''Vanity Fair'' director may do ''Harry Potter V''

Mira Nair’s ”Vanity Fair” is about to hit theaters on Wednesday, but the director may not be done with colorful epic adaptations of quintessentially British novels. In fact, her next project may be ”Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” In an interview published Monday in the Times of India, she said, ”I’m getting offers to direct ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.’ I read it over the weekend. I’m still deciding.” The Indian-born director added, ”I’m not letting all this go to my head. I’m grounded. I practice detachment. It helps me keep my balance.”

If she takes the job, she’d be the series’ fourth director, after Chris Columbus (who directed the first two), Alfonso Cuaron (who directed this year’s ”Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), and Mike Newell, who’s currently shooting ”Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” with an eye toward a Nov. 2005 release. ”Phoenix” would presumably star the same cast of kids, if they haven’t gotten too old, and would hit theaters in June 2007. One person who may be able to persuade Nair to take the job is her 12-year-old boy. ”My son Zoharan’s excited,” she said. ”I’ve seen all the Harry Potter movies with him.”