Harry Potter Gets a Dad

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/07/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Harry Potter is an orphan no more. In the wake of Steven Spielberg's passing on the prized project, Warner Bros. announced on Tuesday that filmmaker Chris Columbus will direct the feature film adaptation of British author J.K. Rowling's best-selling children's book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." The eagerly awaited movie, about an 11-year-old boy with magical powers inherited from his late parents (who happened to be wizards), will begin shooting in England this summer and is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2001. Columbus's work includes the first two "Home Alone" movies, last year's "Stepmom" and "Mrs. Doubtfire." Warners -- which is owned by Time Warner, PEOPLE's parent company -- has optioned the first four of what will ultimately be seven books in the "Potter" series (the fourth book is due out this July) and already has a sequel to this first film in the works.