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March 14, 2011

WITHOUT A TRACE STAR POPPY MONTGOMERY FILMS FIRST SCENES FOR JK ROWLING TV MOVIE

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Who'd have thought that this inconspicuous mackintosh-clad blonde would go on to become richer than the Queen?

Of course, this is not Harry Potter author JK Rowling, but actress Poppy Montgomery who has stepped into the shoes of the boy wizard's creator for a TV movie about her life.

Australian Poppy, 35, is seen on set of the unauthorised film in Vancouver, Canada, filming scenes that recreated Rowling's first ever public reading of the debut Harry Potter novel, The Philosopher's Stone in 1997.

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Montgomery was seen walking through the streets of Vancouver, which had been made to look like London in a floral dress and beige mac. Filmed inside a bookstore, locals were allowed to shop during the shoot as Poppy delivered her first lines. And she said: “I’m absolutely terrified. It’s my first reading.'

The movie will be screened on the Lifetime channel in the U.S. later this year.
Instead of Portugal and Edinburgh, where Rowling spent a lot of her pre-Potter publication life, filming started in the city of Victoria in the Canadian province of British Columbia, last week.

Director Paul Kaufman said at last month's Bafta Film Awards: 'This is about a woman who decided to persevere, to keep on with her dream.

'She was on welfare and she really hit rock bottom.'

Sydney-born actress Montgomery is best known for playing FBI agent Samantha Spade in crime drama Without A Trace. She first came to prominence though in 2001, playing Marilyn Monroe in a CBS mini-series Blonde. For the role she has been learning to speak in Rowling's accent and will wear blue contact lenses.

When asked what she would do if she ever met Rowling, Montgomery told Access Hollywood: 'I'd turn into a puddle of water!'

Rowling has, unsurprisingly, declined to give her blessing to the project. Her publicist told Vancouver's Times Colonist newspaper: 'I can confirm that the biopic Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story is unofficial and not authorized. We cannot comment further.'

Prior to publication of the books, Rowling has spoken about her struggle to bring up her daughter Jessica as a single mother living on benefits.

She split from Jessica's father, Portuguese journalist Jorge Arantes after a year of marriage and moved to Scotland, where her sister lived.

Rowling is now married to Dr Neil Murray and they have two children together, David and Mackenzie. Since the first book Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone was published in 1997, Rowling has gone on to sell over 400million copies worldwide.