It took 30 takes. And, presumably, a lot of lip balm. The kiss reminds me of what Lauren Bacall said to Humphrey Bogart after he embraced her in The Big Sleep: "I liked that. I'd like more." But there is no more. Harry and Cho never find themselves in another clinch, for all the film's expansive 138 minutes. "There'll be more of that in the next Potter," says Yates. "This film is about teenage rebellion. The next one [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince] is sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll."
Yates is to direct it, too, which shows Warner was happy with the expertly assembled, if bombastic, hokum that is HP5. "Yes, I was quite surprised they liked what I did.
"I thought they were going to say, `Change that, change this,' but they were lovely. Eight months of shooting and they came over once. They made a few suggestions and then left on the Warner jet." As you do.
Yates is already imagining how to adapt The Half-Blood Prince. "We start shooting in eight to 10 weeks. In the book, bridges blow up. I want to take down the Millennium bridge." What, don't you like Norman Foster's iconic bridge? "I love it. I just love the idea of destroying it."
What about the final Potter book, Harry Potter and the Gauntlet of Overkill? Sorry, I mean Harry Potter and the Acne of Destiny. No, that's not it either. Harry Potter and the Trumpet of Portentousness, Harry Potter and the Decanter of Doom? OK, it's actually called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and it's due on July 20. Does Yates fancy directing that? "I have to see if I'm still standing after six." Do you know how the final volume ends? "No. They haven't sent me an advance copy. I want to know if Harry gets killed. I'm hooked."
Finally, why did it take Yates so long to get into the big time? "Because I got sent rubbish scripts. Why would I want to direct rubbish films when I could work on a perfectly paced thriller by Paul Abbott, even if it is for telly? It was only with HP5 that I really got tempted."
I leave Yates in purgatory. Damn, I forgot to ask him the big question. Why no quidditch, damn you? "Two words," I can imagine him saying, in his gently mocking Merseyside accent. "Bor. Ring. How many quidditch games do you need to see at the pictures?
No offence, mate." It would have been a good answer.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opens in Taiwan next Wednesday.
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