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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States) is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and produced by David Heyman, from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Its story follows Harry's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as he discovers that he is a famous wizard and begins his formal wizarding education. Warner Bros. Pictures bought the film rights to the book in 1999 for a reported £1 million ($1.65 million). Production began in the United Kingdom in 2000, with Columbus being chosen to helm the film from a short list of directors that included Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner. Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British and Irish, with the three leads chosen in August 2000 following open casting calls. Filming took place at Leavesden Film Studios and historic buildings around the United Kingdom from September 2000 to March 2001. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released to cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 10 and 11 November 2001 for two days of previews. The film opened on 16 November in the United States, Canada, and Taiwan as well as officially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It became a critical and commercial success, grossing $974 million at the worldwide box office during its initial run, and over $1 billion with subsequent re-releases. It became the highest-grossing film of 2001 and the second-highest-grossing film at the time. The film was nominated for many awards, including Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It was followed by seven sequels, beginning with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011. Plot Late one night, Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, deliver an orphaned infant wizard named Harry Potter to his Muggle aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, his only living relatives. Ten years later, just before Harry's eleventh birthday, owls begin delivering letters addressed to him. When the abusive Dursleys adamantly refuse to allow Harry to open any and flee to an island hut, Hagrid arrives to personally deliver Harry's letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. Hagrid also reveals that Harry's late parents, James and Lily, were killed by a dark wizard named Lord Voldemort. The killing curse that Voldemort had cast towards Harry rebounded, destroying Voldemort's body and giving Harry the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. Hagrid then takes Harry to Diagon Alley for school supplies and gives him a pet snowy owl whom he names Hedwig. Harry buys a wand that is connected to Voldemort's own wand. At King's Cross, Harry boards the Hogwarts Express train, and meets fellow first-years Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger during the journey. Arriving at Hogwarts, Harry also meets Draco Malfoy, who is from a wealthy wizard family; the two immediately form a rivalry. The students assemble in the Great Hall where the Sorting Hat sorts the first-years into four respective houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Harry is placed into Gryffindor alongside Ron and Hermione, while Draco is placed into Slytherin, a house noted for dark wizards. As he studies magic, Harry learns more about his parents and Voldemort, and his innate talent for broomstick flying gets him recruited for the Gryffindor Quidditch team as the youngest Seeker in a century. While returning to the Gryffindor common room, the staircases change paths, leading Harry, Ron and Hermione to the third floor, which is forbidden to students. There they discover a giant three-headed dog named Fluffy. On Halloween, Ron insults Hermione after she shows off in Charms class. Upset, she spends the entire afternoon crying in the girls' bathroom. That evening, a giant marauding troll enters it but Harry and Ron save Hermione; they make up and become close friends after Hermione takes the blame for the incident by saying she went looking for the troll. The trio discover that Fluffy is guarding the philosopher's stone, a magical object that can turn metal into gold and produce an immortality elixir. Harry suspects that Severus Snape, the Potions teacher and head of Slytherin, wants the stone to return Voldemort to physical form. When Hagrid accidentally reveals that music puts Fluffy asleep, Harry, Ron and Hermione decide to find the stone before Snape. Fluffy is already asleep, but the trio face other barriers, including a deadly plant called Devil's Snare, a room filled with aggressive flying keys, and a giant chess game that knocks out Ron. After overcoming the barriers, Harry encounters Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrell, who wants the stone; Snape had figured it out and had been protecting Harry. Quirrell removes his turban to reveal a weakened Voldemort living on the back of his head. Dumbledore's protective enchantment places the stone in Harry's possession. Voldemort attempts to bargain the stone from Harry in exchange for resurrecting his parents, but Harry sees through his trick and refuses. Quirrell attempts to kill Harry. When Harry touches Quirrell's skin, it burns Quirrell, reducing him to ashes. Voldemort's soul rises from the pile and escapes, knocking out Harry as it passes through him. Harry recovers in the school infirmary. Dumbledore tells him the stone has been destroyed to prevent misuse, and that Ron and Hermione are safe. He also reveals how Harry defeated Quirrell: when Lily died to save Harry, a love-based protection against Voldemort was placed on him. At the end-of-school-year feast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are rewarded extra house points for their heroism, tying Gryffindor for first place with Slytherin; Dumbledore then awards ten points to their housemate Neville Longbottom for having had the courage to stand up to the trio, granting Gryffindor the House Cup. Harry returns to the Dursleys for the summer, happy to finally have a real home at Hogwarts. Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter: An 11-year-old orphan living with his unwelcoming aunt, uncle, and cousin, who learns of his own fame as a wizard known to have survived his parents' murder at the hands of the dark wizard Lord Voldemort as an infant when he is accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Columbus had wanted Radcliffe for the role since he saw him in the BBC's production of David Copperfield before the open casting sessions had taken place but had been told by casting director Susan Figgis that Radcliffe's protective parents would not allow their son to take part. Columbus explained tha.... Discover the Lawrence Potter popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Lawrence Potter books.