Harry Potter Author Talks About Ending

The Associated Press
Thursday, July 26, 2007; 10:40 AM

NEW YORK — Less than a week after the release of the final Harry Potter book, author J.K. Rowling is giving hints about its conclusion.

Before publication, Rowling pleaded for secrecy about the ending of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." But in an interview broadcast Thursday on NBC’s "Today" show and in one published Thursday in USA Today, she discussed Harry’s fate.

THOSE WHO DO NOT WANT TO KNOW HOW IT ALL TURNS OUT FOR THE BOY WIZARD SHOULD STOP READING HERE.

"I’m very proud of the fact that as we went into this book, many, many readers believed it was a real possibility that Harry would die. That’s what I was aiming for," she said on NBC.

In the book, Voldemort meets his end and Harry lives. But Rowling said Harry’s survival was not always a certainty.

"In the early days, everything was up for grabs," she told USA Today. "But early on I knew I wanted Harry to believe he was walking toward his death, but would survive."

The last volume of Rowling’s fantasy series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was released Saturday to international fanfare as millions read to find out whether Harry lived or died. More than 10 million copies sold over the weekend.

In a prerelease interview with The Associated Press, Rowling acknowledged that she had no control over discussions about the book once it went on sale. But she said that she hoped readers would finish the book to find out what happens, rather than to peek at the ending.

"It’s like someone coming to dinner, just opening the fridge and eating pudding, while you’re standing there still working on the starter. It’s not on," she said.

She also told the AP that after finishing the last book, she "felt terrible for a week."

"It was like a bereavement, even though I was pleased with the book. And then after a week that cloud lifted and I felt quite lighthearted, quite liberated," she said.

"It was this amazing cathartic moment _ the end of 17 years’ work," she told NBC.

When asked if she felt like she had to say goodbye to Harry, she said, "Yes and no. He’ll always be a presence in my life, really."

She acknowledged that the final Potter installment leaves some loose ends.

"It would have been humanly impossible to answer every single question that comes up," she told NBC. "Because, I’m dealing with a level of obsession in some of my fans that will not rest until they know the middle names of Harry’s great, great grandparents."

Rowling, whose seven Potter books have sold more than 335 million copies worldwide, said she plans to take time off to be with her family and will continue writing. She told USA Today she has two writing projects _ one for children and one for adults.

But whether she will write about her young wizard again, she said: "I think I’ve kind of done the wizarding world. … I have done my Harry Potter."

I came across this writeup on a recent case of censorship on the web over supposed nudity.

You can read the article to get more of the details, but what gets me is that a users entire account on flickr gets blocked because of one count of nudity (and it sort of looks artistic anyway), a poster in Hong Kong gets prosecuted. There is the question of where do you draw the line? What happens if someone posts something political, would it be ruled indecent on the count of violence and other type of subversive activity?

Hong Kong is becoming more and more like Singapore! As a matter of fact, Singapore is trying to loosen up in comparison to what I read here, there must be something else up or am I missing something? As Ying points out, the newspaper stands in Hong Kong are full of far more suggestive sexuality and nudity than this art picture, what is the big deal?

Or perhaps, the big deal is that the source actually posted the picture in protest against the posting of pornography links? Then that would even be worse, it would be going after protesters and is a case in point of practising censorship in the name of indecency.

Now…

and Then…

The boy is in the middle is Daniel aka Harry Potter in the Movies if you didn’t figure it out.

What amazes me is that Daniel Radcliffe is doing this at a time so pivotal in the Harry Potter series, almost like it’s some kind of existential crisis to make/prove a point. He’s a star, a role model, a hero to Geeks around the world.

Ok Harry (oops I mean Daniel) we get the point, you’re a MAN, a REAL MAN, I mean look at all that hair, and you’re not even 18 yet (although you will be in a few days).

The Daily has more details on this but to quote the Warner execs:

A sensation shared by executives from Warner Bros, who make the hugely successful film versions of J.K. Rowling’s books about the schoolboy wizard.

They are said to be ‘utterly dismayed’ by the steamy shots, as well as the discovery that the sixth-former will not only cavort naked for a full ten minutes during the production, but will also be seen, sources say, simulating sex while riding a ‘horse’ played by male ballet dancer Will Kemp.

They fear the scenes could damage their multi-million-dollar film franchise and could even lead, U.S. executives at the company told the Mail this week, to the actor being replaced as the clean- cut hero of Hogwarts School. One U.S. source revealed: ‘Warner Bros have been building up their publicity machine for Harry’s first - chaste - screen kiss when the next Potter film comes out in the summer.

‘Now our star is out there doing full-frontal sex. We’ve been blown completely out of the water by this.’

Let’s see what Miss Hermione Granger (oops I meant Emma Watson) has to say to all this, maybe she will feel the need to compete! Let’s hope she’ll consider her playboy entrance when she’s matured somewhat, you be your own judge!

What’s Harry Potter looking at there? (oh I forgot, it’s Daniel)

Happy July 4th Holiday!

Author unknown to me anyway, but it’s a nice hand drawn picture, does anyone know which series she represents? Outside of the usual attractions, this one I thought was quite beautifuly illustrastred.