Although California at the end of the year was much warmer than the rest of North America, shooting pirate films at the seaside was still not a comfortable process.

Sid: They were on location in what is now San Pedro Harbor in Los Angeles before heading north to San Francisco to the South Bay studio to shoot interiors.

Although the crew moved to the north and south of California, they actually filmed the same port scenes in the first half of the film, and the port of San Pedro was filmed in the port of Captain Jack's debut in the film, as well as some scenes on the British "Dreadnought".

For example, the scene where Jack and Orlando snatch the "Dreadnought", and some parts of Jack's landing in port.

Because some daytime locations have to be shot in daylight to be more realistic, while others are easier to shoot in the studio, it is natural that these seemingly complicated shots need to be shot separately.

Although the scenes of "Pirates of the Caribbean 1" have always given the audience a sense of grandeur and grandeur, in fact, there are not many scenes in this first series, and more than half of the scenes are filmed in the studio, but with exquisite and detailed sets and stunning special effects, so this film is wonderful and unpromising.

Sid also adhered to the principle of frugality in filming, and did not squander the shooting budget, but rigorously filmed within the schedule and budget.

Although Sid is a big boss, but in these things he needs to lead by example, as the so-called facts speak louder than words, even if he has a lot of beautiful words in corporate governance, if the actual action is contrary, then it will naturally destroy his prestige for a long time.

The first half of the filming mainly revolves around the port scenes in the port of San Pedro and the South Bay studio, and includes the part of Orlando saving Jack at the beginning and end of the film.

At the end of this month, Sid and his wife will move to the studio in Culver City, where Sony Pictures is headquartered, to continue filming Lindsay's footage on the Black Pearl and scenes in the pirate city of Tetuga.

Different from the "Dreadnought", which is mainly on location, the "Black Pearl" has more interior scenes, and in order to facilitate filming, Sid also re-set important interior scenes of the Black Pearl, such as the captain's cabin, the lower deck of the crew, and so on.

After all, in order to make it easier for the camera to move and shoot, these interiors always need to be larger.

And just when Sid and others were in full swing to shoot "Pirates of the Caribbean", Fire Lion Pictures' most important commercial blockbuster in the second half of this year, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", was finally officially released on November 15 on Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, as a unique family holiday in North America, is even more important in North America than Christmas, so the selection of a family movie like "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" to be released on this schedule can be said to be a gathering of the right time, place and people.

And Hollywood and outside are also paying a lot of attention to this movie, this is the first film sequel in this series to break away from Sid, and its quality and performance are naturally interesting.

The last "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" broke the super record of a billion dollars at the global box office, and it also made the major Hollywood studios feel uneasy.

Now everyone can see that "Harry Potter" has become the anchor of Fire Lion Pictures, and as long as they don't make mistakes, it will be difficult for others to shake the influence of this series.

And how the first step after breaking away from Sid will of course determine, or greatly influence, the next development of "Harry Potter" and even Fire Lion Pictures.

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is played by Chris Columbus, a well-known children's film director in the circle, and this choice can't help but make a group of big studio executives secretly applaud, as the director who made the "Home Alone" series, Chris Columbus's performance in the second half of the 90s was a little weak.

However, his grasp and foundation of children's films are still quite deep, and it is indeed a very safe choice to choose him as the director of the second and third parts of "Harry Potter".

And the performance of the film did not disappoint - on November 15, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" landed on the North American box office chart for $29 million, followed by a return of $34 million on Saturday, and a decline on Sunday, but still $24 million.

In the end, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" won a box office score of 88 million US dollars in the first three days of the first weekend, and landed the top of the North American box office list in one fell swoop!

Although this result is still a little far from the record of Sid's summer "Spider-Man" breaking 100 million in the first week, it is enough to sweep the entire Thanksgiving schedule.

At the same time, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" has also been released in the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and other European and American countries one after another, although these countries are only Thanksgiving, but before Christmas, you can see such a happy family fantasy blockbuster, which is still very popular with audiences from all over the world.

Even on the other side of the ocean, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" won 15.7 million in just four days of release, although it is only nearly $2 million in US dollars, but for the other side of the ocean that has just opened the film market, this is already a considerable progress.

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" not only performed better than the first "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" on the other side of the ocean, but also ranked first in its box office performance.

In addition to the box office results all over the world, the movie's film reviews are also soaring!

The Chicago Sun-Times said that the film is full of whimsical inventions and new ideas, and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry expands and deepens the unknown world before the viewer's eyes.

The Dallas Observer commented that the spectacular wizarding world and charming Potter in the film make the audience feel like they have entered the real Hogwarts.

The Chicago Reader did not hesitate to praise the director of the film to perfectly present Rowling's exquisite and wonderful ideas in front of the big screen.

The Philadelphia Inquirer commented on director Chris Columbus's performance - the film's deep and terrifying darkness is slightly better than the first film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".

"Los Angeles Weekly" said that the movie, as a sequel to "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", was made so quickly, and the film was more lively than the first one, and some new characters appeared, adding a little funny fun to the film.

Of course, not everyone applauded, and the East Coast media was as critical as ever.

The politically specialized Washington Post said that the film dragged on and was dry, with no storyline exchange throughout.

The New York Times, on the other hand, summed it up – the film, at the end, was filled with a high level of anxiety and excitement, leaving the audience disappointed.