Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)/Trivia
Trivia about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) includes:
- Alternate DVD Commentary:
- Riff Trax
- The fansite "The Leaky Cauldron"
- Wizard People, Dear Reader
- The Cameo:
- There's a portrait of a mother and a baby next to the Fat Lady's portrait. That's Alfonso Cuarón's wife (at the time; they are now divorced) and their then-newborn baby.
- Ian Brown, of 90s British pop band The Stone Roses fame, appears for a brief moment, magically stirring his drink in the Leaky Cauldron while reading Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, cementing him forever in Harry Potter fandom as "Science Wizard".
- Casting Gag: The first time Harry sees Sirius, Harry thinks that his gaunt appearance makes him look like a vampire. In the film, Sirius is played Gary Oldman, who played the most famous vampire ever in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
- Creative Closing Credits: This is the first film in the series to use Creative Closing Credits, which in this case is an animation of the Marauder's Map. The music is a Credits Medley, titled "Mischief Managed!" on the movie soundtrack.
- Shout-Out: To Shakespeare -- the song "Double Trouble" uses lines chanted by the three witches in Act IV, Scene 1 of Macbeth.
- So My Kids Can Watch:
- Michael Gambon took the role of Dumbledore at the insistence of their grandchildren.
- Also Gary Oldman, especially since almost his entire career consisted at that point of him playing murderous psychopaths.
- Yep, Emma Thompson too.
- What Could Have Been: The adult casting for the film:
- After the death of Richard Harris, Richard Attenborough, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, and Peter O'Toole[1] were each considered for the part of Dumbledore.
- Tilda Swinton (best known as Jadis the White Witch) auditioned for the part of Professor Trewlaney.
- Kenneth Branagh (who had previously played Professor Lockhart) was offered the director's chair.
- ↑ Who actually received the blessings of Harris' family