MUGGLING THROUGH MERE MORTALS TALK OF THEIR ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE 'HARRY POTTER' ON THE BIG SCREEN.

Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer

HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND - Knebworth House, a 15th-century castle, is best-known for two things. In 1989, it served as Wayne Manor in Tim Burton's blockbuster ``Batman.'' Nearly two centuries earlier, it was home for Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a monumentally unreadable writer who first penned the words ``It was a dark and stormy night.'' Which of these factoids is relevant today? Smart money's on the blockbuster aspect: We're here to interview the major players behind ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,'' based on the wizard-world kid-lit phenomenon by J.K. Rowling.

Harry Potter is an 11-year-old boy (portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe) who, as an infant, was spared by the wicked Lord Voldemort (who nonetheless slew his parents) and has become a legend in the world of non-Muggles (Muggles being humans). In ``Sorcerer's Stone,'' Harry begins matriculation through Hogwarts, a mystical school for gifted young witches and wizards, filled with semi-giants, three-headed dogs, owls who go postal, jelly beans of every imaginable flavor, and, naturally, life- threatening sinister forces.

``Harry's a really normal person, and he goes from being nothing to being something really huge,'' observes Radcliffe, who, under the circumstances, could be describing himself. ``He's an important part of people's worlds, and he's inspired a lot of people, including me.''

Harry's superiors at Hogwarts include Dumbledore (Richard Harris), the headmaster; McGonagall (Maggie Smith), the transfiguration teacher; the sinister Snape (Alan Rickman), professor of potions; the querulous Quirrell (Ian Hart); and gentle giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), who befriends Harry and his pals, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson).

None of the film was shot at Knebworth House, but we're here anyway. It's a drafty, ornate castle with walls wearily burdened with art, ancient books and suits of armor. At floor level, ``Sorcerer's Stone'' props are carefully laid in glass cases as if museum pieces: a state-of-the-art Nimbus 2000 broom, along with balls of sundry sizes and shapes from Quidditch, Rowling's fanciful game that ``Potter'' producer David Heyman concedes is a little like ``Rollerball'' with broomsticks.

With the ``Harry Potter'' book series (four of a projected seven have been published), Rowling has single-handedly restored joy to reading for children (though not all fans are kids) and, in the process, sold more than 100 million books worldwide and become a most formidable cinematic collaborator. Heyman and director Chris Columbus (``Home Alone,'' ``Mrs. Doubtfire'') speak in almost tremulous tones when discussing their attempts to appease Rowling, much as characters in the books quiver when discussing the powerful Voldemort.

``The most terrified I was in the whole process was meeting Jo Rowling,'' admits Columbus, generously adding, ``She never held a baseball bat over our heads and said, 'This is the way it had to be.' '' Heyman says that he was tense until Rowling finally saw the film: ``When Jo came up and gave me that hug and said thank you, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.''

Columbus says he didn't even attend that screening: ``She had 40 or 50 people with her, and if they hated the film, they were going to lynch me.'' They may exaggerate, but since Rowling has threatened to slag Potter merchandising in the past, her seal of approval was crucial (she gave it, albeit through statements issued by Warner Bros.).

Journey to the screen

Heyman was a producer of modest means (``The Daytrippers'') when he purchased Rowling's book, long before it became a phenomenon. Once it did, however, Hollywood's A-list directors were vying for the job, offering their own, somewhat dubious, interpretations of Rowling's vision.

``They were horrifying,'' recalls Columbus. ``I have to bite my lip a lot, because I heard a lot of suggestions that made my skin crawl: Casting Hermione as an American, combining the first two books. A computer-animated version with Haley Joel Osment's voice is about as bad as it gets.''

Columbus wasn't considered the front-runner, due to his recent resume, treacly dross like ``Stepmom'' and ``Bicentennial Man.'' ``There's nothing more irritating and frustrating than to hear that you've gone soft when you don't feel soft,'' he grouses.

``He is aware of his own penchant for sometimes being sentimental or broad,'' says Heyman, who acknowledges the film's tone is more lugubrious than Rowling's whimsical book. ``The darkness was very important to Jo. Chris acknowledged he was aware of that, too. He knew that he had made a couple of soft films, and one of the first things he talked about was tone. The film does have some humor in it, but we definitely opted for a darker world.''

At times, it got too bleak. ``What was supposed to be the big surprise in the film was that Jo wrote a new opening, which was the death of Harry's parents,'' Columbus reveals. ``We shot it, and when I saw it, I realized I couldn't open the film with that dark an image. The darkness needs to grow. So we moved that montage later in the film.''

Columbus landed the job by preaching the gospel of an all-U.K. cast (``They haven't forgiven us yet for Dick Van Dyke in 'Mary Poppins' '') and strict adherence to Rowling's book, a gambit virtually unheard of in book-to-film adaptations.

``The book works, so it's the old adage: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'' Steve Kloves (who received an Oscar nomination for his ``Wonder Boys'' script adaptation) wrote the script, and is currently working on the sequels. ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' is already in production, with the same cast.

Heyman, too, felt the film needed to be almost reverentially true to the printed page. ``As the books became more successful, the challenge grew because you had more people to please,'' he says. ``You don't want to disappoint so many fans.''

``There's a precedent for that,'' points out Coltrane, Hagrid's doppelganger (Rowling specifically requested him for the role). ``I've been reading David Selznick's memos. When he was making 'Rebecca,' he wrote, 'A lot of rewrite specialists say, ``Rebecca's'' badly constructed. I want to see the charm and the beauty and the intrigue that was in the book. It doesn't matter if it's poorly constructed; it ... works and don't you dare touch it.' ''

Many who worked on ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' were spurred on by a young fan: Heyman had younger siblings; Columbus, a daughter; Harris, a granddaughter who threatened never to speak to him again if he didn't play Dumbledore. In Coltrane's case, it was his son, and Coltrane himself was keen to see a faithful adaptation.

``I had breakfast with David Heyman and Chris Columbus and we were kind of checking each other out, and I had decided, if I didn't think these were the right guys, I wouldn't do it. But I was utterly convinced.''

Those in the know

The principles are reticent to discuss the shoot itself, fearing it will detract from the on-screen magic. Harris says, ``It's not my type of reading,'' but adds, ``my first ex-wife came on the set, and said, 'That shouldn't be there, that should be over there.' She knew the architecture. Kids say to me, 'Your costume's wrong' - an 8-year-old telling me that.''

All the players admit they know things that rabid fans don't know - specifically, what will happen in future books.

``Jo told people what's going to happen in books that haven't been written yet,' Columbus says. ``She's given each of us this information and we're so loyal that we don't exchange stories of what's going to happen.''

Hints Heyman, ``If you look carefully at each of the actor's performances, particularly Robbie Coltrane or Alan Rickman, you'll get a glimpse of what will happen in the future.'' Columbus adds, ``I was directing Alan in the scene when Harry first sees him, and his reaction was a little strange. I asked him about it and he said, 'Well, it's based on something that Jo told me that happens to Snape in book six, but I can't tell you what.' I didn't know what to do about that.''

Was there the fear the actors were putting the filmmakers on? ``Most certainly!'' says Heyman with a laugh. ``They could get away with it, too!''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Illustration:

(cover -- color) Making magic

A look behind the scenes of `Harry Potter'

Betts Griffone/Staff Artist

Photo:

(1) All the king's pawns, all the king's rooks: Hermione (Emma Watson), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) negotiate a game of enchanted chess.

(2) Momentarily in the Muggle world are, clockwise from center, stars Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Richard Harris (Professor Dumbledore), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger).

Adam Butler/Associated Press