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The wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling
returns to the big screen this week with "Fantastic Beasts: The
Crimes of Grindelwald," and its dark themes are grounded firmly
in the real world.
Set in 1927, some 70 years before Rowling's best-selling "Harry
Potter" books and movies, "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of
Grindelwald" is the second in a spinoff movie series that
explores the fight between good and evil, and between tolerance
and acceptance.
"The thing that has always been extraordinary about (Rowling's)
work is people relate to aspects of it, whether it is specific
character traits or vulnerabilities or a political climate,"
said Eddie Redmayne, who plays Scamander.
"Yet she shrouds it in this world that is so magical and sort of
wonderful that you don't feel like you're being hit by it until
you start thinking about it afterwards," the actor told Reuters
Television.
Rowling has said that the rise of populist politics in modern
times was on her mind when she began writing the screenplays for
the first two movies, but she has not said if she had a specific
person or country in mind.
The new film's 1927 setting sees Grindelwald, played by Johnny
Depp, address huge rallies that incite his followers to
violence.
"One of the things that Grindelwald does so well is that he has
an insane goal. But... he makes it sound so reasonable," said
Alison Sudol, who plays mind-reader Queenie Goldstein in the
movie.
Zoe Kravitz, who plays Scamander's love interest Leta Lestrange,
said she thought the Grindelwald character could be modeled
after any kind of person with seductive power.
Whatever the inspiration, Depp was a good choice to play him,
Kravitz said.
"He is so charismatic and intelligent and I think he's the
perfect person to play a villain like this. He's so kind of
seductive in a way," she said.
(Reporting by Reuters Television; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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