Today we’re bringing you various comments from the Harry Potter director, producers, and cast member Helena Bonham Carter following the Q&A they hosted last night in Hollywood.

Towards the end of the Q&A, one attendee – who did not enjoy any of the films except for Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which he saw for the first time last night – asked David Yates simply, “How did everything get so good?”

The question drew laughter from the crowd, but director David Yates and producers David Heyman and David Barron took it seriously:

Yates: Jo’s stories go darker as they progress. So we were just following the trail that she laid down for us fundamentally. It’s a funny thing because people react differently. Some people loved the first two movies in the series. Some people think the third one is brilliant. There’s a very different response to each of the movies and everyone has their favorites. I think our advantage with the final story is there are a lot of people who invested a lot of time in these characters and journey. So bringing it to a conclusion and a climax for an audience that has grown up with the stories, grown up with the characters, grown up with the actors means they’re as invested as we are as storytellers in this world. It creates a certain alchemy in the theater as we sit down together and watch the film.

Barron: There’s also a sense at the beginning of this film that it’s the end of the story. It’s not just the end of the film that we’re leading to for the first time, it’s actually the end of the story. And that really helps.

Heyman: It’s the first time we’ve had an ending.

Did you think Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was the best film of the series? It was interesting seeing the film last night with an audience largely made up of first time viewers. The person who posed this question could be a potential Oscar voter, which may bode well for others who are enjoying Potter for the first time (and therefore did not bother to vote for it in the past).