First HP-DH part 2 Trailer

        I am sad to say that this may be my last blog on Harry Potter.  However, I am extremely excited to say that the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 has been released!  It was first released last Wednesday April 27^th, during a showing of Happy Gilmore on ABC Family.  I was not able to watch Happy Gilmore to catch it when it first played, but I was anxiously waiting for Mugglenet to post it online. 

                The first video they posted was the French version.  I was so giddy with excitement, but then I realized it was in a language I couldn’t understand.  I made the decision to wait for the English version.  The time that passed in between seemed to last forever.   I could barely take it anymore; I almost watched the French version.  However, seeing the visual aspect while having no idea what was being said would have made me want to see the English version even more, which would have made the wait even more agonizing.     

                Finally, the English version was up!  I was even giddier than I was before.  Mike can attest to this fact.  He thought I was nuts when I found out it was up in the Encounter office.  It would have been a funny site if somebody was videotaping my reaction.  I was bouncing up and down in my seat, clapping my hands together with a huge goofy smile on my face.  Also, I probably made a few squeaks and squeals of happiness.   I pushed the play button and watched what I had been waiting for since the last movie ended.

                The trailer went by in a whirlwind and in my excitement it was hard to take in everything that occurred, so I played it again…and again…and again….oh and one more time.  I lost count of how many times I have watched it, but I take in something new every time. 

                The trailer was awesome.  It gives me some hope, but also sets up some doubt.  The last movie is basically the finally battle of Hogwarts, as well as the exciting events that lead up to it.  The castle is in ruin, there are people lying dead on the floor, dragons, and spells flying.  Basically an action packed ball of awesomeness.

                All of the action got me pumped, but there are some parts that make me nervous, one of them being at the end of the trailer.  Harry and Voldemort are standing over a cliff and Harry grabs Voldemort and throws them off of it.  That definitely never happened in the book.  It is basically Voldemort and Harry being together so much in the castle that makes me nervous because they never were in the book. 

                However, in spite of the negative, there are a lot of promising things as well.  The most important one, at least to me, is that they showed a lot of Snape and some of the scenes from his memories.  This makes me extremely happy because Snape is my favorite character and plays a pivotal role throughout the entire series.

*Spoiler Alert*

                One of the things I was most concerned about is that they were going to mess up his death and the showing of his memories.  The showing of Snape’s memories in the book, finally tells that Snape is on the side of good, which was a debate the entire series.   It also shows that he was protecting Harry all along because he loved Harry’s mother, which melted Harry’s hatred of Snape. 

Seeing this trailer takes those fears away and makes it even harder to wait for the release in July.  It will be an exciting, but sad day because there will be no more books or movies.  There are a few things left I can do with the Harry Potter universe, but I know that Harry Potter will live on.  It will live on as new young children discover its wonders and keep its legacy alive.  

Harry Potter Extending Its Run

              The Harry Potter phenomenon appears to be coming to an end after the last movie in July.  However, more and more Potter related things just keep popping up!  For one, The Making of Harry Potter is going to open in the spring of 2012 at Leavesden Studios in London.  Harry Potter: The Exhibition is making the rounds in the country and now a documentary film about the making of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be coming out after the final film. 

            The one that I am most excited about is the opening of The Making of Harry Potter.  This new treat from Warner Brother Studios is going to allow fans to walk through and experience the actual sets used in the Harry Potter franchise.  The tours will be about three hours and will show a series of never-before-seen exhibits.  Fans will get the chance to walk through the Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office and many others that haven’t been announced yet.  Tickets will go on sale later this year and the tour must be booked in advanced.  Looks like I will be going to London some time in the near future. 

            Harry Potter: The Exhibition is a showcase of props and costumes used in the Harry Potter films.  It has only been to four cities so far.  It just opened with a Potter star-studded premier in New York City.   Potter film stars like Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), David Thewlis (Remus Lupin), Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) and Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) were in attendance.  David Heyman and David Barron, the producers of every Harry Potter movie, were there as well.  The other three cities it has been to so far are Seattle, Boston and Chicago.

Evanna Lynch

David  Heyman

Phelps Twins

            Since the exhibit had its grand opening at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, I have already experienced it.  It is really fun and interesting to look at the craftsmanship that went into the costume and props, as well as seeing them up close.  I actually got to wear the Sorting Hat from the movie before we entered the exhibit!  There are no other words to describe the feeling other than amazing.  

            The next new Harry Potter treat that the fans will get to experience is a documentary of a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.  Since I am a broadcasting major it is always interesting to see short behind the scene clips from a DVD, but it is never enough.  I want to see what goes on behind the scenes of a big blockbuster like Harry Potter.  This documentary will give me a glimpse of what goes on behind the magic and I can’t wait!  It is set to come out sometime after the release of the final movie in July. 

            With more and more Harry Potter fun popping up all the time, I hope they can extend my goodbye to all that is new with Harry Potter.  It has been such a large part of my life, when nothing new comes out I don’t know what I am going to do.  I will have to find a new obsession, but I don’t think anything will be able to do it like Harry Potter does.    

The Closest I Have Ever Got To the World of Harry Potter part 2

             After getting a small taste of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter I was instantly addicted.  It was like a drug to me.  That was the only day that we were able to get in early.   The next time we got in was Friday morning for the actual grand opening, which was the craziest experience of my life!  That morning Alaina and I woke up at 3 a.m. to get ready for one of the best days of our life!  We walked over the Islands of Adventure, but we were not the only people who had the same idea.  There was already a line of people waiting to be let into the park.

                Everybody was getting anxious about the opening and people started to get antsy.  Finally at 6 a.m they opened the gates and everybody bolted (or as fast as they could walk…if you ran they would kick you out) to the Harry Potter part.  Luckily, Alaina and I made it to the bridge area connecting the Harry Potter section and the Jurassic Park section.  We just made the cut off for entering the actual Harry Potter section when it opened…at 10 am. 

                We had to wait four more hours on that bridge listening to some pretty undeserving people; some people were just there to be there.  They didn’t know anything about Harry Potter.  That was annoying, but we didn’t know how lucky we were to be on that bridge. 

                While we waited on the bridge, we saw the back of J.K Rowling in a back area of The Three Broom Sticks.  She was doing an interview with the Today Show.  It was amazing.  Hours later, they finally started letting people off of the bridge to go stand and see the cast and Rowling welcome everybody to the park.  Alaina and I just made that cut as well, but we were far enough away that it was hard for even me (being 5’11) to see the stars on the stage.  Luckily, there was a large T.V that showed us that.   However, the day before while we were snooping, Alaina and I had a chance encounter seeing Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley).  I was so close I could have touched him!  It was awesome, but anyways back to the story. 

Opening picture from Florida Sentinel

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) from Florida Sentinel

                 We watched the cast in awe as they dropped the huge banner blocking the way and we were able to enter the park.  We were extremely lucky to be in the first group allowed in the park.  If we would have waited five more minutes to leave, we may have been stuck on the bridge for another few hours, or worse, stuck in this line.   The line went all the way through Island's of Adventure through City Walk and out of the park.  

Line from Wizarding World of Harry Potter from Florida Sentinel

Line from Wizarding World of Harry Potter from Florida Sentinel

Line from Wizarding World of Harry Potter from Florida Sentinel

                These are pictures from the Florida Sentinel of the THOUSANDS of people that showed up to the event.  We heard rumors of the amount of people and the waiting times, but I couldn’t believe it until I saw the pictures for myself.  Most of those people didn’t even get in.  It was so crowded there were hour long lines for just the butter beer!  Alaina and I are actually in two of the pictures from the site!  The shops were a few hours and The Forbidden Journey was ridiculous.  Since we rode The Forbidden Journey three times and did Ollivander’s experience twice before we didn’t even attempt it .  We went to everything else.

Picture with Alaina in it from Florida Sentinel

Picture of me from Florida Sentinel

                First off, Alaina and I tried a bit of stalking to find the cast members hoping we could meet them.  Of course they were surrounded by media and guards, so we couldn’t get too close.  We found them on The Flight of the Hippogriff with a bunch of lucky kindergardeners.  This class won a contest and they got to meet the cast and ride the ride with them.  KINDERGARDENERS!  They probably don’t even understand the magnitude of that moment being the best moment they would ever have.  It was extremely unfair.  After the cast left the ride, we lost them and could never find them again, so we pushed onwards to new adventures in the park.

                We were almost interviewed for TV Guide network, but they chose a group of younger girls.  We watched the “Frog Choir” performers as they sang with animatronics frogs that originated from the third movie.  They were fun and afterwards we got a picture with them.  After that we went and rode The Dragon Challenge, which used to be Duelling Dragons.  From what I understand, it is exactly the same ride, but with a Harry Potter vamped line filled with Triwizard champion props.  That line was virtually empty.  Next we went to Flight of the Hippogriff, which was fun, but it is a kiddy rollercoaster.

Alaina and I with "Frog Choir" entertainers

Alaina and I in front of Hagrid's Hut before Flight of Hippogriff

                After the rides and shows, we went straight for the Butter Beer!  We couldn’t wait to taste it because we attempted to make it once on our own, but failed miserably.  It tastes like a mix between cream soda and root beer with a bit of foam on the top.  There is a frozen kind and a normal kind.  Alaina and I wanted the frozen, but since it was so hot and so there were so many people, they ran out extremely quickly.  The machine just couldn’t keep up! 

Alaina and I drinking Buter Beer for the first time

                The last endeavor for us to conquer before we completed the park was the stores.  This was the worst part just because it was so hot, the lines were so long and the stores are so tiny!  They did not build those stores for a crowd.  First we went into the Three Broom Sticks for lunch.  That line was manageable and the food was ok.  There was a mix of British and American cuisine.  I honestly don’t remember what I got, but the design of the tavern was amazing!  Everything I would have dreamed it would be. 

Three Broom Sticks

                After eating and replenishing out systems we went for the actual stores.  There is Zonko’s joke shop, Honeydukes candy shop and Dervish and Banges.  We went to Zonko’s first.  Zonko’s was my least favorite, only because the joke and gag gifts were not very entertaining.  The only saving grace of Zonko’s, is it’s where the Pygme Puff’s are located.  Pygme Puff’s are creature from the movie and in stuffed animal form are big pink puff balls.  They are adorable.  However, Everytime someone buys a ‘puff’ at Zonko’s the employees ring a giant bell and announce that so-and so (whatever you name it) is going home today.  Hearing that hundreds of time before you can buy your own gets a tad bit annoying after a while if you can imagine.  I named mine Jackson and Alaina named hers Carol. 

Zonko's

Pygme Puff

                Next on the list was Honeydukes!  Honeydukes is located right next door and is way better.  It is decorated with tons and tons of glass jars of candy.  It is basically an awesome glorified candy store.  The only candy we were interested in was the chocolate frogs.  Don’t get me wrong they have a bunch of other awesome goodie.  However, we just wanted the frogs because they came in authentic looking cases with a hologram card of one of the four founders of Hogwarts!  Just like in the movies!  The chocolate frog itself was ok.  I mean it was chocolate.  It is hard to mess that up, but the casing and card were so much better. 

Honeydukes

                By that time, our tempers were high because it was so crowded, people were rude and cutting lines and we were hot and tired.  Alaina almost got into a fight with some girl trying to cut us in line.  It was extremely funny to see her get like that even though it should have been a serious situation.  Our last stop was Dervish and Banges.  This is the store for clothing such as t-shirts, Hogwarts scarves and robes and other stuffed animals.  We wanted robes, but they were very expensive so we didn’t buy anything in that store. 

                By the time we saw everything there was to see in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it was approaching dinner time.  We decided with so many people that we had seen enough and left.  We never went back the rest of the weekend because it was so crowded, but we did it all.  It is awesome that I was able to be part of its history in that way.  It was one of the most fun and amazing times of my life and I will never forget it.

The Closest I Have Ever Got To the World of Harry Potter part 1

            Four years ago as I was searching Mugglenet, my favorite Harry Potter news site, I found out Universal Orlando had plans to create a Harry Potter Theme park.  The moment I saw that joyous news I called up my best-friend Alaina.  We vowed that we would go to the grand opening no matter what.

            For three years we waited for news and updates that could contain clues to the opening day.  Then finally one day, Universal released that the opening weekend would take place on June 18, 2010.  We saved all of our money and booked the trip.  Our plan was to go to Florida for the week and during the weekend be in the glorious Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

             We booked through a hotel that had packages with Universal.  It gave us early access to both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida.  The first day that we went to the Islands of Adventure we walked over to the Harry Potter area for a sneak-peak.  However, they had it blocked off for the media.  The only thing we could see was the front of the bright red Hogwarts Express.

            We gave up the torture and finally went to enjoy the park.  The next day I got one of the best surprises of my life.  As we were walking into the park for our special early hours, a lady was telling people that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is open for the next two hour.  Our jaws almost dropped to the ground and we started to walk as quickly as possible to that special area.  It seemed like the longest walk of my life, but then…… there it was. 

            I had my video camera ready as we walked under the arch into the ‘real’ world of Harry Potter.  It was as fantastic as I could have ever imagined.  The actual set director from the Harry Potter movies, Stuart Craig, designed the entire place.  The theme park is structured to look like the town of Hogsmeade with Hogwarts being a dominating presence in the backdrop.

            The first thing we came into contact with was the front car of the Hogwarts Express.  There is a conductor who you can take pictures in front of the train.  There are five stores, three rides, two restaurant and butter beer carts.  I will talk about the stores and butter beer in my next blog.

            Hogwarts castle was perfection.  There is no other way to describe it. It was extremely detailed and looked exactly like in the movies.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I was actually standing in front of Hogwarts castle.  Hogwarts is where their main ride, The Forbidden Journey, is located.  We rode it three times that day because the line was so short!  It was incredible, the most unique ride I have ever been on. 

             Just being in line is an adventure because you journey from the dungeons to the greenhouses, to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom and to Dumbledore’s office.  Tons of props from the movie, like the mirror of Erised, talking picture frames and everything cool from Dumbledore’s office as well as the DADA classroom are showcased.   There are holograms of the actual stars as Dumbledore, Hermione, Ron and Harry who talk to you as you waited in the rooms.  Ron, Hermione and Harry were in the DADA classroom and Dumbledore was in his office. 

            The actual ride is interesting.  You sit in a four-person seat that is attached to a robotic arm that turns and moves as the ride progresses.  There is a mixture of video and animatronic objects.  When you experience the video part, it is like you are flying all around Hogwarts.  The animatronics objects are creatures like dementors, dragons and acromantulas (giant spiders).  It is just an awesome ride that pulls together everything Harry Potter. 

            The shops are set up the way they are in Harry Potter, but that is a problem because the shops are so tiny.  There is Zonko’s joke shop, Honeyduke’s candy shop, Ollivander’s wand shop, and Dervish and Banges.  We didn’t go to any of the shops except Ollivander’s due to time.  I will talk more about the other shops in part two. 

            Ollivander’s is absolutely amazing.  Before you enter the actual store, you must go through the Ollivander experience.  A group of about 20-30 people are put into a room with an 'Ollivander.'  Then 'Ollivander' chooses one to get the wand shopping experience.   'Ollivander' chooses three wands for the person.  For every wand, they ask the person to say a spell.  For the first two wands, something goes wrong in the store, which 'Ollivander' will then fix.  For the third wand, the person will grab it and then a glowing light and the music from the Harry Potter movie will play.  'Ollivander' tells the person the wand has chosen them.  Afterwards, you are shuffled into the store to look at all the different character wands and unique wands you could buy.  I bought Ginny Weasley’s wand. 

            If you love Harry Potter and are chosen, it is like a dream come true.  I unfortunately was not chosen, but Alaina was.  I was happy for her and got the whole thing on tape.  It was epic; her face was priceless.  We tried to do it again so I could be picked, but we ran out of time in.  This was the best day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter because it was not busy in the slightest.  The actual opening day was ridiculous, but I will tell you about that encounter in my next blog.    

Yates is Tyring to Recover the Sunken S.S. Harmony

               This weekend when I was channel surfing, I switched to ABC family and to my extreme delight realized it was HARRY POTTER WEEKEND!  Not only was I excited for hours of Harry Potter movies for three straight days, but they were also showing sneak peeks for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2.  These small two minute previews are very scarce throughout the weekend, so when I happened to catch one I was giddy as a school-girl.  However, while watching the clip my excitement slowly began to disappear. 

                Watching this clip made me realize how much I can hate what this director does at times and how many liberties he takes.  The whole video was explaining a scene that occurred in the last movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1.  It was actually a scene that didn’t happen in the book, but David Yates, the director, wanted to add it in for some reason.  Maybe he thought it would add to the story…but it didn’t.

 

                The newly added scene happened shortly after Ron left Harry and Hermione because of an argument.  Hermione was devastated that Ron had left them because there was no way for them to find Ron and no way for Ron to find them. The new scene started with Hermione sitting in the tent fidgeting with the radio they had.  You could tell she was obviously distraught over Ron being away.  As she was fidgeting a song came in over the radio, so Harry went over to her and started to dance with her.  The scene wasn’t horrible by any means; it was sort of cute because they looked so funny dancing.

                The part that made me mad was that at the end they get really close together making it look like they are more than friends.  If they would have just stayed dancing in a fun way it would be different, but they just had to get close.  THAT IS COMPLETELY WRONG!  Hermione and Harry have only ever been friends through the whole series.  Hermione has always liked Ron and Ron has always like Hermione.  J.K Rowling has always put it so that Hermione and Ron liked each other.  She never wrote Harry and Hermione together; plus in the last book Harry likes Ginny. 

Rowling even said, “Yes, we do now know that it is Ron and Hermione. I do feel that I have dropped heavy hints. ANVIL-sized, actually, hints, prior to this point. I certainly think even if subtle clues hadn't been picked up by the end of “Azkaban,” that by the time we hit Krum in Goblet..." Its not rocket science, but Yates was commenting on the clip about how he thinks there relationship is fascinating because there is the close friendship aspect, but at the end you see there could be something more.  I was just sitting there thinking, “WOW….Did he even read the books?”  That being added into the movie just gives the Hermione/Harry shippers more ammunition for their disproved belief that they are still clinging onto.   

In an interview with MTV, Yates talks about a deleted scene that in part of the DVD version. "There are a couple of things that we've lost that just didn't quite survive," he said. "I did this wonderful scene between Hermione and Ron. I wanted to explore their relationship a little bit more, so when Ron leaves it really breaks your heart."  WHY would you delete that scene and keep in this dancing one.   The scene between Hermione and Ron relationship is at least real.  They have few moments where Ron and Hermione flirt in the movies, so why not show that they are going to be together.  Not a scene that shows how Harry and Hermione's relationship could be more!  

He went on to say that they only kept things they felt were really important.  I am still confused on how the dance scene is more important than one that involves Hermione and Ron's relationship.  However, I have gone on enough about this and there is nothing I can do about it.  Tell me you thoughts on this matter.  

'Muggle' Quidditch

            Sports are an important part of our culture and J.K Rowling must have realized this when she was writing Harry Potter.  Jo gave the wizarding world a unique sport called Quidditch.  Quidditch became an important element in most of the books because usually something important happened just before, during, or as the result of a Quidditch match.    That is because Harry started playing Quidditch his first year and it became an important part in his life.  For Harry, it was a constant happiness in a life that wasn’t always easy. 

            Jo created every aspect of this unique sport.   Quidditch teams are composed of seven players.  There are three chasers, two beaters, a keeper and a seeker.   What makes this game magical is that every player is flying on a broom.  The three chasers work together to try and get the quaffle, a ball that is used for scoring points, through the other teams three hoops.   The two beaters use their bats to hit the two bludgers at opposing players and try to knock them off their brooms. 

The keeper’s job is to try and stop the quaffle from going into one of the three rings.  They are like goalies in soccer.  The most important player, who usually ends up winning the game, is the seeker.  Harry is a seeker and his goal is to catch the golden snitch, a tiny flying ball that is extremely difficult to see, to end the game.  Each quaffle in a ring is ten points and catching the snitch is 150 points.   Games can last anywhere between seconds to hours.  It all depends on how fast the seeker catches the snitch. 

Obviously, muggles cannot play 'real' Quidditch, but they have found a way around that.   In 2005, Middlebury College in Vermont started an intramural Quiddtich league.  In 2007, the first intercollegiate Quiddtich match was played between Middlebury College and Vassar College.  Following that game the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association was created.  Since then ‘muggle’ or ‘ground’ Quidditch has soared (no pun intended).  Over 400 colleges and 300 high-schools have formed teams and over half are already active.

 

Due to the popularity around the world, in 2010, the IQA became the International Quidditch Association.  History was made February 16^th,when the first transatlantic Quidditch match was played between Vassar College and the University of Vassa from Finland.  The University of Florida is also getting ready to host the Southeast Regionals Swamp Cup.  The Swamp Cup will take place March 18-20 in Gainsville, Florida, so if you are looking to watch some ‘real’ Quidditch that is the place to be. 

The rules are based off of Quidditch in the Harry Potter series.  From what I understand, every player must be holding a broom at all times.  The golden snitch is a cross country runner and if you are hit by a bludger you have to freeze for a certain amount of time.  You can read more in the actual IQA rulebook.  I wish that my college had a quidditch team.  You can bet that I would be on it before you could say Quidditch.  It is awesome that this is becoming a large phenomenon across the US and also the world.  If Quidditch became an actual sport, I could die happy.   

No More Books :( but more Jo Writing :)

            The day that I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I sat there for a long time looking at all the books.  I had finished the series.  There were no more Harry Potter books coming out.  I was hoping that when I got to the end of the last chapter I would read something along the lines of, ‘just kidding, this isn’t the real last book.  The real one will be coming out soon!’  Or even, ‘ok now I am going to write Harry Potter 8,’ but it didn’t happen.  I read the epilogue, based nineteen years in the future and that was it.  No more Harry Potter.

            I, as well as many other fans wish that she would continue writing about the world of Harry Potter because she could ride that train for the rest of her life.  There are so many things that she could write multiple books for.  Jo could write on Harry’s parents in Hogwarts and afterwards.  The founders of Hogwarts, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor could have their own story.  Jo could write about Dumbledore’s life because he was such an interesting and influential character.  She gave us a glimpse into his life and it was like she was teasing us.  She could do the same with Voldemort.  There are so many more questions she could answer.  The last thing she could potentially write about is the lives of Harry’s children.

            In an interview with Oprah, Jo said that after she had finished writing, she spent so long with Harry that she had to mourn him afterwards.  She also said that she could easily write a Harry Potter eight or nine, but she feels that she is done.   WHY would she tell us that!  That is like dangling a piece of meat to a hungry lion and then taking it away!

            Luckily, Jo is doing something for all of her fans even after she finished with The Deathly Hallows.  She is writing a Harry Potter encyclopedia.   Jo has said she "intends to publish a definitive guide to all of the creatures, characters, places, and other elements that comprise the Harry Potter world."  It should be published in a few years, but no definitive date has been decided yet.  I will be waiting in line for this book at midnight just like I did for the last Harry Potter.  

            Along with writing the Harry Potter series, she also wrote some small books based off of the series.  These include Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.  Qudditch Through the Ages, is written as if were a book taken from Hogwarts itself.  It explains the history of broomsticks and the evolution of Quidditch.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the most complete A to Z book of magical creatures.  The Tales of Beedle the Bard, is actually a wizarding fairy tale book that is mentioned in The Deathly Hallows.

            As of right now, Jo said she is in the works with several new projects.  In an interview with BBC she said, "I don't know when you'll get to read it.  I've got several things going on at once. So it's hard to know which will be the first to actually appear in print, but yeah, I'm writing hard."  I for one cannot wait to read what she comes up with, but I don’t believe anything else she writes will trump Harry Potter.  It was her diamond in the rough.   However, since she is my idol I will continue to read what she writes.  I just wish they were all Harry Potter related. 

            .