2003 when "Finding Nemo" became the next film to do so. In the United Kingdom, the film broke all opening records that were previously held by "Philosopher's Stone". It made £18.9million during its opening including previews and £10.9million excluding previews.
 It went on to make £54.8million in the UK; at the time, the fifth-biggest tally of all time in the region.
Internationally, the film earned $59.5 million during its opening weekend. The film earned $3.7 million in Japan, making it the highest opening of any film in the country until it was surpassed a year