If you are one of those folks who refuses to read Harry Potter on principle, then I think you are silly. I also think you probably shouldn't read this blog.
I tore through the first three books when I was a part-time nanny for the world's most charming and precocious four-year-old in New York. I waited a year for Book Four to come out, and yes, I waited in line (or on-line, as they say in Yankee-town) at midnight at the Barnes & Noble at Astor Place to purchase The Goblet of Fire. I rode the subway home at 1am, clutching my copy close to my body on the train. It was the only time during my five years in NYC that I felt even slightly unsafe. I had a visible prize, and the people on that train wanted it.
(Remind me to tell you about the time Rebecca and I pitched a Harry Potter TV Special to CBS News before Book Four came out and they told us, "Cute girls, but no one is going to care about a kids' book. Thanks for trying." Suckas.)
I like the movies too. It's been two years since I've read the books, and my memory is fading. I took this as the perfect opportunity to re-watch the first five movies. I was surprised by how much plot (and subplots) I'd forgotten, and how much better that made the movies. I didn't care that Hermione's House-Elf Union storyline wasn't in the movie, and that made the movies just fly by.
I purposely did not re-read The Half-Blood Prince* before I saw the film. And I had a great time at the midnight showing last night.
Friend-with-a-Truck and I went to the Baxter Avenue midnight premiere. Yes, we bought tickets several days prior, and no, we were not the oldest people there. But we were definitely above the median age, which was approximate seventeen.
We arrived around 11:00 because we wanted good seats. There was no line, but that was because they'd already let about fifty teenagers inside. Luckily, there was an entire row available, and we got great center seats. That row ended up being the 21+ row as well, but we were surrounded by teenage girls dressed in Sexy Hogwarts Costumes (it's like the new Catholic schoolgirl costume) who were texting each other and taking pictures and giggling a lot.
It was actually really really fun. It reminded me of seeing a movie in NYC, when the theater is totally packed and everyone cheers for the good guy and boos for the villain. There's something special about laughing together and crying together and cheering together.
There was explosive cheering when the previews finally began. My favorite part of the night was when the second preview started, -- I was digging in the popcorn tub for the perfect kernel and I didn't see the preview's first scene -- and there was a unison high-pitched squeal of excitement. It was the Twilight 2 preview, and the dreamy vampire smiled his crooked smile across the big screen. I admit that when I noticed what it was, I dug into Friend-with-a-Truck's arm a bit too enthusiastically. Then I laughed maniacally while two hundred teenage girls shushed each other so they could hear the dialogue. (Really though, I think Twilight dialogue is better left unheard. Let's just look at the hot vampire and forget about the storyline.)
I have trouble sitting still, but the two-and-a-half hour Harry Potter 6 movie wasn't the least bit dull. The special effects still amaze me, particularly when a pedestrian bridge in London tumbles into the Thames, as well as a nice scene when Dumbledore waves his wand and cleans an entire room. It also blows my mind when something in the movies looks just as I imagined it while reading the book.
I didn't get home until 3am, and I immediately read Chapter 1 of Book 7. Now to wait an entire year until the final movie. Well, Part 1 of the final movie. I heard they're splitting it into two films.
*Note to you Facebook Readers -- when my blogs import into Facebook, all of my italics and bolds are lost, which makes me crazy because i know you're supposed to Italicize book titles ... believe me, it's italicized on brigidkaelin.blogspot.com.
I tore through the first three books when I was a part-time nanny for the world's most charming and precocious four-year-old in New York. I waited a year for Book Four to come out, and yes, I waited in line (or on-line, as they say in Yankee-town) at midnight at the Barnes & Noble at Astor Place to purchase The Goblet of Fire. I rode the subway home at 1am, clutching my copy close to my body on the train. It was the only time during my five years in NYC that I felt even slightly unsafe. I had a visible prize, and the people on that train wanted it.
(Remind me to tell you about the time Rebecca and I pitched a Harry Potter TV Special to CBS News before Book Four came out and they told us, "Cute girls, but no one is going to care about a kids' book. Thanks for trying." Suckas.)
I like the movies too. It's been two years since I've read the books, and my memory is fading. I took this as the perfect opportunity to re-watch the first five movies. I was surprised by how much plot (and subplots) I'd forgotten, and how much better that made the movies. I didn't care that Hermione's House-Elf Union storyline wasn't in the movie, and that made the movies just fly by.
I purposely did not re-read The Half-Blood Prince* before I saw the film. And I had a great time at the midnight showing last night.
Friend-with-a-Truck and I went to the Baxter Avenue midnight premiere. Yes, we bought tickets several days prior, and no, we were not the oldest people there. But we were definitely above the median age, which was approximate seventeen.
We arrived around 11:00 because we wanted good seats. There was no line, but that was because they'd already let about fifty teenagers inside. Luckily, there was an entire row available, and we got great center seats. That row ended up being the 21+ row as well, but we were surrounded by teenage girls dressed in Sexy Hogwarts Costumes (it's like the new Catholic schoolgirl costume) who were texting each other and taking pictures and giggling a lot.
It was actually really really fun. It reminded me of seeing a movie in NYC, when the theater is totally packed and everyone cheers for the good guy and boos for the villain. There's something special about laughing together and crying together and cheering together.
There was explosive cheering when the previews finally began. My favorite part of the night was when the second preview started, -- I was digging in the popcorn tub for the perfect kernel and I didn't see the preview's first scene -- and there was a unison high-pitched squeal of excitement. It was the Twilight 2 preview, and the dreamy vampire smiled his crooked smile across the big screen. I admit that when I noticed what it was, I dug into Friend-with-a-Truck's arm a bit too enthusiastically. Then I laughed maniacally while two hundred teenage girls shushed each other so they could hear the dialogue. (Really though, I think Twilight dialogue is better left unheard. Let's just look at the hot vampire and forget about the storyline.)
I have trouble sitting still, but the two-and-a-half hour Harry Potter 6 movie wasn't the least bit dull. The special effects still amaze me, particularly when a pedestrian bridge in London tumbles into the Thames, as well as a nice scene when Dumbledore waves his wand and cleans an entire room. It also blows my mind when something in the movies looks just as I imagined it while reading the book.
I didn't get home until 3am, and I immediately read Chapter 1 of Book 7. Now to wait an entire year until the final movie. Well, Part 1 of the final movie. I heard they're splitting it into two films.
*Note to you Facebook Readers -- when my blogs import into Facebook, all of my italics and bolds are lost, which makes me crazy because i know you're supposed to Italicize book titles ... believe me, it's italicized on brigidkaelin.blogspot.com.
1 comments
You forgot the awesome Harry Potter look alike sitting a few rows in front of you...seriously though, i'm not a creepy stalker or anything.
ReplyDelete-says 'anonymous'