[HPFGU-Movie] Re: Where was 'HP' shot?

[TACtalk at adelanta.co.uk]

Thanks again for the various responses to my question. GulPlum (sorry, I
don't know your real name) said:-

>I don't have my copy of the DVD to hand to double check, but I think
>I'm correct in saying that we don't actually see Hagrid opening the
>door from the outside (from memory, the shot sequence is that we see
>him & Harry walking up to the door, but then we cut to an interior
>view to see them entering). This made me think that the Leaky
>Couldron facade is just that in that word's alternate meaning - a
>fake. :-)

Yes, and that's what made me think that it's a fake facade set in a real
location; otherwise, they could have shown Hagrid (from behind) opening the
door
and walking through.

The other thing that makes me think that it's a real location is the
partial reflection of a neon sign in the window of the shop next door. In a
set, the sign would not have been there, as it served no real purpose.

>
>I'm sitting here staring at a video capture I did a while back for
>another purpose of them standing outside the door, and the impression
>I get is that the Leaky Couldron facade is built over the entrance to
>an alleyway (the facades of the shops on either side aren't at the
>same elevation).

That's interesting, and I did read something like that while browsing on
the Internet a couple of weeks ago, trying to find the answer to my
question (when I found this list).

>
>It certainly doesn't look like any bit of Charing Cross Road to me (I
>used to know almost every inch of it) :-) and I suspect that it is
>somewhere around the back streets of Soho (Brewer Street, Windmill
>Street, that kind of area).

Hmmm; worth a look next time I am in London.

>Or a thought which has just occurred to
>me is that square (whose name I've forgotten for the moment)
>immediately across Charing Cross Road from the entrance into
>Leicester Square. I have a vague memory of something like that in
>that maze of little alleys. This would have the added advantage of
>being easy to film, instead of having to hold up the traffic in
>Charing Cross Road.

Do you mean Cecil Court, which is positively *lined* with second-hand
bookshops? That is where I had assumed that the scene was shot, but when I
went there to look, it didn't match.

>
>The building to the right of the Leaky Couldron is quite distinctive
>with that yellow pillar on a brown base; on the left of the LC is a
>shop with CDs on the rack rather than books, which narrows down the
>choices...

You're right; though possibly LPs/records, not CDs.

>
>Of course, it's not entirely imposible that that was in fact filmed
>on a sound stage - a redress of part of the Diagon Alley set is all
>that would be required, as we see neither the pavement nor the top of
>the buildings.

Yes, it's possible; but as I said previously, I think it's too shabby to be
fake.

>
>If you don't get anywhere, I'll have another search around that area
>the next time I'm in London in a few weeks' time (I had to move out
>of the capital last year, but I remain a frequent visitor).

It's a deal. Let's each look next time we are in London, and we'll report
back to the list.

Regards,
Nicholas