Last week, England’s The Sun reported that Martin Scorsese was a fan of Rupert Grint, he of Ron Beastly fame. The article quoted the director extensively, underscoring Scorsese’s admiration for Grint’s work in the Harry Potter films, and his belief that the young actor could very well be the next Leonardo DiCaprio. Only problem is: Scorsese says it’s bunk. In a statement issued to The Guardian yesterday, he said, “With respect to the Harry Potter films, regrettably I've never seen them and therefore I'm not able to discuss them or the performances in them in any way.” Woops.

In the wake of its publication, the story was widely re-reported across the web, but don’t mistake this for a hoax on the order of yesterday’s Back to the Future debacle. In the face of what would seem like incontrovertible evidence of its mistake, The Sun is nevertheless standing by its story. Here are the ostensible Scorsese quotes in full:

“I thought he was a great actor in the Harry Potter movies. In a lot of scenes, the boy stole the show. He will always have respect for the movies that gave him such a huge break, but at his age it's important he doesn't become typecast.

“He has to do something really out of his comfort zone in the next few years—play a gangster, play a dirty cop, play a kid with learning difficulties.

“I would be interested in working with him. I would have no issues in casting him as a gangster, he is a very talented young man.

“When Leo [DiCaprio] was in Titanic and Romeo And Juliet, nobody saw him becoming a bad ass in movies like The Departed. But he has become one of the greatest actors of all time. The very same could be true for Rupert.”

Obviously, this is far more than just a stray comment taken out of context. So is it (partially) made up? Seriously bad reporting? In any case, my guess is that nothing will come of it unless Scorsese takes serious umbrage at The Sun calling him a liar. Or if Grint becomes a bad ass sooner rather than later.