Saying Goodbye to Harry Potter
A long tale comes to an end when the final Harry Potter film – or its last half, at least – begins screening in cinemas around the world this July. The tale all told has been running now for fourteen years since the first book was published back in 1997 – and so much of the journey has been magical.
I'm sure we've all heard of the sales magic of Harry Potter, particularly in regards to the numbers; 450 million books in print, billions of dollars of movie tickets, all up Harry is thought to have cost muggledom in excess of 15 billion dollars! As amazing as all that is, it's not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about is more a personal reflection upon the close of this latest chapter of the Hogwarts era.
Back in 2002 I'd heard of Harry Potter, just, but my first direct experience came as an event manager running a corporate function for our client's customers and their children at a private screening of the first movie followed by a gourmet barbeque at Sydney's Fox Studios. There was so much demand from our client's guests that we had to put on a second session. That day we fed and watered (after their viewing) well over six hundred guests. The children weren't just happy, but ecstatic. That meant our client was, too.
Watching those kids eating and laughing under the moreton bay fig trees, it was obvious how much the kids had not just enjoyed the film, but loved the whole storyline. They weren't just having one memorable sunday afternoon, but a pit stop on a long race that would take in seven books and eight movies.
A few years later, when working in book retail at Borders Bondi, I was again to meet Harry Potter mania. It was 2005…
Twenty four hour video surveillance, clandestine deliveries kept under lock and key, only after agreements were signed and storage sites inspected for possible security breaches. That, I soon discovered, was what Harry Potter meant as a book trade release. It all sounds like a crime thriller or an action movie wrapped around spies, but no, those were the preparations bookshops had to deal with as they readied themselves to receive the latest release about an orphaned boy wizard.
But the magic wasn't just in the books and films, the tale wove an even stronger spell as it built reading habits in both children and adults.
With the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince I watched our store fill early in the morning with costumed kids (and excited adults) as face painters worked the crowd. People queued and waited until the designated global launch time. Following an enthusiastic countdown, a shroud was pulled off of the pallet of stock (one of many held by the store) to unveil the latest release.
Customers grabbed their copies and then rushed for the registers to pay. Many of them didn't even leave the store, but instead had their hearts set on nothing else but sitting down and getting reading.
In a few short minutes all the chairs in the store were taken, including the overflowing café, but that didn't discourage our eager readers, no, not at all. With all the chairs taken they just started to drop their bags and plant themselves on the carpeted floor. Soon, they were lining the walkways as they dived into the long awaited latest instalment.
I was paid to be there, but would have worked for free. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
Of all my memories of Harry Potter my favourite is a simple one, but exudes the kind of magic that captured hundreds of millions of fans: Fours years ago, freshly transferred to the Perth Borders store, I was walking to work just over an hour before the 7am launch of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I walked down the Hay St Mall and past our store's main entrance, which was overrun with a camped out and excited queue of eager pre-order customers. Dodging them, I went around the back of the store to use another entrance, but as I did, on a dark winter's morning as a gentle drizzle fell, I felt, amidst the chill, that I was walking right into the opening scenes of a Harry Potter movie, one in which the shadows might hide a beastly Grim or a corrupt servant of you know who. Such a feeling didn't seem at all unreasonable, as I knew that for the next few hours I was again going to not just be touched, but embraced by the magic of Harry Potter.
A generation has come of age with Harry Potter and even learnt some lessons along the way. They've also had fun, just like I have watching them. I feel very lucky to have been touched by it.
I'm sure we've all heard of the sales magic of Harry Potter, particularly in regards to the numbers; 450 million books in print, billions of dollars of movie tickets, all up Harry is thought to have cost muggledom in excess of 15 billion dollars! As amazing as all that is, it's not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about is more a personal reflection upon the close of this latest chapter of the Hogwarts era.
Back in 2002 I'd heard of Harry Potter, just, but my first direct experience came as an event manager running a corporate function for our client's customers and their children at a private screening of the first movie followed by a gourmet barbeque at Sydney's Fox Studios. There was so much demand from our client's guests that we had to put on a second session. That day we fed and watered (after their viewing) well over six hundred guests. The children weren't just happy, but ecstatic. That meant our client was, too.
Watching those kids eating and laughing under the moreton bay fig trees, it was obvious how much the kids had not just enjoyed the film, but loved the whole storyline. They weren't just having one memorable sunday afternoon, but a pit stop on a long race that would take in seven books and eight movies.
A few years later, when working in book retail at Borders Bondi, I was again to meet Harry Potter mania. It was 2005…
Twenty four hour video surveillance, clandestine deliveries kept under lock and key, only after agreements were signed and storage sites inspected for possible security breaches. That, I soon discovered, was what Harry Potter meant as a book trade release. It all sounds like a crime thriller or an action movie wrapped around spies, but no, those were the preparations bookshops had to deal with as they readied themselves to receive the latest release about an orphaned boy wizard.
But the magic wasn't just in the books and films, the tale wove an even stronger spell as it built reading habits in both children and adults.
With the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince I watched our store fill early in the morning with costumed kids (and excited adults) as face painters worked the crowd. People queued and waited until the designated global launch time. Following an enthusiastic countdown, a shroud was pulled off of the pallet of stock (one of many held by the store) to unveil the latest release.
Customers grabbed their copies and then rushed for the registers to pay. Many of them didn't even leave the store, but instead had their hearts set on nothing else but sitting down and getting reading.
In a few short minutes all the chairs in the store were taken, including the overflowing café, but that didn't discourage our eager readers, no, not at all. With all the chairs taken they just started to drop their bags and plant themselves on the carpeted floor. Soon, they were lining the walkways as they dived into the long awaited latest instalment.
I was paid to be there, but would have worked for free. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it.
Of all my memories of Harry Potter my favourite is a simple one, but exudes the kind of magic that captured hundreds of millions of fans: Fours years ago, freshly transferred to the Perth Borders store, I was walking to work just over an hour before the 7am launch of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I walked down the Hay St Mall and past our store's main entrance, which was overrun with a camped out and excited queue of eager pre-order customers. Dodging them, I went around the back of the store to use another entrance, but as I did, on a dark winter's morning as a gentle drizzle fell, I felt, amidst the chill, that I was walking right into the opening scenes of a Harry Potter movie, one in which the shadows might hide a beastly Grim or a corrupt servant of you know who. Such a feeling didn't seem at all unreasonable, as I knew that for the next few hours I was again going to not just be touched, but embraced by the magic of Harry Potter.
A generation has come of age with Harry Potter and even learnt some lessons along the way. They've also had fun, just like I have watching them. I feel very lucky to have been touched by it.
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