Film News: Black Tackling ‘Scary Side of Kids’ Cinema’

In an interview with Film News UK, Jack Black discusses his role of Jonathan Barnavelt:

The Tenacious D frontman is prepared for inevitable comparisons to J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise due to the film’s notes of “wizardry and witchcraft”. The House with a Clock in Its Walls is also based on a book of the same name, the first in an 11-part (sic) series, however, Jack admitted he was unfamiliar with the 1973 novel by John Bellairs until he won the role.

“I didn’t know the books. But I quickly read this book when I got the part,” he shared. “I was a big fan of (the book’s illustrator) Edward Gorey’s, so it was cool to see a collaboration between him and another writer. And yeah, I really dug it. And I really dug what the screenwriter did in the adaptation (sic).”