MuggleCast 146 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
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Laura: …dot com.
[Harry Potter theme plays]
Jim Dale: [as Professor McGonagall] This is Professor McGonagall welcoming you all to MuggleCast hoping you all enjoyed – Dobby! Dobby, come here! Here! Dobby! [as Dobby] Yes, I’d just like to say how very pleased I am to introduce MuggleCast to all of you! Thank you! Thank you!
[Show music begins]
Micah: Because the MuggleCast studios have officially closed, this is MuggleCast, Episode 146 from May 18th, 2008.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: All right, well, we were hoping to make this week our big teaser trailer show because it was wildly rumored to be coming out this week alongside Prince Caspian. And, Matt, you saw that this week, didn’t you? Cause you were hoping to see the trailer.
Matt: Well, yeah, well, didn’t everybody else see it?
Andrew: Nope.
Laura and Micah: No.
Matt: I’m the only one who saw it?
Andrew: In our little group here, yes.
Matt: Well, yeah – well, yeah, I did see it and, no, there was no trailer.
Andrew: So it was – we heard the rumors circulating saying, it’s coming out, it’s coming out this Friday. We were waiting all week for an e-mail, or some sort of confirmation from Warner Brothers to say, “yes, it is coming out,” never got anything, screwed up our regular recording, and now here we are on a Saturday night. I personally – I had to cancel a lot of – I was invited to a lot of parties as I am every Saturday night, so…
Matt: Yes.
Andrew: So this is a big sacrifice.
Laura: Yeah, isn’t Bedford, New Jersey like a hotbed of excitement and parties? I mean, just…
Andrew: Well, I’m the center of every party.
Matt: Well, see, Laura, if I was a betting man, and if I could predict how many parties Andrew gets invited to every Saturday night, I would say none.
Andrew: Lets just say it took about an hour to call everyone back and call all my invites back and let them know I couldn’t make it.
Matt: What did your grandma say?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Oooo.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: All right, well, we will discuss this…
Micah: She says, “I’m with Micah tonight.”
Andrew: Wow. Weird.
Laura: Ooo.
Andrew: We will be discussing the trailer – the nonexistent trailer this week. We’ll figure out when its going to be coming out. We have lots
of other news to discuss. We have a whole amazing show planned. I’m so excited to get to it. So, let’s get started. I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I’m Matthew Britton.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: You know, guys, not only was there no trailer this week, but this is the final recording in the MuggleCast Studios. We’ve told people that, we, you know – I guess it was a good year or so ago, we announced to everyone that we actually installed a – well, we got built a airport here so you guys could fly in every week and record here in the MuggleCast Studios here in sunny Medford, New Jersey, but I’m going to be moving out to California in a few days and this is the last recording here in Medford. It’s kind of sad.
Laura: Yeah…
Matt: Aw, that’s sad.
Laura: …it is sad, but you’ve already got construction underway for the new airport in California, so…
Andrew: That’s true, yeah. MuggleCast International Fullerton, California.
Matt: Just call it the OC.
Andrew: The OC? It’s called – the flight code is MOC: Mugglecast Orange County. You can book your flights. It’s actually – we’re opening it up. You can go on Expedia and type in MOC and you can fly out here.
Matt: Yeah. Yeah, we got MuggleCast Relations on the line 24 hours a day, so you can call in. Toll-free number.
Andrew: Right. So it’s kind of sad and I don’t know – We will do a show next week if the trailer comes out. If it doesn’t, we’ll probably take the week off, because we’ve got to move the MuggleCast Studios. You’re all going to be helping me move it out to California, so…
Micah: Really?
Laura: You know what? I have a thing, and…
Micah: Yeah, I work, and I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Andrew: Thanks, guys.
Matt: I just don’t want to go.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Thanks, guys. Thanks a lot. So, Micah, is there any other news this week? It’s actually been a pretty busy week. I’ve been busy posting on MuggleNet.com
Micah: Yeah, surprisingly you’re the only one.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah. Ciaran has been too.
Micah: Occasionally.
News: No Trailer
Andrew: Yeah, like once a year, but go ahead. What’s in the news, Micah?
Micah: What’s in the news? Well, you mentioned we don’t have a trailer. So, what do you guys think as far as movies that are coming out in the next couple weeks? When are we going to see this trailer?
Matt: Umm, well…
Micah: Matt.
Matt: What?
Micah: I’m saying…
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: …you know a lot about movies. More than I do. So, I figured I’d throw it over to you as far as what’s coming out in the next couple weeks.
Matt: If Warner Brothers wants to get a mass audience to see the trailer as it debuts, the best movie I could see in the future is Indiana Jones.
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Because that’s coming out in a week. However, that’s still fairly close for them. So, if they were going to do Indiana Jones, in a couple days, we’re going to get some kind of word on saying we’re going to get a premiere of the teaser. But…
Andrew: I would say by Wednesday we would have a definite.
Matt: Yeah. By Wednesday at least.
Micah: This Wednesday.
Andrew: Well, I would think so, because the movie’s coming out Friday. I was looking at IMDB, looking at the homecoming movies trying to figure out what other movies, and I think the only other one that would really fit is Kung-Fu Panda.
Matt: Yeah. Which does kind of make sense, too, because they premiered the teaser trailer for the movie Happy Feet. And Happy Feet and Kung-Fu Panda are kind of like the same kind of film.
Andrew: Yeah. And that is coming out June 6. So…
Laura: For some reason, I just feel like Indiana Jones would be a better movie to put in front of.
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
Laura: I know they used Happy Feet previously, but I just remember people writing in and talking about how bad it sucked to pay, like, eight dollars… [laughs] …to go see Happy Feet just for the trailer.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Well, I mean, Harry Potter – we all thought it was going to be Narnia because it was a fantasy film.
Micah: Well, how does that generally work? Does it work based on the company or does it work on – based upon the type of film?
Andrew: Well, Prince Caspian was a Disney film. I think it’s the type of film. It’s a kid’s fantasy.
Matt: I think – well, it really depends on either the studio or the movie. I don’t really know for sure, to give an honest answer. Because I know we have enough listeners out there who are legitimately skilled in this kind of area, so…[laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Because I have read some of the e-mails, and…
Andrew: Well…
Matt: [laughs] I’m almost afraid to say anything.
Andrew: I’ll put my money down on Indiana Jones.
Matt: I think so, too.
Micah: Safe bet.
Andrew: No, I don’t know anything. I wish I did.
Micah: You know what this reminds me of? When were trying to guess when Deathly Hallows was going to be released, and every…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …week we’d come up with a different date until it was finally revealed.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: I have a feeling this is going to go on for a little bit.
Andrew: Well, one thing that is for certain, is that if the trailer comes out within the next few weeks, we’re not going to be able to do a live show as soon as it is revealed online, because none of the equipment is going to be set up yet because of my move. But we will do one later on. I know I’ve been promising – I’m mentioning this because we’ve been promising doing a live show once the trailer comes out.
Matt: Well, whether or not it’s a live show, we’re not – we’ll still have a full episode dedicated to the trailer.
Andrew: Yeah, definitely. So, in other news, Micah, what else is going on?
News: New Picture
Micah: Well, we don’t have any trailer whatsoever, but we did get what people think are – a new picture – is a new picture, rather – from Half-Blood Prince. And it’s a very exciting picture. It’s of Harry looking into a desk drawer.
[Andrew and laura laugh]
Micah: See, this is what bothers me. People get all excited about these pictures from the movie. I just don’t get it. I mean they’re going to speculate, what is he doing? And it’s just going to be the scene that will end up being cut from the movie.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, here’s the thing: I think there’s a conspiracy theory going on behind these – well, I have a conspiracy theory, which is that this picture – it’s this little picture, it’s like – let me look at the dimensions – it’s 233 by 164 pickles – pixel – pickles – pixels! It’s this little picture, and it’s definitely from Half-Blood Prince, because if you look at the other one of Harry that was officially released, Harry is wearing the same thing. And, like, you have to wonder, where does this come from? So I’m thinking, my theory, is that WB planted this somewhere online, this sort of to do a little viral – stir some excitement in the fandom because where…
Matt: Do you think it may be…
Andrew: …could this come from…
Laura: Yeah, that wouldn’t surprise me.
Andrew: [laughs] besides WB?
Matt: Do you think it maybe like a little screenshot from the teaser?
Andrew: No.
Matt: Because it’s obviously not an official pic.
Andrew: Yeah, it is.
Matt: If it was, wouldn’t they have a better resolution of it?
Andrew: Well, yeah, no. It’s an official pic but it somehow got leaked. So…
Matt: Well, that’s – okay, well, that’s what I meant, sorry.
Andrew: I thought you meant like a – like – I don’t know.
Matt: Like someone took like a…
Andrew: I think WB just does this stuff…
Matt: …Nokia picture of it.
Andrew: …to get people going. I think it’s very manipulative and I don’t appreciate it.
Micah: I was actually going to say the same thing. I think it’s just something that was thrown out there by Warner Brothers to get people excited for the fact that the trailer is going to be released sometime in the future. And it really – it’s probably the most uninteresting photo I’ve ever seen in my life.
Andrew: [laughs] Right.
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: I do…
Laura: You know, I mean, Hermione’s not even in it, so people can’t argue about her hair in the comments.
Andrew: Right, yeah.
Matt: No.
Andrew: Well, my other thing with this picture, and we don’t have to go into this, but Warner Brothers will usually complain when an unauthorized picture shows up online. And I was afraid to get conformation about WB about this picture ’cause I thought they would tell us to take it down right away. I didn’t say a thing to them, they didn’t say a thing to any of us, so I think it was planted. I think they’re just screwing with us, and it’s really…immature.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Andrew: I just think it’s stupid how they try to mess with fans. They’re being a tease about the teaser trailer and then this random picture just happens to show up.
Matt: The day that we were supposed to get the teaser trailer, nonetheless.
Andrew: Yeah, exactly. Well, the day everyone thought.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Anyway, moving on from movie news.
News: Rowling Writing for Charity
Micah: A little bit of news about J.K Rowling. It was announced that she’s going to be participating with thirteen – or twelve other authors writing a story card on one sheet of paper, and each of these story cards are going to be auctioned off to benefit charity. And she also picked up an award this week, and, I mean, she just keeps pulling all those in. I wonder if she has a room in her house that she just stores all these things in. Because this one was for “Children’s Choice Author of the Year,” as voted on by roughly 55,000 children, so just a little bit of news on Jo.
Andrew: Congrats to her.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: What’s interesting about the story card is that she’s going to be – all these authors are writing original stories. On one sheet of paper. So it’ll be cool to see what Jo comes up with. I mean…
Micah: Yep.
Andrew: …I sort of think it’ll be sort of – a little Beedle the Bardish, like a little fairy tale, maybe?
Micah: Right. And they also mentioned that these stories will be on sale to the public later this summer, so…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …I’m sure a bunch of us will get our hands on them to discuss.
Andrew: Yeah, it’s going to be in a postcard book and then, also – I posted an update to that news post – they – Waterstones is holding a contest where three winners of this contest will be published in this postcard book alongside Jo’s entry, so that’s pretty cool…
Laura: Wow.
Andrew: …being published in the same book that Jo’s in. Laura, you should write something.
Laura: Yeah, actually – I might consider doing that. That’d be pretty cool.
News: Movie 7 Filming Begins?
Micah: Yeah, go for it. A little bit of movie news related to Deathly Hallows: an article in the The Scotsman earlier this week said that filming is supposed to begin…
Andrew: Yay!
Micah: …for the seventh movie. And actually, Andrew, you made this post, but you actually pointed out the fact that David Heyman revealed in an interview earlier this year that he thought filming wouldn’t begin until February of 2009.
Andrew: Yeah. I think – I think The Scotsman was talking about some B-Roll filming.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Because you know how they’ll go out into the mountains and they’ll just shoot scenic shots for transitions and stuff like that?
Micah: Right.
Andrew: I think that’s all that filming later this year is just going to be – you know, who cares when filming starts as long as the movie doesn’t get delayed or anything.
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Tom Felton Sings
Micah: All right. And the last piece of news is related to Tom Felton, and, unfortunately, I have not listened to what this news post is about, so…
Andrew: You haven’t?
Matt: Oh, Micah!
Micah: No I haven’t.
Matt: That’s a shame. This is like the most primary piece of news we’ve had all week.
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: Well, okay. Hear me out: Tom Felton surprised me with his little musical performance. He’s been putting his songs – he sings them acoustically, he plays the guitar while singing, and he’s put these on YouTube, and it said on one of the videos that he’s going to be having an album on iTunes soon. So here, let me just play you guys a little clip and I – you know, we can talk about our thoughts.
[Tom Felton’s “Time Well Spent” plays]
Andrew: Now, how nice is that?
Laura: And it’s actually quite good, I think.
Andrew: I know.
Matt: It’s uncanny.
Micah: Wow.
Matt: When he sings, it’s like you don’t even know he’s British.
Andrew: It’s very – well, the funny line is [in a British accent] “the mobile phone.”
Laura: Yeah.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Mobile phone.
Matt: That’s good.
Andrew: I think it’s very – it’s very relaxing music. Don’t you like it, Laura?
Matt: It is very nice.
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: I’m impressed. Why can’t people like him be on American Idol? I’d vote for him.
Laura: It’s just – it’s so unexpected because you don’t look at Tom Felton…
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: …and expect him to go from Harry Potter to musician.
Matt: Well, I was expected him to go from like, [sings] “I’m sitting with my girl for the summer, I sit upon a tree and yell, ‘Why so tense, Potter?'” Or something, you know?
[Everyone laughs]
Micah: So, Matt, that was really you singing before, right?
Matt: Yeah, that was me.
Micah: Because you sounded exactly like him.
Andrew: Yeah, that was pretty good. That’s that. I mean, nothing big there. He was featured on YouTube on Saturday, right on the main page, which was kind of cool. He calls his – he calls his musical – his musical alias is “Feltbeats,” which I guess is okay.
Matt: Feltbeats. That’s his nickname, too, it seems, because a lot of the other costars of Harry Potter call him “Feltbeats,” too.
Andrew: Oh. [laughs] Why?
Matt: I don’t know. It’s just – I just know it.
Andrew: You stalked his Facebook?
Matt: [pause] No.
[Laura laughs]
Announcement: Mikey Graduates College
Andrew: Yes. [laughs] Anyway, let’s move on to some announcements this week. One of our own has graduated while we’re recording today, Saturday. Mikey Bouchereau graduated from college today. Round of applause for him. [claps] He was going to try to be on the show today. Am I the only one clapping?
Laura: No, I just did. [claps]
Andrew: Oh, sorry, I didn’t hear it. [laughs]
Micah: I silent-clapped.
Andrew: Oh. Well, so congrats to him. That’s good for him. He was going to try to come on the show today, but I was like, “Dude, you’re graduating.”
Micah: Well, that’s great.
Andrew: Yeah, it’s great. Good for him. Good for him.
Micah: He’s got a degree.
Andrew: He’s set.
Micah: He’s set.
Andrew: He’s got a good job. I don’t know if he wants us to talk about it, but maybe he’ll talk about it later.
Announcements: Vote on Podcast Alley and Listener Challenge
Andrew: Also, don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. We are number one currently, so thank you to everyone who’s been voting for us in MuggleCast May. And also, we posted this on MuggleCast.com earlier this week. If you are going to – say the trailer does come out with Indiana Jones and we announce – we let you know on MuggleNet – If it does so happen that the trailer’s coming out and you’re going to see Indiana Jones, I want to kick off a listener challenge that we did with the Order of the Phoenix trailer, which is that when you go to the theater, bring your video camera, and at the end of the Half-Blood Prince trailer, yell, “MuggleNet.com!” And then send it in, upload it on YouTube, send it to us, and then we’ll post it on the site. It’s a little fun thing, I think. A little cheesy way to promote MuggleNet, but it’s so funny.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I have some examples on YouTube…
Matt: Is it illegal?
Andrew: …from Order of the Phoenix. No, it’s not illegal!
Matt: Oh.
Announcement: Portus 2008
Andrew: There’s some video examples on MuggleCast.com from the Order of the Phoenix trailer, so definitely check those out. Lastly, Laura, I hear we’re going to be somewhere this July.
Laura: Yeah! Well, first and foremost, it’s the land of my childhood, so I’m really excited about that, but…
Micah: Oh!
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Matt: [singing] She’s going to the motherland!
Laura: [laughs] But we’re going to be at Portus 2008 this July in Dallas, and we’re all pretty excited about that, I think.
Andrew: It’s going to be fun!
Laura: Yeah!
Andrew: All of us here have been booking our flights and the hotels.
Matt: Yeah. I’m so stoked.
Andrew: It’s going to be so much fun.
Laura: Yeah. If you haven’t registered yet, please do, because it’s going to be a blast, and…
Andrew: You’re going to get the best in Harry Potter conventions this summer, I’ll tell you what. None – no Harry Potter convention has ever had such a big show – celebrity as Jim Dale, who is going to be at Portus, he’s going to be talking to everyone. He may, you know, maybe treat us to some audiobook readings, I don’t know! But definitely check it out.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Portus2008.org. We will be there doing a podcast on the night of the Podcast Palooza, so Portus2008.org. Sign up, come to the convention, hang out with us, it’s going to be a great time. You guys excited or what? I am so pumped.
Laura: I’m pumped. It’s…
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: …going to be so fun. We always have such a good time at these conventions…
Andrew: Really. Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: …and on top of it, I mean, maybe I’m biased, but Texas is a great place. There’s so much to do. Maybe not in Dallas but in neighboring Fortworth there’s tons of…
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: [laughs] Well, there’s going to be a lot to do in Dallas that weekend…
Laura: Exactly, exactly.
Andrew: …in that hotel. We’re not going to be leaving that hotel, there’s no reason! There’s so much going on!
Matt: And it’s so huge!
Andrew: The hotel’s big!
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Micah and Laura report that it’s – it’s like the biggest one? In the world?
Laura: Yeah. It’s huge.
Matt: Well, everything’s – everything’s bigger in Texas!
Andrew: True. That’s very true.
Laura: Yeah.
Muggle Mail: Knitting
Andrew: Anyway, let’s move on to Muggle Mail for this week. I’ll start off with the first e-mail because it was my – my bad last week. This e-mail comes from Paige, 20, of Chatham, Virginia. She writes:
“As an avid knitter I was thrilled that ya’ll decided to discuss “Harry Potter” yarn on the show. I just wanted to clear up that yarn normally comes in what is called a skein, not a spool. Also, I thought you might be interested to know that “Harry Potter” related knitting is so popular that there’s a book, “Charmed Knits,” by Alison Hansel, devoted to it, where you can learn to knit House scarves, Dobby socks and more! Thanks for all the time that you guys devote to the show. I look forward to listening to MuggleCast every week. Love, Paige.”
Thank you, Paige, for clearing that up.
Matt: That’s pretty cool!
Andrew: A lot of people did e-mail in. That technically wasn’t my fault because I was looking for the word and then someone answered it for me; I forget who it was.
Muggle Mail: Diadem of Ravenclaw
Laura: Our next Muggle Mail comes from Jeffery, age 14, of Richmond Hill, Ontario. He says:
“Dear MuggleCasters, while listening to MuggleCast Episode 144, I would just like to say, while you were discussing Voldemort’s Horcrux at Hogwarts, Harry saw this, and I quote, “chipped bust of an ugly old warlock from on top of a nearby crate. He stood it on the cupboard where the book was now hidden, perched a dusty old wig and a tarnished tiara on the statue’s head to make it more distinctive.” This is on page 493 (U.K.) of “Half-Blood Prince,” Chapter “Sectumsempra.”
Micah: This is in response to – I remember, on this episode, we were trying to figure out, had the diadem of Ravenclaw ever been seen prior to Deathly Hallows? And clearly, it had.
Andrew: Oh, right, right, okay.
Micah: So…
Andrew: Cool.
Micah: …that was the whole point of that, so…
Andrew: Micah, as a reward, why don’t you take the next e-mail.
Micah: Oh, thank you so much.
Andrew: You’re welcome.
Muggle Mail: Slytherin House Password
Micah: The next e-mail comes from Sarah…
Andrew: Scertick!
Micah: …Scertick…
Andrew: That’s a cool name, Sarah Scertick.
Micah: …16, of Munster, Indiana. She says:
“Hey everyone, I love the show and I just wanted to comment on last week’s Chapter-by-Chapter discussion. When you were talking about the passwords for the different House common rooms, you mentioned that they were able to get into the Slytherin common room only because they were Slytherin. Actually, when they were walking in with Malfoy, Malfoy turned to Harry and asks him what the new password is. Then he remembers it and turns around and says, ‘pureblood.’ The line is on page 221 of the American paperback edition. Just wanted to clear that up. I love the show and look forward to listening to it every week. Thanks for all the work you guys put in. Sarah.”
Matt: Thank you, Sarah.
Micah: Thanks for correcting our mistake.
MuggleCast 146 Transcript (continued)
Muggle Mail: Entering the Room of Requirement
Matt: Okay, our next e-mail comes from Danielle, 15, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Danielle writes:
“Hi! I was listening to Episode 145 and you were discussing what would happen if someone would try to enter the Room of Requirement while it was in use. This happened in “Half-Blood Prince” when Draco was in it and Trelawney tried to enter. In page 541 of the U.S. edition, Trelawney explains how she had gotten in, but as soon as she asked who was there, everything turned pitch black, and she was hurled from the room. Since we know Malfoy was in there, this probably means that once Trelawney entered, Malfoy wanted her gone. So the room threw her out. So we know that it is possible to gain access to the room, even that if its in use. You just have to know what to think. Keep up the great work. Danielle.”
Muggle Mail: Lupin-Tonks Wedding
Andrew: There’s some more clarification. Thank you, Danielle! Next e-mail comes from Autumn, 19, of New Jersey. She writes about the Lupin-Tonks wedding.
“The rumor comes from the MuggleNet editorial ‘For the Greater Good – Lessons for “Deathly Hallows” from “Lord of the Rings”‘. I actually really like the idea of putting the wedding and Shell Cottage on Tonks and Lupin if they won’t be bringing back Fleur and bringing in Bill. This also makes their deaths during the battle of Hogwarts much more effective because we’ve spent more time with them in the movie. They haven’t just been passing characters that people who have not read the books don’t know. There are people who didn’t remember Lupin from Movie 3 to 5. This way the non-readers are reacquainted with them and get to know more about them and develop some attachment to them and their new baby.”
Laura: That’s interesting.
Andrew: Yeah.
Muggle Mail: Luna’s Foreshadowing
Laura: The last e-mail for today comes from Ariana, 18, of California, and she says:
“Hey guys, first of all, I would like to say that I love listening to this show on my computer during AP study time. It always makes boring study time fun. Anyway, I was watching “Order of the Phoenix” the other day, and I came across the scene where Luna tells Harry, after Sirius dies, and he, Harry, asked if she needed any help finding shoes, and she replies, ‘That’s alright. Anyway, my mum always said things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end if not always in the way we expect.’ Do you think this foreshadowed what happens in “Deathly Hallows,” where James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus come back through the Resurrection Stone? Please give me your opinion, and I love you.”
Matt: Awww.
Laura: Awww, that’s so sweet.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: I don’t know. What do you guys think about that?
Andrew: I think it’s a good idea.
Laura: Yeah, I think it’s nice. They kind of, sort of – they somewhat paraphrased that from her quote in the book, where she said – it was something along the lines of like, “it’s not as though I’ll never see her again.” You know, so I feel like they were just kind of shortening that line up a bit.
Andrew: Yeah, I guess.
Matt: Yeah, well, people were asking, too, if that whole Sirius and Harry talk in the film of Prisoner of Azkaban when he said, “And you’ll always find them in here,” and he went to – he pushed Harry’s chest. And a lot of people thought that was the foreshadowing of Deathly Hallows when he was talking about his family or something.
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Do you remember that…
Laura: Oh, yeah.
Matt: …rumor?
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: So, this is probably the – you know, around the same, you know, situation too.
Chapter-by-Chapter: Chapter 30, “The Sacking of Severus Snape”
Andrew: So, let’s move along now to Chapter-by-Chapter. This week we are going to be discussing Chapter 30, “The Sacking of Severus Snape.” Micah, you left us sort of on a cliffhanger last week because you had said that this chapter had one of your favorite scenes. Is that what you said?
Micah: I did say that, yeah.
Andrew: Yeah, so I’m excited to know what exactly is your favorite part about this, because it’s rare you actually get excited about something these days. You’re usually just complaining.
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Micah: Yeah, you know you’re right. And it was awesome getting to read this scene again. I actually read it this morning. But do you want me to talk about it right now or do you want me to mention it when we actually get to it?
Andrew: Yeah, mention it when we actually get to it.
Micah: Okay.
Andrew: I just wanted to hear a little positivity come out of you for once.
[Micah laughs]
Comic Luna
Andrew: So the chapter starts off with Luna just, you know, saving Harry by quickly stunning Alecto Carrow, which could be a very funny movie scene.
Matt: Does anybody besides me think Alecto is a male name?
Laura: Yeah, it does sound rather masculine, doesn’t it?
Andrew: Mainly because it ends in “o.”
Matt: Yeah, Spanish words, “o” is more of a masculine vowel.
Andrew: It should be Alecta.
Matt: Yeah. Hm…
Laura: Alecto was one of the Greek Furies in Mythology.
Andrew: There you go. J.K. Rowling loves her Greek.
Matt: Mhm.
Micah: The reason that I put that in their about it being pretty funny is, I think Luna just funny in this chapter in general, just kind of her attitude overall towards thing. It’s not very serious what’s going on; she just kind of goes about it – everything matter-of-factly.
Matt: Well, I can see what you mean about it being funny in the film too. You can see Alecto getting stunned going across the room, and Harry just turns his head and there’s Luna with her vacant expression with her wand in the air going, “Wow, that made a louder noise than I expected it.”
Micah: Yeah, exactly. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah. I mean, but that’s Luna’s character in general. She’s always so out there that she never really takes anything seriously.
Matt: Well, I think she does take it seriously, I just don’t think she’s passionate when she expresses it. She’s not very out and open.
Laura: She’s just a very tranquil person.
Matt: Yeah!
Why is it so Easy to Get Into the Ravenclaw Common Room?
Andrew: So, more on the Ravenclaw common room, gaining access to it. Last week I was saying, why – how is it possible for Harry to get in so easily? And now, in this chapter, McGonagall gets in no problem. She does it by answering a question just like Harry did, and this was also really funny because the way – because the door says it was nicely phrased and then opens up.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: Swung open. How can she get in – why can she get in so easily?
Micah: That’s the million dollar question. I mean, the reason Harry was able to get in was because he had Luna. Just this idea that anybody, though, with half a brain, right? I mean, if you can reason well enough and I’m sure there are plenty of students in other Houses or even adults, in this case, who would look to get in. Obviously, Amicus is pretty much an idiot as we come to learn in this chapter, and he doesn’t have the brains to get in there, but think about somebody a little bit more powerful in terms of Death Eaters – maybe even Voldemort himself…
Matt: Mhm.
Micah: …would be able to reason and answer to this question, and to me that just seems a little bit too easy, and the same can be said of just a regular password to get access to a common room, but that’s a little bit more difficult unless you are told the password yourself.
Andrew: I guess the other question is, is there really an important reason for the common rooms to be really secure? You know what I mean?
Matt: I guess not. It’s not…
Laura: I mean just in terms – sorry, Matt, go ahead.
Matt: No, go ahead.
Laura: I was just going to say, in terms of safety. I mean things – it does seem a bit weird that they didn’t change the rules for the passwords to the common room after Voldemort’s rise, but it would seem like that during times of peace and tranquility, no one would really be that concerned, because the worst thing that you would have happen would be someone would break into a common room that wasn’t theirs.
Andrew: Right, right.
Laura: So – but yeah, it does seem a little irregular that it was done this way.
Matt: But to me, I think that the Ravenclaw common room entrance – I think it’s almost just as protective if not more than the others. I mean all you have to have is a password that you can get from anybody. If someone hands you a piece of paper that is written of the Gryffindor common room password, anyone can get in, but with the Ravenclaw, the questions change every single time.
Andrew: But it’s still anyone could answer it if they thought of it.
Matt: Well, anyone could get in any common room if they just have the password too.
Andrew: Right.
Matt: So…
Andrew: No, no. I agree. I agree. But I think there is a better excuse for McGonagall being able to get in because she’s a professor.
Matt: And she is a Head of House.
Andrew: Head of House or – you’re right, but…
Laura: That’s true.
Andrew: …I don’t think – it would make more sense if she was able to get access if she is a professor, because look at real schools. Teachers have master keys for the most part.
Matt: Yeah, why couldn’t they just get a key to their common room? I mean the kids?
Andrew: Well, you could also share the keys.
[Micah laughs]
Matt: Well, yeah.
Laura: Right.
Andrew: There’s no good – there’s no secure way of doing it!
Matt: There is always some loophole or something.
Andrew: There’s always a way.
Micah: I mean talking about security, over all though, I think that even if you think about dorms, everybody has a lock on their door, and most of the time the buildings themselves get locked up at night. You have to have a security card to gain entrance. So it’s not that far out there to think that these common rooms shouldn’t have passwords or something that protects them from the outside world.
Andrew: Keep in mind that Hogwarts – or that the Harry Potter books are set in a pre-9/11 world, so I think that plays a factor too.
Micah: Yeah, well, I’m sure that people locked their doors before 9/11 too. [laughs]
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Well, no, but I’m saying after 9/11 everything changed. It was sort of a joke, but…
Matt: Well, I mean, honestly, I think all the common rooms should have those eye scanners or something.
Andrew: [laughs] Okay. Well, hey, it is magic. I mean, the thing should just know he’s – if the person who’s trying to get in is a Gryffindor or not anyway.
Matt: Yeah, but that’d be too easy.
Micah: I agree with that.
Andrew: Too easy? Eh, true. Anyway, let’s move on. I think Hogwarts will be just fine in the way it’s been operating.
Matt: Yeah. I mean, no one’s going to break in.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Yeah. So what happens next?
Disregard for Human Life
Micah: What happens next? Well, they enter the common room. Shockingly. And there’s this whole scene that takes place, and Amycus comes in and he sees his sister lying on the ground, and what eventually ends up developing is this conversation between Amycus and McGonagall. And Amycus is starting to freak out because he knows that she’s put up the Dark Mark, and this has told Voldemort that they’ve captured Harry.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: And for him, he knows that – for all he knows, Harry is not even there. He has no clue that Harry’s in the room, so he figures, “Well, I’m in a – my sister’s in a whole lot of trouble now because she just summoned the Dark Mark and told Voldemort that Harry’s here. And for all I can tell, Harry is nowhere to be found.” So he goes through this whole thing where he tries to come up with an idea of blaming this on the Ravenclaw students that have come into the common room when they heard Alecto getting hit with that spell. So, what are your guys’ thoughts on this? I mean, it goes back to the whole idea of what we’ve talked about through this entire series and this entire book, actually. And that is that there’s this complete disregard for human life on the part of the Death Eaters, and this was just even more.
Andrew: They care more for their own lives…
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: …more than anything else.
Micah: Yeah, we’re talking about children now.
Andrew: Being killed by Voldemort is the worst way to go.
Laura: Right. The students are just dispensable to them.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: And then McGonagall… [laughs] …has a great line in here, and I can see Maggie Smith saying these lines. You know, she turns to Amycus and says, “You’re not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it.” And so McGonagall is starting to fight back a little bit. Do you guys think she had any idea that Harry was there at that point?
Laura: I don’t think so because she seemed really shocked by it.
Matt: Yeah. She was clutching her chest.
Laura: It had said that – yeah, it said that she fell down in a chair.
Micah’s Favorite Scene
Micah: Yeah, that’s right. And then we get into the whole spitting incident between Amycus and McGonagall.
Matt: Agghh! Yes.
Micah: And this is my favorite scene, I think, in Deathly Hallows, to be honest – is when Harry rips off the Invisibility Cloak and performs the Cruciatus Curse on Amycus.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: And Harry says, “You shouldn’t have done that.” Just because it sent Harry over the edge and it gave him that extra push to perform…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …the Cruciatus Curse, right?
Micah: Right.
Andrew: That’s basically what he’s saying. [laughs] Which is awesome.
Micah: And then he also refers to the fact that, you know, Bellatrix, who told him back in Order of the Phoenix that you really have to mean it…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: He actually felt…
Andrew: Yeah, that’s why…
Micah: …the effects of the curse.
Andrew: …I thought that. Yeah.
Laura: And I love the line where McGonagall told him he shouldn’t have done that and he just very simply said, “Well, he spit at you.”
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: “He spat at you.” Yeah. [laughs]
Matt: Now, do – do you think that the fact that he felt really, really emotional towards Professor McGonagall when she said, “Harry’s in my House.” Because whenever – because in the book he says that he – he had a lot of, you know, respect for her at that moment when he said that. Do you think that…
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Do you think that fueled the hatred when he spat in her face? To do the…
Andrew: Well, I think that just gave Harry more of a reason to protect her because, you know, she’s showing…
Matt: Right.
Andrew: …how much – how she protects Harry. “Harry’s in my House.”
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: “Back off. He can’t be here.”
Matt: Yeah, but it was just an even bigger slope down from being like extremely respectable to Professor McGonagall and then seeing this – her immediately being spit – spat in the face.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: It just goes from, you know, a really happy moment to a really furious feeling.
Andrew: So, Micah, did you think that – did you think that this was leading up to him using Avada Kedavra on Voldemort? I mean, if he can perform an Unforgivable Curse on a Death Eater, killing Voldemort should be no problem.
Micah: Well, this is the second time really, or the second of the two or the three Unforgivable Curses that he uses in the book.
Matt: Mhm.
Micah: And that’s why – what led me to believe – yeah, I thought that he was going to end up using the Killing Curse at the end. I thought it was sort of leading up to it. He uses the Imperius Curse in Gringotts and then, you know, he uses the Cruciatus Curse here. So I thought we were going to actually see him use the Killing Curse. But we all know that that didn’t end up happening. He used the, you know, the ever powerful…
Matt: Expelliarmus.
Micah: Exactly. And, you know, who isn’t scared of that?
Matt: I know, like, right?
[Laura laughs]
Matt: That red flash. Ahhj, scary.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: So, that was just kind of my thinking as the book progressed. That that’s where we were going with it, but it ended up not happening. So…
McGonagall Has her Moment
Matt: I think this whole chapter is – for Professor McGonagall, this is the scene that all of the fans of Maggie Smith have been waiting for, honestly, because this entire chapter – she gets spat in the face. She pretty much controls Hogwarts in this scene, and she leads Harry into – I mean, she has her moment. This is one of her moments in the series. I think one of her biggest moments, too.
Andrew: Definitely.
Laura: Yeah. And, you know, I have to say, it’s not oftentimes when I read these books and I actually visualize one of the actors from the movies acting out the role, but with Maggie Smith, I absolutely almost always envision her reading these lines and acting out this part. So she’s definitely a very strong actress and I can’t wait to see her do this in the movie.
Matt: There’s this one part in the chapter – well, I’m going to say until we get to that part – where I immediately saw her as the actress playing this role, so…
Micah: Yeah. Well, and I just think, I mean, she’s sort of been in the background for such a long time in these movies. This would kind of be the scene – and I saw the movies before I read the books, so to me, Maggie Smith has always been Professor McGonagall. So I’m looking forward to this.
Harry Keeping Everything a Secret
Andrew: So, McGonagall gets all into it once Harry tells her that he’s acting on Professor Dumbledore’s orders, and she’s willing to help immediately to lock down the school, which is another awesome, great line that should really shine through in the movie. And Harry doesn’t give out more information at this point, and at this time also, Voldemort is all but certain that his Horcruxes are being destroyed, so what harm would it have – Micah asks in this discussion what harm would it have done to tell McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, or especially Slughorn, what’s going on. But I don’t know, Micah, I really don’t think – you know, first of all, there wasn’t time, I don’t think, to set up the story again. Why do you think it would have been important? Don’t you think all they really needed to know is that Voldemort is coming to the school and is going to kill anyone who’s in his way?
Micah: Yes, I agree with that, but at the same time, I think, with this whole idea of trying to find the lost diadem, it would have reinforced the importance of him needing to find it so maybe any more knowledge that they were – that they had could have been used, and obviously he ends up finding it, but kind of on a whim as opposed to getting some sort of clear cut information from, you know, one of the professors.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, yeah, I agree with that because there is one point where they’re like, “Why does that matter in this time of peril?”
Laura: Yeah. I mean, I definitely think it would have been easier for Harry that way, but at the same time I think he really recognized the importance of keeping it secret.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s true.
Laura: And he even stated later that the reason he told Ron and Hermione was so that there would be people to take his place in case he died. So it’s really – it’s like a life or death situation. You find close people that you will trust in the case that you can no longer carry out the search, and those are the only people who can know.
Matt: Well, and McGonagall was really accepting of when he told her that it was Dumbledore’s orders. She didn’t give it a second thought about it either.
Micah: Yeah, it was almost like there was a flip of a switch. She was constantly telling him, “You should be here, what are you doing here?” But then as soon as Dumbledore’s name came up in conversation, like Matt said, it was just like an automatic, “Okay, what do I need to do?”
Matt: She wasn’t like that in Half-Blood Prince either. Didn’t she kind of give Harry a little bit of a 20/20 interview about that?
Laura: Yeah, she did.
Matt: Saying, “I think you should tell me.”
Duel with Snape
Andrew: So then from there McGonagall summons the other Heads of House, and they have this big duel with Snape. Just reading this back and knowing that Snape is good, what do you think he really was going to do to Harry? When Snape said that he must “insist”?
Matt: I don’t think he’d expected it to happen like this, though.
Andrew: Who?
Matt: Snape.
Andrew: Snape?
Matt: I don’t think he really knew what he was going to do.
Micah: In my opinion, I think what happened was Snape’s – the mark on his arm started to move and he clearly realized what that meant, and that meant that Harry was at Hogwarts. So I think part of it was probably him just freaking out because he realized what he had to do, and that the time had come for him to tell Harry that, “Look, this has been the plan all along,” and I think in that situation, he wasn’t going to do anything to harm Harry clearly, but maybe – he was looking around almost nervously to see where Harry was. He knew that Harry had an Invisibility Cloak and he just wasn’t sure where he was or whether or not he was with McGonagall.
Matt: He was probably very nervous too because besides Hermione and Ron, Snape probably knows the situation just as much as they do, because he’s that close with Voldemort, so he knows that Voldemort knows that they’re after the Horcruxes. And he knows that they have no time left.
Laura: Right.
Andrew: Yeah. It’s a poor situation for Snape and I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. [laughs] While he’s being attacked in this case.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: But I mean, you know, they – of course, had to be careful with this time of peril.
Matt: And who doesn’t want to see Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith duel in this scene?
Laura: Oh yeah, I think that’ll be really good.
Andrew: Well, I guess. The way they’ve blown duels in Order of the Phoenix I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: They’ll be throwing water balls at each other.
[Laura laughs]
Matt: The water balloons?
Laura: It’ll be like Pokémon.
Snape is the New Batman
Andrew: Water balloons, sorry. So, Snape can turn into a bat and fly. Apparently Snape’s the new Batman.
Matt: Well, a bat-like, not a bat.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: What does it say? Yeah, “Turn into a bat-like” – yeah, what was with that? Was that just kind of random or what?
Laura: No, he learned how to fly from Voldemort.
Matt: Yeah, it’s like, “Oh, he’s a bat now.”
Andrew: Snapeman!
Matt: It’s bad enough everybody thought he was a vampire.
Micah: Based on all that talk that had existed before Deathly Hallows that he was a vampire, just the words “bat-like” weren’t that uncommon or surprising, I would think.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Mhm.
Matt: Well, maybe they’re just trying to shoot – maybe J.K. Rowling was just trying to tell us how it really looked like when Voldemort was flying all by himself. Because there’s no real explanation except, just like, smoke billowing from beneath him, right?
Another Great McGonagall Moment
Micah: Right. So after Snape takes flight and leaves, there’s this whole discussion that goes on between the Heads of House and Harry, and basically what McGonagall is going to do is rally the troops. The ones who are old enough and can stay behind will fight. The others will be taken out through the Room of Requirement to the Hog’s Head to Apparate away from Hogwarts, and again, this is another line that I picked out of the book for Maggie Smith, which I think is going to be an awesome line in the series, and she tells Professor Slughorn in particular, who’s the most apprehensive about the situation that lies ahead, and she tells him, “The time has come for Slytherin House to decide upon its loyalties.” And she even tells them that if they try anything that they’re going to fight to the death.
Andrew: To the death. It’s so, like – it just shows – like, McGonagall’s scared at this point. And there’s no BS – there’s no room for BS with her.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: It’s pretty strange.
Laura: Yeah, it’s great she’s telling people exactly what she thinks about them. Like at one point Filch comes in she calls him a blithering idiot.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: And at one point when he’s like – she tells him to go find Peeves and he’s perplexed by it and she says, “Yes, haven’t you been complaining about him for the last quarter of a century?”
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: Well, this is also one of those traits of Gryffindor that a lot of people don’t seem to think about. It’s when – Gryffindors are very blunt when they talk. They don’t really go through the formalities, especially in these kind of situations. They pretty much just speak whatever’s going through their head.
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: Well, this is just going to be an, overall, an awesome scene in the movie, hopefully, if they don’t mess it up too badly. But, yeah, you sort of have the unifying of the Houses and, as Laura mentioned, you have McGonagall telling Filch to go get Peeves. So, it’s really a rallying of the troops, in essence, and the best part is when Flitwick is casting the Protective spell over Hogwarts, you have Professor Sprout who’s going to run off and I don’t know what she’s going to get, but she mentions a couple of things that she could be using…
Andrew: Devil’s Snare.
Micah: …in the fight. And then McGonagall – I hope I don’t butcher this – but she does the spell Piertotem Locomotor, and I just think this is going to be…
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
Matt: Yeah, this was the scene I was talking about.
Micah: Oh, really?
Matt: Yeah, this is probably going to be one of the most badass scenes you’re going to see in this part of the book – er, the movie. If they follow what the other movies have done, she’s probably going to put her wand near her throat and then it’s just going to echo through the entire castle, and all of the statues and armor are just going to come alive and start running down the halls.
[Laura laughs]
No One Cares That Percy is Back
Andrew: And then Dumbledore’s Army, the Order of the Phoenix, and even Harry’s old Gryffindor Quidditch team are awaiting him in the Room of Requirement. It’s turning into sort of like the locker room, so to speak. It’s just like – or it’s like the Situation Room in the White House – like everyone’s there. And then Percy returns. Aw, who cares?
Matt: Oh, I know.
Andrew: Does anyone care? I mean, it was nice.
Laura: Not really.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: It seemed kind of thrown in there.
Laura: At that I had become – at that point Percy had become so unimportant to me as a character…
Andrew: Right.
Laura: …I was just like, “oh, that’s cool. Closure, that’s nice.”
Andrew: It was refreshing – yeah. It was refreshing. I remember being kind of excited. I don’t remember seeing Laura crying, so I guess it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Laura: [laughs] I did a lot of that during this book. Anyway…
Matt: Well, odds are this part is going to be cut anyway since they’re probably not even going to have Percy in this film.
Overall, Great Chapter
Micah: So – and then the chapter – this is pretty much the end of the chapter, where Harry gets back to the Room of Requirement. All of those people are there and then he has sort of this vision again of Voldemort and he’s standing outside the gates of Hogwarts and the line that J.K. Rowling used was, “He was possessed of that cold, cruel sense of purpose that preceded murder.”
Matt: Ooo.
Micah: So…
Andrew: Ooooo…..
Laura: Yeah, I think I remember reading that. And, I mean, of course we were reading the book straight through so it wasn’t like there was any chance throughout any of the other chapters that I was going to put the book down, but this definitely solidified my turning the next page and not eating or sleeping or showering or anything until I finished this book because it was so good.
Matt: This is definitely not a chapter you just read once – I mean, just read this one chapter and not continue. It was bad enough we had to just read this one chapter this week.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. I was disappointed with that too, actually, because these chapters seem to fly by, and I wanted to keep reading but then I just confused myself when I’m talking on Chapter-by-Chapter. I think that does it for our discussion, right?
Matt: Yeah, we just left off on the chapter when Harry’s trying to find Ron and Hermione.
Andrew: So that does it for that discussion, which leads us…
Quote Quiz
[Quote Quiz intro plays]
Andrew: Sorry, that was really loud.
Matt: Yeah. Ow.
Andrew: I did not intend it to be that loud. Sorry. “I sought to make myself cleverer, more important than my mother; I ran away with it.” Who could that be?
Voicemail: Laura is Really Amanda
Andrew: So we have some voicemails this week – come back with some voicemails, and we have several real good ones. We’re going to take – we’re going to take a fun one first. Laura, I think everyone’s going to enjoy this, this is pretty intriguing.
Laura: All right.
Andrew: So, here’s the first voymail – voicemail.
[Audio]: Hi guys, this is Jason from Kentucky again. Got one thought for you concerning Laura. I have had suspicion for a while now that actually Laura is Amanda from Survivor. If you listen to their voices it’s insane. Somehow…
[Laura laughs]
[Audio]: …I believe that Amanda is actually Laura. It’s like a – it’s like a different personality for her, but not very different. And then she somehow has snuck like a satellite phone onto the island…
[Laura laughs]
[Audio]: …so that she could call in for MuggleCast. Just a thought. Bye.
Andrew: So, I looked into this, Laura, because I, you know…
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: And does anyone here watch Survivor by chance?
Matt: No.
Micah: I do.
Andrew: Do you? Do you know who her man – who Amanda is?
Micah: Sure. I mean, I have – I’ve watched the season, but sporadically. I know it just ended, so…
Andrew: Well, here’s a clip of Amanda, and I think this caller is right.
Amanda: I trust Parv completely. I think her and I can go really far in this game, you know, because we both have different strategies and we’re different personalities, but together, like, I think we can do a lot.
Andrew: [laughs] Laura, I think that really sounds like you.
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Laura: Okay, okay.
Matt: It sounds like the Valley Girl version of Laura.
Laura: You guys – you guys found me out. That is my alter ego.
Andrew: Doesn’t that sound like her, though?
Laura: And I, like, really, think we do a lot together.
Andrew: [laughs] It does sound kind of scripted for Survivor, but…
Laura: Yeah, you know what, though? It’s not the first time I’ve had people saying that I sound like someone else. A couple of other people have said I sound like Pam from The Office.
Andrew: Eh, sort of.
Laura: Which I don’t really hear that as much, but, you know…
Andrew: Yeah. I thought that was pretty funny.
Matt: Awww.
Andrew: Next voicemail.
MuggleCast 146 Transcript (continued)
Voicemail: The Series is Over
[Audio]: Hey guys, this is Joe, 13, from Massachusetts. Yeah, I’m calling about what I just saw in Barnes and Noble today. I just got out and I went – and then I was in the children’s section where Barnes and Noble usually has Harry Potter, and it wasn’t there. They took the section out. They replaced it with, like, The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Chronicles of Narnia and some other stuff, and I usually don’t really care about that stuff, but it just kind of hit me for a second. I was like, “Whoa, the books really are over, and they’re not selling as much…
[Andrew laughs]
[Audio]: …and I was just kind of sad for a second there.
[Andrew laughs]
[Audio]: I know the movies are still going on and everything, but never – some people it takes longer than others to hit them that the series is actually over. For me it just happened for the books. I don’t know. Just called in what that depressing note.
Andrew: Laura, you and I were at – in a Borders the other day and it was kind of weird seeing the Harry Potter books, like, on a shelf, and it wasn’t even like the complete collection. They were sort of just like whatever they had leftover.
Laura: Yeah, it was pretty crappy. They had, like, just a few of the paperbacks. There weren’t that many; they didn’t even have a complete collection of those.
Andrew: Yeah, I thought it was pretty sad.
Laura: It was off in a corner too.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: [laughs] It was really sad.
Andrew: It really does show you the books are over.
Matt: I think it’s just – they’re just going to have another book shelf of them when the movie comes out anyway. Because the only reason why they had a whole presentation of Narnia was because the movie’s coming out for Prince Caspian. I mean, Narnia has been – the last book was, what, last issued in the fifties?
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Just like Lord of the Rings, so…
Laura: So…
Matt: It’s just because right now it’s out in…
Andrew: It’s hot.
Matt: …popular culture. Yeah.
Andrew: It’s hot.
Matt: It’s hot!
Andrew: All right, next voicemail.
Voicemail: Trial’s Effect on Release of Teaser Trailer
[Audio]: Hi MuggleCast, hi, I’m Erika. I’m 20 and I’m from Chicago, Illinois. Well, I am not upset with you guys, because your show is awesome, of course, and I listen every week. But just the fact that with the WB, that how we don’t have a teaser yet and how we have, like, movies like Twilight and they had, like, a teaser trailer and stuff out, and I was just wondering, well, do you think that because of the trial with J.K. Rowling and Steve Vander Ark, or whatever – do you think that that’s the reason we haven’t gotten a teaser trailer yet? Because they’re trying to settle that first before they can, you know, give us a trailer, or whatever. Just wanted to know what you guys thought about that. Love you guys’ show. I’ve been a huge listener since day one. All right, I’ll talk to you later. Bye.
Matt: Bye.
Andrew: Thanks for that. You know, the reason I included this voicemail is because this has crossed my mind before. Do you guys think it could be because of the trial?
Matt: I don’t think so.
Laura: Yeah. I mean, honestly, most people don’t even know about the trial.
Matt: That’s right.
Andrew: Yeah, I know, but it just seems weird how Warner Brothers has been acting with the releasing stuff thus far and, like, the only difference this year is the trial. So…
Matt: Warner Brothers has been acting a little, you know, skimpy with updates and things on the film, but, I mean, the film itself is not really connected to the trial, and they have released…
Andrew: But it’s Warner Brothers.
Matt: But they have release dates to consider too. I mean…
Andrew: It just seems weird, I don’t know. It’s crossed my mind, so…
Matt: Because the outcome of this trial’s not going to affect when the movie is going to be released or not anyway.
Andrew: Well, I could just, like – yeah, I agree with that. But, like, I’m just picturing, you know, this trailer hitting – hitting, you know, theaters and then, the same day or the next day, “Warner Brother, Harry Potter court trial, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” So, it’s like…
Micah: You…
Andrew: Maybe the trailer would be overshadowed by the trial.
Matt: But, see, the trial isn’t even that widely known besides Harry Potter fans.
Andrew: Well, that’s what the teaser trailer’s for.
Matt: But the teaser trailer is teasing the general public. Not…
Andrew: [unintelligible] …all the fans. [laughs]
Micah: Well, I wouldn’t say that it wasn’t known. I mean, it was definitely written up in a bunch of different newspapers…
Andrew: It’s been everywhere.
Micah: …throughout the world, so…
Laura: Yeah, but a lot of people don’t really know the specifics and a lot of people really don’t care, to be honest.
Andrew: But I’m just thinking…
Matt: That’s right.
Andrew: …it could be – it could overshadow it. I mean, ’cause it – you know. It’s hard enough for them to get publicity for a teaser trailer, which is…
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Which is pretty important because that’s when they start the initial – the teaser posters.
Matt: But also the book and the films are two different venues.
Andrew: It doesn’t matter. Warner Brothers is still involved because they own the copyrights.
Matt: Right, they own the copyrights but, I mean – are you saying they’re just taking the whole publicity of the film on the back burner during this trial because it’s bringing everybody’s attention to it and no one’s working on it? I mean the promotions?
Andrew: I’m saying that the trial could overshadow the hype of the teaser trailer in a negative light.
Matt: I don’t think so.
Laura: Well…
Micah: Yeah…
Laura: …I think it’s possible that they could be acting cautiously. Whether…
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: …they need to or not is a matter of opinion.
Matt: Well, it’s – well, it’s definitely obvious Warner Brothers is doing something based on this trial because they’re not even telling us anything since the trial began really. There hasn’t been any real official updates or anything on the film.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: My question is, how far in advance do you generally receive a teaser trailer for a movie?
Andrew: Well, look at it this way: like we got the Order of the Phoenix trailer with Happy Feet. I’m going to look it up. I think it came out in January? Right?
Laura: Yeah. I think you’re right.
Andrew: So I guess – then we’re not really late for a trailer, are we? What made me think that we were?
Laura: No, we’re late for a teaser.
Matt: Wait. We’re late for a teaser trailer.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: The teaser – oh, the teaser came out in November.
Matt: Right.
Micah: Oh wow.
Matt: November 17th.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: And the movie didn’t come out till July.
Andrew: ‘Till July.
Matt: We’re already – no, I said this last time. We’re already over a month overdue if we’re going by the Goblet of Fire – or the Order of the Phoenix teaser trailer.
Micah: Well, maybe you’re right, Andrew. Maybe it does have something to do with the court case.
Andrew: I just think it would be negative pub – I think it would be a bad mix of publicity. You got this negative court trial and then you’ve got this positive teaser. I – you know, they’re being quiet differently. You know. Something’s going on. Anyway, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully this week. Next voicemail.
Voicemail: Irony in Dumbledore’s Death
[Audio]: Hi, I was just catching up on a few episodes, and you were talking about – you were going over the chapter “The Deathly Hallows,” and you were talking about how it’s interesting that the Deathly Hallows usually got people killed, and you mentioned how it’s ironic that Dumbledore, the only thing he wanted to see was his family again, which is why he had the Resurrection Stone, and it ended up causing his death when he asked Snape to finish him off, and the curse spread up his arm. So he did actually end up going to see his family again.
Andrew: There’s a little bit of irony there.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Thought it was kind of clever. Excuse me. So that does it for voicemails this week.
This Week in MuggleCast
Andrew: So we’re going to step back into the past here with This Week in MuggleCast. We’re going to go all the way back to May 21, 2006 with Episode 40, “Hatin’ on Dumbledore.” This was, of course, the controversial episode that MuggleNet staff member – well, former MuggleNet staff member, Jess – was on. So let’s go back in time here; we got to do the little… [makes back in time noise]
Jess: However, this feeds my theory that Dumbledore is an idiot…
[Laura laughs]
Jess: …and that Dumbledore is evil…
[Laura laughs]
Jess: …and that Dumbledore deserved to fall off the Astronomy Tower…
Andrew: Umm…
Jess: …dead, because…
[Laura and Jess laugh]
Ben: [imitating Hagrid] NEVER – INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!
[Everyone laughs]
Jess: Well, you know… [laughs]
[Andrew, Ben, and Jess laugh]
Ben: We have caves.
Jess: Well, I have never liked Dumbledore. I just don’t like Dumbledore. I think he’s a fraud.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Oh, my gosh!
Jess: I think he deserved everything he got.
[Laura laugh]
Andrew: Who are you?!
Jess: And, you know, I think almost, in a way, that he sets up Harry into these situations so he can’t take the blame for it.
Andrew: Oh, whoa…
Ben: Whatever! You’re like…
[Laura laughs]
Jess: Whatever happens.
Andrew: I’m on the verge of crying! I can’t believe you would say this!
Ben: You’re like – you’re like the National Enquirer on MuggleCast.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: It’s true.
Laura: This girl laughed at me when I cried. It was so sad.
Jess: I laughed and took pictures while Laura cried over Dumbledore’s death.
Andrew: [makes back in time noises] That was a classic. That was a classic scene.
Laura: Wow.
Andrew: So yeah, after that episode we got a lot of…
Laura: Yeah, people were…
Andrew: …negative feedback about Jess and I still can’t figure out why.
[Micah laughs]
Laura: Well, because people – see, there’s – I’ve noticed that there is a trend, and not to say that we got hundreds of e-mails or anything. But every now and then, if someone says something that a few people disagree with they feel like it was a personal attack upon themselves and their theories…
Andrew: Right.
Laura: …and they decide to blow it out of proportion.
P.O. Box Update
Andrew: All right, so Laura is back at home. She’s a – Congrats, Laura, on finishing your first year of college, by the way.
Laura: Thank you very much. Likewise to yourself.
Andrew: Oh, thank you, and my first time leaving a college too.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: So you’re back at home, and you had time to check out the P.O. Box, and were going to do a little P.O. Box update for a little…
Laura: Yeah. One of the first things that I wanted to say thank you for was Talia hand-knitted scarves for each of us – each of the MuggleCasters, and their really, really nice. I mean they’re just really, really well done, and my mom is coveting them, and they’re really, really great. So I’m look forward to sending those out to everybody. Jenny sent us a nice little postcard from Boston. Lily also sent us a postcard of Dumbledore that she had left over from a set, I’m assuming. Nadia sent us some HP trading cards, and what’s pretty cool about these is, she sent some of them that were in different languages. So we have them in like Japanese and Spanish. So, that’s pretty cool.
Andrew: Are those the trading cards – I remember those; I used to collect them.
Laura: Yeah. Me too!
Andrew: Like the co – the face of them has like Harry’s forehead.
Laura: Right. Yeah. Those are the ones.
Andrew: Oh, those were great. Those were fun. We should play that at Por – we should like set up a tournament at Portus!
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Bring them back. All of the sudden the toy company has all these sales.
Laura: Oh gosh. [laughs] That’d be great.
Andrew: That would be – yeah.
Laura: We also have – Mark sent us his CD. It’s his Wizard Rock band, and the band is called Marked as His Equal. So he sent that to us, and he sent us a few tracks, and it’s very nice, so we really appreciate getting that. All right, Andrew, you also got a package from an unknown sender…
Andrew: That’s right.
Laura: …and we opened it before the show tonight and it was…
Andrew: Upon my request, we should probably mention.
Laura: Yes. Upon Andrew’s request, we opened it. And it was the Wii Lego Star Wars game, so…
Andrew: Thank you so much for that. I will be having a Wii in California, and thank you. That’s very nice. That’s a very generous gift. I’m very eager to play it. I used to play Lego Harry Potter, so – and I know Mikey apparently loves Lego Star Wars, so we’ll play that with him, too. It should be fun. So thank you for that.
Laura: Yeah, Andrew, you also got a letter from Devon, so…
Andrew: Awww, thanks, Devon. How about my – my birthday’s coming up, Laura, did anyone send me birthday gifts?
Laura: No.
Andrew: Oh.
Laura: Sorry.
Andrew: Oh, that…huh.
Laura: Actually a lot of people send my mom letters.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: It’s really cute. And then Micah also got what I’m assuming is a T-shirt, from an unknown sender, so…
Andrew: Mystery.
Laura: Is he here?
Micah: I hope it’s a T-shirt.
Laura: No, it…
Micah: I don’t know what else it could be. I mean, you probably should hope it’s a T-shirt because you’re the one that has the package right now.
Laura: Well, I mean it’s not open, so…it’s not like…
Micah: You want to open it? Open it! Let’s open it right now on the show.
Andrew: Oooh. Okay. Go ahead.
Laura: Are you serious?
Andrew: Why not?
Laura: Okay, you have to let me go get it really quick. Hold up.
Micah: Okay, guys, I’m calling the police and having her arrested for opening my mail.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Andrew: Okay, make sure you put the bag close to the mic [tearing sound begins in the background] so we can hear every last tear.
Laura: Do you hear it?
Matt: I bet it’s – I bet it’s a goat shirt or something.
Andrew: That’d be so funny.
[Tearing continues]
Laura: Let’s see, I’m pulling it out… [long pause, then Laura starts laughing hard]…
[Matt laughs]
Laura: I don’t think this is anything I can read out loud, but it is a goat shirt.
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: I knew it!
Andrew: Say it. Say it on the air. We’ll cut out anything that’s inappropriate.
Laura: It’s all inappropriate. It’s like a checklist.
Andrew: Micah’s disappointed. I think he really wanted a shirt he could wear.
[Andrew and Laura continue to laugh]
Laura: So, Micah, do you have a reaction?
Micah: [takes a deep breath] No, I can’t say that I do.
[Andrew, Laura, and Matt laugh]
Micah: Thanks, I think.
Matt: Do we…
Laura: And we did get one letter from Caroline, so thank you for that.
Matt: Awww.
Andrew: Thank you, everyone. We’ll remind everyone about the P.O. Box information at the end of the show, if you would like to send something in. I mean – also it’s my birthday this week. Happy birthday to me since nobody else wants to say it.
Laura: I was going to tell you on your birthday. Gosh.
Andrew: No, but on the show we always…
Laura: Don’t be such a whiner.
Andrew: …happy – wish happy – forget it. Forget it. It’s okay.
Matt: All right, are we going to wish Andrew a Happy Birthday…
Andrew: No, it’s fine. No.
Matt: … now that he’s crying about it?
Andrew: No, it’s fine. Let’s move on.
Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul
[Chicken Soup intro plays]
[Audio]: Hey MuggleCast, it’s Daniel from Charlotte, North Carolina, and I just wanted to leave a Harry Potter for your soul – Chicken Soup for Your Soul – whatever it’s called. Anywho – yeah – and I also left a message before this one, it was kind of crappy so I’m leaving it again. Yay! But anywho, I’ve only been listening since – since about last Christmas, so not very long. Really, you guys have changed my life already. Whenever – whenever I’m in my depressed mood I just say to myself, you know – I feel like listening to MuggleCast. And whenever I hear someone – like – make fun of Laura or like – or like Micah talking about goats all the time, it just makes me laugh hysterically, and I just get into a cheerful, happy mood again. Especially when you guys make the [makes flashback noise] noise when you go back to attack all the past episodes. And so just – I just wanted to thank you guys so much for doing all of this, like – and – and I think a whole bunch of people really thank you for doing MuggleCast. I really appreciate it, and so does everybody else. Well, continue doing this. I’m going to be so sad when you guys leave. Ahh. And – so yeah – well, thank you! You guys do great, and I love you, Laura. You’re awesome. Okay. Bye!
Laura: Awww, well, thank you. I love you too, and I drove through Charlotte, North Carolina the other day. Nice place.
Andrew: Thanks a lot for that Chicken Soup. That was really nice, and, you know, it’s for people like him that we do the show for, who really appreciate – appreciate it and get a lot out of it, and enjoy it a lot.
Laura: Yeah. Thank you.
Micah: That was nice.
Andrew: Yeah. That was nice.
Matt: Yes. Sweet.
Contact Information
Andrew: So, I think it is time to wrap up this 146th episode of MuggleCast. Laura, as we were talking about, what’s the P.O. Box if people want to mail me some birthday gifts?
Laura: P.O. Box 3151, Cumming, Georgia 30028.
Andrew: Gift cards to In and Out, Best Buy, the Apple Store…
Laura: Yeah, and just be sure when you send those, don’t specify who you are sending them to because then I can keep them for myself.
Andrew: Put “ATTN: Andrew.” That would be the best way to go for that. It’s my birthday, so…
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Matt: Okay.
Micah: Wait, wait, wait, when’s your birthday?
Matt: You want to plug that a little more?
Andrew: It’s this Friday.
Micah: Friday.
Andrew: May 23rd.
Micah: May 23rd.
Andrew: Andrew Sims’s…
Micah: Happy Birthday.
Andrew: …19th Birthday Bash.
Micah: Happy Birthday.
Andrew: Aw, thanks, Micah. Thank you, sir. So let’s remind everyone about the voicemail information. If you would like to call in a question to MuggleCast to have your question aired during the voicemail portion of our show, I – we have a few numbers for you. If you are in the United States you can dial 1-218-20-MAGIC. If you are in the United Kingdom you can dial 020-8144-0677. And if you are in Australia you can dial 02-8003-5668. People have been asking for other numbers, like a Canadian number. And I’ve wanted to get a Canadian number but Skype doesn’t sell them. So you would have to call international. I’m sorry about that. You can also Skype the username MuggleCast. No matter how you call us, though, just remember to keep your message under 60 seconds and eliminate as much background noise as possible please. You can also visit MuggeleCast.com for out handy feedback form. To contact any one of us…
[Show music begins]
Andrew: …just use our fist names at staff dot mugglenet dot com. We also have a variety of community outlet links on MuggleCast, as always, including the MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Frappr, Last.FM, and the fanlistings and forums. You can also follow us on Twitter, Digg the show at Digg.com and vote for us once a month…
Matt: On Podcast Alley.
Andrew: You bettcha.
Matt: We’re number one right now.
Show Close
Andrew: Yeah. Guys, I’m a little sad, to be honest with you. You know, I’ve been recording MuggleCast here in sunny Medford ever since the start and it’s the last one.
Laura: Aw.
Matt: Sunny? You live in Jersey.
Andrew: I got to say – yeah, but it’s sunny. It was sunny here today. It’s kind of…
Matt: Oh, okay.
Andrew: …sad. It’s kind of sad. MuggleCast started here and it’s not ending here, which I guess is a good thing. But – so, once again we’re not sure if we’re doing a live episode next week. That all depends on the trailer coming out. If the trailer does come out, definitely look for a show from us that weekend. Not live, but a regular show. If not we probably won’t be doing a live show ’cause I’m going to be busy – busy moving. And we need a week off. I think it’s high time. So…
Micah: Yeah, I could use a week off.
Andrew: There you go.
Micah: From work.
Andrew: Hey, everyone. For my birthday I’m giving you a week off. How does that sound?
Laura: Woo…
Matt: It’s the perfect…
Micah: That’s very nice of you.
Matt: …gift.
Andrew: You’re welcome, Micah. Anytime.
Micah: But can you…
Andrew: It’s for my birthday.
Micah: …get me off from work for a week?
Andrew: Huh?
Micah: Can you get me off my real job for a week?
Laura: Yeah, me too. That would be great.
Andrew: Well…no. So that does it for this week’s episode of MuggleCast. Once again, I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I am Matthew Britton.
Andrew: Thank you, everyone, for listening, and we will see you next week, hopefully, or the week after, for Episode 147. Buh-bye.
Laura: Bye.
Micah: Bye.
Matt: Buh-bye.
Blooper
[Dogs bark]
Matt: Will you shut the dogs up!?