Later today, as you're stumbling to the next bar, when you pass the little kids and somewhat bigger ones who have the middle-age spread wearing taped-up spectacles and wizard hats, you'll know that you have entered the Harry Potter Zone. The sixth book,
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is being released tonight at midnight, and as there is nothing that the media likes better than getting quotes from kids, don't expect to escape unscathed. What better fun is there than seeing Jon Stewart trip over the word "Muggle" on The Daily Show or Rob Corddry's excellent report on Harry Potter book security? And there are a ton of Harry Potter parties this evening, from the children's book haven Books of Wonder, where illustrator Mary Grandpre will be on hand to autograph books, not to mention owls (!!!), to the corner Barnes & Noble. And for adults, McNally Robinson in Nolita is going to have food and Hufflepuff Hooch, palm readers, and Zach from the Fresh Kills DJing. Gothamist hasn't been keeping up with the Potter books, but we are eager to hear who will die, just so we can win a future game of Trivial Pursuit: The Harry Potter Edition.
Are you excited about the new Harry Potter book? Did you order via Amazon or are you headed to a bookstore tonight? And Gothamist would be remiss if we didn't mention the Hitchcock film, The Trouble with Harry, with a young John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine, not to mention Jerry Mathers, as New Englanders who try to figure out what to do when a man's body appears. And since we're on the obsessive fan tip, Twin Peaks fans, Royal Dano, who played Judge Sternwood on the show, is also in the movie.
Updated: Verbose Coma has photographs of the madness that Harry Potter's U.S. publisher Scholastic (headquartered in SoHo) is wreaking downtown; Gawker calls it Harry Potter and the Prisoner of SoHo.
And the Daily Show segment about Harry Potter Terror is now online. Check it out.
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Didn't they do some sort of media event like this for the Bible?
From the Scholastic site:
"After J.K. Rowling signed the first copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in her office in Edinburgh, Scotland, a Scholastic executive traveled with the book — under tight security — to Southampton, England, where it was placed in a 5’ by 7’ steamer trunk, which was then locked and loaded by crane onto the Queen Mary 2 for its journey to America. When the ship docked in New York City harbor, the steamer trunk was unloaded and transferred by the ship’s porters to a Dunbar Armored truck and taken to a secure and undisclosed location. It will remain there until Friday, July 15 at 9:30 a.m., when Dunbar will deliver the trunk to Scholastic headquarters for a press event. There, the trunk will be unlocked and the book will be presented to the grand prize-winner of Scholastic’s nation-wide public library sweepstakes at 12:01 a.m ET on Saturday, July 16."
It's true, Mercer between Prince and Spring has been turned into a backlot, with every imaginable TV crew on hand for this event. Can't wait for Fox5 to spend a goodly portion of their 10 o'clock on this.
Good point - the SoHo Scholastic store will be insane. I should run out now and take pictures.
She's signing owls? I gotta see that!
Snape kills Dumbledore, you heard it here first.
Severus Snape is the half blood prince.
Bill Weasley marries Fleur Delacour and his face is mutilated.
That's not cool Spoiler. Even if it's not true....that's just mean!
I admit it, a little biased here...harry potter fan and scholastic employee. I love all this craziness. But come on, don't be mean.
i love this book and can't wait to read it. i am a muggle if i was a harry potter character. that mean's i'm a half blood like hermione is.
"After J.K. Rowling signed the first copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in her office in Edinburgh, Scotland, a Scholastic executive traveled with the book — under tight security — to Southampton, England, where it was placed in a 5’ by 7’ steamer trunk, which was then locked and loaded by crane onto the Queen Mary 2 for its journey to America"
When the Forgotten NY book comes out next year, I'll probably get a shopping cart and trundle a few copies around to several libraries and bookstores in town.
www.forgotten-ny.com
So, did anyone get good pictures of the madness?
I like the Harry Potter series, but not so much that I'd get on a long line...
Hope it's more satisfying than the last one.
Ooh! Romance spoiler, for the fluff lovers!
Ginny dumps Dean Thomas
Ginny dates Harry
Ron dates Lavender Brown
Tonks has a thing for Lupin
Oh, and...
Draco is hired to assassinate Dumbledore
Aragog Dies
Snape is the DADA teacher
Harry gets into N. E. W. T. potions class
Percy comes home for christmas
Pansy Parkinson is expelled when she is caught having sex in the Common Room with an unnamed 7th year
Harry gives Ron a steroid-like potion
Fred and George sell psychodelic mushrooms, excuse me- potions that give you a waking daydream for hours
Voldomort can't die because his soul was split into seven pieces