Harry Potter (film series)

***Harry Potter*** is a British-American film series based on the *Harry Potter* novels by author J. K. Rowling. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of eight fantasy films, beginning with *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* (2001) and culminating with *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2* (2011).[2][3] A spin-off prequel series will consist of five films, starting with *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them* (2016), marking the beginning of the Wizarding World shared media franchise.[4]

The series was mainly produced by David Heyman, and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the three leading characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Four directors worked on the series: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates.[5] Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay for *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix* (2007), while the remaining films had their screenplays written by Steve Kloves. Production took place over ten years, with the main story arcfollowing Harry Potter's quest to overcome his arch-enemy Lord Voldemort.[6]

*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, the seventh and final novel in the series, was adapted into two feature-length parts.[7] *Part 1*was released in November 2010, and *Part 2* was released in July 2011.[8][9]

Five of the series' eight films are among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, with *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2*the highest-grossing film in the series and one of 36 films to gross over $1 billion, ranking at number ten. Without inflation adjustment, it is the third highest-grossing film series with $7.7 billion in worldwide receipts.

Harry Potter

[1]

*Harry Potter* logo as used in the films

Directed by

Chris Columbus (*1*–*2*)
Alfonso Cuarón (*3*)
Mike Newell (*4*)
David Yates (*5*–*8*)

Produced byDavid Heyman
Chris Columbus (*3*)
Mark Radcliffe (*3*)
David Barron (*5*–*8*)
J. K. Rowling (*7*–*8*)

Screenplay by

Steve Kloves (*1*–*4*, *6*–*8*)
Michael Goldenberg (*5*)

Based on *Harry Potter*by J. K. Rowling

Starring

Daniel Radcliffe
Rupert Grint
Emma Watson

Music by

John Williams (*1*–*3*)
Patrick Doyle (*4*)
Nicholas Hooper (*5*–*6*)
Alexandre Desplat (*7*–*8*)

Cinematography

John Seale (*1*)
Roger Pratt (*2*, *4*)
Michael Seresin (*3*)
Sławomir Idziak (*5*)
Bruno Delbonnel (*6*)
Eduardo Serra (*7*–*8*)

Edited by

Richard Francis-Bruce (*1*)
Peter Honess (*2*)
Steven Weisberg (*3*)
Mick Audsley (*4*)
Mark Day (*5*–*8*)

Production
company

Warner Bros. Pictures
Heyday Films
1492 Pictures (*1*–*3*)

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures

Release date

2001–2011

Running time

1179 minutes[1]CountryUnited Kingdom
United StatesLanguageEnglishBudget**Total (8 films)**
$1.2 billionBox office**Total (8 films)**
$7.7 billion

## Production

Filming of the series began at Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire, England, in September 2000 and ended in December 2010, with post-production on the final film lasting until summer 2011.[6] Leavesden Studios was the main base for filming *Harry Potter*, and it opened to the public as a studio tour in 2012 (renamed as Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden).[29]

[2]

Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, where much of the film series was shot. *Harry Potter* was also filmed in other areas, including Pinewood Studios.

David Heyman produced all the films in the series with his production company Heyday Films, while David Barron joined the series as an executive producer on *Chamber of Secrets* and *Goblet of Fire*. Barron was later appointed producer on the last four films. Chris Columbus was an executive producer on the first two films alongside Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan, but he became a producer on the third film alongside Heyman and Radcliffe. Other executive producers include Tanya Seghatchian and Lionel Wigram. J. K. Rowling, author of the series, was asked to become a producer on *Goblet of Fire* but declined. She subsequently accepted the role on the two-part *Deathly Hallows*.[30]

Heyday Films and Columbus' company 1492 Pictures collaborated with Duncan Henderson Productions in 2001, Miracle Productions in 2002, and P of A Productions in 2004. Even though *Prisoner of Azkaban* was the final film produced by 1492 Pictures, Heyday Films continued with the franchise and collaborated with Patalex IV Productions in 2005. The sixth film in the series, *Half-Blood Prince*, was the most expensive film to produce as of 2009.

Warner Bros. split the seventh and final novel in the series, *Deathly Hallows*, into two cinematic parts. The two parts were filmed back-to-back from early 2009 to summer 2010, with the completion of reshoots taking place on 21 December 2010; this marked the end of filming *Harry Potter*. Heyman stated that *Deathly Hallows* was "shot as one film" but released in two feature-length parts.[31]

Tim Burke, the visual effects supervisor of the series, said of the production on *Harry Potter*, "It was this huge family; I think there were over 700 people working at Leavesden, an industry in itself." David Heyman said, "When the first film opened, no way did I think we'd make eight films. That didn't seem feasible until after we'd done the fourth." Nisha Parti, the production consultant on the first film, said that Heyman "made the first film very much the way he felt the studio Warner Bros. wanted to make it." After the film's success, Heyman was given "more freedom".[32]

One of the aims of the filmmakers from the beginning of production was to develop the maturity of the films. Chris Columbus stated, "We realised that these movies would get progressively darker. Again, we didn't know *how* dark but we realised that as the kids get older, the movies get a little edgier and darker."[33] This transpired with the succeeding three directors who would work on the series in the following years, with the films beginning to deal with issues such as death, betrayal, prejudice, and political corruption as the series developed narratively and thematically.[5][34]

### Directors

After Chris Columbus had finished working on *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, he was hired to direct the second film, *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*. The production started within a week after the release of the first film. Columbus was set to direct all entries in the series,[35] but he did not want to return for the third film, *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, claiming he was "burned out".[36] He moved to the position of producer, while Alfonso Cuarón was approached for the role of director. He was initially nervous about directing the instalment since he had not read any of the books or seen the films. After reading the series, he changed his mind and signed on to direct since he had immediately connected to the story.[37]

[3]

David Yates directed four of the films in the series, including the two-part finale *Deathly Hallows*.

Because Cuarón decided not to direct the fourth instalment, *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, a new director had to be selected.[38] Mike Newell was chosen to direct the film, but he declined to direct the next film, *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, which was given to David Yates, who also directed *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince* and *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, becoming the only director to helm more than one film since Chris Columbus.

Chris Columbus said his vision of the first two films was of a "golden storybook, an old-fashioned look", while Alfonso Cuarón changed the visual tone of the series, desaturated the colour palette, and expanded the landscape around Hogwarts.[33][38] Mike Newell decided to direct the fourth film as a "paranoid thriller", while David Yates wanted to "bring a sense of jeopardy and character to the world".[39][40] Cuarón, Newell, and Yates have said that their challenge was striking a balance between making the films according to their individual vision, while working within a cinematic world already established by Columbus.[38][39][40]

David Heyman commented on the "generosity of the directors" by revealing that "Chris spent time with Alfonso, Alfonso spent time with Mike and Mike spent time with David, showing him an early cut of the film, talking through what it means to be a director and how they went about [making the films]."[41]

David Heyman also said, "I suppose Chris Columbus was the most conservative choice from the studio's point of view. But he expressed real passion."[32] Producer Tanya Seghatchian said they were "more adventurous" in choosing a director for the third film and went straight to Alfonso Cuarón.[32] Mike Newell became the first British director of the series when he was chosen for the fourth film; Newell was considered to direct the first film before he dropped out.[32] David Yates directed the final films after David Heyman thought him capable of handling the edgy, emotional, and political material of the later novels.[42]

All the directors have been supportive of each other. Chris Columbus praised the character development in the films, while Alfonso Cuarón admired the "quiet poetry" of David Yates' films.[33][38] Mike Newell noted that each director had a different heroism, and David Yates views the first four films "respectfully and enjoy[s] them."[39][40] Daniel Radcliffe said Yates "took the charm of the films that Chris made and the visual flair of everything that Alfonso did and the thoroughly British, bombastic nature of the film directed by Mike Newell" and added "his own sense" of realism.[43]

### Scripts

Steve Kloves wrote the screenplays for all but the fifth film, which was penned by Michael Goldenberg. Kloves had direct assistance from J.K. Rowling, though she allowed him what he described as "tremendous elbow room". Rowling asked Kloves to remain faithful to the spirit of the books; thus, the plot and tone of each film and its corresponding book are virtually the same, albeit with some changes and omissions for purposes of cinematic style, time, and budget constraints. Michael Goldenberg also received input from Rowling during his adaptation of the fifth novel; Goldenberg was originally considered to adapt the first novel before the studio chose Kloves.[44]

[4]

A studio model of Hogwarts. It is the main setting in the series; the castle features in every novel and screen adaptation.

In a 2010 interview, David Heyman briefly explained the book-to-film transition. He commented on Rowling's involvement in the series, stating that she understood that "books and films are different" and was "the best support" a producer could have. Rowling had overall approval on the scripts, which were viewed and discussed by the director and the producers. Heyman also said that Kloves was the "key voice" in the process of adapting the novels and that certain aspects from the books needed to have been excluded from the scripts due to the filmmakers' decision to keep the main focus on Harry's journey as a character, which would ultimately give the films a defined structure. Heyman mentioned that some fans "don't necessarily understand the adaptation process" and that the filmmakers would have loved to "have everything" from the books in the films but noted that it was not possible since they had "neither time nor cinematic structure" to do so. He finished by saying that adapting a novel to the screen is "a really considered process."[45]

Because the films were being made as the novels were being published, the filmmakers had no idea of the story's outcome until the release of the final novel in 2007. Kloves spoke of his relationship with Rowling when adapting the novels by saying, "The thing is about Jo, which is remarkable for someone who had no experience with the filmmaking process, was her intuition. We had a conversation the very first day I met her where she said, 'I know the movies can't be the books... because I know what's coming and it's impossible to fully dramatise on screen what I'm going to write. But I just ask you to be true to the characters; that's all I care about.'"[46] Kloves also said, "I don't know what compelled me to say this [to Rowling], but I said, 'I've just got to warn you my favourite character is not Harry. My favourite character is Hermione.' And I think for some weird reason, from that moment on, she sort of trusted me."[46]

### Cast and crew

Aside from the three lead actors, other notable cast members include Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, and Dame Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall. Richard Harris, who played the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore, died on 25 October 2002 causing the role to be re-cast for the third instalment, *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*. David Heyman and director Alfonso Cuarón chose Michael Gambon to portray the character of Dumbledore, which he did for all succeeding films. Notable recurring cast members include Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick, Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, Brendan Gleeson as Alastor Moody, Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney, Mark Williams as Arthur Weasley, and Julie Walters as Molly Weasley.

The series has seen many returning crew members from various departments, including Tim Burke, visual effects supervisor; Peter Doyle, digital film colourist; Nick Dudman, make-up and creature effects designer; David Holmes, stunt double; Amanda Knight, make-up artist; Stephenie McMillan, set designer; Greg Powell, stunt coordinator; Jany Temime, costume designer; and Fiona Weir, casting director.

### Set design

[5]

The Hall of Christ Churchin Oxford, England, the inspiration for the studio film set of The Great Hall of Hogwarts.[47][48]

The production designer for all eight films is Stuart Craig. Assisted by Stephenie McMillan, Craig has created iconic sets pieces including the Ministry of Magic, the Chamber of Secrets, Malfoy Manor, and the layout for the CGI Horcrux Cave. Because the novels were being published as the films were being made, Craig was required to rebuild some sets for future films and alter the design of Hogwarts.[49]

[6]

The studio film set of The Great Hall of Hogwarts was one of the first sets ever created for the series.[50]

He said, "In the early days, every time you saw the exterior of Hogwarts, it was a physical miniature," which was made by craftsmen and occupied a large sound stage.[51][52] "We ended up with a profile of how Hogwarts looked, a skyline that actually I didn't design, and it wasn't always satisfactory, and as all the novels got written and movies got made there were new requirements [for buildings]. The [Astronomy Tower] definitely wasn't there originally, and so we were able to add that substantial piece. And in the last film, we needed an arena for the battle for Hogwarts – the big courtyard outside doubled in size, and if you look at the first movie it wasn't there at all. There were quite some liberties taken with the continuity of Hogwarts."[53] In the last film, Craig used a digital model instead of a miniature to "embrace the latest technology".[52]

On the method of creating the sets, Craig said he often started by sketching ideas onto a blank sheet of paper.[54] Stephanie McMillan also said that "each film always had plenty of new challenges," citing the changes in visual style between directors and cinematographers as an example, along with the developing story in the novels. Due to J.K. Rowling's descriptions of various settings in the novels, Craig noted his "responsibility was to place it together".[55]

Craig commented on his experience working in the studio environment: "I'm the production designer, but on a big movie like *Harry Potter* I may be responsible for 30 to 35 people; from the supervising art director, and a team of art directors and assistants, to draughtsmen and junior draughtsmen, and then on to model makers, sculptors and scenic artists." He said, "Ten years ago, all the *Harry Potter* drawings were done in pencil. I would take my roughs and plans and sections and give them to a professional architectural illustrator, who would create concept art using pencil and colour wash on watercolour paper." He said the process changed slightly throughout the years due to, what he called, the "digital revolution" of making films.[52]

When filming of the series was completed, some of Craig's sets had to be rebuilt or transported for them to be displayed at the Warner Bros. studio tour.[51]

### Cinematography

Six directors of photography worked on the series: John Seale on the first film, Roger Pratt on the second and fourth, Michael Seresin on the third, Sławomir Idziak on the fifth, Bruno Delbonnel on the sixth, and Eduardo Serra on the seventh and eighth. Delbonnel was considered to return for both parts of *Deathly Hallows*, but he declined, stating that he was "scared of repeating" himself.[56] Delbonnel's cinematography in *Half-Blood Prince* gained the series its only Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. As the series progressed, each cinematographer faced the challenge of shooting and lighting older sets (which had been around since the first few films) in unique and different ways.[57] Chris Columbus said the series' vivid colouring decreased as each film was made.[33][58]

Michael Seresin commented on the change of visual style from the first two films to *Prisoner of Azkaban*: "The lighting is moodier, with more shadowing and cross-lighting." Seresin and Alfonso Cuarón moved away from the strongly coloured and brightly lit cinematography of the first two films, with dimmer lighting and a more muted colour palette being utilised for the succeeding five films.[59] After comparing a range of digital cameras with 35 mm film, Bruno Delbonnel decided to shoot the sixth movie, *Half-Blood Prince*, on film rather than the increasingly popular digital format. This decision was kept for the two-part *Deathly Hallows* with Eduardo Serra, who said that he preferred to work with film because it was "more technically accurate and dependable".[60]

Because the majority of *Deathly Hallows* takes place in various settings away from Hogwarts, David Yates wanted to "shake things up" by using different photographic techniques such as using hand-held cameras and very wide camera lenses.[61] Eduardo Serra said, "Sometimes we are combining elements shot by the main unit, a second unit, and the visual effects unit. You have to know what is being captured – colours, contrast, et cetera – with mathematical precision." He noted that with Stuart Craig's "amazing sets and the story", the filmmakers could not "stray too far from the look of the previous *Harry Potter* films."[60][62]

### Editing

Along with continuous changes in cinematographers, there have been five film editors to work in post-production on the series: Richard Francis-Bruce edited the first instalment, Peter Honess the second, Steven Weisberg the third, Mick Audsley the fourth, and Mark Day films five through eight.

### Music

[7]

John Williams scored the first three films and received Academy Award nominations for the first and third films.

The *Harry Potter* series has had four composers. John Williams scored the first three films: *Philosopher's Stone*, *Chamber of Secrets*, and *Prisoner of Azkaban*. However, the second entry was adapted and conducted by William Ross due to Williams's conflicting commitments. Williams also created *Hedwig's Theme*, which is used in every film in the series.

After Williams left the series to pursue other projects, Patrick Doyle scored the fourth entry, *Goblet of Fire*, which was directed by Mike Newell, with whom Doyle had worked previously. In 2006, Nicholas Hooper started work on the score to *Order of the Phoenix* by reuniting with director David Yates. Hooper also composed the soundtrack to *Half-Blood Prince* but decided not to return for the final films.

In January 2010, Alexandre Desplat was confirmed to compose the score for *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1*.[63] The film's orchestration started in the summer with Conrad Pope, the orchestrator on the first three *Harry Potter* films, collaborating with Desplat. Pope commented that the music "reminds one of the old days."[64] Desplat returned to score *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2* in 2011.[65]

Director David Yates stated that he wanted John Williams to return to the series for the final installment, but their schedules did not align due to the urgent demand for a rough cut of the film.[66] The final recording sessions of *Harry Potter* took place on 27 May 2011 at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra, orchestrator Conrad Pope, and composer Alexandre Desplat.[67]

Doyle, Hooper, and Desplat introduced their own personal themes to their respective soundtracks, while keeping a few of John Williams's themes.

### Visual effects

There have been many visual effects companies to work on the *Harry Potter* series. Some of these include Rising Sun Pictures, Double Negative, Cinesite, Framestore, and Industrial Light & Magic. The latter three have worked on all the films in the series, while Double Negative and Rising Sun Pictures began their commitments with *Prisoner of Azkaban* and *Goblet of Fire*, respectively. Framestore contributed by developing many memorable creatures and sequences to the series.[68] Cinesite was involved in producing both miniature and digital effects for the films.[69] Producer David Barron said that "*Harry Potter* created the UK effects industry as we know it. On the first film, all the complicated visual effects were done on the [US] west coast. But on the second, we took a leap of faith and gave much of what would normally be given to Californian vendors to UK ones. They came up trumps." Tim Burke, the visual effects supervisor, said many studios "are bringing their work to UK effects companies. Every facility is fully booked, and that wasn't the case before *Harry Potter*. That's really significant."[32]

### Final filming

On 12 June 2010, filming of the *Deathly Hallows – Part 1* and *Deathly Hallows – Part 2* was completed with actor Warwick Davis stating on his Twitter account, "The end of an Era – today is officially the last day of principal photography on 'Harry Potter' – ever. I feel honoured to be here as the director shouts cut for the very last time. Farewell Harry & Hogwarts, it's been magic!".[70] However, reshoots of the epilogue scene were confirmed to begin in the winter of 2010. The filming was completed on 21 December 2010, marking the official closure of filming the *Harry Potter* franchise.[71] Exactly four years earlier on that day, author J. K. Rowling's official website revealed the title of the final novel in the series – *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*.[72]