Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint at the 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' preem in N.Y.
• More photos from the premiere
While fans were screaming outside the Ziegfeld Theater Thursday during the "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" premiere, the pic's stars and execs were celebrating inside.
Producer
David Heyman sounded happy and relieved that "Half-Blood Prince," which was delayed by Warner Bros. from a late 2008 release, was finally arriving in theaters.
"In a way it's been hanging over us for six months and we are 91 days into 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,' so its nice to have it behind us and put our minds exclusively on the next film."
At the party at the American Museum of Natural History, things subsided in part because it was past most guests' bedtime.
Why preteens are allowed to see "Half-Blood Prince" with minimal caution, while the past two adaptations of
J.K. Rowling's Potter tales advised more parental oversight proved perplexing to screenwriter
Steve Kloves.
"If you are going to say the last two were PG-13, I personally think this one should be, too. This one is just as scary as the other ones, if not scarier, but then again, I've never been able to figure out the rating system."
Contact Addie Morfoot at
news@variety.com