New Writer for the 5th Harry Potter Movie

Producer David Heyman tells ComingSoon.net that Steven Kloves, who wrote the first four "Harry Potter" screenplays, will be stepping aside for the fifth installment in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, to return to directing.

Kloves wrote and directed the popular 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys with Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff and Beau Bridges, and he is anxious to get back into directing by adapting Mark Haddon's best-selling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which Heyman will also produce.

Heyman will be working with writer Michael Goldenberg on the script for "Order of the Phoenix," with the usual final approval by J.K. Rowling herself. Goldenberg wrote Jodie Foster's Contact, the 2003 adaptation of Peter Pan, as well as the screenplay for the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are film, which is to be directed by Spike Jonze.

At the time of this writing, the plans are to start shooting "Order of the Phoenix" in January 2006 for a Spring or Fall 2007 release. A director should hopefully be announced by the end of the year.