In April 2013, the acclaimed Hollywood studio Warner Brothers opened its first facility in the UK, the Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. The stunning £100 million facility was opened by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Warner Brothers were founded in the US in 1918 by four brothers named Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack, and found instant fame as a film studio thanks to their first star, the canine hero Rin Tin Tin. Since then Warner Brothers have gone on to produce some of the most successful films in movie history, such as Argo and The Artist, the 2012 and 2011 winners of the Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards. In the UK, Warner Brothers have produced Brit-based films such as the James Bond thriller Goldeneye, the first Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace and of course, all eight films in the Harry Potter series, from The Philosopher's Stone to the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. In the UK Warner Brothers contribute more than £1billion per year to the economy and supplies employment to over 110,000 people. The studio venue, which boasts half a million square feet of stage space and more than 100 acres of terrain is also home to the tourist attraction
The Making of Harry Potter which first saw visitors flocking through its doors in 2012. This tour through the Warner Brothers studio has everything a Potter fan could possible want to see and experience. There for viewing are all the authentic sets, costumes and props that appeared in the eight films that were shot over the course of a decade. A visitor can take a gentle amble down the cobbled lanes of Diagon Alley, have a peek into Number Four, Privet Drive where the young Harry was forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs, and take a gander at the immense dining tables within the Great Hall at the wizarding school of Hogwarts itself. Amongst the props that can be seen are Harry's Nimbus 2000 Quidditch broomstick, Hagrid's motorcycle, and some of the beasties imagined by JK Rowling herself, such as the giant spider Aragog and the hippogriff Buckbeak. Helpful and interesting videos are on hand that explain how some of the more spectacular shots in the Harry Potter films were created, such as the Quidditch matches and the fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort inside the Ministry of Magic. There are a couple of interactive exhibits, including a ride on a broomstick over London which is achieved by the same green screen effects as used in the films. You can take home a happy memento of the day in a photograph showing your own wizarding prowess. The tour is definitely something no Harry Potter fan should consider leaving unvisited, even if the location close to Watford leaves something to be desired. It also acts as a fitting tribute to the many anonymous faces who helped to create the UK's most successful film series ever.