Time is a strange thing. It seems to have two distinctive speeds: too fast and too slow. When the last days of summer vacation are passing by it seems way to fast and when you are patiently waiting for something big to happen, perhaps a big birthday or a holiday like Christmas, it seems like each day is three times longer. There never seems to be much of an in-between. Right now, however, time seems to be doing something strange. It is going both too slow AND too fast. How is this possible? Easy. The last Harry Potter movie comes out in 8 days. Being the nerd I am, it was inevitable that these blogs would at some point end up on Harry Potter and with Deathly Hallows part 2 coming out in about a week, it seemed appropriate to talk about it now.
Right now I am absolutely dying to see this film. I got my tickets as soon as I could and much of my free time these past weeks has gone towards making plans for the midnight premiere. The anticipation of this event of course makes the days until it comes out go by painstakingly slowly. But all at the same time things are moving far too fast, because this is it. When then credits roll early that Friday morning it will not just mark the end of a film, it will mark the end of one of the greatest series of all time, or at least of my lifetime. It will be the end of an era, and that is what is coming much too quickly.
Like most people that will be attending the midnight showing, I have been a long time Harry Potter fan. I saw the first film and started reading the books in the third grade. I was about 11 years old, the perfect age to start Harry Potter since it was the age of the boy wizard when he began his first year at Hogwarts. Ever since then I have passionately followed the books and the films. When the seventh and final Harry Potter book was published it was very sad to know that there would not be another, but I took comfort in knowing that I had a few more films to look forward to. Now that the last film is coming out it truly feels like the series is done. Yes there will always be Harry Potter merchandise to spend money on. Yes the films and books will always be around to re-experience. And yes, now there is even a theme park, which I am sure will be amazing to see if and when I ever make my way to Florida to visit it. But despite all that, I feel like seeing this last movie is like saying a final goodbye to an old friend. The morning of July 15th will be filled with many, many tears.
That being said I am very much looking forward to my final Harry Potter midnight premiere. For those of you who have never been to one of the Harry Potter premieres, they are an event! People dress up in costumes and line up outside the theater hours and hours beforehand. They play games, read, and watch previous films to help pass the time until the moment comes when they finally let us into the theater, (to wait a couple more hours until the film actually starts). It may sound boring to some, but to a Harry Potter nerd, it is heaven. By 10 pm, the hours of waiting prompt sudden wand battles and sing-a-longs of Potter inspired tune while waiting for the film to finally pop up on the screen. And when the movie does finally start the theater breaks out into applause. There are a hundreds other people in that theater with you, people you have probably never met in your life, but you have something in common with every single one of them, and that is your mutual love of the series. Everyone laughs when you laugh, cries when you cry. And then you realize that the same thing is happening in theaters around the United States, maybe around the world. All these strangers have a connection to each other, and to you. It is a strange feeling, but a wonderful one. It is an experience that I have loved in the past and I am so excited that I get to feel once again. I am so excited that I decided I needed to share that experience.
For this midnight premiere, the last one ever for a Harry Potter film, I will be bringing along my 10 year old little sister. She is at the prime Potter age, and over the last year or so, she too has gotten sucked into the wizarding world. We have begun reading the books together, and she loves the movies as much as I do. So when I see this film at midnight my little nerdy sister will be sitting right there watching it with me, loving it as much as I do, and she will be doing it in her own costume with her own little wand. It will be a once in a lifetime experience for her and she is extremely excited about it, probably even more than I am! Being able to share this with her makes me love Harry Potter even more. It gives me a way to connect with her even though she is 8 years younger than me and has grown up a bit differently than I have.
What I love most about Harry Potter is that it is universal. People all around the world love it for different reasons. I love it, my friends love it, and so do my mother and my little sister. So do all those strangers that sit in that theater to see the movie at midnight, no matter what walk of life they are from, how old they are, or where they are from, they have found something that they connected to and loved in that little fantasy series. These books have impacted them, just like they have impacted me. Harry Potter has inspired so many: musicians, actors, and writers. It has even spawned The Harry Potter Alliance, a charity organization that saw connections between the problems in Harry’s world and our own and have set out to fight those problems. I love that Harry Potter has done this to so many people, and my hope are that it inspires my little sister just as much.
So that is what I have to say about that. I am very excited about the premiere next week and I am looking forward to sharing it with my little sister more than anything. I encourage all my fellow Potter fans to share your love of Harry Potter with a little one that you love, a sibling, a cousin, even your own children if you are of the age. And hey if Potter isn’t your drug, then share whatever story it is that you loved growing up with, because when they see how much you loved it they will open their little hearts to it too and you can share that love. Hope that you are all as excited about the last film as I am, and I can’t wait to see you all at the premiere. This is one series that will go out with a bang. Hope you enjoyed reading. Until next time.
-MK
On a slightly less serious note I leave you all with some random facts about The Harry Potter series (may include spoilers). I have also included some pictures of my adorable little sister Monica in her Harry Potter garb!
Random Facts:
-The first character to appear in the Harry Potter books is Mr. Dursley. This is not true of the films however. The fist character to appear in the films is Dumbledore, most likely meant as a way to establish the importance of his character.
- Both actors that play Dumbledore, Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, are Irish.
-The books and the films were each released over a 10-year period. The books were released between 1997 and 2007 and the films between 2001 and 2011.
-Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter were both born in July.
-Harry in the books has green eyes but Radcliffe has blue. The opposite is true of Ron Weasley and his real life counterpart Rupert Grint. Weasley has blue eyes and Grint has green.
-At the beginning of the filming for the movies, actor Alan Rickman was the only other person told the complete story line and ultimate outcome of the series by the author so that he could better portray Snape.
-American witches are mentioned on page 82 of the Goblet of Fire. So they do indeed exist J
Now for some pics of the kid!
I am also going with her! She just failed to mention me! :(
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