Insider reports that Tom Felton, who portrayed Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, writes in his new memoir Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard that Daniel Radcliffe, now 32, took a photo of an incredibly gorgeous Cameron Diaz to set to help film flying sequences for the movie.
According to what Felton, 35 years old, wrote, the strategy was that if a bit of magic or any special effect could be accomplished realistically, then doing so was the best method to carry it out. This was particularly true in the early days of visual effects when teams had access to less sophisticated technology than they do now.
When asked to elaborate on the Quidditch sequences, he said that the players’ “flying broomsticks” were a metal pole with an uncomfortable cycling saddle.
Felton noted that it was essential for all of the participants to have their eyes directed in the appropriate direction for the shot. This was accomplished by having a crew member hold a tennis ball on a pole so that the actors could focus their attention on it.
At that moment, the first assistant director yelled Dragon! or Bludger! According to what he wrote, you needed to stare at the tennis ball as if it were a dragon or a Bludger.
According to what Felton wrote, there were occasions when there was more than one tennis ball in that location. Because each one appeared highly similar to the others, they offered us more individual objects to look at after a while. We selected meaningful photographs to us, either in terms of a person or an entity. Daniel Radcliffe displayed a picture that he had taken of a particularly stunning version of Cameron Diaz.
In his biography, Felton said he selected a picture of an even more beautiful carp to tribute his passion for fishing. The picture was included in the book.