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French magazine "ONE" set visit report -
Summary:
French magazine "ONE" set visit report
Article:
Thanks to
TLC
French magazine "ONE" has just published a new set report of POA. Thanks to our good friend Winky, of PotterWorldOnline, we have the scans of the magazine article. Included in the translation below of the article are descriptions of the Honeydukes shop and scenes being filmed for the movie.
At an hour of driving from London, in the middle of the British countryside, is the best secured cinema studio in the world. It's name: Leavesden. It's in this mythical
studio that many of legendary movies have been made, like "Star Wars" episodes 1 & 2, the "Matrix" trilogy and the last "James Bond". It is also here that the biggest part of "Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone" and "The Chamber of Secrets" have been made,
and, since February 2003, one of the most awaited films of the year is made, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".
The first thing we can say is that the gate to the studio is very protected. At the entry, we have to show badges given by the production, and, most of all, we have to leave our cameras and cellphones to the security agents. Nobody except the official photographers of the movie has the right to take pictures of the set or the actors.
However, a lot of people tried. Indeed, there's not a day at Leavesden without a paparazzi trying to enter in the studios to take exclusive pics of "The Prisoner of Azkaban". Some of them, as some people say, tried to infiltrate the studio by landing with an helicopter on the roof! That's why, on the set, many guards are
watching every doings and actions of the visitors.
>>Visiting Hogsmeade<<
The first set we are going to visit is the one which once was Diagon Alley,the huge commercial street where Harry buys all his school stuff in "The Sorcerer's Stone". But the set has been totally remade, and now, the film crew has built Hogsmeade, a street where the wizards are shopping. The set is covered with fake snow (in fact, it's polystyrene flakes and big salt grains!) and it is really realistic. Amazed, we walk in front of different shops with strange names like "Dervish and Bangs", "The Three Broomsticks" and "Honeydukes". This last shop is very famous to the Harry Potter fans. Indeed, it's a shop where you can find all the candies imaginable, like blood-flavoured lollipops, Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans or Pepper Imps. What a program! We are curious to see if all these candies are in the shop. So we open the door of Honeydukes, and there, a spectacle that every children is dreaming of is shown to our eyes: the shop is full of candy of every colour and size! They are absolutely everywhere. A real paradise for every greedy person! After having tested a delicious chocolate frog, we inspect every detail of the room and we notice it looks really familiar. In fact, one of the technical team members working on the set told us this set was the one of the Ollivander shop, the magic wands seller, in "The Sorcerer's Stone". This room has been totaly remade for "The Prisoner of Azkaban
>>Quidditch!<<
After having visited Diagon Alley, we arrive next at a totally different set. It's a big empty room, and at the end, a big green screen has been raised. This is where the Quidditch scenes are about to be filmed! About ten minutes later, two young actors in Quidditch robes take sit on their brooms, in the air, hanging with
cables, and Alfonso Cuaron, the director, sits down in front of his control monitor. In this scene, one of the Quidditch players (who is not part of the main chraracters)has his broom stucks by lightening, and he crashes down on the floor. In more than an hour, many shots of this scene are filmed, then all the team goes to another set
where they are still filming.We hope we can finally see Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson...
>>Hogwarts Great Hall<<
We are going to another set, the one with the Hogwarts moving staircases, and on the wall are the portraits of old school headmasters. In fact, these teachers are pictures of the technical crew who wanted to enter in the legend of the magical school! Not so far away is the set of Dumbledore's office, and it's now the Astronomy (?)class. One of the staff members tells us that it's in this class that Professor Lupin will teach to Harry the Patronus curse (which is giving him the power to push back thehorrible Dementors)...
After a long walking, we are now arriving to the biggest set of the film: Hogwarts Great Hall. Inspired by the Oxford University Hall, it's really spectacular. Its floor is covered with marble and the height is dizzying. For a few moments, we really have the feeling of being at Hogwarts, ready to meet the venerable Dumbledore. Talking about
Dumbledore, we're going near his throne(main chair)and we sit down on it... very comfortable! But there's no more time to play the tourists. A scene is ready to be filmed here.
While the operator chief and his assistants are lighting the set, three silhouettes, recognizable appear. There, at a short distance in front of us, from the back, two boys and a girl are having a conversation with another person. The three of them are wearing the Hogwarts uniform. No doubt, it's the three movie stars,
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. When their conversation is finished, the three young people turn themself and go to the middle of the set. They are now in front of us. But when we look closely, there's a problem. Something is not going well. Suddenly, the lights come on. It's not Daniel, Rupert and Emma, but their stand-ins! They look really like them, it's amazing. In fact, these young people have to take the place of the real actors before the filming of each scene. Their part is to help the operator chief to set the lights.Indeed, they never call the real actors to do this tedious task.
A few minutes later, the real actors arrive. Daniel enters first, followed by Emma and Rupert. This is their first scene of the day and they look impatient to do this scene where Harry receives his new broom,( the firebolt!) sent by Sirius Black, the famous Prisoner of Azkaban. Alfonso Cuaron talks to the actors in private and gives them some explanations, while a lot of extras are taking place. Even if he's not talking loudly, we can hear the director saying to Daniel not to exaggerate his reaction of surprise when he discovers his new broom. Daniel takes in consideration this remark and the scene is quickly filmed. After 4 shots, the director is satisfied and goes to Daniel to shake his hand ,laughing. Apparently, they are close, and the actor will confirm this later: "Alfonso is a very hearty guy. I've never met such an energic director like him. The scenes we have already filmed are full of emotion and more intense than in the two previous films."
>>Changes<<
One thing is sure, "The Prisoner of Azkaban" will be very different from the two previous films. Alfonso Cuaron wanted to take some liberty from the J.K.Rowling book. For example, in many scenes, the Hogwarts students are not wearing their uniforms but modern clothes, like jeans or hoodies. A little revolution in the Harry Potter universe!
The other change is in the visual aspect of the film. Indeed, Alfonso Cuaron prefers general or wide-angle shots rather than close-up shots. These close-up shots were very much used in the previous Harry Potter films. "His style is very surprising", says Daniel." Alfonso don't like when the camera is too close too the actors, he gives us more liberty for moving."
We have a break so we are visiting the accessorises department, a huge place where we find a lot of items and creatures used for the three movies. There's the giant spider and the mandrakes from "The Chamber of Secrets", a gigantic suit of armour, some magic books and, the most surprising, a wax statue of Tom Felton, aka Malfoy,
who, the eyes closed, is apparently sleeping. In fact, this statue was used in a scene of the new film, in which Hagrid carrys Malfoy, who has been petrified. But it's impossible to know more...
We return to the Great Hall for the rest of the day, with some dinner scenes. It is now 7:00 PM and everybody can go home. Indeed, most of the actors are children, and the Brittish law don't allow them to work late at night.
The next day, all the team goes to another studio where a frozzen lake set has been built. It's there that one of the most important scene of the movie will be filmed...
>>The Dementors<<
"Expecto Patronum!". Near the lake, artificially recreated in the Shepperton Studios, Daniel Radcliffe is casting a spell with his wand at an invisible creature, which will be added later by computer. Twenty shots of this scene have already been filmed, but Alfonso Cuaron is still not satisfied with Daniel's performance. For him,
Daniel's invocation misses conviction and determination. We have to say this scene is very important. Harry is with Hermione, after having gone back in the time, and then he sees a Dementor (an evil creature who "sucks" his victims souls) on the lake and casts a spell, the Patronus, to destroy him. There again, the filming of this scene is every hard. At every shot, a little detail messes everything, like a vague camera movement or a projector out of place. Finally, after 40 shots (a record),the director is satisfied: "Cut, it's the good one!", he shouts to all the team. Evrybody applaudes and Daniel Radcliffe can now breathe a sigh of relief.
When we asked him if he's not too tired after this 40 takes, Daniel is really surprised: "No. Not on the moment. When you are concentrating, you don't feel tired.It is only at the end of the day that you feel really tired." But you really need a lot of energy to support the stress of a blockbuster filming like this one. "We are at
the end of the filming, so we are all a little tired obviously", Rupert says." But sincerely, I enjoy doing this more than going to school!".
>>Sirius Black<<
Not so far away is someone who is not unknown to us. He's having a conversation, smiling, with members of the team. It's Gary Oldman ("The Fifth Element" and "Dracula"). The famous actor will be Sirius Black on the big screen, the Prisoner of Azkaban. His aim is apparently to kill Harry Potter. In the film, there's a lot of
tatoos everywhere on his body, it gives him a scary look. "It's an idea of Alfonso", Gary Oldman tells us. Then, apparently in a good mood, he agrees to tell us a little more about his character performance: "Sirius Black represents a big danger for Harry. I tried to make this character as threatening as I could, I wanted the
spectators to be absolutely terrified when they see him." After seeing Gary Oldman performance, we have no doubt the spectators will be really scared when they meet this character. To be sure of this, go to your cinema on 2nd June.... (NOTE: In France and Switzerland, the movie will be realease on this date)
DAN Article:
Daniel Radcliffe recieves every year thousands of presents from his fans all around the world. But for Christmas last year, he asked his fans to change their habbits. "I'm lucky to have such great fans, who send me fantastic presents", Daniel said on his internet official site. "But this year, I wish that they would make a donation to Demelza House, the hospital near London, who cares about children with incurable ills. This hospital is doing a fantastic job, and I'm proud to give them my support." It's a
wonderful example of generosity, worthy of Harry Potter!
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