Steven Spielberg says he has no regrets turning down offer to direct Harry Potter

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Steven Spielberg has said he is “very happy” to have “sacrificed” directing the first Harry Potter film to spend time with his family. The award-winning filmmaker was initially presented with the opportunity to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – the first film adaptation of JK Rowling’s best-selling book series – but revealed he “chose to turn down” the offer “to be with family”. That was a ripping kind of experience.” Spielberg revealed that “there were several films I chose not to make”, specifying that “I chose to turn down the first Harry Potter to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up”. Steven Spielberg and Daniel Radcliffe in ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ Meanwhile, Spielberg stayed in Los Angeles near his family to direct the 2001 futuristic sci-fi AI Artificial Intelligence.