wraggster
January 24th, 2008, 19:30
Harry Potter's return to Gloucester to film the eagerly-awaited sixth movie has sparked feverish excitement across the city.Crews from film giants Warner Brothers are already pitching up on the grounds of King's School as filming for Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince gets underway.
The teen wizard and his faithful band of friends will be filmed in Gloucester Cathedral.
Pupils from King's School are starring as extras in the multi million-pound production based on the book penned by JK Rowling who grew up in the Forest of Dean.
The Cathedral cloisters will double up as areas in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry and friends Ron and Hermione, live out many of their fantastic adventures.
The star-studded cast who will be treading Gloucester's familiar sites include Daniel Radcliffe, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.
Gloucester City Council leader Paul James said filming the blockbuster would pump cash into the local economy and put Gloucester on the map.
"It brings excitement to the city," he said. "It also benefits the local economy on two levels. You've got the direct spend of people who come here filming and doing associated things and then when it's aired that Gloucester is being used and people see parts of the city on their screens it puts us on the map."
Movie giants have used the Cathedral for the first two films (The Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets), which led to a boom in city tourism.
Westgate Quarter Traders' Association member Ivan Taylor, who owns Truscotts Jewellers said: "Major events like Harry Potter are worldwide so that positivity that comes from people focuses on Gloucester in a global sense.
"People start to think 'where is Gloucester? It's got a Cathedral and Harry Potter is filmed there, shall we go'."
Sharon Bird, marketing manager at Kings, where 174 pupils are in the film, said: "It's so exciting for the children to be involved.
"Drama is a big thing at Kings, we do a stage school on Saturdays and we've got lots of budding actors and actresses who are benefiting from it."
The seventh and last chapter in Harry's adventures, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on July 21 last year.
JK Rowling, a former Tutshill Primary and Wyedean School pupil, is 13th among Britain's wealthiest woman, according to The Times Rich List.
Gloucester has become a high-profile movie location over the last few years with parts having been used in movies like Outlaw, starring Sean Bean and the epic Amazing Grace.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231773&contentPK=19648736&folderPk=108571&pNodeId=231887
The teen wizard and his faithful band of friends will be filmed in Gloucester Cathedral.
Pupils from King's School are starring as extras in the multi million-pound production based on the book penned by JK Rowling who grew up in the Forest of Dean.
The Cathedral cloisters will double up as areas in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry and friends Ron and Hermione, live out many of their fantastic adventures.
The star-studded cast who will be treading Gloucester's familiar sites include Daniel Radcliffe, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.
Gloucester City Council leader Paul James said filming the blockbuster would pump cash into the local economy and put Gloucester on the map.
"It brings excitement to the city," he said. "It also benefits the local economy on two levels. You've got the direct spend of people who come here filming and doing associated things and then when it's aired that Gloucester is being used and people see parts of the city on their screens it puts us on the map."
Movie giants have used the Cathedral for the first two films (The Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets), which led to a boom in city tourism.
Westgate Quarter Traders' Association member Ivan Taylor, who owns Truscotts Jewellers said: "Major events like Harry Potter are worldwide so that positivity that comes from people focuses on Gloucester in a global sense.
"People start to think 'where is Gloucester? It's got a Cathedral and Harry Potter is filmed there, shall we go'."
Sharon Bird, marketing manager at Kings, where 174 pupils are in the film, said: "It's so exciting for the children to be involved.
"Drama is a big thing at Kings, we do a stage school on Saturdays and we've got lots of budding actors and actresses who are benefiting from it."
The seventh and last chapter in Harry's adventures, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on July 21 last year.
JK Rowling, a former Tutshill Primary and Wyedean School pupil, is 13th among Britain's wealthiest woman, according to The Times Rich List.
Gloucester has become a high-profile movie location over the last few years with parts having been used in movies like Outlaw, starring Sean Bean and the epic Amazing Grace.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=231771&command=displayContent&sourceNode=231773&contentPK=19648736&folderPk=108571&pNodeId=231887