Now that we know the complete Harry Potter story from beginning to end, it is sometimes hard to remember just what a big part of our lives was once consumed with making predictions about how it all would end, how we spent those years between books feverishly speculating. In fact, my husband was not sure we should let our son read the whole series beginning to end, since we had to endure that dreadful interlibrum (wait between volumes). In fact, that wait has led me to since swear off beginning any series that was not yet complete (I did cheat for Hunger Games, since I started just a few months before Mockingjay). The wait for the last film isn’t so tough, of course, as we know how it goes, but it is fun to look back at how we spent our time about four years ago. This fun post looks back at the many predictions made by scholars and readers before the release of the final volume, and includes votes and comments for the best, most accurate, and just plain wackiest pre-publication predictions. Enjoy! And keep those suggestions coming about posts you would like to see released from the past!
DH:II Movie Countdown–Remember when….
DH:II Countdown continues!
We are happy to hear that folks are enjoying revisiting some of the older Deathly Hallows posts as we prepare for the release of part two of the final film! Since many folks have only just joined us in the last couple of years, some of these fossils are brand new for you! We hope that you’ll explore some of the other treasures in the archives, not just ones setting up the final Harry film. We have some great treasures lurking in the past. Here’s a fantastic little gem from three years ago, in which our beloved headmaster, who is certainly not in contention for head of the Hogwarts Faculty Film Fanciers Society, makes some lovely points about the relationship between films and the books on which they are based, with some very fine points for us to ponder while we wait in virtual line on Fandango. Enjoy!
DH:II Film Countdown 2
So, as promised, we are dusting off some of our “greatest hits” of Deathly Hallows Posts, in case you missed them the first time out, or in case a nasty Memory charm backfired and obliterated your recollection of them. Here is a great “bonus” post–thirty of the threads from the novel’s intial release in 2007. Remember those days? I was still drinking cocoa and trying to recover. Enjoy this great visit down memory lane, with posts on subjects from symbolism to fairy tales to reader reaction back when the last book was big news! As we get ready to revisit the last half of the story via the cinema, we can revist some of these great ideas, too! Enjoy! And don’t forget to send in those requests!
Mellark Bakery Pictures and A Hunger Games Talk in Boone
The intrepid Amy Sturgis has sent along this great image of the Mellark family bakery, formerly known as the old store in the abandoned Henry River Mill Town, which was recently transformed into District 12 (the location filming, which is just with the primaries right now, has moved on). You can see the store’s original appearance here along with the rest of the site here. Obviously, only a little had to be done to make this place into a reasonable facsimile of the most benighted District in Panem, since there is plenty of District 12 to go around in Appalachia, as we’ve mentioned here before. That connection, along with some of our other favorite discussion points, will doubtless be part of our riveting conversation this Tuesday, June 28 (yes, it’s intentionally on Tuesday, the day on the which the Reaping and the first day of the Games occur!) at the Watauga County Library in Boone, NC. I’ll be leading the program, which is free and begins at 6 pm.
Thanks for the pic, Amy!
Deathly Hallows Part 2 Film Countdown Begins: Getting Ready for the Big Premiere
As the excitement increases about next month’s release of the second half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we’ll be posting plenty of relevant pieces about plans, activities, and feedback. But we’ll also be revisiting some our “Greatest Hits” that relate to the film. If you have a favorite from the archives that you’d like to see featured as part of the countdown, send us a note, and we’ll dust it off and bring out! For those who really get into the whole movie premiere hoopla, now is the time to make plans (and maybe a swell costume, if you are into that sort of thing). I’m looking forward to seeing what folks are sporting at Leaky-Con, where many of them will be going to the midnight release. Though I don’t do the costume angle myself, I am a keen spectator, and I love seeing creative approaches (last year at Infinitus, several of the HogPros wondered for hours about the guy in the soda jerk outfit; he was Florean Fortescue). Melanie Lee, friend of this blog, has a fun persona and plan that she’ll be using to reach out to others on July 15, and she’s sharing some of her goodies with us. We’d also like to hear what others have planned, too! [Read more…]
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