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Changed line(s) 12,13 (click to see context) from:
* Originally Harry's parents; were really were killed in a car accident for [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan convenience's sake]], but Rowling's mother passed away before she could tell her about the project, and Harry's parents' death transformed into a powerful magical HeroicSacrifice.
to:
* Originally Harry's parents; were parents really were killed in a car accident for [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan convenience's sake]], but [[CreatorBreakdown Rowling's mother passed away away]] before she could tell her about the project, and Harry's parents' death transformed into a powerful magical HeroicSacrifice.
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Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
to:
* Originally Harry's parents; were really were killed in a car accident for [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan convenience's sake]], but Rowling's mother passed away before she could tell her about the project, and Harry's parents' death transformed into a powerful magical HeroicSacrifice.
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Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* The sequence of the Trio getting past Fluffy by way of Harry (and then Hermione) playing a flute to get him to sleep was hinted at in one draft of the script. Upon finding out that a harp is playing by itself, Harry holds the flute and comments "Suppose we won’t be needing this now". A press image actually depicts the scene. Ironically, this was an OrphanedReference in of itself, as the script has no mention of Harry acquiring a flute. [[note]]In the book, Hagrid gave him a flute for Christmas.[[/note]]
to:
* The sequence of the Trio getting past Fluffy by way of Harry (and then Hermione) playing a flute to get him to sleep was hinted at in one draft of the script. Upon finding out that a harp is playing by itself, Harry holds the flute and comments "Suppose we won’t be needing this now". A press image actually depicts the scene. Ironically, this was an OrphanedReference in of itself, as the script has no mention of Harry acquiring a flute. [[note]]In flute (in the book, Hagrid gave it to him a flute for Christmas.[[/note]]Christmas).
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Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* Creator/SeanConnery was offered the role of Dumbledore, but turned it down because he famously hates the fantasy genre[[note]]This is mentioned in an installment of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[='s=] ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' with the ''[=SNL=]'' version of Connery claiming he turned down ''Harry Potter'' just for the [[ForTheLulz chance to harass Trebek again]][[/note]], having already passed on the roles of [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]] and [[Film/TheMatrix Morpheus]] beforehand. Creator/PatrickMcGoohan was offered the role, but declined due to ill-health.
to:
* Creator/SeanConnery was offered the role of Dumbledore, but turned it down because he famously hates hated the fantasy genre[[note]]This is mentioned in an installment of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[='s=] ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' with the ''[=SNL=]'' version of Connery claiming he turned down ''Harry Potter'' just for the [[ForTheLulz chance to harass Trebek again]][[/note]], having already passed on the roles of [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]] and [[Film/TheMatrix Morpheus]] beforehand. Creator/PatrickMcGoohan was offered the role, but declined due to ill-health.
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Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* Canterbury Cathedral was the first choice to be used as a set for Hogwarts. They refused, worried that the witchcraft theme of the series would upset Christians who worshipped there.
to:
* Canterbury Cathedral was the first choice to be used as a set for Hogwarts. They refused, worried that the witchcraft theme of the series would upset Christians who worshipped there. Apparently, Gloucester Cathedral and Durham Cathedral had fewer hang-ups about this, as they were used as shooting locations for the film.
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Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
!!!Other
to:
Deleted line(s) 36 (click to see context) :
* Producers intended to match the characters' appearances with their descriptions in the book - giving Creator/DanielRadcliffe green contacts and having Creator/EmmaWatson wear buck teeth. Dan turned out to be in the minority of the population who are allergic to fake contacts and Emma couldn't talk properly with the teeth in, so those ideas were abandoned.
Deleted line(s) 39,40 (click to see context) :
* When Chris Columbus saw the first cut (before music was added), he thought the boats riding up to Hogwarts was a LeaveTheCameraRunning scene which would have to be edited down. After Columbus saw the scene with the score Music/JohnWilliams had written for it, he realized that they had to keep the whole thing and they did.
* The character of Peeves was originally going to be included in the film. Creator/RikMayall was cast and apparently went as far as filming scenes before the character was cut. None of the footage - if it exists - has ever been shown. The story is rather complicated and involves two more cases of What Could Have Been. Apparently, Chris Columbus and David Heyman hated the design of Peeves and basically filmed the scene with him knowing that it wouldn't be in the theatrical release, but planning to go back and "fix" it for a future special edition to be released in 2002 or 2003. Columbus was planning to introduce an all-CGI Peeves in ''Chamber'' and presumably this would have been the Peeves he was planning to go back and insert into the first film. Then Peeves didn't make the second film either and it seems they just gave up after that.
* The character of Peeves was originally going to be included in the film. Creator/RikMayall was cast and apparently went as far as filming scenes before the character was cut. None of the footage - if it exists - has ever been shown. The story is rather complicated and involves two more cases of What Could Have Been. Apparently, Chris Columbus and David Heyman hated the design of Peeves and basically filmed the scene with him knowing that it wouldn't be in the theatrical release, but planning to go back and "fix" it for a future special edition to be released in 2002 or 2003. Columbus was planning to introduce an all-CGI Peeves in ''Chamber'' and presumably this would have been the Peeves he was planning to go back and insert into the first film. Then Peeves didn't make the second film either and it seems they just gave up after that.
Deleted line(s) 43,45 (click to see context) :
* Ginny didn't have any lines in the script. According to Creator/BonnieWright, her saying "good luck" to Harry is something that Chris Columbus came up with on the day of filming.
* The sequence of the Trio getting past Fluffy by way of Harry (and then Hermione) playing a flute to get him to sleep was hinted at in one draft of the script. Upon finding out that a harp is playing by itself, Harry holds the flute and comments "Suppose we won’t be needing this now". A press image actually depicts the scene. Ironically, this was an OrphanedReference in of itself, as the script has no mention of Harry acquiring a flute. [[note]] In the book, Hagrid gave him a flute for Christmas.[[/note]]
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on, after Nearly Headless Nick's introduction. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
* The sequence of the Trio getting past Fluffy by way of Harry (and then Hermione) playing a flute to get him to sleep was hinted at in one draft of the script. Upon finding out that a harp is playing by itself, Harry holds the flute and comments "Suppose we won’t be needing this now". A press image actually depicts the scene. Ironically, this was an OrphanedReference in of itself, as the script has no mention of Harry acquiring a flute. [[note]] In the book, Hagrid gave him a flute for Christmas.[[/note]]
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on, after Nearly Headless Nick's introduction. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
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!!!During and after filming
* Producers intended to match the characters' appearances with their descriptions in the book - giving Creator/DanielRadcliffe green contacts and having Creator/EmmaWatson wear buck teeth. Dan turned out to be in the minority of the population who are allergic to fake contacts and Emma couldn't talk properly with the teeth in, so those ideas were abandoned.
* When Chris Columbus saw the first cut (before music was added), he thought the boats riding up to Hogwarts was a LeaveTheCameraRunning scene which would have to be edited down. After Columbus saw the scene with the score Music/JohnWilliams had written for it, he realized that they had to keep the whole thing and they did.
* The character of Peeves was originally going to be included in the film. Creator/RikMayall was cast and apparently went as far as filming scenes before the character was cut. None of the footage - if it exists - has ever been shown. The story is rather complicated and involves two more cases of What Could Have Been. Apparently, Chris Columbus and David Heyman hated the design of Peeves and basically filmed the scene with him knowing that it wouldn't be in the theatrical release, but planning to go back and "fix" it for a future special edition to be released in 2002 or 2003. Columbus was planning to introduce an all-CGI Peeves in ''Chamber'' and presumably this would have been the Peeves he was planning to go back and insert into the first film. Then Peeves didn't make the second film either and it seems they just gave up after that.
* Ginny didn't have any lines in the script. According to Creator/BonnieWright, her saying "good luck" to Harry is something that Chris Columbus came up with on the day of filming.
* The sequence of the Trio getting past Fluffy by way of Harry (and then Hermione) playing a flute to get him to sleep was hinted at in one draft of the script. Upon finding out that a harp is playing by itself, Harry holds the flute and comments "Suppose we won’t be needing this now". A press image actually depicts the scene. Ironically, this was an OrphanedReference in of itself, as the script has no mention of Harry acquiring a flute. [[note]]In the book, Hagrid gave him a flute for Christmas.[[/note]]
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on, after Nearly Headless Nick's introduction. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
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!!!Selecting a director
Deleted line(s) 18,19 (click to see context) :
* Creator/WilliamMoseley auditioned for Harry Potter.
* Creator/ThomasBrodieSangster auditioned for Ron Weasley.
* Creator/ThomasBrodieSangster auditioned for Ron Weasley.
* Creator/RonHoward was offered the chance to direct but turned it down because he had just directed ''[[Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' and didn't want to jump right into another difficult and expensive fantasy movie. He would direct ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' instead.
!!!Casting
* Creator/WilliamMoseley auditioned for Harry Potter.
* Creator/ThomasBrodieSangster auditioned for Ron Weasley.
!!!Casting
* Creator/WilliamMoseley auditioned for Harry Potter.
* Creator/ThomasBrodieSangster auditioned for Ron Weasley.
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* Creator/DavidThewlis, who would eventually join the franchise as Remus Lupin, either auditioned or was in consideration to play Professor Quirrell before Ian Hart was cast.
to:
* Creator/DavidThewlis, who would eventually join the franchise as Remus Lupin, either auditioned or was in consideration to play Professor Quirrell before Ian Hart Creator/IanHart was cast.
* Creator/RichardHarris hadn't initially wanted to play Dumbledore, both because he knew his own health was in decline and for fear that the franchise (which he made no secret that he viewed as "made up crap") would overshadow the rest of his film career. He only took the role because his then 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again otherwise.
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."
* Hatty Jones, who played the live-action {{Film/Madeline}}, was considered for the part of Hermione.
!!!Other
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."
* Hatty Jones, who played the live-action {{Film/Madeline}}, was considered for the part of Hermione.
!!!Other
Deleted line(s) 35,36 (click to see context) :
* Creator/RichardHarris hadn't initially wanted to play Dumbledore, both because he knew his own health was in decline and for fear that the franchise (which he made no secret that he viewed as "made up crap") would overshadow the rest of his film career. He only took the role because his then 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again otherwise.
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."
Deleted line(s) 38,39 (click to see context) :
* Hatty Jones, who played the live-action {{Film/Madeline}}, was considered for the part of Hermione.
* Creator/RonHoward was offered the chance to direct but turned it down because he had just directed ''[[Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' and didn't want to jump right into another difficult and expensive fantasy movie. He would direct ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' instead.
* Creator/RonHoward was offered the chance to direct but turned it down because he had just directed ''[[Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' and didn't want to jump right into another difficult and expensive fantasy movie. He would direct ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' instead.
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Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* Early on, MeddlingExecutives pushed for one of the characters, usually Ron, to be made into a token American and/or for Harry to be written as more of a wisecracking smartass. These ideas didn't get far, as both Rowling and Kloves disliked them. There were also those at the start who suggested [[AdaptationAmalgamation combining set pieces from different books into one movie]] rather than adapting each book individually.
to:
* Early on, MeddlingExecutives pushed for one of the characters, usually Ron, to be made into a token American and/or for Harry to be written as more of a [[MouthyKid wisecracking smartass.smartass]]. These ideas didn't get far, as both Rowling and Kloves disliked them. There were also those at the start who suggested [[AdaptationAmalgamation combining set pieces from different books into one movie]] rather than adapting each book individually.
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Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* Early on, MeddlingExecutives pushed for one of the characters, usually Ron, to be made into a token American and/or for Harry to be written as more of a wisecracking smartass. These ideas didn't get far, as both Rowling and Kloves disliked them. There were also those at the start who suggested combining set pieces from different books into one movie rather than adapting each book individually.
to:
* Early on, MeddlingExecutives pushed for one of the characters, usually Ron, to be made into a token American and/or for Harry to be written as more of a wisecracking smartass. These ideas didn't get far, as both Rowling and Kloves disliked them. There were also those at the start who suggested [[AdaptationAmalgamation combining set pieces from different books into one movie movie]] rather than adapting each book individually.
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Added DiffLines:
* Early on, MeddlingExecutives pushed for one of the characters, usually Ron, to be made into a token American and/or for Harry to be written as more of a wisecracking smartass. These ideas didn't get far, as both Rowling and Kloves disliked them. There were also those at the start who suggested combining set pieces from different books into one movie rather than adapting each book individually.
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Added DiffLines:
* Creator/RonHoward was offered the chance to direct but turned it down because he had just directed ''[[Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' and didn't want to jump right into another difficult and expensive fantasy movie. He would direct ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' instead.
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Changed line(s) 20 (click to see context) from:
* Creator/JonathanDemme, Creator/MikeNewell (who would later direct ''The Goblet of Fire''), Creator/AlanParker, Creator/WolfgangPetersen, Creator/RobReiner, Creator/IvanReitman, Creator/TimRobbins, Creator/MNightShyamalan and Creator/PeterWeir. were also in the running to direct before Columbus was hired.
to:
* Creator/JonathanDemme, Creator/MikeNewell (who would later direct ''The Goblet of Fire''), Creator/AlanParker, Creator/WolfgangPetersen, Creator/RobReiner, Creator/IvanReitman, Creator/TimRobbins, Creator/MNightShyamalan and Creator/PeterWeir. Creator/PeterWeir were also in the running to direct before Columbus was hired.
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* Dean Thomas was originally going to be a cousin of Ron named Gary. He would've fulfilled much of the role that eventually went to Neville Longbottom, and would have been with the Trio and Neville when they found Fluffy. Furthermore, he was going to have his own subplot: his biological father was actually a wizard killed for refusing to join Voldemort, but Dean's mother just thought he abandoned her. This is briefly alluded to in Book 7, but Rowling abandoned most of this back story in favor of [[TheUnchosenOne Neville's]], which ties in closer to Harry's story.
to:
* Dean Thomas was originally going to be a cousin of Ron named Gary. He would've fulfilled much of the role that eventually went to Neville Longbottom, and would have been with the Trio and Neville when they found Fluffy. Furthermore, he was going to have his own subplot: his biological father was actually a wizard killed for refusing to join Voldemort, but Dean's mother just thought he abandoned her. This is briefly alluded to in Book 7, but Rowling abandoned most of this back story backstory in favor of developing [[TheUnchosenOne Neville's]], which ties in closer to Harry's story.
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Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
* Creator/StevenSpielberg was attached to direct really early on. He wanted to make the film as an AllCGICartoon with Creator/HaleyJoelOsment providing Harry's voice. Of course, Haley Joel Osment violated Rowling's stipulation that the cast be kept British and she also didn't like the idea of it being animated. Eventually, Spielberg left on his own, feeling that it would be like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam-dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge."
to:
* Creator/StevenSpielberg was attached to direct really early on. He wanted to make the film as an AllCGICartoon with Creator/HaleyJoelOsment providing Harry's voice. Of course, Haley Joel Osment violated Rowling's stipulation that the cast be kept British and she also didn't like the idea of it being animated. Eventually, Spielberg left on his own, feeling that it would be like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam-dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge." In a 2023 interview, Spielberg gave another reason, saying, "I chose to turn down the first ''Harry Potter'' to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up. So I'd sacrificed a great franchise, which today looking back I'm very happy to have done, to be with my family."
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Changed line(s) 21 (click to see context) from:
* Creator/SeanConnery was offered the role of Dumbledore, but turned it down because he famously hates the fantasy genre[[note]]This is mentioned in an installment of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[='s=] ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' with the ''[=SNL=]'' version of Connery claiming he turned down ''Harry Potter'' just for the [[ForTheLulz chance to harass Trebek again]][[/note]]. Creator/PatrickMcGoohan was offered the role, but declined due to ill-health.
to:
* Creator/SeanConnery was offered the role of Dumbledore, but turned it down because he famously hates the fantasy genre[[note]]This is mentioned in an installment of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[='s=] ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' with the ''[=SNL=]'' version of Connery claiming he turned down ''Harry Potter'' just for the [[ForTheLulz chance to harass Trebek again]][[/note]].again]][[/note]], having already passed on the roles of [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gandalf]] and [[Film/TheMatrix Morpheus]] beforehand. Creator/PatrickMcGoohan was offered the role, but declined due to ill-health.
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Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
!The Book
to:
Changed line(s) 13,14 (click to see context) from:
!The Film
to:
Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* Hatty Jones, who played the live-action {{Film/Madeline}}, was considered for the part of Hermione.
to:
* Hatty Jones, who played the live-action {{Film/Madeline}}, was considered for the part of Hermione.Hermione.
----
----
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Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on, after Nearly Headless Nick's introduction. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
to:
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on, after Nearly Headless Nick's introduction. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.editing.
* Hatty Jones, who played the live-action {{Film/Madeline}}, was considered for the part of Hermione.
* Hatty Jones, who played the live-action {{Film/Madeline}}, was considered for the part of Hermione.
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Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
to:
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on.on, after Nearly Headless Nick's introduction. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
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Changed line(s) 36 (click to see context) from:
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."
to:
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me.""
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
* In the shooting script, as in the original book, the "few words" that Dumbledore wants to say are, "nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," and his start-of-term notices occur later on. Furthermore, behind-the-scenes material makes it clear that the scene was shot this way, and it was changed around in editing.
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Added DiffLines:
!The Book
* On Rowling's website, one of the {{Easter Egg}}s shows an alternate plotline for Book 1, where Harry's parents had apparently stolen the Philosopher's Stone, which partly explains why the Potters were so rich.
* Hermione's surname was originally [[Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream Puck]]le. She was planned to have a younger sister, until Rowling realized it was [[RememberTheNewGuy a bit too late to start mentioning her]].
* In the earliest draft of the first chapter, the Potters lived on an island, and Hermione's family, living on the mainland, saw an explosion out at sea and discovered the bodies of Harry's parents. In this version of the story, Hermione's father was the one who pulled Harry out of the wreckage of his parents' house. The house on an island idea eventually evolved into the hut on the rock that the Dursleys and Harry retreat to in Chapter 3.
* Dean Thomas was originally going to be a cousin of Ron named Gary. He would've fulfilled much of the role that eventually went to Neville Longbottom, and would have been with the Trio and Neville when they found Fluffy. Furthermore, he was going to have his own subplot: his biological father was actually a wizard killed for refusing to join Voldemort, but Dean's mother just thought he abandoned her. This is briefly alluded to in Book 7, but Rowling abandoned most of this back story in favor of [[TheUnchosenOne Neville's]], which ties in closer to Harry's story.
* Draco's surname was originally going to be either Spungen, Smart or Spinks.
* Originally, Rowling wanted the Sorting Hat to be a machine that "did all kinds of magical things before reaching a decision". When she decided that this idea was "too easy", she thought kids should be sorted by the ghosts of the four founders, which would exist inside statues that came alive in the entrance hall, picking children for their houses one-by-one. After that, she grappled with drawing straws, a team captain doing the picking, and pulling names from a hat, before finally deciding that the hat itself would decide the students' fate.
* There was originally going to be a vampire teacher named Professor Trocar, after a sharp medical tool used to drain blood. Rowling did away with the idea, since the concept of vampires has been exploited so many times she felt there was little more she could add to the tradition.
* An early draft had Rita Skeeter as one of the people that Harry meets when he comes into the Leaky Cauldron for the first time. At this point she was named 'Bridget' instead. She was cut because it was taking too long for Harry to get to Diagon Alley and because Rowling decided to focus on Harry's fame later in the series. Creator/JKRowling later said that by the time Rita properly appeared, she was influenced heavily by the journalists she had encountered since her fame.
* Scholastic, the American publisher, originally wanted to retitle the book as ''Harry Potter and the School of Magic'', which can be seen in [[https://media.harrypotterfanzone.com/harry-potter-and-the-school-of-magic-mary-grandpre-1050x0-c-default.jpg this early draft of the cover art]].[[note]]The French had a similar idea, adapting the first book with the title of ''Harry Potter and the School of Wizards''.[[/note]] Rowling rejected this, and they eventually settled on ''Sorcerer's Stone'' instead.
!The Film
* Creator/TerryGilliam was handpicked by Rowling to direct, but Creator/WarnerBros outright refused him (in person, even) and quickly replaced him with Creator/ChrisColumbus (who was chosen due to his extensive experience working with child actors). Gilliam was [[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/gilliam-still-upset-about-harry-potter-snub rather understandably bitter about being rejected,]] even going on to bash Columbus's directing work as boring (though he's [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/sep/08/terry-gilliam-harry-potter-films since gotten over it]]), but considering [[DevelopmentHell his cinematic track record,]] this may have been for the better.
* Creator/StevenSpielberg was attached to direct really early on. He wanted to make the film as an AllCGICartoon with Creator/HaleyJoelOsment providing Harry's voice. Of course, Haley Joel Osment violated Rowling's stipulation that the cast be kept British and she also didn't like the idea of it being animated. Eventually, Spielberg left on his own, feeling that it would be like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam-dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge."
* Another person asked to direct the film? Creator/BazLuhrmann.
* Creator/WilliamMoseley auditioned for Harry Potter.
* Creator/ThomasBrodieSangster auditioned for Ron Weasley.
* Creator/JonathanDemme, Creator/MikeNewell (who would later direct ''The Goblet of Fire''), Creator/AlanParker, Creator/WolfgangPetersen, Creator/RobReiner, Creator/IvanReitman, Creator/TimRobbins, Creator/MNightShyamalan and Creator/PeterWeir. were also in the running to direct before Columbus was hired.
* Creator/SeanConnery was offered the role of Dumbledore, but turned it down because he famously hates the fantasy genre[[note]]This is mentioned in an installment of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[='s=] ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' with the ''[=SNL=]'' version of Connery claiming he turned down ''Harry Potter'' just for the [[ForTheLulz chance to harass Trebek again]][[/note]]. Creator/PatrickMcGoohan was offered the role, but declined due to ill-health.
* Creator/TimRoth was cast as Snape, but he found scheduling problems with another role he was cast at the time, General Thade of Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001'' (the film includes future ''Potter'' cast member Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter and was once thought to be directed by Creator/ChrisColumbus). Although Roth was equally interested in both roles, he was forced to choose one at the end, and he went for Thade. Talk about a bad career choice...
* Creator/DavidThewlis, who would eventually join the franchise as Remus Lupin, either auditioned or was in consideration to play Professor Quirrell before Ian Hart was cast.
* Creator/RobinWilliams (for the role of Hagrid), Creator/RosieODonnell (for Molly Weasley), and Creator/DrewBarrymore all expressed interest in starring in the film as they were fans of the books, but Rowling's insistence on an all-British cast shot this idea down quickly.
* The original costume test had Harry dressed as he was on Mary [=GrandPre=]'s cover illustration for the first book, with a striped rugby shirt, jeans and sneakers under his robe. This looked "like a kid in a Halloween costume", hence the standard-issue modern British {{Muggle|s}} school uniforms under the robes at Hogwarts.
* Producers intended to match the characters' appearances with their descriptions in the book - giving Creator/DanielRadcliffe green contacts and having Creator/EmmaWatson wear buck teeth. Dan turned out to be in the minority of the population who are allergic to fake contacts and Emma couldn't talk properly with the teeth in, so those ideas were abandoned.
* The initial plan was to film the movie on sound stages in Los Angeles, instead of exclusively in the UK. This actually caused Creator/DanielRadcliffe's parents to initially refuse to let him audition for the film, as they didn't want to disrupt his life by making him travel to America.
* Canterbury Cathedral was the first choice to be used as a set for Hogwarts. They refused, worried that the witchcraft theme of the series would upset Christians who worshipped there.
* When Chris Columbus saw the first cut (before music was added), he thought the boats riding up to Hogwarts was a LeaveTheCameraRunning scene which would have to be edited down. After Columbus saw the scene with the score Music/JohnWilliams had written for it, he realized that they had to keep the whole thing and they did.
* The character of Peeves was originally going to be included in the film. Creator/RikMayall was cast and apparently went as far as filming scenes before the character was cut. None of the footage - if it exists - has ever been shown. The story is rather complicated and involves two more cases of What Could Have Been. Apparently, Chris Columbus and David Heyman hated the design of Peeves and basically filmed the scene with him knowing that it wouldn't be in the theatrical release, but planning to go back and "fix" it for a future special edition to be released in 2002 or 2003. Columbus was planning to introduce an all-CGI Peeves in ''Chamber'' and presumably this would have been the Peeves he was planning to go back and insert into the first film. Then Peeves didn't make the second film either and it seems they just gave up after that.
* The ''Hogwarts Express'' was almost played by an entirely different engine, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_West_Country_class_21C127_Taw_Valley West Country Class Southern Railways 21C127/British Railways 34207 ''Taw Valley'']], a 4-6-2 Pacific. She had been painted in the Hogwarts livery and affixed with Hogwarts Express nameplates on the engine to promote the books, but when it came to choosing the locomotive for the film, Chris Columbus thought she looked too modern (she was built in 1946 before she was rebuilt in 1957 to more modern standards). The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_4900_Class_5972_Olton_Hall Great Western Railroad 4900 class 5972 ''Olton Hall'']], was chosen in her stead (she was built in 1937 and never rebuilt to modern standards).
* Thinking that Harry needed a sounding board in the scenes with the Dursleys, Creator/SteveKloves decided to give him a pet spider named Alastair, as well as an army of broken toy soldiers. In the final film, the brief shot of Harry playing with toy soldiers is an artifact of this idea.
* Ginny didn't have any lines in the script. According to Creator/BonnieWright, her saying "good luck" to Harry is something that Chris Columbus came up with on the day of filming.
* The sequence of the Trio getting past Fluffy by way of Harry (and then Hermione) playing a flute to get him to sleep was hinted at in one draft of the script. Upon finding out that a harp is playing by itself, Harry holds the flute and comments "Suppose we won’t be needing this now". A press image actually depicts the scene. Ironically, this was an OrphanedReference in of itself, as the script has no mention of Harry acquiring a flute. [[note]] In the book, Hagrid gave him a flute for Christmas.[[/note]]
* Creator/RichardHarris hadn't initially wanted to play Dumbledore, both because he knew his own health was in decline and for fear that the franchise (which he made no secret that he viewed as "made up crap") would overshadow the rest of his film career. He only took the role because his then 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again otherwise.
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."
* On Rowling's website, one of the {{Easter Egg}}s shows an alternate plotline for Book 1, where Harry's parents had apparently stolen the Philosopher's Stone, which partly explains why the Potters were so rich.
* Hermione's surname was originally [[Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream Puck]]le. She was planned to have a younger sister, until Rowling realized it was [[RememberTheNewGuy a bit too late to start mentioning her]].
* In the earliest draft of the first chapter, the Potters lived on an island, and Hermione's family, living on the mainland, saw an explosion out at sea and discovered the bodies of Harry's parents. In this version of the story, Hermione's father was the one who pulled Harry out of the wreckage of his parents' house. The house on an island idea eventually evolved into the hut on the rock that the Dursleys and Harry retreat to in Chapter 3.
* Dean Thomas was originally going to be a cousin of Ron named Gary. He would've fulfilled much of the role that eventually went to Neville Longbottom, and would have been with the Trio and Neville when they found Fluffy. Furthermore, he was going to have his own subplot: his biological father was actually a wizard killed for refusing to join Voldemort, but Dean's mother just thought he abandoned her. This is briefly alluded to in Book 7, but Rowling abandoned most of this back story in favor of [[TheUnchosenOne Neville's]], which ties in closer to Harry's story.
* Draco's surname was originally going to be either Spungen, Smart or Spinks.
* Originally, Rowling wanted the Sorting Hat to be a machine that "did all kinds of magical things before reaching a decision". When she decided that this idea was "too easy", she thought kids should be sorted by the ghosts of the four founders, which would exist inside statues that came alive in the entrance hall, picking children for their houses one-by-one. After that, she grappled with drawing straws, a team captain doing the picking, and pulling names from a hat, before finally deciding that the hat itself would decide the students' fate.
* There was originally going to be a vampire teacher named Professor Trocar, after a sharp medical tool used to drain blood. Rowling did away with the idea, since the concept of vampires has been exploited so many times she felt there was little more she could add to the tradition.
* An early draft had Rita Skeeter as one of the people that Harry meets when he comes into the Leaky Cauldron for the first time. At this point she was named 'Bridget' instead. She was cut because it was taking too long for Harry to get to Diagon Alley and because Rowling decided to focus on Harry's fame later in the series. Creator/JKRowling later said that by the time Rita properly appeared, she was influenced heavily by the journalists she had encountered since her fame.
* Scholastic, the American publisher, originally wanted to retitle the book as ''Harry Potter and the School of Magic'', which can be seen in [[https://media.harrypotterfanzone.com/harry-potter-and-the-school-of-magic-mary-grandpre-1050x0-c-default.jpg this early draft of the cover art]].[[note]]The French had a similar idea, adapting the first book with the title of ''Harry Potter and the School of Wizards''.[[/note]] Rowling rejected this, and they eventually settled on ''Sorcerer's Stone'' instead.
!The Film
* Creator/TerryGilliam was handpicked by Rowling to direct, but Creator/WarnerBros outright refused him (in person, even) and quickly replaced him with Creator/ChrisColumbus (who was chosen due to his extensive experience working with child actors). Gilliam was [[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/gilliam-still-upset-about-harry-potter-snub rather understandably bitter about being rejected,]] even going on to bash Columbus's directing work as boring (though he's [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/sep/08/terry-gilliam-harry-potter-films since gotten over it]]), but considering [[DevelopmentHell his cinematic track record,]] this may have been for the better.
* Creator/StevenSpielberg was attached to direct really early on. He wanted to make the film as an AllCGICartoon with Creator/HaleyJoelOsment providing Harry's voice. Of course, Haley Joel Osment violated Rowling's stipulation that the cast be kept British and she also didn't like the idea of it being animated. Eventually, Spielberg left on his own, feeling that it would be like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam-dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge."
* Another person asked to direct the film? Creator/BazLuhrmann.
* Creator/WilliamMoseley auditioned for Harry Potter.
* Creator/ThomasBrodieSangster auditioned for Ron Weasley.
* Creator/JonathanDemme, Creator/MikeNewell (who would later direct ''The Goblet of Fire''), Creator/AlanParker, Creator/WolfgangPetersen, Creator/RobReiner, Creator/IvanReitman, Creator/TimRobbins, Creator/MNightShyamalan and Creator/PeterWeir. were also in the running to direct before Columbus was hired.
* Creator/SeanConnery was offered the role of Dumbledore, but turned it down because he famously hates the fantasy genre[[note]]This is mentioned in an installment of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''[='s=] ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' with the ''[=SNL=]'' version of Connery claiming he turned down ''Harry Potter'' just for the [[ForTheLulz chance to harass Trebek again]][[/note]]. Creator/PatrickMcGoohan was offered the role, but declined due to ill-health.
* Creator/TimRoth was cast as Snape, but he found scheduling problems with another role he was cast at the time, General Thade of Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001'' (the film includes future ''Potter'' cast member Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter and was once thought to be directed by Creator/ChrisColumbus). Although Roth was equally interested in both roles, he was forced to choose one at the end, and he went for Thade. Talk about a bad career choice...
* Creator/DavidThewlis, who would eventually join the franchise as Remus Lupin, either auditioned or was in consideration to play Professor Quirrell before Ian Hart was cast.
* Creator/RobinWilliams (for the role of Hagrid), Creator/RosieODonnell (for Molly Weasley), and Creator/DrewBarrymore all expressed interest in starring in the film as they were fans of the books, but Rowling's insistence on an all-British cast shot this idea down quickly.
* The original costume test had Harry dressed as he was on Mary [=GrandPre=]'s cover illustration for the first book, with a striped rugby shirt, jeans and sneakers under his robe. This looked "like a kid in a Halloween costume", hence the standard-issue modern British {{Muggle|s}} school uniforms under the robes at Hogwarts.
* Producers intended to match the characters' appearances with their descriptions in the book - giving Creator/DanielRadcliffe green contacts and having Creator/EmmaWatson wear buck teeth. Dan turned out to be in the minority of the population who are allergic to fake contacts and Emma couldn't talk properly with the teeth in, so those ideas were abandoned.
* The initial plan was to film the movie on sound stages in Los Angeles, instead of exclusively in the UK. This actually caused Creator/DanielRadcliffe's parents to initially refuse to let him audition for the film, as they didn't want to disrupt his life by making him travel to America.
* Canterbury Cathedral was the first choice to be used as a set for Hogwarts. They refused, worried that the witchcraft theme of the series would upset Christians who worshipped there.
* When Chris Columbus saw the first cut (before music was added), he thought the boats riding up to Hogwarts was a LeaveTheCameraRunning scene which would have to be edited down. After Columbus saw the scene with the score Music/JohnWilliams had written for it, he realized that they had to keep the whole thing and they did.
* The character of Peeves was originally going to be included in the film. Creator/RikMayall was cast and apparently went as far as filming scenes before the character was cut. None of the footage - if it exists - has ever been shown. The story is rather complicated and involves two more cases of What Could Have Been. Apparently, Chris Columbus and David Heyman hated the design of Peeves and basically filmed the scene with him knowing that it wouldn't be in the theatrical release, but planning to go back and "fix" it for a future special edition to be released in 2002 or 2003. Columbus was planning to introduce an all-CGI Peeves in ''Chamber'' and presumably this would have been the Peeves he was planning to go back and insert into the first film. Then Peeves didn't make the second film either and it seems they just gave up after that.
* The ''Hogwarts Express'' was almost played by an entirely different engine, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR_West_Country_class_21C127_Taw_Valley West Country Class Southern Railways 21C127/British Railways 34207 ''Taw Valley'']], a 4-6-2 Pacific. She had been painted in the Hogwarts livery and affixed with Hogwarts Express nameplates on the engine to promote the books, but when it came to choosing the locomotive for the film, Chris Columbus thought she looked too modern (she was built in 1946 before she was rebuilt in 1957 to more modern standards). The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_4900_Class_5972_Olton_Hall Great Western Railroad 4900 class 5972 ''Olton Hall'']], was chosen in her stead (she was built in 1937 and never rebuilt to modern standards).
* Thinking that Harry needed a sounding board in the scenes with the Dursleys, Creator/SteveKloves decided to give him a pet spider named Alastair, as well as an army of broken toy soldiers. In the final film, the brief shot of Harry playing with toy soldiers is an artifact of this idea.
* Ginny didn't have any lines in the script. According to Creator/BonnieWright, her saying "good luck" to Harry is something that Chris Columbus came up with on the day of filming.
* The sequence of the Trio getting past Fluffy by way of Harry (and then Hermione) playing a flute to get him to sleep was hinted at in one draft of the script. Upon finding out that a harp is playing by itself, Harry holds the flute and comments "Suppose we won’t be needing this now". A press image actually depicts the scene. Ironically, this was an OrphanedReference in of itself, as the script has no mention of Harry acquiring a flute. [[note]] In the book, Hagrid gave him a flute for Christmas.[[/note]]
* Creator/RichardHarris hadn't initially wanted to play Dumbledore, both because he knew his own health was in decline and for fear that the franchise (which he made no secret that he viewed as "made up crap") would overshadow the rest of his film career. He only took the role because his then 11-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again otherwise.
-->"Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for those bloody ''Potter'' films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."
