Latest / Revelio: A Wizarding World Podcast / Episode 28: Honoring Stuart Craig's Legacy
Transcript
- 0:10Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to episode twenty eight of Revellio for
- 0:13Speaker 1: September eighteenth, twenty twenty five.
- 0:30Speaker 2: I'm Amy, I'm Nicole, and I'm Tom.
- 0:36Speaker 1: And before we begin, we wanted to take a moment
- 0:39Speaker 1: to remember the legendary Stuart Craig. Craig passed away on
- 0:43Speaker 1: September seventh, at the age of eighty three. Without Stuart Craig,
- 0:47Speaker 1: there would be no gryffindor common Room as we know it,
- 0:51Speaker 1: no Diagon, Alley or Great Hall as they undoubtedly appear
- 0:54Speaker 1: in your mind's eye. Craig was production designer for all
- 0:57Speaker 1: eight Harry Potter films and The Phantas Hasiba's trilogy. His
- 1:02Speaker 1: work in the Wizarding World expanded to the theme parks
- 1:04Speaker 1: as well, and a three time Oscar Award winner. Of course,
- 1:08Speaker 1: his visions come to life in other projects like The
- 1:11Speaker 1: Secret Garden, The Elephant Man, Gandhi, and The English Patient,
- 1:15Speaker 1: to name a few. Perhaps one of the most critical
- 1:18Speaker 1: forces in bringing the magic of the Wizarding World to life,
- 1:22Speaker 1: Stuart Craig's legacy will live on for generations every time
- 1:26Speaker 1: they revisit the stories on the screen. So, of course,
- 1:31Speaker 1: some very sad news that happened in between our recordings here.
- 1:37Speaker 2: Yeah, kind of a bombshell really, because yeah, we weren't
- 1:42Speaker 2: expecting it. I mean I did think I recall him
- 1:47Speaker 2: having some health issues back in when he was still
- 1:50Speaker 2: doing the Fantastic Beast films, Like you could tell in
- 1:53Speaker 2: his voice and you can tell like he was no
- 1:55Speaker 2: longer like at his best. But it just happened so
- 2:01Speaker 2: for us because to his dear once it must have
- 2:06Speaker 2: been a very long process. But you know, it really
- 2:09Speaker 2: caught us all by surprise, and yeah, and it's a
- 2:12Speaker 2: very very sad loss. Indeed.
- 2:15Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't even realize he was in his eighties. Honestly,
- 2:19Speaker 1: I didn't either.
- 2:21Speaker 3: This came out.
- 2:23Speaker 2: Yeah, So in this episode we are going to be
- 2:31Speaker 2: discussing Stuart Craig and his contributions to the Wizarding World.
- 2:35Speaker 2: But first.
- 2:41Speaker 3: You're listening to w W in the Wizarding Wireless Network.
- 2:46Speaker 3: Now for the latest headlines, all right, So we.
- 2:49Speaker 1: Have more new voices added to the cast list for
- 2:52Speaker 1: the Harry Potter Full Cast audio editions from Audible, and
- 2:57Speaker 1: it's quite the list. We have Kit Harrington as Professor Lockhart,
- 3:03Speaker 1: Kieran Knightley as Professor Umbridge, which is an interesting one.
- 3:10Speaker 1: You on Rihan as Professor Lupin, Gemma Whalen as Professor Sprout,
- 3:15Speaker 1: Ruth Wilson as Bellatrix the Strange, and Bika Maud as
- 3:19Speaker 1: Nimphidora Tonks, Leo Woodall as Bill Weasley, Simon Pegg as
- 3:24Speaker 1: Arthur Weasley, James McAvoy as matt I Moody, and Matt
- 3:28Speaker 1: Berry as Sir Caduggan.
- 3:31Speaker 4: So I'm so excited about this, like as you guys
- 3:34Speaker 4: already know from our group chat, and like all.
- 3:36Speaker 1: Of our I love James McAvoy, so I.
- 3:39Speaker 4: Like, yes, I like obviously, my excitement for this project
- 3:44Speaker 4: just continues with every passing moment I am. I was
- 3:51Speaker 4: sharing with Amy and Tom in our group chat that
- 3:53Speaker 4: I'm so like intrigued by some of this casting because
- 3:57Speaker 4: like so, I'm a big Game of Thrones fan, so
- 3:59Speaker 4: I'm so excited to see Kit and you in here.
- 4:02Speaker 4: I'm just it's so funny because if you're a Game
- 4:04Speaker 4: of Thrones fan, you know that Ewen played Ramsey Bolton
- 4:09Speaker 4: very uh vile and discussing villain, and he is such
- 4:14Speaker 4: a good actor that he played that role so brilliantly,
- 4:19Speaker 4: And I'm very good at separating the actor from the character,
- 4:22Speaker 4: Like I know some people have trouble with that, but
- 4:25Speaker 4: I just hope he sounds different and doesn't sound like Ramsey,
- 4:29Speaker 4: because like, I love Professor Lupin and I can't have
- 4:32Speaker 4: that associated in my brain.
- 4:34Speaker 3: But yeah, I'm so excited.
- 4:36Speaker 4: And I would have never pegged Kit for Professor Lockhart,
- 4:39Speaker 4: but I'm excited and I'm excited for Kiara as Professor Vritt.
- 4:46Speaker 2: Yes, so interesting.
- 4:48Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's the beauty of an audio recording because sure,
- 4:56Speaker 1: like we know these voices, right, but when you take
- 4:59Speaker 1: away the visual, the voice can kind of take on
- 5:03Speaker 1: its own character. Really, so it's so cool.
- 5:05Speaker 3: I can't wait.
- 5:06Speaker 1: I want to cure this.
- 5:08Speaker 2: Yeah, Kira doesn't have a TOTD face, you know, like.
- 5:11Speaker 1: Nob but we care about the voice here, right, And
- 5:16Speaker 1: I think too.
- 5:16Speaker 4: You have to remember that this is voice work, so
- 5:20Speaker 4: they're not gonna I mean, she might decide to use
- 5:22Speaker 4: her regular acting voice or her regular voice in this role,
- 5:26Speaker 4: or she may not.
- 5:28Speaker 3: And she doesn't like a very at.
- 5:30Speaker 1: All, like a sweet voice, which is what Ambridge is
- 5:34Speaker 1: supposed to have.
- 5:35Speaker 4: Right. I can totally hear her going like, oh that
- 5:38Speaker 4: was really hard to do one that's really hard.
- 5:40Speaker 2: I think I think it's probably because of the age,
- 5:43Speaker 2: Like we see her, she's still like young, and we
- 5:47Speaker 2: we have Amelda in our heads and say, no, she
- 5:50Speaker 2: should be at least sixty, and so that's a little
- 5:53Speaker 2: contradictory to us in our brains, like we were like
- 5:55Speaker 2: we expected someone a little older for the part.
- 5:59Speaker 1: But also has gotten older, like we have to remember.
- 6:05Speaker 4: You think, so they're all getting older proportionally to us
- 6:10Speaker 4: getting older.
- 6:11Speaker 2: We talked about I'm not getting older, No, that's just
- 6:13Speaker 2: it's time passing by. I'm staying the same age.
- 6:16Speaker 1: You know, is still exactly the same as she wasn't
- 6:20Speaker 1: hired And.
- 6:22Speaker 4: Of course, yeah, well and I'm also like, yeah, so
- 6:27Speaker 4: I'm also excited for James McAvoy and I'm also excited.
- 6:33Speaker 3: To be good.
- 6:34Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm excited for Simon Peg too. I yeah, I'm
- 6:40Speaker 4: not as familiar with the others, but I've heard like
- 6:42Speaker 4: a lot of people seem really excited about the other
- 6:46Speaker 4: actors and actresses that have been announced as well. So yeah,
- 6:50Speaker 4: this project just to me, it just keeps getting so
- 6:53Speaker 4: it's huge, like the names that they've been able to
- 6:56Speaker 4: pull for this, Like I I can't wait. I just
- 7:00Speaker 4: pre ordered Chamber of Secrets because my monthly audible credit
- 7:03Speaker 4: credit came in, so I've got the first two pre ordered.
- 7:08Speaker 3: But I yeah, you.
- 7:11Speaker 2: Need to give us the review then as soon as
- 7:13Speaker 2: it comes.
- 7:13Speaker 3: Out, Yes, yes I will.
- 7:16Speaker 4: It's hard because it's like they I think, yeah, so
- 7:20Speaker 4: the first one comes out in November, and then I
- 7:22Speaker 4: think the second one comes out sometime in December. Again,
- 7:25Speaker 4: like I said last episode, we listed all the dates
- 7:27Speaker 4: a couple episodes ago.
- 7:28Speaker 3: But I will definitely yes be listening as soon as
- 7:34Speaker 3: my pre order in November drops for sure.
- 7:39Speaker 2: I mean this might have must have taken them a
- 7:42Speaker 2: few good months to do, Like it's a heavy load
- 7:45Speaker 2: of work and all seven books yeah yeah, yeah, a
- 7:51Speaker 2: lot of pages.
- 7:54Speaker 4: And then all the sound effects the music like this is. Yeah,
- 7:57Speaker 4: it's just such a huge, huge project.
- 8:01Speaker 1: I'm just so looking forward to just like listening to
- 8:04Speaker 1: this in my living room with all the lights off.
- 8:09Speaker 1: If it's coming out in November, like my Christmas decorations
- 8:13Speaker 1: will be up. It's just gonna be so cozy.
- 8:15Speaker 3: I'm excited, and Harry Potter is so Christmas like.
- 8:17Speaker 4: It's even though, like you know, we only have a
- 8:20Speaker 4: couple of Christmas scenes, Like the whole series just feels
- 8:23Speaker 4: very like fallen Christmas.
- 8:24Speaker 2: And yeah, it's a perfect it's a perfect combo of
- 8:29Speaker 2: Halloween slash Christmas. It's perfect for either season. I think.
- 8:33Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just got those comfort vibes that you need
- 8:37Speaker 1: that time of the.
- 8:38Speaker 2: Year, you know, yeah and fall Yeah.
- 8:42Speaker 1: Yeah. All right. So then the opposite of casting news,
- 8:48Speaker 1: we have some non casting news. Uh Killian Murphy will
- 8:54Speaker 1: not be playing Valdemore in the HBO Harry Potter series.
- 8:59Speaker 1: And this comes after months of speculation that he could
- 9:02Speaker 1: be in talks for the role. The actor confirmed that
- 9:06Speaker 1: he is not. He came right out and said it.
- 9:08Speaker 4: So, and I believe like he's somebody that I completely believe.
- 9:13Speaker 1: He's not going to say he's not and then suddenly
- 9:16Speaker 1: be signed on. So this happened on the Happy, Sad,
- 9:20Speaker 1: Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz and Horrorwitz asked Murphy point
- 9:26Speaker 1: blank if he was taking the role, and Murphy said no,
- 9:29Speaker 1: and quote, I mean no, genuinely, and he went on
- 9:35Speaker 1: to say that whoever does take on the role has
- 9:38Speaker 1: big shoes to fill. Following Ray findes his film performance
- 9:42Speaker 1: and this is a quote from Killian saying, quote, the
- 9:45Speaker 1: man is an absolute acting legend. So good luck to
- 9:49Speaker 1: whoever is going to fill those shoes.
- 9:52Speaker 2: Not me, by the way, won't be me.
- 9:56Speaker 4: I'm kind of sad about this because I know when
- 9:58Speaker 4: we talked about like his name floated around in the
- 10:01Speaker 4: rumor mill, like I was totally like on board, But
- 10:04Speaker 4: I think I remember saying I don't see him actually
- 10:08Speaker 4: taking this role, so this did not come as.
- 10:11Speaker 3: A surprise to me.
- 10:12Speaker 4: I still like, so now I'm kind of hoping that
- 10:15Speaker 4: maybe the Matt Smith rumors are true because I can
- 10:19Speaker 4: see Matt Smith taking this role and committing to like
- 10:22Speaker 4: a long term series where I couldn't.
- 10:24Speaker 2: And he's actor too.
- 10:27Speaker 4: Right between the doctor who yes he does, and that's
- 10:32Speaker 4: exactly it where I think like with Killy and obviously
- 10:34Speaker 4: they did Peaky Blinders and everything, But yeah, I don't
- 10:39Speaker 4: see him like continuing like dedicating like like ten years
- 10:44Speaker 4: to that and pass potentially having to pass.
- 10:46Speaker 3: Up other roles.
- 10:47Speaker 1: But yeah, but.
- 10:50Speaker 3: I guess the rumor mill will continue.
- 10:52Speaker 4: I did see another rumor recently of an actor and
- 10:56Speaker 4: the name post sickness Brain here is like the name
- 10:59Speaker 4: is escaping me, But I thought it was a good pick.
- 11:03Speaker 4: If I find it again, I'll send it to you
- 11:05Speaker 4: guys in the group chat. But yeah, I mean, I
- 11:08Speaker 4: think the rumors are going to continue to circle, right
- 11:10Speaker 4: because we've been told we're not going to get a.
- 11:12Speaker 3: Casting announcement, so mm hmm. Yeah, it will not be killing.
- 11:21Speaker 2: I'm just doing the record.
- 11:23Speaker 1: How funny it must be to be an actor and
- 11:25Speaker 1: just like see your name just constantly out there for
- 11:28Speaker 1: a role that you're like, I'm not doing that, no one.
- 11:35Speaker 2: These daily profits you feed.
- 11:38Speaker 3: The edits of your face like as Baltimore.
- 11:44Speaker 2: Amazing mm hmm.
- 11:47Speaker 1: All right, and then our last bit of news here
- 11:50Speaker 1: is for the Jeremiae fanfic lovers out there.
- 11:54Speaker 4: Name.
- 11:55Speaker 2: This is just for you, Nicol.
- 11:58Speaker 3: And our social media manager.
- 12:00Speaker 1: I was going to say, Liz, how many copies of
- 12:03Speaker 1: this book have you pre ordered? Now? So Alchemized, a
- 12:08Speaker 1: book by senln Yu that started as Jemia Andi fan fiction,
- 12:13Speaker 1: has had its movie rights bought by Legendary Legendary Entertainment,
- 12:19Speaker 1: and according to the Hollywood Reporter, a source says the
- 12:22Speaker 1: rights were purchased for more than three million dollars, which
- 12:26Speaker 1: is pretty hefty. And yeah, the book hasn't even been
- 12:31Speaker 1: like officially published yet. It is set to be released
- 12:35Speaker 1: on September twenty third.
- 12:39Speaker 4: Distic I have thought, yeah, I have some thoughts about this,
- 12:43Speaker 4: Like I, this is very like, this is just bringing
- 12:48Speaker 4: me back to like Twilight a little bit, because like Gray, Yes,
- 12:54Speaker 4: because if you know, like yeah, fifty Shades of Gray
- 12:57Speaker 4: started as a Twilight fan fiction and then in similarly
- 13:02Speaker 4: to what we're seeing now with a lot of Jermiane
- 13:04Speaker 4: fan fiction, is it's then being reworked to then be a.
- 13:09Speaker 3: Different story.
- 13:11Speaker 4: And then all of a sudden gets book deals and
- 13:14Speaker 4: movie deals and everything, and so yeah, this will be interesting.
- 13:17Speaker 3: I think it's funny.
- 13:18Speaker 4: How much though that like all of the promotion or
- 13:21Speaker 4: the I guess, I don't know if I want to
- 13:23Speaker 4: say promotion, but all of the you know, headlines I
- 13:27Speaker 4: guess about this are obviously really playing in too, Like
- 13:30Speaker 4: the Alchemize is based on a Jermione fan FicT if
- 13:34Speaker 4: you're not aware, the Germiine fan fact that Alchemized is
- 13:37Speaker 4: based on is manicoled.
- 13:40Speaker 3: And yeah, well yeah, I don't know.
- 13:45Speaker 2: I remember someone mentioning this a couple of years ago,
- 13:48Speaker 2: remember Amy, I think we were at the same meeting.
- 13:50Speaker 1: I think so yeah, yeah.
- 13:53Speaker 2: And I actually read some bars of it. I remember
- 13:55Speaker 2: because Jermione's so big, like it's so crazy, like so
- 13:59Speaker 2: many people ship and I'm seeing so many like overwhelm,
- 14:03Speaker 2: overwhelmwhelmingly high amount of videos AI videos of Draco and
- 14:08Speaker 2: Hermione on YouTube and they're so realistic and it's crazy
- 14:13Speaker 2: because I was like, Okay, when I'm gonna see some
- 14:15Speaker 2: you know, some Romiane, some you know Harry and Ginny
- 14:18Speaker 2: or something like, and no, it's like Jermiani, Jermionema. They're
- 14:22Speaker 2: feeding everyone with this. And I will.
- 14:25Speaker 4: Say, as someone who like in the last couple of years,
- 14:28Speaker 4: like recently converted to like Jermione fan fiction, is that,
- 14:33Speaker 4: like I mean I growing up like you would have
- 14:36Speaker 4: never heard me say like I shipped Hermione and like
- 14:39Speaker 4: at all, like I was actually a Harry Hermione shipper.
- 14:45Speaker 3: No growing up.
- 14:49Speaker 2: Guilty guilty here too, Sally.
- 14:51Speaker 3: I still kind of feel that way too, a.
- 14:53Speaker 4: Little bit like not fully, like not fully, But I
- 14:57Speaker 4: also don't necessarily think that Ron was the best for
- 15:00Speaker 4: her controversial opinion. Maybe I think I actually feel that
- 15:04Speaker 4: even more now as a Jermiine reader, because I'm sorry,
- 15:07Speaker 4: like as someone who has read a few different Jermiine
- 15:10Speaker 4: fan fictions, now it just works, like I'm sorry, it
- 15:15Speaker 4: just it, it works.
- 15:17Speaker 2: And we need to make an episode on this particular shift. Yeah,
- 15:22Speaker 2: I'm saying it. I'm calling Yeah, I'm calling the shots now,
- 15:25Speaker 2: like we have to do it.
- 15:28Speaker 4: Yes, I interview people, ye, come on maybe and guests
- 15:34Speaker 4: and guest host with us. Let us know if you're
- 15:37Speaker 4: interested in this, Liz.
- 15:39Speaker 3: Yeah, I just I'm sorry, but it just works.
- 15:42Speaker 4: And I have loved every Jermiini fan fiction that I've read,
- 15:46Speaker 4: and I just I am fully on board that train.
- 15:51Speaker 4: Do I actually would, I actually really want those characters
- 15:54Speaker 4: to be together in like real life, real life but
- 15:57Speaker 4: like real canon Harry Potter like probably not, but in
- 16:02Speaker 4: a fan fiction realm like oh it's so good. But yeah,
- 16:06Speaker 4: so this is interesting and obviously, like people have to remember,
- 16:09Speaker 4: like nothing about this film is going to be actual
- 16:14Speaker 4: dremione because it's like think fifty Shades of Gray, right,
- 16:18Speaker 4: nothing about that is Twilight like Alchemized as a totally
- 16:23Speaker 4: like new characters. It's gonna be kind of and I
- 16:25Speaker 4: will say like as like I'm very curious to see
- 16:29Speaker 4: like how Alchemize comes out because there's obviously a lot
- 16:33Speaker 4: of manacled is like the Harry Potter World, and obviously
- 16:36Speaker 4: all those things have to be changed. But we've seen
- 16:39Speaker 4: it done before and so I think it'll be great.
- 16:41Speaker 4: But I just think it's funny that all the headlines
- 16:43Speaker 4: are like Jermione fan fiction comes to the movies, and
- 16:46Speaker 4: it's like, no, that's not what's happening at all.
- 16:49Speaker 2: Like the sensational I had to imagine, imagine if Emma
- 16:54Speaker 2: Watson and Tom Felton start in this film, would.
- 16:59Speaker 1: God yeah, yeah wild.
- 17:04Speaker 2: Times well yeah yeah, another shucker yeah yeah.
- 17:14Speaker 1: So anyways, a bit of a shorter news segment this
- 17:19Speaker 1: time around, which is kind of a nice break after.
- 17:22Speaker 3: Our last episode was all news.
- 17:24Speaker 2: Yeah I guess that one, but there was times to discuss.
- 17:30Speaker 2: I was sad to miss it, but yeah.
- 17:33Speaker 4: Amy and I got a little unhinged without you there,
- 17:36Speaker 4: like we kind of went back. Tom fell in a
- 17:41Speaker 4: fangirl moments, like yeah, I was coming down with a cold,
- 17:46Speaker 4: so my brain was a little like in the cloud.
- 17:48Speaker 4: It's like it's yeah.
- 17:51Speaker 5: Yeah, all right.
- 17:53Speaker 1: So that's it for the news.
- 17:59Speaker 2: Okay, So so for our main discussion, as we previously
- 18:03Speaker 2: mentioned in order of honor of legendary Stuart Craig. We
- 18:07Speaker 2: wanted to dedicate this episode to his outstanding contributions to
- 18:12Speaker 2: the wizardom World. So everything from Hogwarts to dagon Alley
- 18:15Speaker 2: and Hogsmead, from Mutes Commanders to Magical Creature Suitcase to
- 18:19Speaker 2: the grandeur of Mecusa. His imagination shaped every corner of
- 18:24Speaker 2: the world we love and today we wanted to celebrate
- 18:27Speaker 2: his vision, his artistry and the enduring magic that he
- 18:31Speaker 2: has unfortunately left behind. But the good, the flip side,
- 18:36Speaker 2: is that it's going to come for many more generations
- 18:38Speaker 2: in the future and everyone will always remember his work.
- 18:43Speaker 2: So wanted to start out by a little bit about
- 18:46Speaker 2: his backstory. So Norman Stuart Craig was born on April fourteenth,
- 18:53Speaker 2: nineteen forty two, in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and his film
- 19:00Speaker 2: careers started upon graduating from the Royal College of Art
- 19:04Speaker 2: nineteen sixty six, and throughout his career he was nominated
- 19:08Speaker 2: for eleven Academy Awards and won three Oscars, one for
- 19:12Speaker 2: Gandhy in nineteen eighty two, Dangerous Liaisons in nineteen eighty
- 19:17Speaker 2: eight and The English Patient in nineteen ninety six. He
- 19:22Speaker 2: also received a staggering sixteen BAFF denominations and won three,
- 19:26Speaker 2: one for The Elephant Man in nineteen eighty, Harry Potter
- 19:29Speaker 2: and the Gobbletet of Fire in two thousand and five,
- 19:31Speaker 2: and Fantastipi and Where to Find Them in twenty sixteen.
- 19:35Speaker 2: He was nominated for Baptists for the first six Harry
- 19:38Speaker 2: Potter films in a row.
- 19:40Speaker 1: Hearing all those states, that's like amazing, Like the span
- 19:44Speaker 1: of time, like when it's laid out like that and
- 19:46Speaker 1: we're hearing like the eighties to twenty sixteen, Like that's
- 19:51Speaker 1: that's crazy.
- 19:52Speaker 4: It's not like he had like I think some you know,
- 19:56Speaker 4: directors and production designers and stuff, you almost see where
- 19:59Speaker 4: they have like boom in their career and they've maybe
- 20:02Speaker 4: been working for a lot of years and then really
- 20:04Speaker 4: hit the jackpot and then all of a sudden maybe
- 20:07Speaker 4: and later in their career start earning all these awards.
- 20:09Speaker 4: But yeah, it seems like he just was read out
- 20:12Speaker 4: of the gate the whole time. Yeah, right out the gate.
- 20:14Speaker 1: Yeah.
- 20:15Speaker 2: Crazy. He was the best at his craft for sure. Yeah.
- 20:20Speaker 2: And he was also recognized repeatedly by the Art Director's
- 20:24Speaker 2: Guild for his work where he received nominations for films
- 20:27Speaker 2: including The English Patient, Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone Order,
- 20:30Speaker 2: The Phoenix, Hablet Prince, and both parts of Deathly Hollows.
- 20:34Speaker 2: And he won awards for The English Patient and Harry
- 20:37Speaker 2: Potter in The Deathly Hollows Part two, and the Guild
- 20:40Speaker 2: honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award on February sixteen,
- 20:44Speaker 2: two thousand and eight. So that's a lot of awards
- 20:49Speaker 2: and nominations.
- 20:52Speaker 3: How lucky were we to have him for Harry Potter?
- 20:55Speaker 1: Oh my god, Yes, in two thousand and eight, he
- 20:58Speaker 1: wasn't even done with Harry Potter yet.
- 21:00Speaker 2: Point yeah, imagine Golan. Yeah, So, now that we went
- 21:09Speaker 2: a little bit into his beginnings, we wanted to start
- 21:12Speaker 2: tapping into his journey in the Wizarding World. So, as
- 21:16Speaker 2: most of you already know, Stuart was the production designer
- 21:19Speaker 2: of all eight Harry Potter films and the three Fantastic
- 21:22Speaker 2: Beast films. During his first meeting with JK. Rowling, he
- 21:26Speaker 2: asked her some questions about the world of Harry Potter.
- 21:29Speaker 2: In return, JK. Rowling grabbed a pen and a paper
- 21:32Speaker 2: and drew a simple map of the Hogwarts and its surroundings,
- 21:35Speaker 2: including the quidditch pitch and the womping Willow and Hogsmead,
- 21:40Speaker 2: and he claimed she knew exactly where everything was as
- 21:43Speaker 2: she didn't once pause. She just had it all in
- 21:46Speaker 2: her head. And it was from that drawing that he
- 21:49Speaker 2: built the first sketches for Hogwarts.
- 21:56Speaker 4: I just want to add too, like just because I
- 21:58Speaker 4: don't know if we talked so for like any listeners
- 22:00Speaker 4: who don't understand like the role of like the production
- 22:03Speaker 4: designer in a film. So they're like really responsible for
- 22:07Speaker 4: creating that overall like visual aesthetic that you see for
- 22:10Speaker 4: the film or television or theater or like whatever medium
- 22:14Speaker 4: it is, and so like they're really there overseeing like
- 22:18Speaker 4: you know like what like kind of like I would say,
- 22:20Speaker 4: like the head of like the almost like the art department,
- 22:22Speaker 4: Like they're overseeing like what those set locations, what those props,
- 22:26Speaker 4: what the graphics. And that's why we saw like me
- 22:29Speaker 4: and Alma, you know, pay a really great tribute to
- 22:33Speaker 4: him because he's kind of like the head of that
- 22:35Speaker 4: and really like at the end of the day, that
- 22:38Speaker 4: production designer is there to like also I think manage
- 22:41Speaker 4: the budget a little bit too. While also to like
- 22:45Speaker 4: bring the director and like the vision to life, and
- 22:48Speaker 4: I think also in this regard also bringing like JK.
- 22:51Speaker 4: Rowlings like vision to life here like you just said,
- 22:54Speaker 4: like you know, going to her and asking her to to.
- 22:57Speaker 3: Sketch it out.
- 22:58Speaker 4: So they're obviously a very very important being ahead of
- 23:02Speaker 4: a department.
- 23:03Speaker 3: They're a very important role in the film.
- 23:05Speaker 2: Yeah, they're so intrinsically connected. Yeah, they're so intrinsically connected.
- 23:10Speaker 2: Like min A Lima mentioned, you know, refer to him
- 23:13Speaker 2: as his mentor, his forever mentor. And he worked also
- 23:17Speaker 2: with Stephanie McMillan, who was to set their decorator, and
- 23:20Speaker 2: with the art directors as well, So he oversaw everything
- 23:24Speaker 2: just like you said, Nicole, like he was responsible that
- 23:27Speaker 2: everything was put into place and that everything had a
- 23:30Speaker 2: reason to be there and certain characteristic or it. So
- 23:34Speaker 2: it's so it's so meticulous, and it's so like you know,
- 23:36Speaker 2: pinpointing exactly what he needed for the scene and for
- 23:40Speaker 2: the characters. So he was really you know, I'm gonna
- 23:43Speaker 2: tap into this in a bit, but he was all
- 23:46Speaker 2: about making each set be its own person and have
- 23:49Speaker 2: its own come to life in that regard. So that
- 23:53Speaker 2: was Yeah, that was pretty very very amazing how much
- 23:56Speaker 2: attention he put into that. So a little bit of
- 24:01Speaker 2: what I was saying. So, he believed that production design
- 24:03Speaker 2: should serve as storytelling and providing clear, simple visual ideas
- 24:08Speaker 2: that audi sins can follow, while still enriching them with
- 24:11Speaker 2: color and detail. And for each set he focused on
- 24:15Speaker 2: one strong central concept and then built outward. So Howard's
- 24:21Speaker 2: was a living involved in place where every building in
- 24:24Speaker 2: tree and path has a purpose. He treated Howarts as
- 24:27Speaker 2: a character in its own right, sometimes, according to him, frustrating,
- 24:31Speaker 2: but always central to the story. So then it goes
- 24:35Speaker 2: on saying that since Jake Rowling was still writing the
- 24:38Speaker 2: books while the films were made, sets often had to
- 24:41Speaker 2: adapt to new book details, like later editions like the
- 24:44Speaker 2: Allery and the Astronomy Tower. Because the Astronomy Tower, you
- 24:47Speaker 2: would think, well, it's not it doesn't really serve a
- 24:50Speaker 2: purpose to include it up to six because it's just
- 24:54Speaker 2: a classroom where you know, and we for the film,
- 24:57Speaker 2: it didn't really make much sense to you know, have
- 24:59Speaker 2: a scene where they we're you know, looking at the
- 25:01Speaker 2: sky and for like you know, the planets, and so
- 25:05Speaker 2: it really just came down to how pivotal it was
- 25:08Speaker 2: to the story, and when we get to book six,
- 25:10Speaker 2: they realized, oh, this is so important. This is like
- 25:13Speaker 2: a breaking point in the story. So you know, they
- 25:18Speaker 2: had to like include it afterward. But I think it
- 25:22Speaker 2: also it's part of the beauty right of filmmaking. So
- 25:27Speaker 2: as far as inspirations for the castle, they came from
- 25:30Speaker 2: Britain's oldest institutions, Oxford and Cambridge Universities and cathedrals like Westminster,
- 25:36Speaker 2: Canterbury and Salisbury. He chose medieval Gothic architecture. This means
- 25:43Speaker 2: pointed arches, soaring columns, elaborate carvings, just to make Howards
- 25:48Speaker 2: feel centuries old and real. He also based the castle
- 25:52Speaker 2: off during Cathedral and Wick Castle and even Windstore Castle
- 25:57Speaker 2: tower for the astronomy tower, which is something that I
- 26:01Speaker 2: didn't know until I went this last time to the
- 26:03Speaker 2: studio tour and I you know, and I peeked into
- 26:06Speaker 2: it and saw, oh, look, this is the actual inspiration
- 26:10Speaker 2: for the astronomy Tower, which I had no idea. So
- 26:13Speaker 2: you always discover new things, either picking a book or
- 26:16Speaker 2: visiting the locations, or just you know, out of curiosity.
- 26:20Speaker 2: There's always something new to learn and it's so it
- 26:23Speaker 2: just it just makes you see how these ten years
- 26:26Speaker 2: of work is so expansive and there's so much that
- 26:29Speaker 2: we but that we know, but at the same time
- 26:31Speaker 2: there's so much that we still don't know and might
- 26:34Speaker 2: not be aware of. So yeah, that's a little bit
- 26:38Speaker 2: about you know, just in general, a little bit about
- 26:43Speaker 2: his work and Hogwarts. So I wanted to mention a
- 26:46Speaker 2: few of the most iconic sets. Obviously we can't cover
- 26:49Speaker 2: them all because it would take us at least two
- 26:52Speaker 2: episodes to go one, and they are when you think
- 26:55Speaker 2: about it, they're all iconic, right, But yeah, so I
- 26:59Speaker 2: want to well, first this big centerpiece attraction, which is
- 27:03Speaker 2: the Hogwartz Castle model, which is a one twenty four
- 27:06Speaker 2: scale model of Hogwarts which was built at Leeds and
- 27:09Speaker 2: Studios in the year two thousand for Harry Potter and
- 27:11Speaker 2: the SORCER's Stone. And the model was crafted by a
- 27:14Speaker 2: team of eighty six artists, model makers and a crew
- 27:17Speaker 2: led by Stuart Craig and construction super Construction supervisor Brian Muhr.
- 27:23Speaker 2: And it's an RM. It's huge, it measures fifty feet
- 27:27Speaker 2: and which is in the metric system fifty meters across
- 27:31Speaker 2: with towers up to twenty feet tall. And it really is, Yes,
- 27:36Speaker 2: it really is big. Even though it's a model, you
- 27:40Speaker 2: when you see it in person, it's it's just it
- 27:45Speaker 2: really takes you by surprise how big and massive it
- 27:48Speaker 2: actually is. And it's it's so big that I think
- 27:52Speaker 2: that's what allowed them to do everything so detailed, and
- 27:55Speaker 2: every single window and every single pane and every single
- 27:59Speaker 2: roof tile, everything is just so perfect. And I always
- 28:04Speaker 2: say the same thing, like I was this last time
- 28:06Speaker 2: when I was walking around the castle. I just told
- 28:08Speaker 2: my boyfriend, I was like, you know what I would
- 28:09Speaker 2: pay thousands of dollars for if it was possible to
- 28:12Speaker 2: shrink myself and just get into that model.
- 28:16Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 28:18Speaker 4: Yes, Well I think with the detail too, it's like
- 28:22Speaker 4: it's I think we see this with.
- 28:25Speaker 3: A model, but also with.
- 28:28Speaker 4: You know, the graphic design work and stuff that's done.
- 28:30Speaker 4: Is just the level of the attention to detail, the
- 28:33Speaker 4: things that will never be actually seen or will be
- 28:38Speaker 4: a fleeting one second clip in the film, or just
- 28:44Speaker 4: to be like, you know, even though this part of
- 28:46Speaker 4: this model we may never actually film, we're still going
- 28:50Speaker 4: to give that backside of that tower the exact same
- 28:54Speaker 4: level of detail. As the front part of the tower
- 28:57Speaker 4: that will be in the shop, because what if if
- 29:00Speaker 4: the director does decide they want to go around and
- 29:02Speaker 4: shoot that part. We want to you know, you want
- 29:04Speaker 4: to have it ready, and it's just I think, just
- 29:07Speaker 4: like I mean, kudos to like art departments in general
- 29:10Speaker 4: and the amount of work that goes into these things
- 29:12Speaker 4: that sometimes will never actually be seen in the project.
- 29:17Speaker 1: Yeah, which is what makes the project like this so
- 29:22Speaker 1: incredible to watch over and over again because it's just
- 29:27Speaker 1: so seamless, like everything is so detailed. There's nothing really
- 29:32Speaker 1: taking you out of the world because everything's been thought of.
- 29:37Speaker 1: It's just it's crazy.
- 29:39Speaker 2: Yeah. I remember watching the DVD extras when I was
- 29:42Speaker 2: a teenager, and I would just see that the art
- 29:44Speaker 2: department and making books and books with actual texts, with
- 29:50Speaker 2: pages of illustrations of things that you would be read anybody. Yeah,
- 29:58Speaker 2: I mean that's also your passion, right, that's also you're
- 30:02Speaker 2: just unnatural for it and you just want to do
- 30:04Speaker 2: it because it's how passionate you are. And if you
- 30:07Speaker 2: see me and a Lima talking about it, you can
- 30:09Speaker 2: understand exactly where they're coming from. But still like hours
- 30:13Speaker 2: and hours of work of you know, just putting all
- 30:16Speaker 2: these either for you know, for newspapers or for books
- 30:21Speaker 2: or for like you said, like sets and books and
- 30:23Speaker 2: things that are placed in a certain part because you know,
- 30:27Speaker 2: and things that people will never even perceive. Maybe because
- 30:31Speaker 2: it's the big screen, it does make more sense to
- 30:34Speaker 2: make things as immersive because you're seeing it, like literally
- 30:37Speaker 2: on a huge screen, So you don't want to people
- 30:41Speaker 2: to be taking out of that world, so you want
- 30:44Speaker 2: them completely immersed at all times. But it's just so
- 30:49Speaker 2: outstanding how immersive and how detailed this work is when.
- 30:56Speaker 4: You're always going to have like some viewers like me
- 31:00Speaker 4: that does look around and especially if it's something because
- 31:04Speaker 4: I'm so you know, and I think that's something the
- 31:06Speaker 4: three of us like really share, is like being really
- 31:08Speaker 4: interested in those little details and stuff.
- 31:11Speaker 3: But like I am someone who has.
- 31:14Speaker 4: If this is a film that I've seen a million times,
- 31:17Speaker 4: like you know, instead of like watching the actor who's speaking,
- 31:22Speaker 4: you know, look around a little bit and what's happening
- 31:26Speaker 4: in the background and what's around because there's so much
- 31:29Speaker 4: going on that like most people will never see because
- 31:32Speaker 4: you are focused right on what they're trying to like
- 31:35Speaker 4: draw your focus to. I also for the same reason
- 31:39Speaker 4: like highly recommend like watching films or TV with subtitles on,
- 31:44Speaker 4: because sometimes things come up in the subtitle of conversations
- 31:48Speaker 4: that are happening in the background or something that you
- 31:50Speaker 4: would you actually physically can't hear, but they still put
- 31:53Speaker 4: it in the subtitle. So I think it's just again
- 31:56Speaker 4: like the details, and so I'm glad that they do
- 31:59Speaker 4: have a time details for that, like knowing that, hey,
- 32:02Speaker 4: maybe we do have some people that are looking around
- 32:04Speaker 4: and paying attention and looking in that shop window, you know,
- 32:08Speaker 4: and want to know that they're having a great exps.
- 32:11Speaker 2: Yes, yes, one thousand percent I do that. And because
- 32:16Speaker 2: you've watched them so many times and you've binge watched
- 32:18Speaker 2: every single film, you're like, Okay, what can I see now,
- 32:21Speaker 2: Like I've seen enough of Harry this shot, Like I
- 32:23Speaker 2: want to see a little bit what's in you know,
- 32:25Speaker 2: what's in on the sides, and what's in What is
- 32:27Speaker 2: this character doing? And you see them doing this and that,
- 32:29Speaker 2: and it's intentional, it's one hundred percent intentional, but you
- 32:32Speaker 2: never saw it because you were so focused on the
- 32:34Speaker 2: main you know, the main character. But it's all just
- 32:38Speaker 2: you know, things that add to that magic, uh, and
- 32:40Speaker 2: that immersiveness definitely. So for the castle they use aeriel
- 32:47Speaker 2: and exterior shots throughout the Harry Potter films, and the
- 32:51Speaker 2: visual effects teams would digitally extend or alter the model
- 32:55Speaker 2: depending on the scene, so lighting it for day or night,
- 32:58Speaker 2: adding seasonal changes or or even snow or rain. Two.
- 33:03Speaker 2: So every detail was handbuilt. The courtyards de Touret's, the greenhouses,
- 33:07Speaker 2: the allery, the astronomy tower, and the landscaping included real gravel,
- 33:13Speaker 2: miniature plants, and even fiber optic lights to simulate lanterns
- 33:18Speaker 2: glowing in the windows. And yes, it is that detailed.
- 33:21Speaker 2: And when you see it you can tell that you know,
- 33:24Speaker 2: it's not a bulb inside the castle that it's being
- 33:27Speaker 2: lit up. You know, it's like a literal small it
- 33:31Speaker 2: almost simulates like candles, like literally, it's it's almost seems
- 33:35Speaker 2: like you can almost see inside the castle and there's
- 33:39Speaker 2: people in it. Like it's so realistic. I don't think
- 33:42Speaker 2: I've ever seen something so, you know, because you could,
- 33:47Speaker 2: I mean you could say, okay, the Titanic model for
- 33:50Speaker 2: you know, for James Cameron's film, Yeah, like the replica,
- 33:53Speaker 2: but it's still not as grand and as majestic as
- 33:56Speaker 2: this castle, and I don't think I think this is
- 33:58Speaker 2: kind of almost unpress ident it to be honest, Yeah,
- 34:03Speaker 2: I would say.
- 34:03Speaker 4: I mean maybe the only comparable that, like I know,
- 34:07Speaker 4: so again this is just from me. There's probably some
- 34:10Speaker 4: other comparables is some of the models that have been
- 34:12Speaker 4: built for Star Wars, especially the first the original trilogy
- 34:17Speaker 4: used a lot of models. I think maybe like some
- 34:21Speaker 4: of the like spaceships and stuff like that, but it's
- 34:22Speaker 4: also still like an apples to oranges kind of comparison.
- 34:25Speaker 4: It's a very different type of structure, right, But I agree,
- 34:30Speaker 4: like I do think that the level of detail of
- 34:33Speaker 4: this model is it is in a category of its
- 34:37Speaker 4: of its own.
- 34:39Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you're sorry, Amy.
- 34:42Speaker 1: Oh, I was just gonna say, you know, if you
- 34:44Speaker 1: asked me to put together like a bucket list as
- 34:47Speaker 1: a Harry Potter fan of like things I want to
- 34:50Speaker 1: see or do, this model, it's like right at the
- 34:53Speaker 1: top of that list.
- 34:53Speaker 3: I need to. I'll take you. I'll take you like
- 34:59Speaker 3: it's been like a decade there, right Yeah.
- 35:02Speaker 2: Next year, twenty fifth anniversary, big celebrations coming up. You
- 35:05Speaker 2: have to you have to make your way here.
- 35:08Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, I will I'll get a passport this time. Yeah, yeah,
- 35:14Speaker 1: and borders without one, right unless I'm.
- 35:17Speaker 2: Like, don't even bother, don't even bother staying Like if
- 35:22Speaker 2: you if you're on a budget, you can stay at
- 35:24Speaker 2: my place, like we can. You know, we can travel.
- 35:26Speaker 2: It's very close to to where I live, so you
- 35:29Speaker 2: know you've got that all covered if needed.
- 35:31Speaker 3: Just so, I like, it's been.
- 35:35Speaker 4: Like a decade since I've lived there myself, but like
- 35:38Speaker 4: I know my way around, Like it wouldn't be like
- 35:41Speaker 4: us gallivanting to some country and having to figure it
- 35:44Speaker 4: out on our own like I have been multiple times.
- 35:48Speaker 4: It'll feel like going back home to me. We've got it.
- 35:52Speaker 3: We can do this, yeah, yes, and like we also
- 35:55Speaker 3: have to go to Disneyland, Paris do over.
- 35:58Speaker 4: Yeah, a train ride, yes, yeah, that'll that'll be another staff.
- 36:05Speaker 1: The list.
- 36:11Speaker 2: So yeah. Regard again, regarding the model, some crew members
- 36:15Speaker 2: joked that it was like designing a real working castle
- 36:18Speaker 2: in miniature, with pipes, bricks and stone textures all replicated
- 36:24Speaker 2: and after filming wrapped on Deathly Holl's part too, the
- 36:27Speaker 2: model was preserved and today it's the centerpiece exhibit at
- 36:30Speaker 2: the studio tour and leadson so visitors can walk around
- 36:35Speaker 2: on a viewing platform while it cycles through day to
- 36:38Speaker 2: night lightning lighting, and it showcases every tiny detail, and
- 36:42Speaker 2: when you get to the fall season, it gets all
- 36:46Speaker 2: covered in snow, and yeah, that's pretty. It's it's spectacular,
- 36:54Speaker 2: so cool.
- 36:56Speaker 3: You know, I just I can't imagine.
- 36:58Speaker 4: I know we've we've talked about this and their episodes,
- 37:00Speaker 4: but being able to go to the Hogwarts and the
- 37:03Speaker 4: snow like event at the studio tour is so cool too,
- 37:08Speaker 4: because like like you just like you just said, like
- 37:10Speaker 4: I mean, they the attention to detail they put into
- 37:15Speaker 4: creating this snowy winter wonderland of that model, And I
- 37:20Speaker 4: know we've talked before in this podcast about how daunting
- 37:25Speaker 4: it must be to then clean it back up after
- 37:28Speaker 4: because it's not like they sprinkle just a little bit
- 37:31Speaker 4: on to make it look like snow.
- 37:33Speaker 3: I mean, it's it. They create this winter wonderland, and.
- 37:39Speaker 4: Yeah, it's just it's cool how they're I think this
- 37:42Speaker 4: too is like the importance of having a model too
- 37:44Speaker 4: is because like I know, we we obviously talk a
- 37:46Speaker 4: lot about how we all love like practical effects even
- 37:49Speaker 4: more than like CGI, and like that's why, like the
- 37:52Speaker 4: castle does look so good and just the way that
- 37:54Speaker 4: they're able to, you know, play with them and like
- 38:01Speaker 4: add things like snow and not be afraid to do
- 38:04Speaker 4: it and be afraid that we're going to ruin this
- 38:06Speaker 4: model by doing it.
- 38:07Speaker 3: You know. It's just.
- 38:09Speaker 4: I'm glad that I'm kind of glad that, like the
- 38:14Speaker 4: first Harry Potter film came out when it did, like
- 38:16Speaker 4: when CGI was still not as advanced it as now,
- 38:20Speaker 4: because I wonder, if I guess, maybe this will would
- 38:24Speaker 4: be very curious to see like the production designer on
- 38:27Speaker 4: the show and how they approach it versus how Stuart
- 38:31Speaker 4: Craig approached it here. But I almost wonder if say
- 38:34Speaker 4: the films came out now versus then would we have
- 38:38Speaker 4: gotten like CGI from the beginning, Like would they have
- 38:41Speaker 4: even bothered to build this model or is it also
- 38:44Speaker 4: like partly because they had Stuart Craig into him, it
- 38:47Speaker 4: was important to have this model And is that something
- 38:50Speaker 4: that's still important to production designers today.
- 38:53Speaker 1: I was just going to say, I think part of
- 38:55Speaker 1: it is probably who you have as the production designer,
- 38:58Speaker 1: and like Stuart being born in the year that he
- 39:03Speaker 1: was was kind of part of this like old guard, right,
- 39:07Speaker 1: who understood the importance of.
- 39:09Speaker 3: The practical and they didn't.
- 39:12Speaker 1: Like the right way, you know. So yeah, I think
- 39:18Speaker 1: it just depends on I guess the beliefs of your
- 39:21Speaker 1: production designer and how they feel is the right way
- 39:25Speaker 1: to do it. But yeah, we're incredibly lucky that that's
- 39:29Speaker 1: Stuart Craig at the Helm.
- 39:31Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. Just imagine how bad the castle would
- 39:34Speaker 2: look now for the first film if it happened CGI
- 39:37Speaker 2: back then, like the quidditch pitch and the quidditch scenes
- 39:42Speaker 2: and the troll. We discussed this before on a previous
- 39:47Speaker 2: episode if you guys want to check out. But yeah,
- 39:51Speaker 2: it's It's also like if we think about Deathlee Holli's
- 39:54Speaker 2: Part two, Well, I'm going to tap into it in
- 39:56Speaker 2: a little bit, but they already used a three D
- 39:59Speaker 2: model there, So if the series would have come out
- 40:03Speaker 2: after twenty ten, I'm sure that we would have had
- 40:06Speaker 2: like a three D castle instead of a model. Maybe
- 40:09Speaker 2: a tiny model for sure, but not at the scale
- 40:12Speaker 2: that we that we have. And we are so lucky
- 40:15Speaker 2: that we have this.
- 40:17Speaker 1: And that they realized the importance of preserving that model
- 40:21Speaker 1: and didn't just trash it after production.
- 40:25Speaker 3: Well, I can't imagine.
- 40:26Speaker 2: They did that with Titanic. They did it with the
- 40:29Speaker 2: Titanic set.
- 40:31Speaker 4: What I bet you anything that touring Titanic exhibition right
- 40:35Speaker 4: now is like.
- 40:36Speaker 3: If only we had that model to have that our exhibition.
- 40:40Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, as a Titanic fan, I can attest to that. Yes, yeah.
- 40:49Speaker 2: So moving on, still within Hogwarts, the Great Hall which
- 40:53Speaker 2: is probably probably the most iconic location within the castle,
- 40:58Speaker 2: and it was built in the year two thousand and
- 41:00Speaker 2: four Sourcis Stone and used in six more films almost
- 41:04Speaker 2: ten years. Stewart insisted on using real yorkstone flagstones for
- 41:09Speaker 2: the floor, which at the time was a costly direct decision,
- 41:15Speaker 2: but it was one that proved durable for years of filmmaking.
- 41:19Speaker 2: So even then he went against all odds and was
- 41:23Speaker 2: very insistent with these you know, not details, they were important,
- 41:28Speaker 2: but things that maybe wouldn't have trespassed the screen or
- 41:34Speaker 2: wouldn't have been noticed that much. But he you know,
- 41:36Speaker 2: he insisted on being everything being as realistic as possible,
- 41:41Speaker 2: which is remarkable. Again, I mean, this is the.
- 41:48Speaker 1: Harry Potter set. Like if you think Harry Potter and
- 41:52Speaker 1: you think set, you think the Great Hall like that.
- 41:56Speaker 2: The place, Yes, yes, absolutely, and it was modeled after
- 42:02Speaker 2: christ Church diningh Hall in Oxford, but adapted for practicality,
- 42:07Speaker 2: so it had elongated windows, hidden doors in space for
- 42:11Speaker 2: over four hundred extras and the Great Hall roof, which
- 42:15Speaker 2: was too tall for studo stages, was digitally extended by VFX,
- 42:19Speaker 2: and it was based on the fourteenth century hammer beams
- 42:23Speaker 2: structure in Westminster Hall in London, which you know, I
- 42:27Speaker 2: have pasted a picture because it's so the resemblance is
- 42:30Speaker 2: really uncanny, Like you can it almost looks like not
- 42:34Speaker 2: only is it like the exact ceiling of the Great Hall,
- 42:37Speaker 2: but the actually it kind of looks like the Great
- 42:39Speaker 2: Hall as well as a whole.
- 42:41Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, really that was gonna say.
- 42:44Speaker 4: I mean they seemlessly like I think did a really
- 42:49Speaker 4: good job like with that. I think anytime you're having
- 42:53Speaker 4: you've got you know, obviously some practical and you're trying
- 42:57Speaker 4: to digitally extend or enhance use saying like visual effects.
- 43:01Speaker 4: Like sometimes it can be kind of I can tell
- 43:04Speaker 4: where that you know practical part ends and now it's CGI.
- 43:08Speaker 4: I'm like obviously right, like we've got the floating candles,
- 43:12Speaker 4: we've got the like stormy clouds, like we've got the
- 43:15Speaker 4: the pumpkins and stuff, so like, you know, it's not
- 43:19Speaker 4: real like and it's digital, but they still did like
- 43:23Speaker 4: a really good job. Like again, kudos to like the
- 43:26Speaker 4: editors here and how they were able to.
- 43:30Speaker 3: Make that extension still just look like real. M.
- 43:37Speaker 2: Yeah, and the actual roof is on display at the
- 43:40Speaker 2: the studio tour and it's really tiny, like you wouldn't
- 43:43Speaker 2: expect it, like it's actually very very tiny, but you
- 43:47Speaker 2: can you can see how they would do like these
- 43:49Speaker 2: pan panning shoots and just you know then just kind
- 43:52Speaker 2: of like put them together in post and very seamlessly.
- 43:57Speaker 2: And so yeah, another really impressive thing done by not
- 44:01Speaker 2: just you know, the production designers and art directors, but
- 44:05Speaker 2: by the post production team. And they also had house mascots,
- 44:11Speaker 2: so the lion, the snake, the raven, and the badger
- 44:14Speaker 2: carved into the walls and yeah, small details that people
- 44:21Speaker 2: don't always notice, but you know, someone who has a
- 44:25Speaker 2: keen eye for detail will eventually. So it's really good
- 44:29Speaker 2: to see that in so many years after seeing the
- 44:33Speaker 2: film so many times, like you're still discovering new things.
- 44:36Speaker 3: Mm hmm. I don't think I've ever seen the house
- 44:40Speaker 3: mascots carved into the walls.
- 44:41Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to like watch and like pause it
- 44:44Speaker 1: and stuff and look around.
- 44:47Speaker 4: Yeah, I do remember that going into this set. Sorry,
- 44:51Speaker 4: like like walking into the Great Hall, Like I think
- 44:54Speaker 4: that's helpful. Like if you're able to get to the
- 44:56Speaker 4: studio tour and actually you get to like go into
- 44:59Speaker 4: this side, you do notice those kind of details that
- 45:04Speaker 4: you probably would never really notice just watching it in
- 45:07Speaker 4: the film, because you're able to stand there right and
- 45:09Speaker 4: like pick out kind of all the details, and.
- 45:14Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, did you feel it was smaller when.
- 45:18Speaker 4: You I think a lot of people feel that way
- 45:21Speaker 4: because like again I think, like you know, we were
- 45:24Speaker 4: talking about how they had to obviously visually, you know,
- 45:27Speaker 4: use visual effects to extend the ceiling. But like you said, Amy,
- 45:31Speaker 4: like this set is so iconic that you kind of
- 45:35Speaker 4: just like expect it to like be there. And I remember,
- 45:39Speaker 4: like every time I've been to the studio tour, like
- 45:42Speaker 4: walking into the set and like it does feel so
- 45:45Speaker 4: much smaller. And like even to hear you say Tom that,
- 45:48Speaker 4: like you know, they still made it big enough to
- 45:51Speaker 4: fit four hundred extras.
- 45:52Speaker 3: Like when I'm in that set, I don't know.
- 45:56Speaker 4: How they did it because in this studio tour, they
- 45:58Speaker 4: don't even have all they don't have all the tables
- 46:00Speaker 4: set up like how they are for filming obviously, because
- 46:03Speaker 4: they can't have tables in the center because that's where
- 46:05Speaker 4: people walk in, so they only have the tables like
- 46:08Speaker 4: along the like the sides.
- 46:10Speaker 3: But even to think about them adding two more rows
- 46:13Speaker 3: of tables and like, I.
- 46:15Speaker 4: Don't know, it does feel so small in there, and
- 46:18Speaker 4: I'm like, how did they? Like how did they do this?
- 46:21Speaker 4: But yeah, you look up and you like expect to see.
- 46:24Speaker 3: This like and then you have to be like, oh
- 46:26Speaker 3: oh wait, like this was just a film and that
- 46:28Speaker 3: was digitally added.
- 46:30Speaker 4: It's not really here, but it's still such an impressive
- 46:32Speaker 4: set to be in.
- 46:33Speaker 3: But yeah, it does feel so small.
- 46:37Speaker 2: It's like when you go into the Warner Brothers studio
- 46:40Speaker 2: tour in LA and you go to the central perk
- 46:43Speaker 2: set and it's so small compared to what you see
- 46:48Speaker 2: on TV, and you're like, wait, did they just shrink it?
- 46:52Speaker 2: What happened? They were like, no, this is like the
- 46:54Speaker 2: actual scale. This is the actual set. But obviously like
- 46:57Speaker 2: camera work and angles and different lens is obviously make
- 47:01Speaker 2: it more big. And just you know, always sets do
- 47:05Speaker 2: you tend to look smaller when you when you walk
- 47:07Speaker 2: on them. But I wouldn't say it was a disappointment.
- 47:09Speaker 2: It was just something that was like, oh wow, like
- 47:12Speaker 2: you know, huh, like call me a little bit off guard,
- 47:15Speaker 2: but you.
- 47:15Speaker 4: Know cool because I think, like you just said, if
- 47:18Speaker 4: you've never been on like a movie set before, which
- 47:21Speaker 4: like most of us haven't been, like you don't, it's
- 47:25Speaker 4: so it is so weird to me, Like when you
- 47:27Speaker 4: watch some of these behind the scenes footages sometimes or
- 47:30Speaker 4: you're able to actually go to like a set tour,
- 47:32Speaker 4: like the scale is really weird because it's just like
- 47:36Speaker 4: the way that they're able to make it look so
- 47:39Speaker 4: like normal and like normal size and grand and big
- 47:44Speaker 4: and everything in the film or a TV. And then
- 47:46Speaker 4: you actually go there and it's it's so interesting.
- 47:51Speaker 3: Like I actually just speaking of Titanic for.
- 47:55Speaker 4: Like, I saw this video popped up on my TikTok
- 47:58Speaker 4: randomly the other day of the filming the scene where
- 48:03Speaker 4: like when Rose like sneaks down and goes down to
- 48:07Speaker 4: steerage and with Jack and they're like dancing and everything,
- 48:11Speaker 4: and it was them filming that scene, and like it's
- 48:16Speaker 4: so awkward, like because there's like not really music and
- 48:19Speaker 4: they're just all like dancing and they're they're all like
- 48:22Speaker 4: and obviously in that film that scene, they're all really
- 48:25Speaker 4: close together, right because there's all of them and they're
- 48:27Speaker 4: down there, but like when they're filming it, they're even
- 48:30Speaker 4: more so just like like and and and like Kate
- 48:35Speaker 4: Winslett and Leah and Leonardo DiCaprio are like not even
- 48:37Speaker 4: really dancing or moving because there's not space for them,
- 48:40Speaker 4: and it's just I just had this moment of like wow,
- 48:43Speaker 4: like that really translates so different in the film, and
- 48:48Speaker 4: like exactly the Great Hall scene, like we'll have to
- 48:52Speaker 4: get Amy's opinion once, like we finally.
- 48:54Speaker 3: Get her over there.
- 48:55Speaker 4: Yes, maybe now she won't be she won't you know,
- 48:58Speaker 4: you'll be you'll be expect take it.
- 49:00Speaker 1: Now, sobbing probably so I probably won't even know.
- 49:06Speaker 2: You are, Yes, yeah, guaranteed. So next off, we have
- 49:15Speaker 2: probably the most popular classroom from all of the all
- 49:19Speaker 2: of the movies, which is a defense against the dark
- 49:21Speaker 2: arts classroom. So for Sorcerer's Stone, this was filmed on
- 49:25Speaker 2: location at Blackwock Abbey, Wiltshire. However, for Chamber of secrets. Onward,
- 49:30Speaker 2: it moved to a purpose built attic like set with
- 49:34Speaker 2: a curved with curved walls and a staircase inspired by
- 49:37Speaker 2: Gothic church pulpits. The classroom evolved with each teacher, so
- 49:43Speaker 2: he gave personalities to all of these to the same
- 49:47Speaker 2: room according to the teacher. So for example, we have
- 49:51Speaker 2: Lockharts was filled with theatrical props, Loopins featured the buggered
- 49:56Speaker 2: wardrobe and skeletons and skulls, and then Moody's was crowded
- 50:02Speaker 2: with magical instruments and Umbridge was stripped bare, and it
- 50:08Speaker 2: says that it reflected her refusal to teach real magic,
- 50:12Speaker 2: which is so interesting.
- 50:14Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 50:15Speaker 1: I love the.
- 50:17Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, sorry sorry.
- 50:20Speaker 1: I was just gonna say I love you can like
- 50:23Speaker 1: tell personality of characters by the rim decoration, Like that's
- 50:27Speaker 1: just so cool.
- 50:28Speaker 2: Mm hmmm. Yeah. So that's one set that changed with
- 50:34Speaker 2: It was the same set, but it just changed according to,
- 50:37Speaker 2: you know, the personality of the character, and that was
- 50:39Speaker 2: Stuart's work.
- 50:41Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 50:41Speaker 1: Again, it would have been so easy to just like
- 50:43Speaker 1: leave it the same, m h but the fact that
- 50:46Speaker 1: they went in there and were like, okay, how can
- 50:48Speaker 1: we decorate it now?
- 50:49Speaker 3: For this teacher.
- 50:50Speaker 2: Mm hmm, yeah, yeah. And then we have another very
- 50:56Speaker 2: conic location, which is a grand staircase. So Jaki rolling
- 51:01Speaker 2: idea had this Jak and Rolling sorry had this idea
- 51:03Speaker 2: of moving staircases. So Craig designed a vast square stairwell
- 51:09Speaker 2: stairwell of interlocking staircases and added magical portraits lining the walls.
- 51:15Speaker 2: So this all enhanced the whimsical effect. And the initial
- 51:19Speaker 2: thought was to have the stairs move like an escalator,
- 51:23Speaker 2: but then Craig stated that at the stairs were made
- 51:26Speaker 2: of marble, it seemed too much of a stretch, And yes,
- 51:29Speaker 2: I agree.
- 51:32Speaker 5: Imagine they're like.
- 51:37Speaker 3: Awkward.
- 51:38Speaker 4: Well I feel like we had the same visual like
- 51:40Speaker 4: at the same time about them. I love it.
- 51:45Speaker 1: I could picture like the Weasley twins trying to like
- 51:48Speaker 1: run up the down escalator. Yeah.
- 51:52Speaker 4: It would be like, you know, like in the Muggle
- 51:54Speaker 4: world where you have like I think of like the
- 51:56Speaker 4: moving walkways and stuff like a universal and you're supposed
- 51:58Speaker 4: to like or in airports and you're supposed to like
- 52:01Speaker 4: stand on the right and walk on the left, but
- 52:03Speaker 4: you got people that like stand on the left or
- 52:05Speaker 4: like walk really slow and black the whole It would.
- 52:08Speaker 1: Just the Oka exit. It's approaching.
- 52:12Speaker 2: It's not your step, mind your step.
- 52:14Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, they would say mind your step over there,
- 52:18Speaker 4: but like that's funny.
- 52:21Speaker 1: I love the staircase design though, like, and it's so
- 52:25Speaker 1: interesting to think about how they must have sat there
- 52:28Speaker 1: trying to sketch this out, just to like make sure
- 52:32Speaker 1: that where the staircases were pivoting to would actually connect
- 52:36Speaker 1: the right way, and like thinking about the actual engineering
- 52:40Speaker 1: behind it, Like it's it's so cool, and it ended
- 52:44Speaker 1: up just looking really really good. Like I love those
- 52:47Speaker 1: shots where we go like up the middle of it
- 52:49Speaker 1: looking down at the staircases and they're all moving.
- 52:52Speaker 2: So okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's such also like you know,
- 52:59Speaker 2: a real indication that you're in a magical place as well,
- 53:02Speaker 2: because things are like literally floating those stairs from one
- 53:06Speaker 2: place through another. And yeah, those shots are so good.
- 53:15Speaker 2: So next up, I also wanted to mention another really
- 53:19Speaker 2: iconic which is Dumbledore's office. So this was designed to
- 53:24Speaker 2: feel ancient, lived in and full of history. So this
- 53:28Speaker 2: reflected both Dumbledore's personality and the magical world staff. So
- 53:33Speaker 2: Stuart envisioned it as a tower space filled with winding
- 53:37Speaker 2: staircases spiral shelves and a mix of arcane objects that
- 53:41Speaker 2: hinted at centuries of magical research. And for Stuart, the
- 53:45Speaker 2: goal was to make the office not just a backdrop
- 53:47Speaker 2: for scenes, but it's space that felt like a tangible
- 53:51Speaker 2: and magical environment where you know, you could imagine spending
- 53:54Speaker 2: time in and that you felt like you wanted to
- 53:57Speaker 2: spend time there to transmit it like, you know, a
- 54:00Speaker 2: coziness and a warmth. And his approach was to make
- 54:05Speaker 2: it functional for the story. So the set, this set
- 54:08Speaker 2: needed to allow camera movement, accommodate actors, and feel magical
- 54:12Speaker 2: without relying solely on CGI. And this is a very
- 54:18Speaker 2: interesting fact. So the lighting and color were carefully planned,
- 54:22Speaker 2: so you know, you had warm and golden tones contrasted
- 54:25Speaker 2: with shadows to convey the mystery, magic and Dumbledore's complex personality.
- 54:31Speaker 2: And I love this bit because you know, it really
- 54:34Speaker 2: shows all these shades of how Dumbledore was not a
- 54:37Speaker 2: black or white character. He was a great character and
- 54:40Speaker 2: he had you know, his good side, his not so
- 54:43Speaker 2: good side, his demons, his h and I just love
- 54:46Speaker 2: how much was put into this and how much thought
- 54:52Speaker 2: and detail and just the sets just convey so much
- 54:56Speaker 2: more than what we you know, see on first sight.
- 55:01Speaker 3: Yeah, it's kind.
- 55:02Speaker 4: Of like we were saying earlier about how you know,
- 55:05Speaker 4: he said that, like, you know, like his goal here
- 55:08Speaker 4: really was to make Hogwarts like this living.
- 55:12Speaker 3: Kind of thing.
- 55:13Speaker 4: And I was thinking about that too when we were talking
- 55:14Speaker 4: about the staircases moving in the way that they ended
- 55:17Speaker 4: up landing on how that looked, and then just the
- 55:20Speaker 4: things in the office, and it's it's like Hogwarts in
- 55:22Speaker 4: itself is a character, and like all of these rooms
- 55:25Speaker 4: are a character, and they're yes, they're reflective of the
- 55:29Speaker 4: personality of like who's inhabiting those spaces, like we've talked about,
- 55:32Speaker 4: but like, yeah, it's just yeah, I don't know. I mean,
- 55:36Speaker 4: Hogwarts is just a character in its own right. And
- 55:40Speaker 4: I think that obviously some of that is is obviously
- 55:43Speaker 4: due to you know, the way that it was written
- 55:47Speaker 4: by the author and obviously was created and stuff and
- 55:49Speaker 4: everything by JK. Rolling, But the way that Stuart Craig
- 55:52Speaker 4: was able to bring it to life, like I think
- 55:54Speaker 4: he completely like met his goal there with it being
- 55:57Speaker 4: this living, evolving, changing place.
- 56:03Speaker 2: Yeah, and just leaving such an imprint as well, you know,
- 56:10Speaker 2: some something people mention all the time is how iconic
- 56:14Speaker 2: these sets are and how timeless there are, and just
- 56:19Speaker 2: you know, I think he really you know, hit the
- 56:22Speaker 2: nail on the head on every single one of his sets,
- 56:26Speaker 2: because we're only covering a few of these, but whatever
- 56:30Speaker 2: set you look, the attention to detail, whether it's Harry Potter,
- 56:33Speaker 2: Fantastic Beasts is incredible.
- 56:38Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, what made this world feel actually real?
- 56:42Speaker 1: And that's like the ultimate goal, right, especially when you're
- 56:45Speaker 1: dealing with a fantasy series, of having something that grounds
- 56:50Speaker 1: it in reality so that we can suspend our disbelief
- 56:53Speaker 1: enough at the other things that are so obviously not real.
- 56:57Speaker 1: That's like the key to any good fantasy franchise. And
- 57:02Speaker 1: he really knocked out of the park.
- 57:05Speaker 2: M hm.
- 57:06Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 57:07Speaker 4: And I was just gonna say, I think that we will,
- 57:10Speaker 4: you know, we're obviously going to talk a little bit
- 57:12Speaker 4: in a bit here about like the Parks and his
- 57:14Speaker 4: obviously his contribution to the Parks. But I think that like,
- 57:18Speaker 4: you know, obviously with we're going to still continue I
- 57:23Speaker 4: think in my to see like his impact living on
- 57:27Speaker 4: in Harry Potter. You know, I think obviously we've already
- 57:32Speaker 4: talked a little bit about how we're seeing like again
- 57:34Speaker 4: these iconic sets and we're kind of seeing them recreate it,
- 57:38Speaker 4: possibly recreated you know, for the TV show and everything.
- 57:42Speaker 4: And so I do fully believe that he will be
- 57:45Speaker 4: and it is such an inspiration to the production designer
- 57:48Speaker 4: on the show, and I think will kind of continue
- 57:51Speaker 4: to see his legacy continue, you know, in the show and.
- 57:59Speaker 3: His influence. And I think we wouldn't.
- 58:01Speaker 4: Have the show or a basis for the show without
- 58:05Speaker 4: him and without the work that he did. And obviously
- 58:09Speaker 4: we're going to continue to talk a little bit more
- 58:10Speaker 4: here about like some of the other stuff there too,
- 58:12Speaker 4: So that's not good, a little over finality there. But
- 58:15Speaker 4: when you were talking about the impact Tom, I thought
- 58:17Speaker 4: of that, It's like we're going to continue to see
- 58:19Speaker 4: that impact. And that's why these sets have become so iconic,
- 58:23Speaker 4: and I think we'll see them in the show as
- 58:24Speaker 4: well because they're so iconic.
- 58:26Speaker 3: And how do you how do you change like, how
- 58:28Speaker 3: do you change it?
- 58:30Speaker 2: You can still make it your own, which is I'm
- 58:32Speaker 2: sure it's what you know, the new production designer I
- 58:36Speaker 2: think is going to try to do because obviously, you know, uh,
- 58:41Speaker 2: they will want to have their credit for the job,
- 58:43Speaker 2: and they will want to especially if it's being cataloged
- 58:46Speaker 2: as a faithful adaptation of the books and not so
- 58:48Speaker 2: much like a retelling of the movies. But I do
- 58:51Speaker 2: see them putting hints and nods to the original sets
- 58:54Speaker 2: and paying tribute to them and just making them present
- 58:57Speaker 2: to an extent that feels, you know, like they're respecting
- 59:02Speaker 2: the legacy, but they're not, you know, they are also
- 59:05Speaker 2: in putting their own twist on it. So it's very
- 59:08Speaker 2: you know, I'm very curious to see how that plays out.
- 59:10Speaker 2: But definitely I think his designs really were the blueprint
- 59:16Speaker 2: for everything that's going to come in the future.
- 59:19Speaker 4: And creating this the aesthetic of this world, right, Like,
- 59:22Speaker 4: I think that we're already still seeing that, right when
- 59:25Speaker 4: we like see snippets of the show and we have
- 59:27Speaker 4: people saying like, you know, like Chris Columbus, like Haggard
- 59:30Speaker 4: looks like my Hagrid.
- 59:31Speaker 3: What are they doing here? It's because the aesthetic.
- 59:34Speaker 4: That was created here was just I mean, I think
- 59:37Speaker 4: it was just so perfect that it's like, how do
- 59:39Speaker 4: you how do you completely change that? And so you know,
- 59:43Speaker 4: it'll be nice, I think to still see and I
- 59:45Speaker 4: hope they like, you know, maybe pay credit to him,
- 59:48Speaker 4: or maybe we hear the production designer like come out
- 59:50Speaker 4: and interviews and talk about how they.
- 59:52Speaker 3: Were influenced by him.
- 59:53Speaker 4: And something you said Amy too about like how the
- 59:57Speaker 4: naturalism and grounding us in this still like just.
- 1:00:00Speaker 3: It's it's what makes it look real as all of this.
- 1:00:03Speaker 4: Like you know, think of when you're in Lockhart's classroom,
- 1:00:06Speaker 4: right and you've got all the corners, pixies and stuff
- 1:00:08Speaker 4: flying around. Well, obviously that's fake, right, and it looked
- 1:00:11Speaker 4: it in everything, but it just it looks so real
- 1:00:14Speaker 4: because you're grounded in such a natural looking set. And
- 1:00:17Speaker 4: I truly think that that's where, like, again to go
- 1:00:20Speaker 4: back to the show and the quote that the was
- 1:00:23Speaker 4: that the director said about like wanting it to be
- 1:00:26Speaker 4: natural and everything, and everyone's been taking that quote and
- 1:00:29Speaker 4: kind of freaking out about it. I don't think we
- 1:00:32Speaker 4: need to freak out about it. I think that's what
- 1:00:34Speaker 4: they're referring to, is we want this to still look
- 1:00:36Speaker 4: real and natural, like this is something that's really happening.
- 1:00:41Speaker 4: And I think that Stuart Craig did a really good job,
- 1:00:44Speaker 4: obviously in partnership with the directors of the films to
- 1:00:48Speaker 4: create Harry Potter in a natural way that I think
- 1:00:50Speaker 4: they're just going to kind of continue for the show.
- 1:00:55Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, So we've covered some of the most iconic sts,
- 1:00:58Speaker 2: but obviously there are countless other places that were brought
- 1:01:01Speaker 2: to life by by Stuart. The Borrow, Malfola Manor, common rooms,
- 1:01:05Speaker 2: poaching classroom, the Allery, hawksby Diagon, Alley, Gringot, so so
- 1:01:11Speaker 2: many more magical locations any you can think of that's.
- 1:01:14Speaker 1: Stuart grim Old placed one of my favorite.
- 1:01:16Speaker 2: Yes, So before we move on, I just wanted to
- 1:01:24Speaker 2: read two quick excerpts from a couple of the books
- 1:01:28Speaker 2: that the companion books that I have, and this is
- 1:01:32Speaker 2: from the Magical Places book. When you know, Stuart Craig
- 1:01:36Speaker 2: was a little you know, he he had this kind
- 1:01:39Speaker 2: of like, you know, with a laugh, kind of like
- 1:01:41Speaker 2: acknowledge that the way to go would have been to
- 1:01:44Speaker 2: be able to read all the seven books back to
- 1:01:47Speaker 2: back when we started. But I think the changes and
- 1:01:50Speaker 2: additions to Hogwarts added a level of interest to the films.
- 1:01:54Speaker 2: I think everybody accepts that each film had its own
- 1:01:57Speaker 2: kind of integrity and that the spirit was probably more important,
- 1:02:00Speaker 2: and then continuity jumps between films.
- 1:02:04Speaker 4: I love to be able to know what he thinks
- 1:02:06Speaker 4: now of like the show, because obviously the show has
- 1:02:08Speaker 4: the benefit of being able to create with everything already,
- 1:02:12Speaker 4: like the book's already out and everything.
- 1:02:13Speaker 3: Kind of just what he said, like, it'd be.
- 1:02:16Speaker 4: So cool if to hear just you know, what his
- 1:02:18Speaker 4: thoughts were on the show.
- 1:02:19Speaker 2: And yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't think he ever expressed
- 1:02:24Speaker 2: any anything regarding the show, but it would have been
- 1:02:28Speaker 2: interesting to see if they had reached out to him
- 1:02:30Speaker 2: or you know, probably for advice just or just I
- 1:02:34Speaker 2: don't know, because I'm sure he always had this kind
- 1:02:37Speaker 2: of like Tuggle war situation kind of like with with
- 1:02:41Speaker 2: the you know, because he kind of like loved the
- 1:02:43Speaker 2: fact that he was able to play with the model
- 1:02:45Speaker 2: as the films, but he also was like, I kind of,
- 1:02:50Speaker 2: you know, hated the fact that we didn't know that
- 1:02:52Speaker 2: this was going to be important, because otherwise I would
- 1:02:54Speaker 2: have included this from the get go. And and it's
- 1:02:58Speaker 2: kind of like, you know, he always had this kind
- 1:03:00Speaker 2: of you know, contradiction with you know, but I think
- 1:03:04Speaker 2: it also kept his artistry intact in his creativity because
- 1:03:08Speaker 2: he could always just film after film, just keep playing
- 1:03:11Speaker 2: with the model and just make it its own thing.
- 1:03:14Speaker 2: So you know, speaking of that, like, I'm going to
- 1:03:17Speaker 2: read another quote that he said that I think was
- 1:03:19Speaker 2: really interesting. So he also admitted that he was pleased
- 1:03:23Speaker 2: when he had the chance to reshape parts of the castle.
- 1:03:26Speaker 2: One example is the castle's main entrance, which was initially
- 1:03:30Speaker 2: shot under the iconic fan vulting of Christ Church in
- 1:03:34Speaker 2: Oxford for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. So he says,
- 1:03:38Speaker 2: in the first films, the students would enter a modest
- 1:03:41Speaker 2: entryway and go up a grand staircase to the Great
- 1:03:45Speaker 2: hall on the first floor. But for Harry Potter and
- 1:03:48Speaker 2: the Goblet of Fire, the students arriving for the yule
- 1:03:50Speaker 2: ball needed to arrive at the front door and go
- 1:03:53Speaker 2: straight in. There was no place to do this at
- 1:03:56Speaker 2: christ Church. Its external door was a teeny tiny little
- 1:03:59Speaker 2: core yard that you couldn't get a carriage into. So
- 1:04:03Speaker 2: the entrance needed to be reinvented. We hugely reinvented it
- 1:04:08Speaker 2: for the final film because it was going to become
- 1:04:11Speaker 2: a battlefield. So if Baltimore was going to challenge the
- 1:04:14Speaker 2: school and the kids were going to defend it, then
- 1:04:17Speaker 2: it had to be about the main entrance, which didn't
- 1:04:20Speaker 2: have the scale of the or the seriousness that we needed.
- 1:04:23Speaker 2: So we reinvented the front, the front entrance again, building
- 1:04:27Speaker 2: a massive courtyard based on the cloister at Durham Cathedral,
- 1:04:31Speaker 2: which we'd taken from before. So Craik continued saying, when
- 1:04:36Speaker 2: you look at the profile of Hogwarts in the first film,
- 1:04:38Speaker 2: it's a mixture of different locations. So there's a bit
- 1:04:41Speaker 2: of Christchurch, a bit of Durham, a bit of Gloucester
- 1:04:44Speaker 2: Cathedral and a little bit of Allenwood Castle. To me,
- 1:04:47Speaker 2: the original silhouette of the school, which was forced in
- 1:04:50Speaker 2: a way to incorporate these places, wasn't as I would
- 1:04:53Speaker 2: have liked. But as the films went on, the chance
- 1:04:57Speaker 2: to improve and strengthen that silhouette off for itself and
- 1:05:01Speaker 2: I became quite pleased with it. It was always huge
- 1:05:04Speaker 2: and complicated, but it progressively got more elegant. Mh.
- 1:05:09Speaker 1: And it's so funny because as a viewer of these films, right,
- 1:05:16Speaker 1: you don't really massively notice the changes as the movies
- 1:05:21Speaker 1: go on, like you always accept that that's Hogwarts, like
- 1:05:24Speaker 1: there's no question in your mind. So even though the
- 1:05:27Speaker 1: entrance has changed so many times and the silhouettes changed,
- 1:05:30Speaker 1: so many times it's still Hogwarts. So that just shows
- 1:05:35Speaker 1: like what a good bas it already was, and that
- 1:05:39Speaker 1: they so seamlessly made these little changes in a way
- 1:05:43Speaker 1: that just felt fine and we just accepted.
- 1:05:48Speaker 4: Yes.
- 1:05:48Speaker 2: And also you could say, like you when you just
- 1:05:51Speaker 2: accepted it so much because it looked like it had
- 1:05:54Speaker 2: been standing there for centuries, even like the clock tower
- 1:05:57Speaker 2: and the bridge, it looked, you know, like it had
- 1:05:59Speaker 2: been lived on. It had been walked on so much,
- 1:06:01Speaker 2: and it have been through a lot of changes in time,
- 1:06:05Speaker 2: and you know, it got rusty, it got moldy, it
- 1:06:07Speaker 2: got and you know, even though it was just added
- 1:06:10Speaker 2: for that movie, you just accepted it. And we're like,
- 1:06:13Speaker 2: you know, this is a new face of Hogwarts, and
- 1:06:15Speaker 2: you know, but it's been there forever, which is it's strange.
- 1:06:18Speaker 2: It's starine to explain it. But just like you said,
- 1:06:20Speaker 2: it's like you go in there and it's yes, that's
- 1:06:22Speaker 2: the castle. That's that's it.
- 1:06:26Speaker 4: I think, unless you like hear somebody like read off
- 1:06:30Speaker 4: like that quote you said. As you were reading it,
- 1:06:32Speaker 4: I was like picturing all these different scenes and I'm like, gosh, wow, yeah,
- 1:06:35Speaker 4: it is so different, and like to your point, Amy
- 1:06:38Speaker 4: like you don't really realize. And I think like part
- 1:06:40Speaker 4: of that again is testament to Stewart and the aesthetic
- 1:06:43Speaker 4: that he created for the film, because the aesthetic was
- 1:06:46Speaker 4: so strong that every single time they like made these changes,
- 1:06:50Speaker 4: it was still within that same aesthetic.
- 1:06:53Speaker 3: So it just it worked.
- 1:06:57Speaker 4: Yeah, and it looked like like you know, like you
- 1:06:58Speaker 4: said to Tom, it looked like it always been there
- 1:07:00Speaker 4: because it was kept within that same aesthetic.
- 1:07:04Speaker 2: Mm hmmm mm hmm. Yeah, totally. And also I you know,
- 1:07:10Speaker 2: sometimes I would justify it in my head and say,
- 1:07:12Speaker 2: like it's a castle, it's magic. It will morph into
- 1:07:15Speaker 2: different things as time goes on, like it's not fully
- 1:07:18Speaker 2: unexpected for it to shift, Like even when you see
- 1:07:22Speaker 2: Howard's legacy, the castle is different, but you attribute it
- 1:07:25Speaker 2: maybe to the fact that, yeah, the castle itself is
- 1:07:27Speaker 2: a character. It's grown, it's evolved, it's morphed into different things,
- 1:07:32Speaker 2: so you can also look at it from you know,
- 1:07:35Speaker 2: more of a magical point of view. So so yeah,
- 1:07:41Speaker 2: I really like these these quotes because they kind of
- 1:07:44Speaker 2: tell a bit more of you know, what his relation
- 1:07:47Speaker 2: relationship with with that was and how he managed to
- 1:07:53Speaker 2: you know, put the best possible outcome for these changes.
- 1:07:57Speaker 2: Whenever you know, oh, we have to add the austron
- 1:08:00Speaker 2: to me tower, Okay, how can we incorporate it in
- 1:08:02Speaker 2: a way that's natural, that we don't just add this huge,
- 1:08:06Speaker 2: massive structure that feels, you know, like it doesn't belong
- 1:08:10Speaker 2: in the castle. He somehow managed to seemingly integrate these
- 1:08:14Speaker 2: things film by film that just integrateed so well with
- 1:08:20Speaker 2: the castle, and the castle ended up being its own,
- 1:08:22Speaker 2: you know, it started being, like you said, a bit
- 1:08:24Speaker 2: of this castle, a bit of this cathedral, a bit
- 1:08:26Speaker 2: of this, but it ended up being its own entity.
- 1:08:31Speaker 2: And you can almost not tell the you know, the
- 1:08:34Speaker 2: similarities with the first castle and how it was heavily
- 1:08:38Speaker 2: based on real locations. So you know, it's like you said,
- 1:08:42Speaker 2: it became more elegant, more majestic, more intimidating. So yeah,
- 1:08:47Speaker 2: it's definitely like very fascinating to read these things.
- 1:08:52Speaker 4: I think, like, in my opinion, like looking at like
- 1:08:54Speaker 4: the set changes that we've had, I think the only
- 1:08:57Speaker 4: one that like really stands out to me is like
- 1:09:00Speaker 4: Hagrid's hut and just the kind of landscape change there.
- 1:09:05Speaker 4: That's the only one that I think, like is a
- 1:09:08Speaker 4: bit more jarring, But I don't even mean it in
- 1:09:10Speaker 4: a bad way, Like it's not like, oh my god,
- 1:09:12Speaker 4: I hate that. It's the only one that kind of
- 1:09:14Speaker 4: like stands out a little bit because obviously, like by
- 1:09:16Speaker 4: the time we got to a Prisoner of Azkapan, like
- 1:09:18Speaker 4: the exterior and the Scottish Highlands and stuff, they changed
- 1:09:22Speaker 4: that up a little bit and that's why we got
- 1:09:23Speaker 4: that change. But even that, like it's still like, I
- 1:09:27Speaker 4: don't know, I just accept it, and it just it
- 1:09:29Speaker 4: is what it is, because it's still Hagrid's hut, you know,
- 1:09:31Speaker 4: and it's like it's just I like the in the
- 1:09:35Speaker 4: quote that you mentioned too about like him saying that,
- 1:09:41Speaker 4: you know, he it almost seems like he was glad
- 1:09:43Speaker 4: that everybody just seems to like accept instead of being
- 1:09:47Speaker 4: like nitpicking the continuity, because I think like some production
- 1:09:51Speaker 4: designers don't get that luxury and things really get nitpicked,
- 1:09:56Speaker 4: and even some other like franchises. But again, I think
- 1:09:59Speaker 4: it's just testament to his work and why we're able,
- 1:10:02Speaker 4: like we've been saying, to just accept it and not
- 1:10:04Speaker 4: feel like we need to.
- 1:10:06Speaker 3: To nitpick it.
- 1:10:08Speaker 4: I'm sure deep down, part of him, like he said,
- 1:10:11Speaker 4: was like I wish I had all this stuff from
- 1:10:12Speaker 4: the beginning, because I'm sure it bothered him, maybe more
- 1:10:15Speaker 4: than it bothers the rest of us to not be
- 1:10:18Speaker 4: able to just design it that way from the beginning,
- 1:10:20Speaker 4: especially he seems to be like a perfectionist in that way.
- 1:10:23Speaker 3: But yeah, didn't bother me one bit, No, No.
- 1:10:29Speaker 2: I did what. I was slightly bothered when they changed
- 1:10:32Speaker 2: the viduct or definitely hollows part two. I do understand
- 1:10:35Speaker 2: the reasoning behind it, and I was not you know,
- 1:10:38Speaker 2: I didn't care much about the staircases being completely revamped
- 1:10:43Speaker 2: into like, you know, just normal staircases, Like where were
- 1:10:47Speaker 2: the magical moving staircases? I was not a fan of that.
- 1:10:51Speaker 2: I struggled with it. I remember back in the day
- 1:10:53Speaker 2: and I was like, uh, I understand why. I understand
- 1:10:56Speaker 2: this is much better for a battlefield, and this is
- 1:10:59Speaker 2: what they prepped Hogwarts for in this film. But yeah, there,
- 1:11:03Speaker 2: I mean, everything has you know, like not everything was perfect.
- 1:11:06Speaker 2: Not everything was, but I'm still glad that, you know,
- 1:11:09Speaker 2: even now, like you look at it and you're like, okay, yes,
- 1:11:12Speaker 2: this is this is our castle. And also him being
- 1:11:15Speaker 2: able to give each character because for him, these locations
- 1:11:19Speaker 2: each location was a character. So he needed to give
- 1:11:21Speaker 2: the Astronomy Tower this very important profile, this you know,
- 1:11:27Speaker 2: this huge tower. Imagine if he had just built the
- 1:11:31Speaker 2: Astronomy Tower, you know, like this very basic thing and
- 1:11:34Speaker 2: then you would have this important scene happening and not
- 1:11:39Speaker 2: you know, like he was able to really give them,
- 1:11:42Speaker 2: give these locations. He sets what they needed. And yes, yes, exactly, yes.
- 1:11:54Speaker 2: So I just wanted to mention a couple more things.
- 1:11:58Speaker 2: So obviously we cannot talk about Stuart's contributions without mentioning
- 1:12:03Speaker 2: his work in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. So Stewart served
- 1:12:08Speaker 2: as a production designer for all three Fantastic Beasts films,
- 1:12:11Speaker 2: so Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Crimes
- 1:12:14Speaker 2: of Brenda Wald, and The Secrets of Dumbledore. So he
- 1:12:18Speaker 2: was in charge of designing nineteen twenties Wizarding New York locations,
- 1:12:23Speaker 2: blending artico architecture with magical flourishes. And he had to
- 1:12:28Speaker 2: connect that nineteen twenties era settings with the familiar Harry
- 1:12:32Speaker 2: Potter aesthetics, so fans would feel a continuity while seeing
- 1:12:36Speaker 2: a fresh environment. And it's something that you know, going
- 1:12:41Speaker 2: back in time so many years It's like you have
- 1:12:44Speaker 2: such a big challenge because how do you engage these
- 1:12:47Speaker 2: audiences that have been so used to this side of
- 1:12:52Speaker 2: the magical world to this time of you know, in
- 1:12:56Speaker 2: the timeline. How do you take it almost like ninety
- 1:13:01Speaker 2: years in the past and still make it familiar. It's
- 1:13:04Speaker 2: such a huge challenge.
- 1:13:06Speaker 1: And they did that with Hogwarts. Yes, when we finally
- 1:13:09Speaker 1: got to Hogwarts in the third film, yeah, it still
- 1:13:13Speaker 1: looked like Hogwarts, but there was enough there to nod
- 1:13:17Speaker 1: to the current timeline that you could tell this is
- 1:13:20Speaker 1: a past Hogwarts.
- 1:13:22Speaker 2: Mm hmmmm hmm. Yeah, like the uniforms and some of
- 1:13:26Speaker 2: the props and even the the the you know, the
- 1:13:30Speaker 2: castle had some you know, so yes, you can definitely.
- 1:13:34Speaker 2: But he seemingly, like seamlessly, sorry, really managed to blend
- 1:13:39Speaker 2: these two together, and you can tell you're entering the
- 1:13:44Speaker 2: minute the film starts, you are taking into the wizard
- 1:13:47Speaker 2: world again, like you don't question it.
- 1:13:51Speaker 3: Yeah, I was.
- 1:13:51Speaker 4: Gonna say, even beyond Hogwarts, like even though we're in
- 1:13:55Speaker 4: like a different continent, like it let alone a different
- 1:13:59Speaker 4: time period, like if you yeah, it's just yeah, the
- 1:14:04Speaker 4: moment that the film starts, I think the moment I
- 1:14:08Speaker 4: think of like the opening to Crimes of Grindelwald, which
- 1:14:11Speaker 4: is probably one of my favorite movie openings ever, and
- 1:14:15Speaker 4: being like in the like mcusa jail or whatever. It's
- 1:14:19Speaker 4: like it's not as command right, but it feels like
- 1:14:21Speaker 4: a wizard prison. Like I don't know how they were
- 1:14:24Speaker 4: able or like how he was able to like just
- 1:14:27Speaker 4: capture such an aesthetic that has just literally permeated every
- 1:14:32Speaker 4: single aspect of this universe, even when we're in a
- 1:14:36Speaker 4: different continent, a different location, a different time period, like
- 1:14:39Speaker 4: completely different or not even at Hogwarts or any Wizarding
- 1:14:42Speaker 4: World set, and like it just it still feels the
- 1:14:48Speaker 4: exact same way. And I think even in these films
- 1:14:51Speaker 4: where we saw like different like color schemes, like again
- 1:14:55Speaker 4: to liken it back to Twilight, right, like everybody loves
- 1:14:58Speaker 4: to talk about how blue the first Twilight film is,
- 1:15:02Speaker 4: and it does kind of like does break up the
- 1:15:05Speaker 4: continuity I think, in my opinion a little bit with
- 1:15:08Speaker 4: the rest of the films.
- 1:15:09Speaker 3: It's very clear this was.
- 1:15:10Speaker 4: A different director, a different vision. But again the Harry
- 1:15:14Speaker 4: Potter films we had tons of different directors, we had
- 1:15:17Speaker 4: different lightings in them as well. Look how bright and
- 1:15:20Speaker 4: everything the first two films are and then obviously the
- 1:15:23Speaker 4: lighting kind of reflects the mood. But to me, the
- 1:15:26Speaker 4: aesthetic is still always been there from the beginning, and
- 1:15:28Speaker 4: I think no other film franchise has really been able
- 1:15:33Speaker 4: to capture that same continuity of the aesthetic in my opinion,
- 1:15:41Speaker 4: which I think again is attributed to him.
- 1:15:44Speaker 2: It could have been so easy to get lost in
- 1:15:47Speaker 2: the process having so many directors, having so many you know,
- 1:15:52Speaker 2: and also like you know, the cinematography changed every film,
- 1:16:01Speaker 2: and so it would have been so easy to make
- 1:16:03Speaker 2: it look you know, like, oh, this version of Awkwards,
- 1:16:06Speaker 2: in this version of Awkwards and that, and you know,
- 1:16:08Speaker 2: and break the continuity somehow. But it he just did
- 1:16:12Speaker 2: such a good job that even in different settings, and
- 1:16:15Speaker 2: we go to New York in the nineteen twenties, we
- 1:16:18Speaker 2: go to Macusa, we go to like you said, the Cells,
- 1:16:22Speaker 2: it just feels the same magical world. And we're talking
- 1:16:26Speaker 2: about probably different slightly different teams from one franchise to
- 1:16:30Speaker 2: the other, but kind of the same, you know, within
- 1:16:33Speaker 2: the same Yeah, i'd say, the same bubble of experts
- 1:16:38Speaker 2: and crew. But it's just amazing how he managed to
- 1:16:44Speaker 2: do that. So, like we mentioned, he we saw the
- 1:16:52Speaker 2: look of Macusa headquarters the French Ministry of Magic. Again,
- 1:16:57Speaker 2: you enter there and you know it's the same. It's
- 1:17:02Speaker 2: just as shocking as it is when you enter the
- 1:17:06Speaker 2: British Ministry of Magic. And he did it three times.
- 1:17:10Speaker 3: Yeah, we've all got the same vibes. Yeah.
- 1:17:13Speaker 1: I always think of the scene in Micusa with all
- 1:17:17Speaker 1: the different heads of the different wizarding governments all gathered
- 1:17:20Speaker 1: in that room, and how much that room reminds me
- 1:17:24Speaker 1: of the courtroom in the British Ministry, and so just
- 1:17:27Speaker 1: like the same thing of like the same kind of
- 1:17:30Speaker 1: feelings and aesthetic going on. That really just bridges that gap.
- 1:17:35Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, definitely. And he well he also you know,
- 1:17:41Speaker 2: created and Newts Commander's apartment and Suitcases Habitats, which was
- 1:17:44Speaker 2: full of whimsical and functional details and.
- 1:17:48Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I think Newt Suitcase is probably my favorite
- 1:17:53Speaker 1: Stuart Craig set ever.
- 1:17:55Speaker 2: Wow, Like, think about.
- 1:17:57Speaker 1: How cheesy that could have low, but it looked so good,
- 1:18:03Speaker 1: Like it was believable. It was realistic enough, and like
- 1:18:08Speaker 1: the challenge of not only creating a world in a
- 1:18:12Speaker 1: side of suitcase, but a world that's revolving around all
- 1:18:15Speaker 1: these imaginary creatures that you're gonna have to later insert
- 1:18:21Speaker 1: and have these characters interact within this space. Like it
- 1:18:24Speaker 1: just it looks so good. And we talked about how
- 1:18:29Speaker 1: Hogwarts is so heavily influenced by the characters inhabiting the space.
- 1:18:35Speaker 1: I feel like this is such a good example of
- 1:18:38Speaker 1: production design and set design being influenced by the characters
- 1:18:43Speaker 1: or creatures that are inhabiting that space and trying to
- 1:18:46Speaker 1: build this space around them so that it looks good later. Yeah,
- 1:18:51Speaker 1: it's just I love that scene so much.
- 1:18:53Speaker 2: And you have to be up for the task because
- 1:18:55Speaker 2: it's really challenging, Like you have to build all these
- 1:18:59Speaker 2: different ecosystem that are you know, very very you know,
- 1:19:04Speaker 2: each of them is their own little world, but they
- 1:19:06Speaker 2: have to coexist and somehow you have to transition in
- 1:19:12Speaker 2: one into the other seamlessly. Like it's a very hard
- 1:19:16Speaker 2: thing to really accomplish. And it's just I think also
- 1:19:20Speaker 2: it's such a magical, magical moment and such a good scene.
- 1:19:25Speaker 2: You are fully immersed in the you know, in the
- 1:19:28Speaker 2: Wizarding World, even though you're in a suitcase. You are
- 1:19:31Speaker 2: in the Wizarding World. When you've been kind of like
- 1:19:33Speaker 2: for a big portion of the film inside the Muggle
- 1:19:36Speaker 2: world basically, so it's kind of you you have the
- 1:19:39Speaker 2: Macusa scene, but I think the Maccusa scene happens after
- 1:19:42Speaker 2: the suitcase, right, Yes, I think so. I haven't watched
- 1:19:47Speaker 2: Fantastic Beats once in a while, but I think they
- 1:19:49Speaker 2: go to Macusa after uh they enter a suitcase.
- 1:19:55Speaker 1: Cusa before and after the suitcase I'm remembering.
- 1:20:00Speaker 2: Right, Yes, because Tina takes Newt into the headquarters. Yes,
- 1:20:09Speaker 2: I need to I need to binge watch it again.
- 1:20:11Speaker 2: But but yeah, just that scene and having the magical
- 1:20:15Speaker 2: creatures and everything just so perfectly integrated, I think is Yes,
- 1:20:20Speaker 2: it's it's definitely definitely stand out, and.
- 1:20:23Speaker 1: Like things like news little like workshop within the suitcase
- 1:20:28Speaker 1: or his basement in his apartment, Like the details in
- 1:20:32Speaker 1: those spaces is so good. Just the amount of like
- 1:20:37Speaker 1: just stuff that's in there, the plants and like all
- 1:20:41Speaker 1: the little glass vials and like just it's yeah, it's great.
- 1:20:46Speaker 2: Yeah, And I can assure you everything has a reason
- 1:20:49Speaker 2: to be there. Like if you ask Steward or you
- 1:20:51Speaker 2: ask any of this set decorators, they would be like, yes,
- 1:20:54Speaker 2: this is here because of this and this and this
- 1:20:57Speaker 2: is from this. You know Adventures Newt was on, and
- 1:21:01Speaker 2: it's just so so rich and I just love learning
- 1:21:05Speaker 2: those little bits of information. That's why I appreciate behind
- 1:21:08Speaker 2: the scenes so much, because it makes you really look
- 1:21:10Speaker 2: at it from from a different perspective, just makes it
- 1:21:14Speaker 2: even more magical than it already is. Yeah, So The
- 1:21:24Speaker 2: Secrets of Dumbledore represented his final feature film contribution. So
- 1:21:30Speaker 2: this was in twenty twenty two, so it was pretty
- 1:21:35Speaker 2: around three years ago, well four if we count when
- 1:21:38Speaker 2: they were in production. So yeah, that's unfortunate, but you know,
- 1:21:43Speaker 2: it's nice to see that his final project was actually
- 1:21:46Speaker 2: a Wizarding World, and I'm sure that he's very proud
- 1:21:49Speaker 2: of it as well. So yeah, I wish we could,
- 1:21:55Speaker 2: you know, dive into each of these, but there's just
- 1:21:58Speaker 2: so much that we could discuss us about his his sets,
- 1:22:01Speaker 2: and that's why we only like focused on the most
- 1:22:05Speaker 2: like iconic sets that we were immersed in the last
- 1:22:08Speaker 2: like twenty years. But definitely there's a lot of standouts,
- 1:22:13Speaker 2: you know, in all of these films, even you know,
- 1:22:16Speaker 2: in the Fantastic Beast franchise, like we said, the Ministry Magic,
- 1:22:21Speaker 2: the whole cemetery scene where they have in crimes of
- 1:22:27Speaker 2: Grindewald Nicholas House. Yes, yes, yes, we.
- 1:22:33Speaker 4: Should do a mini series where we look at sets,
- 1:22:37Speaker 4: putting this idea out into the universe where we wanted
- 1:22:40Speaker 4: to dive into different.
- 1:22:42Speaker 2: Yes, yes, that's a great idea. So yeah, So moving
- 1:22:49Speaker 2: on from Fantastic Beasts, I wanted to talk a little
- 1:22:52Speaker 2: bit about his contribution to the Wizarding World parks. So,
- 1:22:56Speaker 2: at JK. Rowling's request, Stuart Craig worked with Universal Creative
- 1:23:00Speaker 2: to help design the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So
- 1:23:03Speaker 2: Jagger Rowling made clear she wanted him involved to ensure
- 1:23:07Speaker 2: the parks mirrored the films look and felt like authentic
- 1:23:12Speaker 2: extensions of her imagination. So she was very insistent with this.
- 1:23:17Speaker 2: We're going to telefun fact later that's very related to this,
- 1:23:21Speaker 2: but just seeing how much she you know, she actually
- 1:23:26Speaker 2: trusted his work and she respected his work, and just
- 1:23:30Speaker 2: shows how proud she is and how much he managed
- 1:23:33Speaker 2: to really just interpret what she had in her head
- 1:23:37Speaker 2: and put it into a screen.
- 1:23:41Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's what makes the parks as successful as
- 1:23:45Speaker 1: they are, is you feel like you're walking into the
- 1:23:49Speaker 1: film sets. So had he not been involved, I don't
- 1:23:53Speaker 1: know if we would get that same feeling. So it's
- 1:23:56Speaker 1: good that he was.
- 1:23:59Speaker 3: Yeah.
- 1:24:00Speaker 2: Yeah, again, how lucky were we right? Because it's it's
- 1:24:04Speaker 2: it's even a different company, it's Universal, So they could
- 1:24:06Speaker 2: have been like, oh, no, we have our own people,
- 1:24:08Speaker 2: we have our own creative teams, so you know, we're gonna,
- 1:24:10Speaker 2: we're gonna, you know, we're gonna annail it, no matter.
- 1:24:13Speaker 2: And then you get something that's half asked and there
- 1:24:15Speaker 2: like oh this is not you know, yeah, but no, no,
- 1:24:19Speaker 2: these these parks are literally like you entering the Wizarding World.
- 1:24:23Speaker 2: It's not the sets, it's just I'm a wizard. So
- 1:24:27Speaker 2: that's what he managed to achieve by you know, this
- 1:24:31Speaker 2: attention to detail. And he described the parks as a
- 1:24:35Speaker 2: second life for his sets, where fans can step into
- 1:24:38Speaker 2: spaces that were only built initially for cameras. And it
- 1:24:45Speaker 2: was Stuart Craig's final contribution to the Wizarding World as
- 1:24:48Speaker 2: a whole. It was his involvement designing the Ministry of
- 1:24:52Speaker 2: Magic Attraction at Epics uh Universal Epic Event Universe. Oh,
- 1:24:57Speaker 2: at Universal's Epic Universe, which opened May twenty twenty five.
- 1:25:02Speaker 2: So yeah, like I was just thinking what a way
- 1:25:05Speaker 2: to take his final bow.
- 1:25:07Speaker 1: Yeah, and the details in there and just that ministry
- 1:25:11Speaker 1: of magic the.
- 1:25:12Speaker 2: Lobby you can attest to that.
- 1:25:14Speaker 1: Yes, that's incredible, like yeah, yeah, that's huge.
- 1:25:21Speaker 2: Yeah, just from this when you look at it, like
- 1:25:23Speaker 2: the scope of it, you guys saw it in person,
- 1:25:26Speaker 2: but even in pictures, it just looks like something I've
- 1:25:30Speaker 2: never seen before, like at a scale where they were
- 1:25:33Speaker 2: constantly I feel Stuart was always trying to take it
- 1:25:37Speaker 2: a step forward as a creative like creatives always do,
- 1:25:40Speaker 2: Like they want his latest work to be better than
- 1:25:43Speaker 2: the past one, and they want to say, how can
- 1:25:45Speaker 2: we make this ten times better? And how can we
- 1:25:47Speaker 2: make this twenty times better? And I feel like he's
- 1:25:50Speaker 2: achieved it with each and every one of these expansions.
- 1:25:55Speaker 4: Yeah, and like what a treat for a production does
- 1:26:00Speaker 4: to see your design or you're esthetic, you're kind of
- 1:26:09Speaker 4: whole vibe just like like you said, like him describing
- 1:26:13Speaker 4: it as like a second life, Like the way that
- 1:26:17Speaker 4: I think you know he was able to have his
- 1:26:19Speaker 4: sets come to life in this in the theme park
- 1:26:25Speaker 4: and live on is not something that like most production
- 1:26:29Speaker 4: designers will ever see because it's not even I don't
- 1:26:33Speaker 4: think it's even comparable to say, like it's like just
- 1:26:38Speaker 4: walking through your set, because it's it's not like obviously
- 1:26:42Speaker 4: movie sets have all these different elements that we don't see,
- 1:26:45Speaker 4: right because it's not in the camera and everything. It's
- 1:26:48Speaker 4: still a living, breathing set. But like the theme parks,
- 1:26:51Speaker 4: they're not a set. It's it's real life, right, it's
- 1:26:55Speaker 4: just there you have you don't have the cameras there,
- 1:26:58Speaker 4: you don't have the infrastructure, you don't have have Like
- 1:27:01Speaker 4: I mean, it's such a different it's truly your set
- 1:27:03Speaker 4: come to life. And I can't even imagine like walking through.
- 1:27:08Speaker 3: Those sets and stuff, like what.
- 1:27:11Speaker 4: That must feel like to see kind of like your
- 1:27:14Speaker 4: vision kind of like really coming to life in that
- 1:27:17Speaker 4: level and just being able to exist on and also
- 1:27:20Speaker 4: be like alive like in the way that a movie
- 1:27:25Speaker 4: set never will be because it's still a movie set.
- 1:27:27Speaker 3: But those parks are.
- 1:27:28Speaker 4: Like alive, right, Like you've got people coming in and yes, yeah,
- 1:27:33Speaker 4: and they're interacting and they're doing the wand magic, and
- 1:27:36Speaker 4: you've got like it's just so different than a set,
- 1:27:40Speaker 4: and like I like, yeah, I mean I hope that
- 1:27:43Speaker 4: like ultimately like he's really like happy with everything that
- 1:27:50Speaker 4: he's done and proud of his decision to take on
- 1:27:52Speaker 4: Harry Potter and devote so much of his life to it,
- 1:27:56Speaker 4: you know, once he jumped onto that project, because like
- 1:27:59Speaker 4: he really like has a lot to be proud of.
- 1:28:04Speaker 3: There, And I'm sure he felt pride.
- 1:28:06Speaker 4: But I hope that he was humble enough to like
- 1:28:09Speaker 4: really step back and be like, no, I really deserve
- 1:28:12Speaker 4: to be like proud of this because look at help.
- 1:28:15Speaker 4: I'm sure it's grown even bigger than he could have
- 1:28:17Speaker 4: ever imagined when he first.
- 1:28:18Speaker 3: Signed on to do the SORCER's Stone.
- 1:28:20Speaker 1: You know, like, like I hope he realized the impact
- 1:28:24Speaker 1: that it had on so many people.
- 1:28:27Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sure he did. I'm sure eventually he he
- 1:28:31Speaker 2: learned it, because he must have had. I still think
- 1:28:33Speaker 2: that he didn't get I know, he gets credit, by
- 1:28:37Speaker 2: I think we don't have We don't get to see
- 1:28:40Speaker 2: the scope of credit that he deserves, you know, we
- 1:28:43Speaker 2: don't get to see how much we owe to him. Basically,
- 1:28:47Speaker 2: It's yeah, you know, I was so saddened by this
- 1:28:50Speaker 2: news because I was like, Wow, he was such an
- 1:28:52Speaker 2: important piece in building this world and just how you know,
- 1:29:00Speaker 2: I think he's maybe the after jakere Rowling probably the
- 1:29:04Speaker 2: most important person to bring Harry Potter to life.
- 1:29:09Speaker 4: Well, I hope that I was thinking that too, Like
- 1:29:11Speaker 4: I hope that like people who find like this episode
- 1:29:17Speaker 4: maybe like develop a new appreciation for him and production
- 1:29:21Speaker 4: designers and behind the scenes people. And I think that
- 1:29:26Speaker 4: exactly what you said. I don't think behind the scenes
- 1:29:29Speaker 4: people get enough credit, you know. And I think obviously,
- 1:29:32Speaker 4: like you know, behind the scenes people like me and
- 1:29:34Speaker 4: a Lima, right, Like, they get a lot of credit
- 1:29:36Speaker 4: because they're out there and they interact with the fans
- 1:29:39Speaker 4: and everything like that. But I think then people don't realize, like,
- 1:29:44Speaker 4: right again, their connection to Stuart Craig then, and how
- 1:29:47Speaker 4: a lot of what we got from me and a
- 1:29:49Speaker 4: Lima was also attributed to Stuart and Stuart's vision, And
- 1:29:53Speaker 4: I think that gets lost.
- 1:29:55Speaker 3: And I think when.
- 1:29:56Speaker 4: You're a production designer, right or you do behind the
- 1:29:58Speaker 4: scenes and films, I think you just accept that, right,
- 1:30:02Speaker 4: like you know that, like I'm a behind the scenes guy.
- 1:30:06Speaker 4: I'm not the director, I'm not the actors, I'm not
- 1:30:09Speaker 4: this big player, and so people don't truly realize the
- 1:30:12Speaker 4: extent of my work. But I think that it's important
- 1:30:16Speaker 4: for us to like us that are interested in people
- 1:30:19Speaker 4: to do that, to like talk about it and bring
- 1:30:21Speaker 4: to light the amount of work that these people actually do. Because,
- 1:30:26Speaker 4: like to Tom to your point, Tom, I think that
- 1:30:32Speaker 4: a lot of people probably don't really know who Stuart
- 1:30:34Speaker 4: Craig really is, other than maybe knowing his name and
- 1:30:37Speaker 4: knowing that he was attached to Harry Potter.
- 1:30:39Speaker 3: And I don't think people really realize.
- 1:30:42Speaker 4: How much, like we've said, that we have to attribute
- 1:30:46Speaker 4: to him, and the nostalgia and the emotional feelings that
- 1:30:50Speaker 4: you get about this world is really like it's it
- 1:30:55Speaker 4: does boil down to him, because he was the head
- 1:30:58Speaker 4: of bringing that to life more than a director, more
- 1:31:01Speaker 4: than you know, like.
- 1:31:04Speaker 5: Yeah with a producer, Yes, yeah, I was thinking too,
- 1:31:10Speaker 5: you know, with Epic Universe being his last Wizarding World project,
- 1:31:18Speaker 5: I feel like Universal should put like some sort of
- 1:31:21Speaker 5: plaque or something somewhere hidden in Wizarding Paris to you know,
- 1:31:27Speaker 5: commemorate all of his contribution there.
- 1:31:30Speaker 1: I'm kind of surprised they haven't, to be honest, but
- 1:31:34Speaker 1: what a great way, you know, to nod to him
- 1:31:38Speaker 1: and you know, make sure that his legacy, Like you
- 1:31:42Speaker 1: could hide a little plaque somewhere and play cachet, and
- 1:31:47Speaker 1: it would be a nice little added.
- 1:31:48Speaker 2: Extra, yes, and also acknowledged all of the work that
- 1:31:54Speaker 2: he's done, and just you know, and we see how
- 1:31:56Speaker 2: people in the parks, did you know they raise their
- 1:31:59Speaker 2: wands when any of the cast members pass away, like
- 1:32:02Speaker 2: Maggie Smith and all these iconic, you know, actors, But
- 1:32:07Speaker 2: whenever you know, someone from the crew and someone as
- 1:32:10Speaker 2: important as this, I didn't see something that was as widespread,
- 1:32:15Speaker 2: and you know, I felt it was very It was
- 1:32:18Speaker 2: very sad. Even the Harry Potter website, like the Instagram account,
- 1:32:23Speaker 2: I think they posted it the day after, and you
- 1:32:27Speaker 2: know there were comments of people saying, oh, but you know,
- 1:32:29Speaker 2: what role did he play? And people are like, well,
- 1:32:32Speaker 2: he didn't play a role, but he's actually the reason
- 1:32:34Speaker 2: that Harry Potter is the way it is today and exists.
- 1:32:39Speaker 2: So yeah, like I would love to see that and
- 1:32:42Speaker 2: people be more appreciative of that and just giving them
- 1:32:45Speaker 2: the credit they deserve, because none of this would be
- 1:32:47Speaker 2: possible without these masterminds behind it. And you know, if
- 1:32:52Speaker 2: it can be us paying it forward and just you know,
- 1:32:56Speaker 2: starting to get people talking and get people interested in
- 1:33:01Speaker 2: and these creatives, then you know, I'm happy that we've
- 1:33:06Speaker 2: you know, taken this stand and be like, you know,
- 1:33:08Speaker 2: we this is everything that he's done, you know, and
- 1:33:12Speaker 2: you know, let's put a plaque for him, let's put
- 1:33:14Speaker 2: you know, let's just give him this this credit that
- 1:33:16Speaker 2: he had he deserves.
- 1:33:18Speaker 1: And honestly, like the perfect place to put it would
- 1:33:21Speaker 1: be right when you come through the portal and you
- 1:33:24Speaker 1: see the map and there's like that pedestal type thingy
- 1:33:29Speaker 1: with all the French posters on it and everything, like
- 1:33:31Speaker 1: you could put it somewhere in there and it would
- 1:33:35Speaker 1: be kind of seamless, you know. So yeah, and.
- 1:33:39Speaker 4: You know, hundreds of people would just walk right by it,
- 1:33:42Speaker 4: but we would go search it out and we would
- 1:33:44Speaker 4: find the details and we would know.
- 1:33:46Speaker 3: It's there and we would see it.
- 1:33:47Speaker 4: But yeah, I don't know, I think too, And I
- 1:33:50Speaker 4: think that something I feel like that I would love
- 1:33:54Speaker 4: for us to like keep doing with this podcast is
- 1:33:56Speaker 4: like talking about obviously the three of us are very
- 1:33:59Speaker 4: clearly into the behind the scenes things. We've we've had
- 1:34:02Speaker 4: other episodes where we've talked about, you know, the behind
- 1:34:05Speaker 4: the things stuff, and like we've said, it's not talked
- 1:34:08Speaker 4: about enough. And you know, like you said, Tom if, like,
- 1:34:13Speaker 4: if we're the only podcast that puts out an episode
- 1:34:16Speaker 4: about Stuart Craig, then I'm glad it was us because
- 1:34:21Speaker 4: I mean to any of you listening, I think you
- 1:34:22Speaker 4: can tell, like we're definitely fans here, you know, of
- 1:34:27Speaker 4: Stuart Craig. And yeah, I just like I think I
- 1:34:33Speaker 4: always encourage like people, like not everybody is going to
- 1:34:35Speaker 4: be into behind the scenes or filmmaking and everything that
- 1:34:38Speaker 4: goes into it, but like I think more people should
- 1:34:41Speaker 4: be interested because there's so much and like you know,
- 1:34:45Speaker 4: like you said too, it's like, you know, obviously the actors,
- 1:34:48Speaker 4: I think in the director is always kind of the
- 1:34:50Speaker 4: ones that end up being the face of everything. And
- 1:34:53Speaker 4: I do feel bad a lot of times for all
- 1:34:56Speaker 4: those people behind the scenes because they do even.
- 1:35:00Speaker 3: More work than the actor does.
- 1:35:02Speaker 4: Like creating sets and art pieces and graphic work and
- 1:35:08Speaker 4: costumes like that all is so much more involved than
- 1:35:11Speaker 4: an actor coming on and reading their lines.
- 1:35:14Speaker 3: Like I'm sorry, Like I'm sorry.
- 1:35:15Speaker 4: If that's a controversial take, and I think that like
- 1:35:19Speaker 4: we just yeah, it's so I think it's.
- 1:35:22Speaker 3: So niche to like appreciate that work. And I just
- 1:35:25Speaker 3: wish that more. I just wish more people.
- 1:35:28Speaker 2: Would mm hmmm, yes, agreed.
- 1:35:32Speaker 4: Hopefully, listening to this episode you now have become a
- 1:35:34Speaker 4: fan of learning more about what happens behind the scenes
- 1:35:37Speaker 4: and your films and movies that you watch.
- 1:35:43Speaker 2: So before we wrap up our main discussion, I just
- 1:35:47Speaker 2: wanted to bring up a couple of fun facts. So
- 1:35:50Speaker 2: the first one is that ste Craig had his own
- 1:35:53Speaker 2: portrait at the Grand Staircase inscribed Henry Bumblepup fifteen forty two.
- 1:36:01Speaker 2: And this was something that happened with a lot of
- 1:36:03Speaker 2: the crew members. They have their own portrait, so there
- 1:36:06Speaker 2: were kind of like yeah and yeah. It was like
- 1:36:13Speaker 2: almost like an internal joke and the and the crew basically.
- 1:36:17Speaker 2: And next up is every compartment window on the Hogwarts
- 1:36:21Speaker 2: Express at Wizarding World of Harry Potter Orlando has a
- 1:36:24Speaker 2: plaquard with the name Craig on it. So that's already,
- 1:36:29Speaker 2: you know, a bit of of a nod to something
- 1:36:33Speaker 2: that could pay homage, but I think he obviously deserves
- 1:36:36Speaker 2: something more like something like yous in the lines of
- 1:36:38Speaker 2: what you suggested, Amy, uh and yes, but I thought
- 1:36:43Speaker 2: that was a really nice detail. I learned this from
- 1:36:45Speaker 2: a fan that I shared with you guys. On on
- 1:36:49Speaker 2: on the chat, and I didn't know that he uh
- 1:36:52Speaker 2: this fan also, you know, set that he ensured the
- 1:36:56Speaker 2: seats on the Hogwart Express were made of the same
- 1:36:58Speaker 2: material and pattern as the one in the films. So
- 1:37:03Speaker 2: again I on every single detail. So this just speaks
- 1:37:08Speaker 2: how passionate he was and how he was able to
- 1:37:11Speaker 2: take these creations that were built for a movie and say,
- 1:37:16Speaker 2: I now get to do it on a full scope
- 1:37:18Speaker 2: and like if fully immersive, like I think he was
- 1:37:22Speaker 2: probably you know, I don't know if happier making the parks,
- 1:37:27Speaker 2: but he probably did feel a certain pride and a
- 1:37:30Speaker 2: certain like sense of accomplishment when doing these because he
- 1:37:36Speaker 2: could finally bring his full vision to life.
- 1:37:40Speaker 4: Yeah, something you said earlier, right, you said about like
- 1:37:45Speaker 4: hoping that he realizes like the impact like his design
- 1:37:48Speaker 4: has had on people. And I think like he did
- 1:37:51Speaker 4: because I think especially you know, this attention that detail
- 1:37:55Speaker 4: we see in the parks. Maybe like he didn't attribute
- 1:37:59Speaker 4: it to like, you know, I don't know like my
- 1:38:03Speaker 4: his impact, but I think he I could see him
- 1:38:06Speaker 4: attributing it to Like I think he understood the importance
- 1:38:11Speaker 4: of authenticity to the fans in that way, and it
- 1:38:16Speaker 4: was very important to him because he knew it was
- 1:38:18Speaker 4: important to us, and so I think like he did
- 1:38:21Speaker 4: understand like the impact like this, this world, these books,
- 1:38:25Speaker 4: these films are like everything to some people, and so
- 1:38:29Speaker 4: we need to have that reflected in the park. And
- 1:38:32Speaker 4: so yeah, I do think he did understand the impact,
- 1:38:35Speaker 4: even if he was too humble to realize his impact,
- 1:38:39Speaker 4: because again, he's behind the scenes guy, right, so I
- 1:38:42Speaker 4: don't think he would ever feel any kind of yeah,
- 1:38:45Speaker 4: this was my impact. No, it's the story's impact, it's
- 1:38:48Speaker 4: the world impact. I just played this role in it well.
- 1:38:51Speaker 1: And he had to have seen, if not in person,
- 1:38:54Speaker 1: I'm sure he saw videos of people walking into the
- 1:38:59Speaker 1: Great Hall at Leavesden and just breaking down, or walking
- 1:39:04Speaker 1: through the arch of Diagon Alley in Orlando and just
- 1:39:08Speaker 1: the reactions Like he had to have seen that, you know,
- 1:39:11Speaker 1: and just imagine like being able to see somebody have
- 1:39:16Speaker 1: that kind of reaction to something that you helped create
- 1:39:19Speaker 1: and build, Like that's got to feel good.
- 1:39:22Speaker 4: Well, And I think in those instances, right, like right,
- 1:39:26Speaker 4: like I think people though a tribute like, well, that's
- 1:39:29Speaker 4: due just to JK. Rowling because obviously she created this
- 1:39:33Speaker 4: world and everything, and yes, she did, Yes, she did,
- 1:39:36Speaker 4: but he brought it to life visually, Like yes, we've
- 1:39:42Speaker 4: got descriptions of things in the book, right, but like
- 1:39:45Speaker 4: he took that and literally brought it to life. And yes,
- 1:39:49Speaker 4: they work together, right, and he part of being a
- 1:39:51Speaker 4: production designer is researching, and like you said earlier, Tom,
- 1:39:55Speaker 4: you know, he sat with JK. Rolling and was like,
- 1:39:57Speaker 4: sketch this out. I want to know what's in your brain.
- 1:39:59Speaker 4: And like obviously she loved what he did with it
- 1:40:03Speaker 4: to then be like he has to work on these
- 1:40:05Speaker 4: parks or else we don't do these parks.
- 1:40:07Speaker 3: Like I could see that being the conversation.
- 1:40:09Speaker 4: Right, So obviously, like he was able to tap into
- 1:40:13Speaker 4: her vision and I'm sure some of what he created
- 1:40:16Speaker 4: was even like better than she originally imagined it or
- 1:40:20Speaker 4: or he you know, or he did put together details
- 1:40:23Speaker 4: that she didn't even think.
- 1:40:24Speaker 3: Of, you know. And so I think, like you know,
- 1:40:27Speaker 3: we do.
- 1:40:27Speaker 4: Absolutely, Like obviously the world was created by the author,
- 1:40:31Speaker 4: but it was also brought to life by so many
- 1:40:35Speaker 4: more people that without them. It's it's because this world
- 1:40:41Speaker 4: has grown much bigger than just the words on the
- 1:40:44Speaker 4: page in the books. And like I just again, like
- 1:40:47Speaker 4: it's the same message we keep saying here is that
- 1:40:49Speaker 4: I just don't there's a not enough credit there, Like
- 1:40:52Speaker 4: you know when you're walking into those parks and you're
- 1:40:54Speaker 4: getting that emotion. Yes, of course it is because of
- 1:40:56Speaker 4: the world that was created by the author in a book.
- 1:41:00Speaker 3: But like I still feel like.
- 1:41:02Speaker 4: You're feeling that nostalgia and that heart's like that heart
- 1:41:05Speaker 4: poll and everything because of what was visually brought to
- 1:41:08Speaker 4: life by Stuart Craig and everybody else in that art department.
- 1:41:12Speaker 1: On the film and just that massive list of crew.
- 1:41:16Speaker 2: Yeah mm hmmm, yes, yes, yes, like you could attribute
- 1:41:22Speaker 2: it to like, oh, you know, it is what it is,
- 1:41:24Speaker 2: and it became what it became because of the actors,
- 1:41:26Speaker 2: because of the you know this British you know, Royalty
- 1:41:31Speaker 2: ensemble of actors and you know what became later Dan
- 1:41:35Speaker 2: Rupert Emma so iconic and that's the reason. But also
- 1:41:39Speaker 2: if they hadn't been you know, thrown into this world
- 1:41:45Speaker 2: created and sketched by Stewart, I don't think it would
- 1:41:49Speaker 2: have had the impact that it has today. Like just
- 1:41:52Speaker 2: like you said, Nicole, it's not people don't you know,
- 1:41:55Speaker 2: they don't fall to their knees because it literally happens
- 1:41:58Speaker 2: when they arrive in Hogsmeat or diagon Alley, or when
- 1:42:01Speaker 2: they step into the Great Hall because you know, oh,
- 1:42:04Speaker 2: because I'm in the books. It's you know, it's just
- 1:42:07Speaker 2: so much more than that. At this point. It's just
- 1:42:08Speaker 2: going back to your childhood. It's watching these movies and seeing,
- 1:42:12Speaker 2: you know, how you grew up with these characters. Many
- 1:42:15Speaker 2: of these fans are over thirty now, so it's it's
- 1:42:18Speaker 2: just such a full circle moment for them. And it
- 1:42:22Speaker 2: keeps being you know, we we do it, and we
- 1:42:24Speaker 2: you know, we still get emotional whenever we do any
- 1:42:27Speaker 2: Harry Potter traction, whether it's the exhibition, whether it's a
- 1:42:30Speaker 2: studio tour, whether it's the theme parks. It's just grown
- 1:42:34Speaker 2: into something that's so much bigger now at this point.
- 1:42:38Speaker 2: And you know, even so, like I am, I've always
- 1:42:41Speaker 2: been a little critical of book purists because they never
- 1:42:46Speaker 2: attribute the you know, the films the credit they deserve.
- 1:42:50Speaker 2: Like they have their hits and misses. We all know that,
- 1:42:53Speaker 2: and they had their time constraints and they had like
- 1:42:56Speaker 2: you know, things that they had to sacrifice. But you know,
- 1:43:00Speaker 2: the impact it had on a generation is something that
- 1:43:03Speaker 2: you cannot deny or you cannot, you know, just look
- 1:43:08Speaker 2: over and I think that is something that was brought
- 1:43:12Speaker 2: to live and just was enhanced by Stuart Craig's involvement.
- 1:43:19Speaker 4: Yeah, because I think, like, you know, the Wizarding World itself,
- 1:43:24Speaker 4: including the parts and all of that, Like it's bigger
- 1:43:27Speaker 4: than just the characters. It's bigger than the story, you know,
- 1:43:30Speaker 4: like like you had mentioned about the actors and stuff.
- 1:43:33Speaker 4: Like the reason when you walk into Diagon Alley at
- 1:43:37Speaker 4: Universal that you get emotional is not because you're like,
- 1:43:40Speaker 4: oh my god, Harry Dan Rupert Emma. Like you're getting
- 1:43:45Speaker 4: emotional because of a set. Like how many franchises do
- 1:43:50Speaker 4: you have out there where literally the locations in the
- 1:43:53Speaker 4: sets are just as big as your characters. Like you're
- 1:43:58Speaker 4: not going, yes, you you see the characters, right, they're
- 1:44:02Speaker 4: in they're in the attractions.
- 1:44:04Speaker 1: But like, but that's I just walked through an archway
- 1:44:08Speaker 1: cry right right, Like.
- 1:44:10Speaker 4: You're not even crying because you're like, oh, I just
- 1:44:13Speaker 4: wrote that ride and saw Harry on the screen. Like
- 1:44:16Speaker 4: it's it's like, you know, I think of riding back,
- 1:44:18Speaker 4: like you know, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringots.
- 1:44:22Speaker 3: My favorite part of that ride.
- 1:44:25Speaker 4: Is not even like what we see on the screen.
- 1:44:28Speaker 4: It's the sets you walk through. It's the the part
- 1:44:32Speaker 4: when you're the music, right, it's when you're going caring
- 1:44:36Speaker 4: like it's yeah yeah, Like And actually when I was
- 1:44:39Speaker 4: at Universal a couple of weeks ago, I was riding
- 1:44:43Speaker 4: next to a family that it seemed like they had
- 1:44:45Speaker 4: never been on it before. And when we were going
- 1:44:48Speaker 4: through the part where you kind of it just takes
- 1:44:50Speaker 4: you through where.
- 1:44:51Speaker 3: All the vaults are, the dad like turned to his
- 1:44:55Speaker 3: daughter was like, look look at all the vaults, Like
- 1:44:58Speaker 3: you know what I mean. Like it it's just we're
- 1:45:00Speaker 3: like not even like when Voldemore was on the screen.
- 1:45:04Speaker 4: It's not like he was like, oh look Valdemore, Like
- 1:45:07Speaker 4: you know, it's like the vaults.
- 1:45:08Speaker 3: Look, it's the gring Doots vault.
- 1:45:10Speaker 1: Like there's really nothing happening on the ride and you're
- 1:45:14Speaker 1: just spinning through by doors.
- 1:45:16Speaker 4: But it's so cool, like the attention the detail in
- 1:45:18Speaker 4: this set, and like, I just don't think we like
- 1:45:21Speaker 4: a tribute an. Of course, the actors are great and
- 1:45:24Speaker 4: the characters are great, and they bring the story to life,
- 1:45:26Speaker 4: but like the sets and the locations are like just
- 1:45:30Speaker 4: a whole other thing on its own that make us
- 1:45:32Speaker 4: feel like we can be part of that world too.
- 1:45:34Speaker 2: Like you love the actors, can't y, Yeah, you love
- 1:45:39Speaker 2: a castle. You are in love and infatuated by a castle.
- 1:45:42Speaker 2: Like literally, when when you go if you ever make
- 1:45:45Speaker 2: it to the Yes, if you ever make it to
- 1:45:47Speaker 2: the to the to the Scottish Highlands and you're on
- 1:45:49Speaker 2: the train and you're crossing the viduct, the first thing
- 1:45:52Speaker 2: that comes to my not is not oh Harry, oh
- 1:45:54Speaker 2: Ron or Hermione or it's Hogwarts.
- 1:45:57Speaker 4: It's the world, the aesthetics of the world.
- 1:46:04Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's I think that it's.
- 1:46:06Speaker 4: You just realize you step back and you're like wow,
- 1:46:08Speaker 4: like this, Yeah, it is just beyond the characters at
- 1:46:11Speaker 4: this point, beyond the actors.
- 1:46:13Speaker 1: It's it's beyond the story even.
- 1:46:18Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, yeah. Yeah. So that was just a few
- 1:46:25Speaker 2: of the fun facts that I could pull up. But
- 1:46:28Speaker 2: for more fun facts about Stuart Craig, make sure to
- 1:46:31Speaker 2: check out our extended conversation on patreon dot com Backslash
- 1:46:35Speaker 2: Rebellue podcast. So to wrap up the main discussion, we
- 1:46:43Speaker 2: just wanted to mention, you know, about Strue Craig's passing.
- 1:46:47Speaker 2: So you know, he passed away on September seven, twenty
- 1:46:50Speaker 2: twenty five, at the age of eighty three after a
- 1:46:53Speaker 2: prolonged battle with Parkinson's disease. And you know, his legacy
- 1:46:58Speaker 2: is a testament to the power of imagination and dedication.
- 1:47:02Speaker 2: And you know, we have been saying this the whole episode,
- 1:47:05Speaker 2: but he didn't just the sign sets. He crafted worlds
- 1:47:08Speaker 2: that continue to inspire and captivate audiences twenty four years later,
- 1:47:14Speaker 2: and we will never forget his contributions and how he
- 1:47:17Speaker 2: brought to life our favorite magical world that we call home.
- 1:47:21Speaker 2: So for that and all your contributions, thank you Stewart.
- 1:47:27Speaker 2: And now we get emotional.
- 1:47:30Speaker 3: Helped him move on without crying. Okay, thanks Tom.
- 1:47:37Speaker 2: For that, sony.
- 1:47:43Speaker 3: Okay.
- 1:47:44Speaker 4: So for our last episode, we asked which back to
- 1:47:50Speaker 4: Hogwarts news, you know, were you most excited about. So
- 1:47:54Speaker 4: Jerry shared with us that she was most excited about
- 1:47:58Speaker 4: the training experience, which she had been afraid had.
- 1:48:01Speaker 3: Died because we've gone a year with no update, and.
- 1:48:06Speaker 4: We had talked about in our last episode that our
- 1:48:08Speaker 4: listener Jerry is going to Epic Universe for her first trip,
- 1:48:12Speaker 4: and she also shared in her email that she will
- 1:48:15Speaker 4: share more with us about her epic trip when she
- 1:48:17Speaker 4: gets home and has digested it. But did let us
- 1:48:20Speaker 4: know that she has seen the Circus show twice already,
- 1:48:24Speaker 4: referencing back to when Tom had asked about bringing snacks
- 1:48:28Speaker 4: into the show and Amy and I weren't sure, although
- 1:48:30Speaker 4: we had just went and got our macarons right and
- 1:48:34Speaker 4: we brought them in. I feel like I remember eating
- 1:48:36Speaker 4: them like while we were in there, so I guess
- 1:48:38Speaker 4: we knew. But Jerry let us know she took in
- 1:48:40Speaker 4: a box of popcorn and that she bought at Goblet
- 1:48:45Speaker 4: Noir and ate some in the queue, but it was
- 1:48:47Speaker 4: all gone.
- 1:48:48Speaker 3: Before the main show started. I hear that, Jerry. That's
- 1:48:51Speaker 3: me too.
- 1:48:51Speaker 4: Whenever I have a snack for a show, it's gone
- 1:48:53Speaker 4: before the show even starts.
- 1:48:55Speaker 3: But she did share no one objected to me having
- 1:48:57Speaker 3: it in.
- 1:48:57Speaker 4: Line, and it looks like Jerry sat up front and
- 1:49:02Speaker 4: sat up front is great. And if you catch one
- 1:49:04Speaker 4: of the falling bubbles, it turns to smoke just like magic.
- 1:49:07Speaker 2: That's cool.
- 1:49:08Speaker 4: So glad did you hear that you saw the show twice?
- 1:49:11Speaker 4: Amy and I only saw it once, so like, I
- 1:49:13Speaker 4: can't wait to see it again. And as always Jerry,
- 1:49:15Speaker 4: We're excited to hear about the rest of how your
- 1:49:17Speaker 4: trip went.
- 1:49:19Speaker 2: Yeah, I also want to put this little plug that,
- 1:49:21Speaker 2: you know, as I didn't make it to last episode,
- 1:49:23Speaker 2: but I was also very pleased hearing that the train
- 1:49:26Speaker 2: experience had you know, it's back up again, because it
- 1:49:29Speaker 2: did go quiet for a very long time ever since
- 1:49:31Speaker 2: it was announced, so people thought it had kind of
- 1:49:34Speaker 2: died down, and like, you know, also the I think
- 1:49:39Speaker 2: it had an Instagram account and I think it was
- 1:49:41Speaker 2: deactivated or the Facebook account like it. It seemed like
- 1:49:45Speaker 2: everything was kind of like you know, like it was
- 1:49:49Speaker 2: about to not happen at all. But I'm very pleased,
- 1:49:53Speaker 2: but I wish we would have had a little bit
- 1:49:55Speaker 2: more information where it's coming, Like nobody knows if it's
- 1:49:58Speaker 2: I think it's going to be the States for some reason,
- 1:50:02Speaker 2: Like I don't think it's going to be in the UK,
- 1:50:05Speaker 2: but I don't know. We'll see when we get more details.
- 1:50:10Speaker 4: Yeah, So for this episode, for our discussion question, we
- 1:50:14Speaker 4: want to know what is your favorite set from the
- 1:50:17Speaker 4: Harry Potter or Fantastic Beast films.
- 1:50:20Speaker 3: So, as always, we'd love to hear from you.
- 1:50:22Speaker 4: You can drop us an email at Revellio Podcast staff
- 1:50:25Speaker 4: at gmail dot com, or reach out to us on
- 1:50:27Speaker 4: social media where you can find us on Facebook at
- 1:50:31Speaker 4: Facebook dot com, backslash Revelliocast, on Instagram and TikTok at
- 1:50:36Speaker 4: Revellio podcast, or on Twitter and YouTube at Revellio Underscore Podcast.
- 1:50:41Speaker 4: And as always, you can support the show on Patreon
- 1:50:44Speaker 4: at Patreon dot com, Backslash Revelio Podcast, and by being
- 1:50:48Speaker 4: a Patreon you do get access to some exclusive content
- 1:50:52Speaker 4: like coloring pages, words searches, extended conversations like we're going
- 1:50:56Speaker 4: to have in this episode, as well as just being able.
- 1:50:59Speaker 3: To interact more with us. So head on over there.
- 1:51:02Speaker 4: We have a couple of different tiers that you can
- 1:51:04Speaker 4: choose from.
- 1:51:08Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, sad that this conversation was brought about by
- 1:51:18Speaker 1: Stuart Craig's passing, but glad as always we had a
- 1:51:22Speaker 1: chance to talk about some of the more behind the
- 1:51:26Speaker 1: scenes and less in the spotlight parts of the Wizarding World.
- 1:51:33Speaker 1: So ye, until next time, I'm Amy, I'm Nicole, and
- 1:51:39Speaker 1: I'm Tom.