(London) “The only regret I have in my life is that I wasn’t born in the 1990s.”
Published at 11:30 am.
The reflection is of an 11 year old child and will make you smile.
“For what?” we ask him, doubting the answer as we prepare to cross the hallway full of giant wands that leads to the “Warner Bros. Studio Tour London” – the studios where almost all of Harry Potter films were made.
“I wish I was born before the first book was published! » he says in a tone of the obvious. Son would have liked to have been among the first Potterheads – nickname for fans of the young wizard – to experience the anticipation that comes with the release of each new novel in the saga and the release of each film.
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Back at midnight, back when the embargo was lifted, young people – and not so young anymore – lined up outside bookstores to discover the rest of the wizard's adventures.
At midnight, when the embargo was lifted, young people – and not so young anymore – lined up outside bookstores to discover the rest of the wizard's adventures, they explained to him and avoided it “In my time…” so as not to seem (too) old.
Son devoured all seven volumes in just a few months. He was 8 years old at the time. This was the prerequisite for him to then be able to watch the eight films, which he re-watched countless times.
Since then, he has dreamed of following in the footsteps of his hero with round glasses in London. The ultimate goal: visit the filming studios transformed into an interactive museum where you can immerse yourself in the sets, some real, others reconstructed, and also discover the costumes and accessories from the film saga.
Every birthday, his son put aside all the money he had collected and often volunteered to do housework (for a fee, of course). He also convinced the whole family and several neighbors to give him their empty cans and thus raise the necessary money to contribute to the travel costs.
D Day
PHOTO CAROLINE TOUZIN, THE PRESS
This is the big day!
And the big day has come! It's a Wednesday in October at Leavesden Studios, about 30 miles northwest of London. In front of us are the huge hangars that house the Warner Bros. studios.
Doors open at 10 a.m. Many children in Gryffindor robes – including a few Ravenclaws and Slytherins – are already stamping their feet in line. No Hufflepuffs in sight.
Why doesn't anyone like Hufflepuff House? we naively ask our young expert. “It's not that we don't love her. There is no hero from the series associated with this house,” Fiston explains matter-of-factly to his mother.
In the queue, in addition to English, we of course also hear French, German and Polish. Not that we doubted the little wizard's worldwide – and lasting – success, but we have further evidence of this.
We bought tickets for the tour three months in advance. It is important to get there early to get an appointment for the morning visit even outside of the tourist season.
Although the visit theoretically lasts three hours, we plan to spend the day there.
That morning we took the first free shuttle (upon presentation of tickets) that took us from Watford Junction train station to the famous studios. Getting from London to Watford Junction by train is easy and much cheaper than the charter bus option (which also departs from the English capital). The shuttle, decorated in the colors and graphics of the series, cannot be missed.
Upon our arrival we will receive an audio guide that will delight our young expert throughout his visit. It contains an impressive level of detail about the creation of the series, even for someone who knows “almost everything” about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. “It took 17,000 hand-labeled boxes to make the wand shop! » he shouts with headphones screwed onto his head.
“Did you know that thousands of feathers had to be inserted and cut by hand to make the hippo griffin? »
MURRAY CLOSE 20D PHOTO PROVIDED BY WARNER BROS.
Daniel Radcliffe in a scene from the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Harry Potter actor alone broke 80 wands while filming the films in the series.
Or again: “The actors needed 3,000 sticks. Alone, Daniel Radcliffe [l’interprète d’Harry] 80 broken! »
Before we push open the heavy door that leads to Hogwarts Hall, we are treated to a short film in which the three big stars of the saga – Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint – tell us about the “giant family” made up of film crews exists and sets that were “10 years long.” [leur] A house “.
“Ten years,” Fiston repeats to himself, projecting himself into a future that feels like an eternity. “The actors even went to school here,” he adds dreamily. We certainly won't break the magic by pointing out that a math class in a movie studio is still a math class.
Then we take a look behind the scenes.