In 1997, David Heyman received a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. He put it on the low priority shelf, thinking the title was "rubbish". However, when a secretary found and read it, she gave it to Heyman with a positive review and he then read it. Heyman was very impressed by Rowling's work, which led to Rowling selling him the film rights for four books in 1999. In March 2000, Chris Columbus was selected to direct the first film, while Steve Kloves wrote the screenplay. Rowling was given a large creative role which Columbus was fine with, while Heyman stayed to produce it.