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Before adapting Richard Osman's bestseller The Thursday Murder Club for Netflix, Chris Columbus was responsible for bringing another literary sensation to the screen as the director of the first two Harry Potter movies. Despite the divergent subject matter, according to Columbus, the process of adapting both novels for the screen was similar in some respects.
Speaking with GamesRadar+ at a press event in London, Columbus touched on his history of adapting beloved books for the screen. "When I read The Thursday Murder Club, I got that feeling that I had when I first read Harry Potter," the director says. "I'm in love with this. I'm a fan. I want audiences to experience the film the same way they experience the book. So, I had this desire to be extraordinarily faithful."
That faithfulness extended to Cooper's Chase, the all-important retirement home in which the eponymous Thursday Murder Club resides. "I felt that Cooper's Chase had to feel like a character in and of itself. So, it was very similar in terms of Hogwarts. Cooper's Chase became sort of a fantastical place to retire, like almost a wish fulfillment. I didn't want Cooper's Chase to be your typical retirement community that feels dreary or depressing. I wanted it to be a place that, even if you're 35 or 40 years old, you may want to spend a couple of months there because it's filled with life. The only death you should be feeling there is the murders that may occur on the grounds."
In adapting The Philosopher's Stone, Columbus was praised for his spot-on world-building and casting choices that set the template for seven future Harry Potter films (and, controversially, the HBO series which is currently filming). Casting, once again, was crucial when it came to bringing The Thursday Murder Club's beloved amateur sleuths to the screen.
"When I was working on Harry Potter [and] re-reading the book, I was always jotting down cast ideas," Columbus notes. "It was Maggie Smith and Richard Harris and Alan Rickman, and they all said yes. Subsequently, I've done movies over the years where, most of the time, your first choice is either not available or they say no. With The Thursday Murder Club, the same thing happened. I wrote down Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan and Sir Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie; they all said yes. So, as a result of that, I knew there was spiritually something right about this movie. Something felt like this was meant to be."
The Thursday Murder Club is streaming now on Netflix. For more, check out our guide breaking down the best Netflix movies, or if you want a change of pace, here's our up-to-date list of the best shows on Netflix.
