Opening event is taking place on the afternoon of Saturday 31st March 2012 in London.
The Warner Brothers Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter opens to the public on March 31. The tour’s website promises that “secrets will be revealed” – but are they secrets anyone wants to know? And is the studio tour just the poor man’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter?
Film studio Warner Brothers spent £100,000 (a drop in the bucket when considering how much the eight films raked in) over the last 18 months converting the studio where the Potter films were made into a permanent tourist attraction. There, fans will be able to see the actual sets, props and special effects used in the films, including a 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts, an 18-foot wide Aragog, and an animatronic Buckbeak.
The studio is in Leavesden in Hertfordshire, just a short Potter-themed double-decker shuttle ride from Watford Junction station (20 minutes by train from Euston). Previously the home of James Bond (during the Pierce Brosnan years, 1994 to 2000), the studio is a converted aircraft factory.
The magic starts in the entrance hall; the flying Ford Anglia used by the Weasleys nestles nonchalantly in a corner, and you can also peer into Harry’s childhood bedroom under the stairs of the Dursley house.
It is 18 months since Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint (Harry, Hermione and Ron) left Leavesden, near Watford, Herts - their home from home for more than a decade. But they are back in a video to welcome you to the tour.
Then the doors open into the Great Hall at Hogwarts, decked out for a fabulous dinner, where you can imagine Harry receiving an evil look from his enemy Draco Malfoy.
Daniel once admitted he was close to tears when the hall was partially destroyed for the final scenes of the last movie. But now it has been lovingly rebuilt, brick by brick.
Before it was a film studio, Leavesden was an aircraft factory, so there’s plenty of space to prove that the real geniuses on the films worked behind the scenes.
There’s the Gryffindor dormitory, Dumbledore’s office and Hagrid’s hut, which is tiny - a simple trick to make actor Robbie Coltrane truly look like a giant.
At the Weasley house experience some real magic, point a wand to make an iron start moving, before invisible hands started knitting.
Fly your own broomstick. Sitting in front of a green screen with a fan blowing the wind in your hair, you will really feel what it was like for the actors flying over the sights of London and into Hogwarts.
In the backlot, you can step onto the Knight Bus, created from three vintage London double-deckers, and see Privet Drive, home of the awful Dursleys.
Then to Diagon Alley pressing your face against the window of Ollivander’s wand shop.
Feel the trickle of a tear when you first see the huge model of Hogwarts. Standing at a 1:24 ratio, with a diameter of 50ft, it contains elements of Durham Cathedral and Alnwick Castle, where some scenes where shot, but it’s more ornate than any real building.
There are tiny, hand-crafted sculptures and 300 fibre-optic lights that simulate lanterns and even give the illusion of students moving through the hallways.
For Harry fans the exhibition is a must-see, but parents should note this is not a theme park - there are no rides and very little to touch. And with tickets costing £28 for adults and £21 for children, this is not a cheap day out.
But it’s a wondrous experience and though it hasn’t even opened yet, the exhibition - which will take 5,000 visitors a day - is practically sold out until September.
Harry Potter has always been a goldmine. And it appears his magical money-spinning is set to continue.
No comments:
Post a Comment