Harry Potter: Page to Screen

Harry Potter: Page to Screen

By: Bob McCabe



Harry Freaking Potter. That's all that really needs to be said, but I suppose I should probably elaborate. This is basically a 500-page book discussing the ins and outs of the process of making the Harry Potter movies. First it goes through each by movie. It talks about how the actors got cast, how the directors chosen, the sets, and digital effects.

I loved sucking in each and every detail about the movies from this book. It really conveyed how much attention to detail the people involved gave the movies. I was struck by how marvelous the making of these movies were, that everyone was extremely passionate about the project. They wanted to make a faithful adaption, first and foremost. They wanted to keep the atmosphere and the characters as beautiful as they were in the books. They paid special attention to details, even in things that would only be on screen for a few seconds in one film. I fell in love with all these wonderful people who appreciated the story they were working on.

There were also bits where the actors talked about their characters, which was really cool. I loved their insight. It was interesting to see which side of the character they tapped into for different scenes and hearing about different acting decisions they made throughout the series. Who had input on which outfit or which line. It felt like truly being let into the process of the story, something that every potter fan could appreciate.

I loved the bits on the special effects and props. Finding out what is CGI and what's not, how they did certain shots, and seeing all the thought behind the sets and props. All of this just made me love the movies even more (as if that's possible).

One particular type of information that I thought was fascinating was learning about the different directors and their different takes on the films. You can see their different styles for each director, but now you know why they're so different, which themes each of them chose to focus on, the type of feel they wanted to portray.

This book is perfect for every fan of Harry Potter who loves the books and the movies. I highly recommend it, but be warned. It WILL make you all nostalgic and the segment on the last days of filming might make you cry (shhhhhh... it totally didn't make me cry. At all. Nope. I was tearless.) [Who am I kidding, I was very, very teary.]