Director Baz Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby”) originally offered “Sorcerer’s Stone”

by · May 14, 2013

In a startling revelation by director extraordinaire Baz Luhrmann, whose new film The Great Gatsby was just recently released in theaters worldwide, we learned that he was offered to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Baz Luhrmann, who also directed the hugely popular Moulin Rouge, starring Harry Potter actor Jim Broadbent, recently revealed this information in a new interview with ComingSoon.net:

ComingSoon: Interesting. I was wondering how you felt about that dichotomy.
Luhrmann: Well, I tell you what. I can tell you now that, I certainly have been offered a lot of very well known movies where we would have mad ourselves very rich very quickly. We consider that we’re wealthy in life experience, so I don’t know that all my choices have been the smartest commercial ideas, but they’ve all been about what I do feel compelled and what I love to do, creatively. That’s always been where it’s coming from, you know? We definitely could be cash richer than we are because of the things that have come our way, and every now and then I say, “Oh, maybe I should just say yes next time someone says ‘Harry Potter’ again.”

ComingSoon: Well if they offered you to do “Harry Potter” I’d want you to do all eight movies.
Luhrmann: I was actually offered the first one.

While it’s no secret that there are a lot of items that fans do not like from Chris Columbus’s version of Sorcerer’s Stone, one does have to realize the many great things that Chris did bring to us: Dan, Emma, Rupert, Dame Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Sir Richard Harris, AND the overall designs of the original sets like the Great Hall. You can hear some of our thoughts on this by listening to the latest episode of MuggleNet Academia where we dissect the book-to-screen adaptations right here.

Would you have wanted Baz Luhrmann to direct Sorcerer’s Stone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Special thanks to Cory Faniel of La Gazette du Sorcier for the tip!