PotterCast # 132: Welcome to 2008 Transcript

Part 1 (0:00 - 11:03)

Melissa Anelli (MA): Well, it's our last show of 2007.

John Noe (JN): Aw.

MA: The last one of a big, big, big year. This is our sixty-second show of the year, this is PotterCast Number 132.

JN: With J.K. Rowling!

MA: With J.K. Rowling! Well, sort of.

JN: Not this time?

MA: With clips of J.K. Rowling. I'm sure she'll be in here somewhere, maybe an outtake or two.

JN: It's the highlight show of the year, featuring highlights shows from such as 130 or 131.

MA: (laughs) Yes!

Sue Upton (SU): Yay!

MA: Just repackaged. All Jo. All the time.

JN: Here is it again, in Spanish.

MA: John, I want to hear your impersonation of Jo for this show.

SU: Oh, God.

JN: I don't do an impersonation of Jo. I can do a pretty good Rupert. (MA: Do Rupert.) But I don't do a very good one of Jo.

MA: You interviewed Rupert this year.(SU: Yeah.)

JN: (laughs) I have interviewed Rupert this year. I think he was my first Potter celebrity interview. He's my warm-up for Jo I guess. (MA: Yeah.) That's not true. We had Matt Lewis on this show.

SU: Yeah.

MA: Yeah, what are you talking about?

SU: Chris Rankin.

MA: Chris Rankin.

JN: We had Chris Rankin on the show. I guess it was my first in person interview.

MA: We had Evanna Lynch on the show.

JN: Evanna Lynch on the show. Gosh, yeah.

MA: It's been a huge year.

JN: It's been an awesome year. (MA: It wasn't your first...) I think we are going to have highlights from all those interviews on this episode.

MA: You're a liar. It wasn't your first in person. We had the set visit.

JN: Oh. right, but I was too afraid to talk.

MA: No you weren't, you were sleeping. (SU laughs)

JN: I was not asleep.

MA: You were asleep. I had to pull you away and ask you to stay awake please.

JN: You're thinking of Equus.

MA: Yeah, no, no.

JN: I did not sleep through any of it. (MA: Okay.) I was enthralled and very much happy to be there.

MA: Okay, I was kidding. Well, we're...

SU: I wanted to see Equus next year, that's what I want to go see.

MA: He's coming to the States. And apparently he bought a fabulous new pad to stay in.

JN: Is it in New York, or is it in London?

MA: Right near the Scholastic building. (laughs)

JN: No way. They can keep their eyes on him.

SU: It's up for rent though.

MA: It's up for rent?

SU: Yeah, he put it up for rent. (MA: Oh, I see.) So I don't know if he's actually going to live in it for right now.

MA: Maybe it's just an investment. Hey, why not? (JN: Sweet, I want to live in Dan's pad.) A nice apartment in New York- he can afford it.

JN: That'd be so fun. (SU: Yeah.) We should have a convention there.

SU: We're going to go hang out with Dan now, uh-huh. I see that happening.

JN: Could you imagine. Let's have a big Potter convention in Dan's loft.

SU: (laughs) He'll be down with that for sure. Is that your New Year's resolution is it John, to have... (laughs)

JN: Amongst many others, (SU: Amongst many others.) is to crash one of the trio's pads. (SU laughs)

MA: Well what else has happened this year? We went on tour.

SU: Yeah. We've been on- we're been to two continents

JN: We went to the United States.

SU: Over here in North America and we went to the...

JN: We went to the premieres.

SU: Yeah. It was amazing. Extraordinary.

MA: The premieres...

JN: Order of the Phoenix in (MA: Huh?) London and in L.A.

MA: L.A. God, we've met so many listeners. I think we have to have met at least five or six thousand of you guys.

SU: Yeah. (JN: Jesus.) One thing I'm very proud about is we went to Phoenix Rising. That was a tremendous experience for me and for us to do the Habitat thing was really cool, too.

MA: Habitat for Humanity was one of my favorite things of the entire year.

JN: That was fun! (SU: It was.) I love the Sue Slytherin nail video.

SU: I hate you for that, John. (laughs)

JN: I think that would have to come back for the New Year's show.

MA: We need to put the link for that one in the show notes.

SU: That was actually a very fun moment, because John and I were partnering up because I have no building skills at all and that was quite the adventure. (laughs)

MA: It was also one of our very best live shows, (SU: It was.) Because we had musical interludes from The Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys. A lot of people said they didn't like wizard rock until they listened to that and that they had so much fun. And then at the end, we all did Harry and the Potters' "The Weapon." (SU: Yes.) They weren't there, but everybody did it. The entire room did it. It was completely fantastic. And it's now become sort of like- whenever Harry and the Potters aren't playing, the band that is playing- usually Draco and the Malfoys, they close with that anyway- and invite everybody up on stage like they did at Wrockstock, and basically turn the room into a giant jumping force field. It's pretty fun.

SU: And we went to Prophecy this year, and we also went- man, we've just been everywhere. Shoot.

MA: It's been great. Really, it's been the most active. We wouldn't want to have it any other way. It's been the most active, wonderful year ever. (SU: Yeah.) I personally am- (laughs) It's not over yet for me. (SU: No.) This is the only recognition of any holiday of any type I'm giving this year, because I'm finishing up a book about the Harry Potter phenomenon. And I'm losing my mind, losing my hair, (JN: Aw.) and I'm very grateful for my friends here for holding down the fort while I was gone, so.

JN: It'll be so fun to hear this episode for next year's New Year's. After you've sold however many millions of copies. (SU: Yeah.)

MA: Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. So.

JN: (laughs) We don't have much time to dribble around here. (SU: No.) (MA: Good.) We have some awesome best-of-2007-clips, courtesy of our awesome Transcription Elves and our awesome Editors. Namely MattieK, StevieB, JeffieG, and...

MA: (laughs) What, are they Bell Biv DeVoe, here? (laughs)

SU: They all sound like they've got a little rap group going on.

MA: Like a boy band.

JN: They do hang out in hoodies. (SU: Do they?) Like the Alvin and the Chipmunks posters out there. (SU laughs)

MA: Okay. Okay. Well, I really am excited to sit back and remember this year this way. So.

JN: Yeah.

SU: Yes.


MA: We're talking right now to Evanna Lynch, Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film.

Evanna Lynch: Hi!

MA: Oh, how did you find out the news?

Evanna Lynch: Oh, okay. I kind of thought it would be today because it is the winter solstice. Order of the Phoenix was released on the summer solstice so she likes using the solstices. You know you can't contradict (http://www.jkrowling.com)J.K. Rowling. I won't be able to go to sleep. Oh God. I don't know.

MA: So we're thrilled to welcome Night Shyamalan to talk about fantasy and Harry Potter. Have you read J.K. Rowling? Have you read the Harry Potter books?

Night Shyamalan (NS): I have. I've read all of them. My daughter has read all of them. (Both laugh)

MA: Is she a big fan?

NS: She's completely obsessed.

MA: (laughs) Oh, that's awesome.

NS: They have their time turners (MA laughs) and their wands and they're just completely obsessed. When we were flying over London, we had just come back from London, I was like, "I see Privet Drive!" and they just dove to the windows. (MA laughs) (NS laughs)

MA: Aw! (laughs) Torturing kids that way. (All laugh)

NS: When I read the first Harry Potter and was thinking about making it, you know, I had a whole different vibe in my head- do you know what I mean- of it. And it would have been fun.

MA: What were some of the elements of that vibe?

NS: Power. What power does to human beings and all the things that would stay with you. A lot of people have trouble being able to make that movement into the alternate universe. Then, we went to kinda the Spielberg Lucas time where magic was, you know, desperately wanted and embraced. And in some ways, it feels like it's happening again, here, now with the explosion of all the mythologies and the revisiting of old fantasy books and of course J.K. Rowling leading the way with- maybe she began it.

MA: I don't think Lucius is gonna die.

SU: I don't either.

Steve Vander Ark (SVA): You're the...

SU: I think- yeah, I think he'll live.

JN: You think he's going to be living in gum-drop, fairy tale, frosting coated Deathly Hallows? (SVA laughs) Lots of Weasleys will die.

MA: Why would Lucius...

SU: (laughs) Wait, Lucius goes to Candy Land?

MA: Why would Lucius not die- wait, can we go back for a second? (SVA: Yep.) Can we go back for a second? I just said I don't think Lucius will die.

JN: Oh, I thought you said, "I don't think Weasleys will die."

SU: No, she said Lucius.

MA: No, I think a Weasley will probably die. (JN: Aww.) Though there is so much- so many "Weasley will die, Weasley will die" kind of speculation that you have to wonder if she's just going to be like, "Hm. No, I like them all." (SU: Yeah.) (JN laughs) "They're all staying." (JN: No!) You know what I mean?

JN: They're so annoying.

MA: She's just like, "Well-"

SU: They are not!

SVA: No, they are not annoying. (JN laughs)

SU: The only person that I think is going to die is Severus Snape.

SVA: Really?

SU: That's what I think.

JN: Oh, we jump to Snape.

SU: I'm sorry. I think he's going to go.

SVA: You think Snape's going to die. I know of a bunch of people who are going to be very, very sad if that's the case.

SU: I think it will be for a noble cause, though.

SVA: Yeah, you think he's going to redeem himself, he's going to have that last moment, (SU: No. No.) which could be the moment of saying "Okay, really Harry, you're a good kid, and hang in there," and instead he's going to spit in his face and die, still spiteful at that last second.

SU: I think that his general character will not change, but I think he will do something that will reflect that there has been an element of good in him all along.

SVA: Mm-hm. Oh, yeah, I think so, too. I don't know if he's going to die, but...

SU: But I don't think he will be quote-unquote "redeemed" like Percy will be redeemed, you know?

SVA: Yes.

JN: Well, actually, you guys, if you really want to know the answer I got a phone call (SU laughs) from somebody who went to the actual printing place where they print the books and they read the chapter.

SVA: In the dark. (SU laughs)

MA: In the dark.

JN: And he told me that Severus Snape is actually Harry from the future who came back (SVA laughs) through time and the reason he's so...

SU: But just the reaction to the books. Let's talk about something a little more happy. I mean, Deathly Hallows is already on the (http://www.amazon.co.uk/)Amazon U.K. the number one pre-ordered book. I mean, it's just on their number one bestseller list. It's amazing! Which is, you know, you were talking about that (http://www.borders.com)Borders ad? People are just, "Give me the book now!"

MA: Well the thing is, we don't have a release date, we don't have a book, (SU: I know.) we don't know how much it's going to cost. (SU laughs) Nobody cares! They want to order it now.

MA: You know the day after we record this we're gonna get big breaking news. She's gonna announce the release date, it's gonna be up.

JN: I know.

SU: You know what, should we tell people? This is what happened, though, actually, the last time, when we did get the title?

MA: It's true!

SU: (laughs) They have no idea what we went through, too, to get that.

JN: Ugh. I can't wait.

MA: We had just recorded the night before, the full PotterCast, everything, and then in the morning, the title came out. (SU and MA laugh) "Get on (http://www.skype.com)Skype, we gotta do a show right now!"

JN: Then Sue ran down the street in her underwear, trying to find a working computer. (MA and SU laugh)

SU: Terrifying the neighbors in my quest to get Jo's news.

JN: In her yellow and black underwear.

MA: Dedication, dedication, (SU laughs) dedication.

MA: Also, our listener Julie, she went to her store, (SU: Yay!) her nearby store, and picked a clerk at random. She said, "Excuse me. Hi there. I was just wondering, have you found out the release date for the seventh Harry Potter book yet?" They gave her a blank stare and said, "There's a Harry Potter book coming out?" She said she got her fired. (laughs) (JN: Oh, no.) How could you work at a- (laughs) I hope she really didn't get her fired. (SU: Yeah.) It was funny.