Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The Making of Fantastic Beasts #1

by Ian Nathan

Return to the wizarding world and discover how director David Yates and producer David Heyman brought J.K. Rowling’s all new adventure, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to the big screen. Inside the The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them introduces filmmaking fans to Newt Scamander, Magizoologist, and the principal characters, locations, artifacts and beasts that he encounters in 1920s New York. Explore the filmmaking magic behind MACUSA, the secretive American counterpart of the Ministry of Magic; and the magical secrets of Newt’s case. Each section contains profiles of the key characters, with revealing insights from Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Colin Farrell, and many others, together with sections on set design, costumes, make-up, special effects, art department & props (especially wands!), which are illuminated by interviews with David Heyman, David Yates, Stuart Craig, Colleen Atwood and a magical army of other crew. Packed with exciting photos that reveal the filmmaking process in discerning detail, and officially licensed by Warner Bros. Consumer Products, this is the definitive adult companion book to the film, and perfect introduction to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them .

Genres: Nonfiction, Harry Potter, Film, Adult, Media Tie In, Art, Magic

144 pages, Hardcover

First published November 18, 2016

About the author

Ian Nathan is the popular, London-based author of Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Making of Middle-earth, The Coen Brothers: The Filmmakers and their Films, Alien Vault, Terminator Vault, and many other books, many of which have really long titles.

He is the former editor of Empire Magazine.

If you live in the UK, you may also know from from the Discovering Film series on Sky Arts television extolling the virtues of classic film stars and directors, and he can also be heard on Talk Radio every Friday afternoon, mostly berating the state of current movies. He is just about younger than this makes him sound.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this book as a long time Harry Potter fan and tentative Fantastic Beasts fan... and emerged brimming with excitement and intrigue for this series.

For a fact, I hate change, so it goes without saying, the more I heard about the Harry Potter reboot, the more I dug my heels in. Set in the US? No Hogwarts? No more calling them muggles? Sign me out.

Even when I saw the movie, while I loved the fantastic beasts part, I was confused by the subplots (the election, the new Salemers, etc). Ergo, I was pleasantly surprised upon picking up this book to discover how everything fit perfectly in its place. Only by reading about the movie did I come to truly treasure this expansion.

The level of detail is just incredible. They completely recreated New York in the 1920s as a blocks-long set. Every wand had its place, every costume was designed to the last button and even the documents (i.e. Tina's MACUSA ID card) were appropiately filled out.

Even the actors were surprised. One actor accidentally got ink on his hands because someone actually filled the inkwell prop. Another actor commented on how he opened a few drawers to discover newspapers - with magic themed headlines and articles - filling the space. This is something that the cameras would never even see.

My only complaints are that we don't really get to the beasts until the last chapter, and even then they are only given 10 or so pages. I am willing to bet that a whole book could've been written in how they were made and characterized. And that everyone was too positive - I would've liked to learn more about the struggles overcome rather than only the successes.

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[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my defence I want to say that I have been spoilt. I have a number of books from the Harry Potter films - both the making of, page to screen and the art of all of which are amazing books. Huge tombs of material you need days if not weeks to truly read through and appreciate.

This book is not one of them. It is considerably smaller and lighter. The material is limited (there is far more in the art of the film which is another truly amazing book) and as such really disappears in to the shadows of the various artwork and making of books from the Potter franchise.

Now this is not all bad - if you love the film, its great insight and some of the interviews with the various cast and crew are very insightful. You definitely get the feeling that they were waiting to see how this film was received.

I can well imagine that with the second instalment being made I can see a lot more material coming to be released. If I was a cynical man I would say they were holding their breath and hedging their bets. IF it pays off (and from what I have seen and read it most certainly have) you will see greater (and heavier) books to come.

So for me this is great first instalment in the new series, I just suspect as this grows in popularity and can hold its own against the Potter films there will be even great books to come. In the mean time this is a great place to start and it still has a few gems hidden away in the pages - this book is certainly not to be dismissed out of hand. Just like I say I have been spoiled with the quality and quality of what has already come before.

[Simone Hagemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hvor var det hyggeligt at komme med bag kulisserne og genopleve filmens magi. Jeg sætter i hvert fald bare endnu mere pris på filmen nu, hvor jeg virkelig ved, hvor stort og gennemtænkt et arbejde den har været at lave.

[Rachele · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'immenso lavoro dietro ad un bellissimo film

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 más bien. Me ha gustado bastante, y la edición no podía ser más maravillosa. Eso sí, para lo que suelen ser los libros de información sobre películas, quizá se queda un pelín corto, de ahí que no le ponga más nota. En cualquier caso, muy recomendable para fans de la película que quieran conocer mejor sus entresijos.

[Teija · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book. I wish it had gone a bit deeper into the things it talked about.

[Tomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toen ik voor het eerst de Harry Potter films keek vond ik de Making Ofs altijd leuker dan de films. Ik wilde altijd weten hoe ze bepaalde dingen gemaakt hadden en hoe ze op het idee waren gekomen. Ik vond het prachtig om al die kostuumontwerpen te zien en hoe ze van niets toch nog een heel mooi decor konden maken. Ook keek ik met veel liefde de interviews. In die tijd speelde ik de interviews na en deed ik alsof ik mensen rondleidde op de set. Later begon ik de films wel veel meer te waarderen en werd ik een groot fan. Maar nog steeds vind ik het leuk om Making Of boeken te lezen.

Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them is een van de vetste films die ik dit jaar heb gezien. Ik vond de muziek prachtig en hoe de scenes waren gemaakt vond ik ook heel mooi gedaan. Net zoals bij mijn Harry Potter boeken en films wilde ik ook hiervan de Making Of boeken. Een hele bijzondere staat nog op mijn lijstje maar die was helaas een stuk duurder dan deze. Om toch wat meer informatie over de film te hebben besloot ik om alvast dit boek te kopen. Dit boek is geen dik boek. Maar ondanks dat het geen dik boek is staat het wel vol met informatie en foto's. Ik vond het vooral leuk om er achter te komen hoe ze de fabeldieren gemaakt hebben. Maar ook waarom ze voor bepaalde mensen hebben gekozen. Ik kwam er ook achter hoe ze bepaalde dingen gemaakt hadden, van sommige dingen dacht ik dat ze alleen maar CGI gebruikt hadden maar juist die dingen hebben ze zelf gemaakt. Het is mooi om te zien hoe een idee omgezet wordt tot een heel groot decor.

Ik vond dit een interessant boek. Maar toch merkte ik dat ik nog wat details miste. Vooral over het 'grote gevaar' in de film had ik wat meer informatie gewild. Ik denk dat ik daar toch het andere Making Of boek voor moet kopen. In dat andere Making Of boek zitten folders in die je uit kan klappen en dat vind ik ook altijd erg leuk. Maar ik kan wel zeggen dat ik meer informatie over de film heb gekregen en dat ik over de vraag hoe ze bepaalde dingen gemaakt hebben, antwoord heb gekregen. Dit boek is zeker een aanrader. Niet alleen voor als je een Harry Potter fan bent zoals ik maar ook voor mensen die het interessant vinden om wat dieper in de filmwereld te duiken. Ik moet wel zeggen dat ondanks dat hij niet heel dik is, dat je het niet in een dag uit leest. Je ontvangt tijdens het lezen ontzettend veel informatie dus ik raad aan om het af en toe even weg te leggen. Ik ben weer een stuk wijzer geworden na dit boek dus ik ga gauw weer verder met een ander boek!

[lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

INCREÍBLE LO RECOMIENDO UN MONTÓN

[Maarit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sukeltaa nimensä mukaisesti Ihmeotukset ja niiden olinpaikat elokuvan kulisseihin. Tarjolla paljon tietoa kaikista elokuvan tekemiseen liittyvistä vaiheista, kuten maailman luonnista, näyttelijöiden valinnasta ja otusten luomisesta. Kirjassa on myös kohtuullisen paljon tietoa, jota ei ole tullut esille esimerkiksi elokuvassa itsessään tai muissa lähteissä. Ja koska tämä kirja ei ole ReadMe:n vaan HarperCollinsin kustantama, kirjassa ei ole oikeastaan lainkaan ärsyttäviä kirjoitus- ja editointivirheitä ja se myös tuntuu laadukkaammalta.

Suosittelen luettavaksi, jos haluat tutustua hieman aikuisempaan ja realistisemman oloisempaan velhomaailmaan kuin Harry Potterissa. Tämä kirja nimittäin vie lukijansa juuri sinne. 3,5 tähteä.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó saber tantos detalles de la producción y de los actores, las imágenes de los set y el arte de los animales y las varitas.
Y esas pequeñas pistas de personajes o detalles de lo que vendrá, lo recomiendo para cualquier potterhead de corazón.

[Rightsidefirebooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't learn anything new, but I loved the quality of the book and the glossy pictures and details. These types of books are more for super fans and collectors than readers (I consider myself a bit of both).

[Caitlin Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful journey into the making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Now all I need to do is read the screenplay! :)

[Almeyda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a lowkey fan of FBaWtFT (This title is so long lmao) and I can't help it when I knew there was a big discount for this one.

Reading this felt like reading a magazine, it was so fun with all of those facts and pictures! It helped me a lot to understand the movie. Because there were some things that I can't understand at first, like with the election, the new Salemers, and stuff.

This book explained everything, the background stories of both of the characters and the actors, the details of the film, the process, and etc. They explained how did they make the world building and it was super awesome! It just look so real and detailed. I mean the plot was at 1920s! We'll know more about their wands too and they're so gorgeous. There're some sketch here and there and Newt's sketch with his unique coat.

But well this book was mainly discussed about the making of the film, so it wasn't really talking about the Fantastic Beasts. They still got their part but it was like 11 pages or so.

[Evine Zetterström · Rating 3 out of 5]

En smart liten bok som verkligen har utvidgat min kunskap om filmen och den process det tog för att få den till den stora skärmen. Kommer verkligen vara intresant att se filmen på nytt efter detta.

[Milagros Jazmín López · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me encantaron las imagenes!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't decide to give this a 3.5 or a 4 star.

Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf

This is a behind-the-scenes book revealing most (not all, but most) of the film-making of Fantastic Beasts, with character profiles (and small interviews with the actors), props and sets, information about New York, MACUSA and The Blind Pig, the characters within Newt's case and other titbits.

I am a little torn on this. Now, I love these types of books so, yes, this book can't go too much into depth because of spoilers. And, because this is an adult companion, it is more aimed for movie-goers and people who like this type of books (aka me). I loved the photos and the details. The amount of text is aimed more for an adult audience but I don't see why teens or children with a higher reading level can't read it.

However, there are problems. This isn't perfect. This does feel a bit like a whistle-stop tour of how the movie was made. Again, this is something I see in most "making of [insert film here]". Actually, compared to most of them, this has more information. So, for that, I will let slide, but it still felt like we were skimming...

But the main issue, the thing that tainted this book for me, was a small line. A sentence of 8 words. I know... I know... this is stupid to say, but I am going to state it. On one of the pages, linked to costume design, we have a small photograph of the actor Gemma Chan (you will know her from the Channel 4 show, Humans). She isn't an important character - her character has one sentence in the movie (and she is one of the few speaking characters in the movie who isn't white unless I am misremembered...), but we see her in character. The line that accompanies this photo is "Gemma Chan plays an exotic witch visiting MACUSA".

Why, OH WHY, is it that when a non-white character/actor (who isn't really important to the story) is in movie/TV show/radio/etc, they are described as "exotic"? It's a lazy writing, a throw-away remark which could and can be seen as a racist term. In this instant, the term devalues her character. She, to my knowledge, is a foreign representative visiting MACUSA to take part in a wizarding equivalent on United Nations. Her character even has a name - I checked! Madam Ya Zhou. So, why isn't her character name or the term "foreign representative" used? Why isn't it "Gemma Chan plays a foreign representative witch visiting MACUSA"? Or "Gemma Chan playing Madam Ya Zhou"? The term "exotic" should never have been used - it's cheap, lazy, sloppy writing.

*deep breath*

So, book overall. While it's one of the better "making of [insert movie name here]" books, it does have some faults.

[Yaiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es el primer libro de este tipo que leo, y me ha sorprendido gratamente. Me fascinó la película y me quedé con ganas de más, y al no haber libro (solo el guión) tuve la oportunidad de hacerme con este libro y a sido una buenisima idea. La verdad es que no se mucho sobre la producción de una pelicula, y gracias a este libro he podido conocer más este trabajo y el mundo mágico de Rowling.
Así que 5 estrellas bien merecidas.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, and I was excited to read this book. This book was very beautiful to read. The artwork displayed in it was mesmerizing and incredible. I loved seeing all of the art, from concepts to final renderings and everything in between. As an artist, I also learned a lot from reading this book. It was great to see the journey that they took and all of the ideas for the specific beasts. This is definitely a must read for any Harry Potter fan or artist.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! I'm really interested in the backstage/behind the scenes things of such big productions! Great photos as well. Only con was that's a Dutch translation so the names were slightly different.

[freddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars!

[Steve Heglin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved these kinds of books, as there's always so much to learn about the production of these films, and so many talented people lend their hand in making them a reality. What I love about the Harry Potter films is all the little touches, props, and costuming that go into the production: things that aren't immediately apparent in the shots, but help the actors and the viewer feel that these are fully realized worlds.

This book does an excellent job of cataloguing all of the ephemera from the sets and costumes. Oftentimes, you'll read about a prop that was barely even seen in the movie, but you still get the sense that it helped make the scene feel more believable, or that it helped the actors realize their character more fully.

There's also a wealth of quotes from the actors about the movie, which give a richer perspective on the themes of the film. With Fantastic Beasts, Rowling was able to explore a lot of contemporary themes, a lot of which I immediately picked up on while watching it. But there is even more emotional content noticed by the actors themselves I picked up on while reading their comments. You get to learn a lot about how each performer got into their role, what they thought about their character, and what a dream it was to participate in the Harry Potter universe.

I'm a little sad that I've finished it, but I eagerly await the next "Inside the Making" book for the other Fantastic Beasts films.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offered a solid rundown of the making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. After having read both The Art of the Film: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and The Case of Beasts I was pleased to encounter some interview and trivia that wasn't present in either of the two aforementioned books. That having been said, this book could easily serve as what to read rather than the other two - it contains much of the information from the previous two, only better synchronized, and variety of the artwork that the art book carries.

Of the three books, I think this is the easiest to pick up and look through. The other two books are slightly more specialized (and The Case of Beasts downright collectible) but this book is a good intro to it all to see if you'd like to read more.

It's a good, quick, interesting read behind the process of making the film and all of the work that went into it.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inside the Magic is such a fun book. I bought it as a Christmas present, but had to have a cheeky read before wrapping it. It’s really everything a good companion book should be – informative and beautifully designed, with plenty of immersion in both the fictional world and production.

It’s not perfect, of course. At a scant 144 pages, it was never going to be a hugely in-depth exploration of the film. But let’s be honest, I could have read entire essays – if not novels – about the characterisation, development and extensive backstories of Newt, Tina, Queenie, Jacob and co. The strangest aspect is the fact it seems to be geared towards fans that haven’t seen the film yet. There’s a lot of coyness - especially around Graves – when a more direct approach would have raised lots of interesting avenues for discussion.

My favourite section is a lovely double-page-spread on the characters’ wands. It’s so interesting to see all the thought that went into the choices from design, to wood type, to required usage. It’s that attention to miniscule detail that has always added to the rich, magical world of the Potter film franchise, and Inside the Magic proves that the team are invested as ever. I’d love to read something more in-depth on the writing and development process, but I’m sure Fantastic Beasts will be inspiring spin-off material for years to come.

[RumBelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic (pun possibly intended!) guide to the making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The book was divided up into several chapters such as one for each of the four main characters, one on New York in 1926, one of the Fantastic Beasts, and several others.

Each chapter dove in-depth into the creation of the character, setting, or creature. You learned not only about the actors portraying the character, but how such things the the costume and wand were chose and used by the actors to help them fully define their performance. In addition, information was provided about the fictional character, their lives, pasts and adventures within the film.

One of the most detailed chapters talked about how the New York of today was transformed into the New York of 1926. The city was actually treated as a character, and so much detail and effort went into making it as authentic as possible.

The text was humorous, informative, interesting and very descriptive, and the photos, and artists drawings, brought the movie making process to life. A highly enjoyable reference to the film.

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

And we’re once again back into the fantastic story that is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! Compared to the previous slim volume by Jody Revenson that I read earlier this month, author Ian Nathan does a bit more of a deep dive behind the scenes of the making, development, and story that became the (second) latest film in the Harry Potter universe. Nathan did a great job covering all the expected topics, but overall the book still felt a bit light. He was clearly working with a lot of the same source material as Revenson (I’m pretty sure there were some direct shared quotes from directors, actors, etc), and considering the extremely close release date to the film it looks a little bit like the book was rushed to publication rather than letting the author really get personally into the records, interviews, and source material. Overall, it was a good read, but compared to the highly detailed publications that came out after the release of the Harry Potter films I kind of expect more from the Harry Potter non-fiction library.

[Anuszka Gojke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it is a short book with only 143 pages, it is packed with information and stills from the film featuring lovely little notes and fun facts about how the film was created. I particularly enjoyed reading all of the little facts about the wands, the designs of the sets and costumes and of course how they designed the Beasts. It was a real eye opener to see just how much effort is made for two hours worth of footage, and even then half of it isn't even fully shown in the final cut.

On a side note I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Colleen Atwood was involved with the design of the costumes in the film. I have seen some of her work on films like Alice in Wonderland and The Huntsman: Winter's War but I didn't know that she worked on this film too. I absolutely love all of her costume designs!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves the movie or is just interested in film studies.

[Michela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun read. Fantastic Beasts is one of my favorite films so it was super interesting to see how sets and ideas came to life. I loved reading the quote by the actors who had some interesting takes on certain things. I wish somethings were talked about more like the Obscurus which is such an interesting concept that they never really dived into in this book. The costumes in this film are so detailed and stunning and I am so happy to see them in this book and read about the process in which they were made. Overall, a really interesting read that left me wanting to know more about this magical film.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review - I loved this because the film was so fantastic! It was really interesting to see how they made the characters and creatures come to life on the screen, especially with the special effects and how the actors had to act against green screens and stand ins for the creatures. I think that the interviews with the actors, director and producers were enlightening as it gave an insight into how a film is created and what happens with different departments working together to create something.

General Subject/s? - Wizarding World / Film / Harry Potter

Recommend? – Yes

Rating - 20/20

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is a book that takes readers behind the scenes of the "Fantastic Beasts" film series. It offers a detailed look at the creation of the movies, including insights into the characters, creatures, sets, costumes, and the overall production process.

This book, written by Ian Nathan, provides a comprehensive exploration of how the magical world of J.K. Rowling's wizarding universe was brought to life on the big screen. It includes interviews with the cast