Fun Harry Potter Facts- Part 1

Think you know all there is about Harry Potter?  Here's a few fun facts about the movies!  I skowered IMDB and picked up a few good bits of triva for you to impress your friends with!  More can be found on the IMDB website.

Sorcerers Stone Movie Trivia:

• Did you know Hufflepuff Susan Bones (played by the prominent red headed extra from the first two movies) is actually Director Chris Columbus's daughter Eleanor Columbus?  Sisters Isabella (Chamber of Secrets, girl in bookshop) and Violet (Chamber of Secrets, girl with flowers) and brother Brendan (Chamber of Secrets, boy in study hall 1) can also be seen in the films, though not as prominently.
• JK Rowling insisted on British leads.
• If you want to visit the filming location for platform 9 3/4, you should really visit innercity platform 4 and 5.  Supposedly, platform 9 3/4 is actually marked at King Cross Station between the real platform 9 and 10, though that is not where the movie filmed.
• The trouble-making poltergeist Peeves (played by Rik Mayall) does not, in the end, appear in the movie.
  
• The only sets that were built for Hogwarts were the Great Hall, the Grand Staircase, and the Gryffindor Common Room. More were built for later movies
  
• Among the portraits on the shifting staircase, you can clearly see a painting of Anne Boleyn (King Henry VIII's second wife, mother of Queen Elizabeth I), who was condemned to death as a witch.

Chamber of Secrets Movie Trivia:

• Hugh Grant was cast to play Gilderoy Lockhart, but had to drop out at the last minute.
• Fourteen Ford Anglias were destroyed to create the scene where Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow.
  
• Flourish and Botts is a redress of Olivanders Wand Shop (seen in Sorcerers Stone)
• Shirley Henderson, who played the fantastic Moaning Myrtle, is the oldest actress (age 37) to portray a Hogwarts student.
  
• The "Let's just hope Mr. Potter will always be around to save the day" dialogue (see quotes) was improvised by Daniel Radcliffe and Jason Isaacs.
  
• Foreign language translations had to change Tom Marvolo Riddle's name so that an appropriate anagram could be formed from "I am Lord Voldemort." In Spanish, his name became "Tom Sarvolo Ryddle," which transforms into "Soy Lorde Voldemort." In French, his name is "Tom Elvis Jedusor," which becomes "Je suis Voldemort." In Dutch, his name is "Marten Asmodom Vilijn" which is an anagram for "Mijn naam is Voldemort". In Turkish the name is "Tom Marvoldo Riddle" which makes up "Adim Lord Voldemort".
  
• The script originally said that Hermione would hug Harry and Ron in the final scene. As the then 11-year-old Emma Watson was embarrassed about having to hug the boys in front of the entire cast, Chris Columbus allowed her to change the scene so that Hermione just hugs Harry then starts to hug Ron but the two get embarrassed and resolve to only shake hands. Watson also stated in a recent interview that she kept letting Daniel Radcliffe go too quickly, so the film was "frozen" for a few seconds to make the hug look like it lasted longer than it actually did. Her hesitation with Ron is also taken by fans as a precursor to the relationship that will develop between the two characters.

Trivia from movies 3-8 will be posted a little later this week!  Enjoy the rest of the Harry Potter Week posts!