“Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts,” HBO Max’s special to celebrate 20 years since the beginning of the film saga, has revealed some important things.
“It seems that the time has not passed, but at the same time, a lot has passed.” This phrase uttered by Emma Watson (Hermione) in ‘Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts’, the HBO Max special created this Saturday to celebrate the 20 years since the beginning of the film saga, somehow sums up the sentiment of the cast that brought to life the characters created by JK Rowling: a reunion between old friends who have spent a lot together.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the special served to experience some exciting moments among its protagonists and to reveal some of the secrets that have been kept under lock and key and which, on occasion, have been the subject of theories and of speculation.
From hypothetical romances to the curiosities of the shoot, passing by moments of doubt in which some have thought of giving up. These are the most striking.
1. Director Chris Columbus was initially skeptical of reading the Harry Potter books. He covered the first two Harry Potter films, but it was his daughter Eleanor who got him “strength” to read them.
2. The floating candles in the Great Hall of Hogwarts were real. While the Harry Potter films used many computer-generated images to recreate the magic on the big screen, candles were the exception.
3. Alan Rickman knew Snape’s story before anyone else. In fact, it was one of the reasons for his participation in the saga because at the beginning he was not very convinced. JK Rowling had dinner with him to change his mind because Rickman didn’t want to be labeled a villain.
4. Emma Watson was “In love” by Tom Felton during filming. Notice, the three-year age difference made Felton think of her more as a little sister.
“I was very protective of her”, did he declare. “I’ve always had a soft spot for her and it continues to this day.” Watson says nothing romantic ever happened between them, but they “love each other” always.
6. Daniel Radcliffe’s parents weren’t clear at all. Columbus saw Radcliffe in the David Copperfield BBC adaptation and decided he had to be Potter, but since the filming was originally supposed to take place in Los Angeles, parents were reluctant to leave.
7. Emma Watson almost left the franchise. And Rupert Grint. Both weren’t too sure to come back after the first movie as they weren’t quite sure how to deal with the implications of stardom.
“I think I was scared, the celebrity touched us a lot”Watson said on the show.
8. Jason Isaacs would become Gilderoy Lockhart. Known for playing Lucius Malfoy, he was the candidate for the role of Gilderoy Lockhart. In fact, he didn’t want to play Lucius at all.
“I was about to play Captain Hook in Peter Pan and I was like, ‘Well I don’t wanna play two baddies when I was a kid'”, he admits.
9. Daniel Radcliffe was impressed with Gary Oldman. Radcliffe admired the famous actor and in fact, as he admitted on occasion, he particularly enjoyed the scenes in which Oldman appeared.
10. Director Mike Newell broke his rib while filming Goblet of Fire. As he was directing a scene between Oliver and James Phelps, who played George and Fred in the movies, Newell injured himself while teaching the brothers how to fight.
11. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were very nervous about the kiss scene. There was a lot of anticipation and even mockery.
“Everyone wanted to be on the set. Kissing Rupert is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do because Dan, Rupert and I are brothers. ”
12. The actors had difficulty saying goodbye to their characters. When the Harry Potter franchise came to an end, the cast admitted that it was an odd feeling to separate from the characters as they had grown so much with them over the years.
“I feel like I lost track of who I was and who the character was. I didn’t really know where it ended or started ”, dit Grint.
–
