Interview: Harry Potter Cast and Crew Say Goodbye at Final Red Carpet

Sean is a senior critic for Filmcritic.com.

It all ends here. And here, this week, was New York City, where Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and the cast of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 walked their last red carpet for the final Potter premiere ... ever. FilmCritic.com was lucky enough to be on the carpet where we tossed questions at the Potter creative team as they posed for pictures, signed autographs for fans, and prepared to say farewell to this beloved film franchise after 10 magical years.

Q: Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy scored a Best Picture Oscar on its final try. Would it matter to you if the Harry Potter franchise managed to do the same?

Rupert Grint: It's never been something that really mattered to us. This [gesturing at the screaming fans] is a good enough kind of award, just seeing the enthusiasm from our fans. It's just as pleasing to us as it is to them.

Harry Potter producer David Heyman: Yes, this is our Academy. We are making films for an audience, and this is as rewarding as it gets. Academy recognition would be wonderful, but that's not what it's about for us. It's about these people out here, some of who have been camping out for 6 days. At the London premiere, people traveled from as far away as Brazil and Japan, camping out in the rain to show their support. They are amazing.

Q: Rupert, do you remember the very first scene you filmed as Ron Weasley?

RG: Oh yeah, I remember it clearly. It actually was the very last scene of the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And I remember it being so sudden. One week, I was in school reading the Harry Potter books, and the next week, I'm on a film set. It was just crazy, and such a high for me.

Q: David, you had such a key role in the casting of these iconic roles.

DH: Well, Emma Watson was always much more beautiful than the way Hermione was described in the books. [Laughs] But you know, [Deathly Hallows director] David Yates said something beautiful the other day, and it's true. He said that in some ways, we are all standing on the shoulders of [original director] Chris Columbus, because it was he who cast Dan, Rupert and Emma. He cast Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith. I helped and I supported, but it was mostly Chris at the time.

Q: For parents introducing their kids to the Harry Potter franchise for the first time, should they use the movies or J.K. Rowling's books?

Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves: Start with the books. Well, OK, it depends on how old your kids are. But I would sit every night and read one or two chapters with your kids. That was a great joy that I had with my daughter. And then one of the little deaths of my life occurred when my daughter could read on her own, and she started reading the books without me. But I loved that time, reading Jo's books with her.

Q: Can you recommend a similar literary series Potter fans can use to fill the void now that the franchise is ending?

SK: Well, actually, the thing that's different about Potter is that in a way it wasn't a franchise. We had one long tale written by Jo Rowling. We didn't end up with Harry fighting Nazis on the moon. [Laughs] I think there will be other decent series out there, but there's not going to be another Potter because there'll never be another Jo Rowling.

Q: Any parting words to Harry Potter fans?

Tom Felton: Just a thank you. Every year, they have surprised us with their support and passion, so thank you so much.

DH: Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here. Thank you very much, Potter fans.

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Interview: Selena Gomez

Sean is a senior critic for Filmcritic.com.

Though Selena Gomez only turns 19 on July 22, the Texas native already has left her mark on television, music and the movie industry. And yet, tabloids are only interested in who she's allegedly dating (Justin Bieber) and how she's feeling (a recent hospital stay set the Internet ablaze for days). On the morning we spoke about her upcoming film Monte Carlo, Gomez had just learned that her single "Who Says," which is featured in the movie's marketing campaign, had gone platinum, so we started our discussion there.

Q: Congratulations on your single going platinum.

A: Thank you! I'm so excited. I couldn't believe it. I think it's a goal for every artist. We just want our music to be heard in every part of the world. I'm just so excited that people are hearing these lyrics and this song.

Q: Your lyrics are very uplifting, similar to songs written by Katy Perry, Pink, and Justin Bieber. Is this a trend, where pop songs are skewing in a more positive direction?

A: Well, I love that, and I hope that it continues to happen because music just affects people's feelings. It brings out emotions in you and makes you happy and sad. I'm thrilled that we have an array of powerful songs out right now.

Q: Monte Carlo is one of the first films released this summer for girls. And the season is pretty much dominated by blockbusters aimed at teenage boys, from superhero films to Transformers sequels. Does that frustrate you?

A: No, that doesn't bother me at all. I mean, I get it. I love those movies, and I enjoy them with my friends, as well. But I think that what's exciting about Monte Carlo is it's presented in contrast to all of those films. I feel like it's going to be a fun movie for girlfriends to go to with their moms. It's a sweet simple movie. It never gets too loud! If anything, I'm doing it for all of my girls. The sci-fi movies can get all of the boys, so long as Monte Carlo gets all of the girls.

Q: When you jumped from "Wizards of Waverly Place" to your first feature film, Ramona & Beezus, did you notice a drastic difference between working in television and film?

A: Oh, it's so different. Especially when you come from a four-camera sitcom. We'd bang out our show in front of a live audience, and I guess it became kind of easy. But on a film, you are working 14-hour days every day. Sometimes you are working nights. Your whole life is spent on either a soundstage or a set. It's definitely different, but I enjoy both a lot, and I had a great time on Monte Carlo.

Q: You shot in some strange locations.

A: Well, most of the film was actually shot in Hungary, which was really cool. There were certain parts of Hungary that actually resembled Paris. We also shot in Paris for four days, and then wrapped in Monte Carlo. I'd been to Paris before, but had never been to Monte Carlo or Budapest.

Q: That would scare me a little. I'm not sure I could handle that culture shock.

A: No, it wasn't at all. It was really beautiful. The people were nice, and the food was fantastic. I had a great time.

Q: OK, you have to fake a British accent and play polo in this film. Which presented the greater challenge?

A: Definitely polo. [Laughs] I mean, I'm an actress. I don't have a horse background. I may be from Texas, but my part of the state doesn't have horses. It was very funny for everyone else, because I really wasn't very good at it at all. I loved riding the horse. I was just terrible at the game of polo.

Q: But you are great at Twitter. You're coming up on 6 million followers, and yet you only follow 600 people. What does it take to get Selena Gomez to follow you on Twitter?

A: Here's the thing about that. I want to follow my fans. But I'm always usually on Twitter tweeting and talking to my fans, and whenever I read their "@ replies," I'm inspired by them so I'll quickly follow them. But I never get the chance to sit there and hit the "follow" button on all of the people who have such nice things to say to me. I would love to follow everybody. But I do want them to know I appreciate everything that is sent.

Q: So that's you. It's not an assistant monitoring your Twitter feed.

A: Not at all! I love being able to talk to my fans. That's all me!

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