Harry Potter Finishes Filming

And all was well.

The nearly ten-year journey of the Harry Potter film franchise reached an end this weekend, as principal photography on the final film in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, officially finished on Saturday. 

It's not known whether the final scene filmed was from Part 1 or Part 2 of the finale, but the final day was marked by actor Warwick Davis, who played both Professor Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in the series, who reported via Twitter:

"The end of an Era - today is officially the last day of principal photography on 'Harry Potter' - ever. I feel honoured to be here as the director shouts cut for the very last time. Farewell Harry & Hogwarts, it's been magic!"

Daniel Radcliffe, who presented at last night's Tony Awards ceremony in New York (he's set to star in a Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying next year) told the Associated Press that it was an emotional last day, "Everyone was really devastated.  It was really, really sad," he said.  "We were crying quite a lot.

According to Harry Potter fansite MuggleNet.com, Rupert Grint lightened up the mood a bit by bringing his ice cream truck to the set on the last day and serving ice cream to the cast and crew. 

There's still lots to look forward to for us Harry Potter fans - not the least of which of course are these two films which still have lots of post-production work left before we finally get to see them this November and July 2011. 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is ready to open at Universal Studios Orlando on Friday June 18th.  The park has been having soft openings for the past week or so and early reviews are terrific.  Scheduled to appear for the grand opening so far include Radcliffe, Grint, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, James and Oliver Phelps, who will reportedly arrive via the Knight Bus.

A little closer to home is the upcoming release of the Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 video game, which will arrive in stores June 29th.  Very excited for this game, since I love the Lego games.

So while it's sad to hear the series is nearly finished, there's still plenty to enjoy before it gets here.