All fans of the most beloved series of books and films about the boy wizard behaved well, so they received a wonderful gift under the Christmas tree: on January 1, the premiere of the special episode “Harry Potter 20 years Later: Return to Hogwarts” took place.
We have collected for you 20 interesting facts about Harry, his friends and the people who embodied his image on the screen.
- In the process of creating the Dementors, special dolls were used, and filming took place underwater to create a unique effect of their levitation, which puts the audience in a daze. Initially, the filmmakers wanted to completely shoot dementors in this way without using computer graphics, but it became clear that it was impossible to control the movement of dolls under water. In the future, underwater footage will be needed as the basis for their digital models.
- The writer determined where and when some key characters would pass away, several novels ahead, and clearly followed her plan. But one, Arthur Weasley, was lucky. It was he who was supposed to die in the book “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” but at the last moment, Rowling replaced him with Sirius Black.
- King’s Cross station was not chosen by chance. It was here that Rowling’s parents met. It is very symbolic and touching that Joan chose this station and came up with the platform as the beginning of a journey into the world of magic and magic.
- On the set of the film, Emma Watson was given the nickname “one take” because she managed to play almost any scene on her first attempt.
- Professor McGonagall was a great Quidditch player. But in the 7th year, during a game against Slytherin, after a foul from the opponent, she fell off a broom, broke several ribs, suffered a concussion, and did not return to the sport. That is why no one is so zealous against Slytherin as the head of the Gryffindor faculty.
- Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman were personally selected by J. K. Rowling as Professors McGonagall and Snape. At the same time, Alan Rickman turned out to be the only person in the world who knew the finale of the seventh book before its publication, because Rowling considered it necessary that Alan fully understand the character and know the motivation of his character before filming began.
- A gorgeous view of Hogwarts Castle — a 1-to-24 scale layout that took up an entire room. It took about 7 months of work and 40 people to build the original version of Hogwarts School of Magic. Over the years, the layout changed depending on the development of the plot. Each transformation took 3–4 months, and at least 20 people were employed in the work.
- In an interview, Rowling said that there are 11 different schools of magic and witchcraft. Among them is located in Eastern Europe, Durmstrang, which has the darkest reputation of all the world’s magic schools, the European Academy of Magic in Charmbaton, as well as the Japanese Mahoutokoro School of magic.
- To shoot a large number of scenes inside Hogwarts, the premises of Oxford University, the oldest in England, were used. For example, in one of his colleges, there was a common hall where students were selected. Scenes with stairs were also shot there, and about two hundred “magic” paintings were drawn, which were then revived using visual effects. In general, Hogwarts‘ locations are scattered all over the UK. For example, Hagrid’s hut was filmed in Scotland, and the Forbidden Forest is located 32 km from London.
- Harry Potter and Rowling were born on the same day, July 31. Harry was born on July 31, 1980, and Rowling was born on the same day fifteen years earlier.
- J. K. Rowling finished her first Harry Potter book in 1995. The literary agent who agreed to represent her sent the manuscript to 12 publishers, but it was rejected everywhere. Only a year later, the manuscript was accepted by the small London publishing house Bloomsbury, although its editor-in-chief, even after the book was approved, was sure that Rowling would not earn much money from children’s books and advised her to find a permanent job. By 2008, more than 400 million copies of the Harry Potter books had been sold and translated into 67 languages. Rowling herself became the first dollar billionaire to earn such money for writing books.
- Newt Salamander, the main character of the Fantastic Beasts prequel, appears on the looters’ map in Prisoner of Azkaban.
- When Fred and George Weasley show Harry how to use the map, it shows the famous magozoologist and author of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them in the Office of Hogwarts director Albus Dumbledore at that very moment.
- There was always a dentist on the set of Potter. He had to make sure that the loose or falling teeth of many children engaged in filming did not cause visual inconsistencies during the narrative.
- Each magic wand in Potter’s world is unique. There are simply no two identical ones, not even the Weasley twins. Dan Radcliffe managed to use about 70 chopsticks during filming.
- Shirley Henderson, who played the ghost of schoolgirl Crybaby Myrtle in “The Chamber of Secrets,” was 36 years old at the time of filming.
- In preparation for the episode where Miss Granger takes the form of Bellatrix to infiltrate Gringotts, Emma Watson compiled a list for the experienced actress Helena Bonham-Carter with recommendations on how to properly play her character.
- It took 95 takes to shoot the scene in the hallway, where the seven Potters are staying at the same time. Daniel Radcliffe spent about 12 takes portraying the plastic and behavioural features of all the characters who “turned” into Harry Potter. The easiest way for the actor was to portray Hermione’s manners; he coped with this in one take.
- The producers offered J.K. Rowling to embody the role of Harry Potter’s mother on screen, but the writer rejected this offer.
- One of the main conditions that J. K. Rowling set for the filming of the film is that all actors must be of British origin. In her opinion, only British actors could play plausibly in the Harry Potter story.
- In another interview, the writer talked about what might happen to her characters in the future. Harry Potter joined the Ministry of Magic as an obscurantist. His wife, Ginny, became a sports journalist for The Daily Prophet, ending her professional career on the Quidditch team. Ron Weasley worked in the Ministry for a short time, after which he took up the management of the Weasley Witcher Trick Store with his older brother. Hermione Granger made a career in the Ministry of Magic, rising to the position of deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law and Order.
