FEATURE
Director David Yates is back for more box office magic this fall with his sixth Wizarding World film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. BY LAURA SCHREFFLER
DAVID YATES IS A MAN WHO MAKES
magic. He may not cast actual spells, but what he does on the silver screen is absolute wizardry—especially when the subject matter is J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. On November 16, the British director’s sixth magical film with Warner Bros. Pictures, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, hits theaters, and we’re certain that he’ll strike box office gold as he’s done with every film since 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The film— whose screenplay was written by Rowling herself—features an ensemble cast led by Eddie
Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol and Ezra Miller, with the new additions of Jude Law and Johnny Depp. We chatted with Yates about his all-star cast, his extreme directing style and what it really takes to make a magical motion picture. This is your sixth Wizarding World film. How has this fantasy world evolved for you since you started shooting Order of the Phoenix in 2006? It has become much more grown-up, less focused on school and more on the world beyond it.
What do you enjoy most about working alongside J.K. Rowling? Many things. She’s incredibly inventive yet rarely precious; she’s interested in the best and most interesting way to get her story to the screen. And she is very down-to-earth, despite her global success. Above all, it’s fun and enjoyable working with her. You have a new crop of wizards and witches in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Who—most surprisingly to you—integrated him or herself into this magical world?
