The Financial Times is reporting that Warner Bros plans to buy Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England,. Leavesden is where they have filmed all of the Harry Potter movies including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
The new plans involve building two new permanent stages, refurbishing the existing buildings and redesigning its 100-acre “backlot”, the area used for shooting outdoor scenes.
A person familiar with the plans said Warner Brothers wants to make Leavesden a European hub for post-production, including visual effects, animatronics and film editing in the UK, and believes that it will attract film business to the country.
The proposal also includes a plan to allow members of the public to visit, by appointment, the sets of films made at Leavesden, including the great hall from the Harry Potter series.
More information as it comes! This is still a rumor for now. Thanks to SS for the tip!
Once again Director, Writer, Actor and Producer Terry Gilliam has discussed his dislike for the Harry Potter franchise and why he is glad he decided not to do a film. He also praises Alfonso Cuaron for his work on Prisoner of Azkaban. He had previously called the franchise a factory.
On Gilliam’s and J.K. Rowling’s hopes, at one time, to do a Harry Potter movie together.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do a Terry Gilliam Harry Potter movie. Those movies are factory products. There’s so much weight and pressure from the boys and girls in the head off that you’re truly inhibited in what you can do. Alfonso Cuaron did the best job on those movies, really pushing it when it came to what he was showing you, not JUST the book.
“I’ve never been very good at working for other people. But I’m totally exposed. I don’t have anybody to hide behind when things don’t work out. It doesn’t seem to be my lot in life. My lot is banging my head against walls and climbing mountains of my own making.”
Reelz Channel has released a list of the Top Ten Animated/Kid Movies of the Decade and Harry Potter has made the list at number 3! I should also mention that Harry Potter is the only non-Disney film on the list!
3. The Harry Potter Series
An amazing cinematic achievement unfolding over a decade (and with more yet to come), this series brings J.K. Rowling’s world of wizardry to life and gives us characters worth caring about. With the latest and darkest installment, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the series proves that it can not only continue to deliver, but keep on building the drama.
Also on the list are Spirited Away (awesome movie), Enchanted, Up, Wall-E, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Ratatouille and Lilo and Stitch. The only one on the list that I dislike is Lilo and Stitch.
The Economist has a new article online entitled: The Harry Potter Economy where they discuss the Harry Potter franchise and all the money it makes as well as it’s effect on the economy. Here are some snippets
This production line at Leavesden Studios, which has been running for almost a decade, will soon be switched off. “People talk about the effect of factories closing,” says David Heyman, who produces the Harry Potter films. “When we stop filming next May, at least 800 people will be looking for work.”
The first company to be transformed was Bloomsbury, a London publishing house. It was a somewhat unlikely home for a blockbuster children’s book series. […] As each book appeared it drew new readers to the series and expanded sales of earlier books in a snowball effect. Thanks largely to the boy wizard, Bloomsbury’s turnover, which had gradually increased from £11m in 1995 to £14m in 1997, took off. In 1999 it stood at £21m. Two years later it was £61m. By the middle of this decade, with Bloomsbury’s revenues above £100m, rival publishers were griping that there was no point bidding against the firm for a children’s title.
In 2000 Ms Rowling said her “worst nightmare” was that her hero would end up on the side of fast-food containers. He was to appear just about everywhere else. Warner Bros, which had been wary of being seen to spoil a revered series of books with tacky tie-ins, had no qualms about exploiting its own property.
There is another new clip from the Harry Potter Ultimate Editions online. In this clip a young Daniel Radcliffe talks about meeting Richard Harris and we see the Mirror of Erised scene, it is very cute.
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