The Warner Bros Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter officially opens to the public today, after a hectic few weeks of press previews and interviews. THN visited the studios last week (which you can read all about over here), and returned on Thursday for a series of interviews with the folks behind the films and the tour, including everyone from director David Yates (who worked on the last four POTTER films) and producers David Heyman and David Barron to the arts and costume directors…
Sarah Roots (VP Warner Bros Studio Tour London) and Dan Dark (SVP and Managing Director of Warner Bros Studios Leavesden)
Which parts of the tour are you most proud of?
SR: I think the parts that make me most proud is the reaction from the visitors; they come in, something happens and you know you’ve got an absolute ‘wow’ moment, and that is very satisfying. So for example when you’re in the screening room [at the start of the tour], the Great Hall reveal is just fabulous. I actually sat before in front of someone who said ‘the only thing that could make this more perfect would be if you could walk through the screen at the end’. And then the screen rose up! So that was just fabulous. And then there’s the creatures and animatronics workshop, Diagon Alley, and the Hogwarts model behind us, which is just so detailed.
DD: I’m a born and bred filmmaker. I started my life in the filmmaking business many years ago, as a teenager. For me, the best bit of the tour is actually the overall facility – the fact that, for once in the British film industry’s life, we’ve put on display the incredible talent that exists. We have, arguably, some of the best craftsmen, filmmakers, actors, actresses and designers in the world. What we’re able to create is really special stuff. I’ve been lucky enough to create films all around the world, and I’ve never seen the level of quality that we’re able to achieve here in the UK anywhere else. And that’s why films like the HARRY POTTER series get made in the UK, because we do it at such a high quality level.
One thing that really struck me while walking around here last week was that the tour guides really seemed to know their stuff. Were they all HARRY POTTER fans before applying to work here?
SR: Yes, yes, the vast majority are HARRY POTTER fans, and we’ve had the benefit of being brand new, of having a training period which we’ve also run through anything from watching the films right through to them setting their own quizzes, testing each other on their knowledge and history. We’ve actually got a member of staff who’s got a tattoo of a Horcrux. So they are real, genuine fans and they’re absolutely loving working here and being around all these sets and meeting the production crew who put it all together.
Did you face any particular challenges or obstacles in setting up the tour?
DD: I think the biggest challenge has been to ensure we represent the films and the books to the level of quality and standard that we’ve been able to do. And I hope you’ll agree with me that the quality that’s out there is something special.
SR: Absolutely; the detail, the quality – and that’s starting to come through now that we’ve had a few visitors. I think that’s also in our staff; how that adds to the visit, and makes it memorable for the visitors and brings the set to life. They’re able to share their knowledge and stories, and show the detail in the sets. So I think it’s in the construction side and also in the staff and how they can bring the tour to life.
David Yates (Director)
What are your best memories of making these movies?
DY: The people. We had a great time; they’re such a nice bunch of people. You’ve got Stuart Craig, who helped put most of [the tour] together, who’s such a gifted man. And the producers David and David, and the young cast who were great fun to work with, and the older cast as well. You come to work every day and you build up this bond with people, because it’s tough making films – you start very early in the morning, you finish late at night, so these are the people you share things with. Every day there are problems and issues that you have to resolve. So the people that you work with make it special, and [gave me] my happiest memories – we laughed a lot here, you know? We had lots of laughter. So it was mainly the people.
How far involved with putting this whole thing together were you personally?
DY: This is the first time I’ve been here and I’m really knocked out. I think it’s really super, and it’s really tastefully done; I think it’s a celebration of the nuts and bolts it takes to put a movie together. It’s marvellous to see this huge great beautiful Hogwarts model behind us. Actually I’m glad I stayed away, because when I finished filming seven months ago it was a huge relief, so if someone had said ‘do you want to come tell us where to put this model’ I would have been like ‘NO!’
Has HARRY POTTER changed the way you’re approaching other projects?
DY: It’s ruined me completely, because we had the biggest budgets in the world, we had the nicest people to work with in the world, and the studio were always really kind and indulgent. So now in the real world you go out and you say: ‘I’m gonna make this movie.’ And then you realise: ‘Oh my god! Movies in the real world are actually made for this much, and you get this much time to shoot them.’ So there’s been a process of realignment with reality which is really healthy actually, which is why I’ve deliberately chosen to make a small film next rather than a big blockbuster. I thought it’d be really healthy; I’d make something really lean and mean and with a tiny crew and get back to where I was seven years ago before I was indulged with all these wonderful toys and all these wonderful people and that really helps you get your fighting feet back.
Have you talked about any of this with the other POTTER directors (Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell)?
DY: We haven’t, no. At some point we should have a round table session. That would be good, actually. We could compare war stories.
Would you find it hard to watch your films now, having lived with them for so long? Is it difficult to watch them without being critical?
DY: Yeah, it’s always difficult. I think whenever you do anything it’s always hard isn’t it, to sit and review? For actors it’s a nightmare; they find it really difficult to watch themselves. Every film I’ve ever made, before and including POTTER, I always think, ‘would change that, wouldn’t do that’ – so I think the only time you can watch them is years from now, honestly. So it’s hard, because you just deconstruct all the time.
What’s your dream project?
DY: A script that feels like it’s got a singular voice, so it doesn’t feel like you’ve heard that before; something that makes me laugh, so it’s got a sense of humour and humanity about it; and right now, it doesn’t involve any green screens!
So you’re sick of green screens?
DY: Yeah, no more green screens please! The weird thing about working with them is that when the young actors are in a green screen environment, they’re not in the real world – when we shot HALLOWS: PART 1 we went to Wales, to shoot a scene where Dobby dies. And we were on the beach, in the sand, and they were slightly hypothermic – the young actors – and their teeth were chattering and they were freezing, and they were able to connect. They were wet, they were cold, the sea was coming in – we were running out of time because the water was about to wash everything away, and everyone was going really really fast.
And that engagement with the real world, the tactility of the real world, imbued the performances with authenticity. And when you’re in a green screen it’s really hard, because you’re constantly trying to paint a picture for them, and you don’t have to paint a picture when you’re cold and wet. You’re cold and wet and it goes into your brain and then that affects your acting. They’ll always remind me: ‘You did this to us, you almost gave us pneumonia!’ But it was good for them.
You’ve probably been asked this a billion times, but which house are you?
DY: That’s a good question actually. I’d like to think I was Gryffindor, but I don’t know. I was going to say I probably started Gryffindor and probably ended up Slytherin; the process of making these movies sort of pulls you into a darker place – just because you’re exhausted and you need to recharge.
Would you be able to comment on rumours of your involvement in a DOCTOR WHO film?
DY: I can, but I don’t really want to talk about it too much because frankly, we’re not going to do anything about it for another five to seven years, so it’s a very slow burn. But I am very excited about it, because the TV series is wonderful – Steven Moffat is a genius and I love his work – and they’re doing so well and that will continue for a while, but we’ve talked loosely about a movie and we’re thinking about it.
There was a bit of a furore when that was announced. Did you see that at all?
DY: I was kind of aware of it yeah. I mean I made the mistake of talking about it like I’m talking about it now, so I shouldn’t really be talking about it now, and again it was in the context of ‘this is something that we’ll develop over a very long period’. But then of course DOCTOR WHO is such a wonderful and well-loved project that it sounds like we’re making it next week. But we’re not, it’s going to take a while.
David Barron (Producer) and David Heyman (Producer)
Can you tell us about the selection process for the tour? Did they come to you?
DB: They drafted ideas, generally speaking, and then brought them to us.
DH: There are people who know more about it than we do, and they presented some ideas. Then we added and took away.
DB: They’re a hugely qualified bunch of people actually. They did a tremendous job; they were very sensitive to the filmmakers, to the film, to Jo and to the world [of HARRY POTTER] in general. We couldn’t really have asked for better people to collaborate with.
DH: In terms of selection they took first shot, but we talked about the graphics, the fonts; about being immersed in the world. There were things that we could help with to add authenticity to that world such as the graphics – things like that. And they were, just as David said, fantastic to work with.
DB: At times we would suggest things for graphics which were great for the way they looked in a film context, but actually, in terms of clarity – for onward participation or forward movement through the tour – we weren’t always as helpful as we might have been. But it’s a two-way street.
DH: You have to think about it in terms of flow – what’s the flow through the place, how are they dealing with that? It sounds like a foreign language to us.
DB: [laughs] That’s not something that we know much about!
DH: But again, it’s a testament to Warner Bros.
Has the tour been the most challenging part of your HARRY POTTER careers?
DH: No. Absolutely not.
DB: No. It would have been if we’d been responsible for designing it from the start, but we were helping someone else who was doing the lion’s share of the work. I’ve never been part of something like this before and I never will again, I’m sure, so it was just really interesting.
DH: I think [the most challenging part] was probably the first film, just because it was defining the world, and then with casting everybody – but then you look at the seventh films and getting the cast back on board.
DB: Yeah, that was challenging. I didn’t start at the beginning, I came in on the second film, but the cast had been contracted for two films with the option for two further films, because nobody knew at the very beginning whether or not the books would continue to be successful. So after the fourth film, which was the second option, we had to re-contract all of the cast, and I think that was probably one of the most challenging moments. It took a long time. And at that time of course we didn’t know we were going to make eight films, we thought we were making seven.
DH: Yeah, and then of course we had to go back again after [HALF-BLOOD PRINCE] and say ‘we’re not just making one film out of [DEATHLY HALLOWS], we’re making two’.
DB: There were lots of challenging things, but it was fun.
DH: Yeah, even with all the challenges it was one hell of a ride. It was fantastic and I know I miss it.
DB: Me too!
As you move onto other things, what have you taken from the HARRY POTTER experience that is helping you beyond it?
DB: Well you never stop learning. As you can see, I’m not a young man anymore –
DH: Oh David!
DB: – but actually you never stop learning. I think every experience you have; somehow it just informs the next one. And sometimes, depending on what you end up doing next – whether it’s a romantic drama or something – then there’s lots of things from HARRY POTTER that won’t be involved. But then the film afterwards, they might all be involved. Who knows? But you never stop learning; there’s always a better way of doing something.
Do you remember what the first set you built for HARRY POTTER was?
DH: I think it was maybe… was it the boys’ dormitory? Maybe the Gryffindor common room and the boys’ dormitory. I think… but I honestly can’t remember.
Wasn’t the first shot the train?
DH: Yes, but we didn’t build that. That was on location. The first scene we shot was the last scene of the first film. We tried to make Dan [Radcliffe]’s eyes green, because that’s what they are in the book, so we gave him contact lenses – but he had an allergic reaction to them, so his eyes were very red and bloodshot. But he was such a sport; he was determined to carry on. So the first day of shooting we did it, and he’s hugging Hagrid goodbye, so his eyes are meant to be red, swollen; it was perfect. But after that we removed the lenses.
Especially now with the tour and the theme parks opening in America, do you think HARRY POTTER will have the same kind of longevity as, say, STAR WARS, 30 years from now?
DH: Well we’re living it now really… I don’t know; it would be great if it did. I think there’s a classical quality to [the series], it has some relatable touchpoints which will mean the books are read and the films are seen for many years to come – [such as] school, teachers, friendship and loyalty.
DB: It’s such a solid series of films. Every now and then you’ll turn on the TV and CHAMBER OF SECRETS or one of the other earlier films is playing and you think, ‘oh I’m not gonna watch this’, but then you just think ‘oh this is fun’, [and end up watching it]. So I think because there’s this great big block of work that has a beginning, middle and an end that hopefully it will inspire younger and new audiences, in the way that it inspired the audience who grew up with it, but it’s hard to tell.
DH: Yeah it’s definitely hard to tell. We could be very presumptuous and just say ‘yes’; I mean, I hope so. The films are no longer, but the interest in the theme park, for example, has not waned in the slightest – and there are talks of expanding the theme parks, of building one in Anaheim and expanding the one in Orlando, so some people must believe that it’s going to carry on.
Jany Temime (Costume Director) and Neil Lamont (Art Director)
Where do you get the inspiration to create these costumes?
JT: When you read the scripts you have a certain idea of what it should be, and then the casting brings a lot – when an actor is cast to play the part, you visualise. You think ‘why has this actor been cast in this role?’ And sometimes it’s very clear, and sometimes it isn’t very clear, and you think ‘why did the director want that person?’ So it must be something in the character that we didn’t see. And we start understanding, so then little by little we start designing and it comes together.
Which of the costumes and sets did it take you the longest to design?
JT: Voldemort was very hard. There were things like Umbridge who came straight away because the description was quite strong, and I always imagined the Queen [laughs]. I had two things in my mind about Umbridge; the way the Queen always carries a handbag, I thought Umbridge should always be like that [mimics posh walk], thinking ‘this is going to be Umbridge’. So that was very easy, and I wanted a theme going from light [pink] to harder and harder when she’s getting worse and worse. But Voldemort was difficult. Tonks was difficult because we didn’t know which way to go with her, as she gets married – the little punk who becomes a housewife and marries a teacher.
NL: Who’s a wolf.
JT: Yeah, a wolf on top of it, so you know you have a punk who marries a wolf and he’s a teacher – so it was quite a difficult character to put together. But we were very well supported by the casting directors on every single film. They were very helpful. And I was working with the best actors I could have thought of.
NL: More often than not, the bigger the set, the more difficult it was. But also things like the Ministry of Magic – obviously it’s underground, so how do we try to convey that? What architectural devices and materials and finishes help convey that, but also at the same time give you a very direct understanding that it’s also municipal as well and it is the government? So I would have said the Ministry of Magic was probably, out of all the films (along with the school), the most complicated [set design].
The Warner Bros Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter is open to the public from today.
