Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden Dan Dark speaks to Hypable about the major studio expansion and its impact for Britain, and teases future Harry Potter Studio Tour reveals.
On Thursday, Hypable attended a series of round-table interviews at the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Amongst others, we spoke to the Managing Director of Leavesden Dan Dark, and he told us about the massive studio expansion which Warner Bros. is planning:
The new studio facility counts for over 1/3 of the UK film production capability. It was through making the [Potter] films that we started thinking what could be the long-term future of a permanent Warner Bros. studio facility in the UK. Quite clearly, Warner Bros. is probably the most prolific maker of film production in the UK and arguably worldwide, so it was very easy for us to see that, with the UK being the 2nd best place to make film outside of the US, we’ve got arguably some of the best technicians, craftsmen, designers, directors, actors and actresses in the world.
He went on to discuss the process of deciding to give the Harry Potter sets a permanent home at the studios and create an attraction around them:
We started making the Harry Potter films in 1999. During the making it was clear that we had something special on our hands, and You see for yourselves the incredible talent that goes into these things. I would say we began to develop some ideas for the tour in 2005/2006, and we were still making the films, so we really protected all of the sets and props because we were never quite sure about what we wanted to bring back. And as we were drawing to the end of making the Potter films in late 2010, we brought all of the production people and back in from making the films to recreate everything. We turned this around in 16-18 months, that’s an incredibly short time. This sort of thing would normally take years, and that’s a real testament to the talent of these guys.
Dark told us that more than £100 million went into making this tour and the new studio facility, but he is very excited about the passion which everyone has brought to the project. He notes the quality of the staff at the Studio Tour (which Hypable can attest to!), saying:
Everybody that has been through this facility has commented on how incredible the staff are, and we’re really proud of that, the staff is really proud of that, how they are perceived. And I think that’s relatively unique in the UK, where sometimes we’re a bit cynical about the level of quality of service, and I’m really proud to say that our guys were able to do that. Pride is something that really comes through, and I firmly believe that this is something that the UK should stand up and be extremely proud about.
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When we asked whether he believes the Tour has a return value for fans, he replied:
You have to ask the fans that. When we see the reactions… what I find the most incredible to watch is the reactions of the people coming into the facilities. It’s quite spectacular! It warms your heart to see them. So that’s not for us to answer that question, it’s for the visitors. I’ve walked through this facility so many times, and I still see something new. So the repeatability is frankly endless.
Dan Dark also promised that “further secrets will be revealed,” though he would not offer any hints!
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