Short answers, pulled from the story.
J.K. Rowling sold the film rights to the first four Harry Potter novels to Warner Bros. Pictures for a reported £1 million in 1999. A key condition of the sale was that the principal cast remain strictly British and Irish wherever possible.
Daniel Radcliffe was discovered in 2000 after a seven-month casting search, when producer David Heyman and screenwriter Steve Kloves spotted him seated just behind them in a theatre. Radcliffe had previously played the childhood years of David Copperfield in a 1999 BBC television production.
Four directors worked on the Harry Potter film series: Chris Columbus directed the first two films, Alfonso Cuaron directed the third, Mike Newell the fourth, and David Yates directed the final five films from Order of the Phoenix through both parts of Deathly Hallows. Yates is the only director to have helmed more than two films in the series.
The Harry Potter film series grossed over $7.7 billion worldwide across its eight films, making it the fourth highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Deathly Hallows - Part 2 alone grossed $1.3 billion, ranking it among the 50 highest-grossing films ever made.
The Harry Potter films received 12 Academy Award nominations across six of the eight films but did not win any Oscars. Nominations included Best Art Direction for Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan on three separate films, Best Original Score for John Williams twice, and Best Cinematography for Bruno Delbonnel's work on Half-Blood Prince.
Filming took place primarily at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, beginning in September 2000 and ending in December 2010. The studio was later renamed Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden and opened to the public as a studio tour in 2012.