MuggleCast 156 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
Micah: Over the next three weeks, MuggleCast will be teaming up with Teddy Bears for Hope, a non-profit organization that provides teddy bears to children affected by homelessness, disease, and neglect.
Andrew: It’s time for the show and its fans to help give back to those who really need it. Visit MuggleCast.com to learn about this great charity and how you can make a difference.
Laura: The Potter fandom has always prided itself on rallying around great causes. No amount is too small and all funds go directly towards providing children with hope for the future through the comfort and security of a brand new teddy bear.
Andrew, Laura, and Micah: Thanks.
Andrew: This week’s podcast is also brought to you by Audible.com, the Internet’s leading provider of spoken word entertainment. Get a free audiobook download of your choice when you sign up today. Log on to AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast today for details.
Andrew: Hey, Mason, Did you know that on July 1st, Yahoo! Domain renewal pricing increased to $34.95 per year?
Mason: $34.95 per year? No way! Ridiculous! That’s not a deal at all.
Andrew: You’re right, it’s not, and I do need a deal.
Mason: You need a deal? I got the deal you need, Andy! Check this out: transfer your domain to GoDaddy for as little as $6.99 and get a free one-year extension plus guaranteed renewal pricing. GoDaddy.com makes transferring easy and offers loads of extras, including hosting, a 5-page site-builder, and much more. Oh yeah! Plus, as a listener of MuggleCast, enter code “Muggle,” that’s M-U-G-G-L-E, when you check out, and save an additional 10 percent on any order. Some restrictions do apply, I want you to see the site for the details. Get your piece of the Internet at GoDaddy.com!
[Show music begins]
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!
Micah: Because it’s three years and 155 episodes later, this is MuggleCast Episode 156, August 7th, 2008.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: All right, it’s time for another week of MuggleCast, and we have a very special interview this week, isn’t that right, Laura?
Laura: That is right, Andrew.
Andrew: Who are we interviewing?!
Laura: We are going to be speaking with the author Stephenie Meyer, who wrote the Twilight saga.
Andrew: O…M…E…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …for “Edward.” We’ve decided to have Stephenie Meyer here on the show this week because we’ve talked about Twilight here on MuggleCast so many times, and a lot of our listeners decided to read it because of our recommendation, and they realized, “Oh wow! This is great!” So, we want to get more of you guys interested in Twilight. We’re going to hear about what Stephenie Meyer has to say about the Harry Potter fandom and also Breaking Dawn, as well. So I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I’m Matt Britton.
[Show music continues]
News: Beedle the Bard Being Published
Andrew: All right, like I said, we have a big show today, but first, Micah, what’s in the news?
Micah: Nothing.
Andrew, Laura, and Matt: Aww.
Andrew: It’s close to nothing, but…
Micah: Well, it’s been another slow week, I guess you could say, but the one piece of news that we have gotten has been pretty big. The – I guess Scholastic has decided to go ahead and publish The Tales of Beedle the Bard. And the post that was on MuggleNet had mentioned that all the sort of clearance that was necessary to go ahead and publish this was given. Wasn’t it Amazon.com that had the winning bid?
Andrew: Exactly. At 4 million dollars!
Micah: They gave the go ahead to publish this, I think primarily because all the proceeds are going to be going to charity…
Matt: Uh-huh.
Micah: …and the charity that’s going to be benefiting from this is the Children’s High Level Group, which is an organization that J.K. Rowling helped to find, and, you know, start up, so the book will be released on December the 4th. Anybody thinking that there’s going to be a midnight release for this potentially?
Matt: I think there could possibly be a midnight release.
Micah: It’s winter time, so it’ll be cold.
Matt: I don’t think it’s going to be as widespread as a regular Harry Potter book, but I could see potential in a Borders or Barnes and Nobles having, like, a release party for it because it’s still a J.K. Rowling novel.
Micah: It is. Were you guys surprised by this? I mean, did you foresee it coming? Did you think when you first heard about this book – you know, wasn’t it the other copies went to select people that were close to Jo?
Matt: Yes.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: And I’m assuming she probably checked with some of them as well to make sure that they were okay with this, but…
Andrew: Yeah, she did say she cleared it with them beforehand. I have to admit, it kind of loses a little – Tales of Beedle the Bard has just lost a little appeal to me now because, like, the main reason this was so special was that only these five or six – actually, well, technically seven people if you’re counting Amazon – seven people actually were able to read it, so it’s kind of losing its charm now. I think it’s awesome though.
Matt: Yeah, I think it’s amazing. I think that also it’s – it was kind of a shock for it to be, you know, released to the public so soon.
Andrew: It is kind of soon.
Matt: I mean, I wouldn’t really mind – I can’t wait for the book to come out. It just seemed kind of soon though. It kind of took me off guard when it was released.
Andrew: Well, I think it was in December of this past year that the auction was actually held…
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: So…
Micah: What’s a little bit weird though, is December the 4th is a Thursday this year, so I’m not too sure if they are going to actually be doing some sort of midnight release.
Andrew: That’s very interesting. I think that would definitely suggest that Scholastic and Bloomsbury certainly don’t have any plans to do midnight releases, ’cause, you know, I got to party Thursday night; I can’t go to a release party!
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Laura: Sure you do.
Micah: Sure you do. Anyway…
Andrew: I got to watch Lost. But I have to say something about this. The price difference between the two books: it’s eight dollars for the paperback. The collector’s edition is a hundred dollars! A ninety-two dollar price difference!
Matt: Maybe it’s gold plated!
Andrew: Well, the collector’s edition looks awesome, there’s no doubt about it, but it’s just… [laughs] …I don’t get it! I don’t get the huge price difference!
Matt: It’s really – I really like the cover art, though, for it.
Andrew: Yeah. It was illustrated by Mary GrandPre, which is cool.
Laura: And I mean, at the same time, I know the price difference is pretty steep, but the proceeds do go to charity. I think that has a lot to do with it.
Andrew: Definitely.
Laura: They’re assuming that they can make more money for the charities off the fans who will go out and buy the most expensive collector’s edition.
Micah: I’m going to ask a stupid question. But is the British version different in any respect or is it just cover?
Andrew: I doubt it.
Micah: Because…
Andrew: I don’t even know if there’s a cover yet for it, for the U.K. edition.
Micah: I looked because I got a preorder from Amazon U.K. recently, and it looked different. I just wasn’t sure. I’m guessing the context is not going to be any different; it’s probably just the cover that would be different.
Andrew: Right. Well, I was very glad to see that the cover was illustrated by Mary GrandPre. And I was kind of hoping for that because, you know, it’s essentially another Harry Potter book, and it feels like it just with that really nice cover, too.
Micah: Which would beg the question, then of course, would Jim Dale do an audiobook?
Andrew: Narrate. Oh yeah! It’s funny because didn’t we ask him that question during our interview?
Matt: I think we – no, we asked him if he would narrate the encyclopedia.
Andrew: Oh yeah, but I mean, I think he said if anyone asked him to do it he wouldn’t say no.
Matt: Well, yeah, he said he was up for doing the encyclopedia if he was asked, so I’m sure if this gets a lot of attention and they ask him, I’m sure he’ll do it.
Micah: Yeah. I think also it came up during that round table, Andrew, and I think he said he would do future J.K. Rowling works if he was asked to also.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: Not just the encyclopedia, but anything that she did down the road.
Andrew: I’m reading the features of the collector’s edition right now, and they look really cool. “Ten new illustrations by J.K. Rowling not included in the standard edition or the original handcrafted edition.”
Matt: Wow.
Andrew: So…
Laura: Oh, wow.
Andrew: It says it’s ten completely new illustrations, and, you know, and you get that whole box thing.
Matt: Well, what do you guys think? Are you going to get the special edition or the regular edition? Or the paperback?
Micah: Whatever Scholastic sends us.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Andrew: Yeah. I was about to pre-order the special edition, but then I saw the price I was like, “Oooo, going to wait.”
Matt: I’ll do it.
Andrew: Okay, go ahead, do it.
Matt: I’ll buy the special edition.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: I would think of asking for the special edition as a gift, like…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: …if someone asked me…
Andrew: A Christmas gift! Perfect gift!
Laura: …”what do you want for Christmas,” I would say, “Oh, you know…”
Micah: Sorry, Laura, I’m not getting it for you.
[Matt and Micah laugh]
Laura: I wasn’t going to ask you.
Matt: Me neither, Laura.
Andrew: I’ll tell you why I’m really excited about this, and I’m going to read a quote from the product description: “Dumbledore reveals not just” – this is all new for the actual book – “Dumbledore reveals not just his vast knowledge of wizarding lore, but also more of his personal qualities; his sense of humor, his courage, his pride in his abilities, his own hard-one wisdom. Names familiar from the Harry Potter novels sprinkle the pages, including Aberforth…” Micah…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: “…Lucius Malfoy and his forbearers…”
Micah: What’s with Aberforth?
Andrew: Well, he’s just going to be in the notes that Dumbledore – Dumbledore…
Micah: It doesn’t say the goat’s going to be there.
Andrew: No, but Aber – close enough. “And Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porp…” Oh, Nearly Headless Nick, “…as well as other professors and past owners of the Elder Wand.” So it’s going to have a lot of new Harry Potter information in it too…
Micah: Yeah, I think that’s the big draw.
Andrew: …which I’m really excited about.
Laura: Oh, that’s cool.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: And, you know, we all love Dumbledore’s witty humor, so I think that’s definitely going to be worth reading, so I’m excited. Anything else going on? I know you said it was a slow week.
Micah: I think that was all we were going to talk about, right? Unless we wanted to…
News: Theme Park
Andrew: There’s new concept art from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park on the website.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: It’s of the Three Broomsticks.
Matt: Oh, well, they also have a poll on it about what would you – if you were to order a drink at the Three Broomsticks, what would it be? Would it be butterbeer or would it be pumpkin juice? It seems like…
Micah: Firewhiskey.
Matt: Yeah, I was going to say firewhiskey too…
[Laura laughs]
Matt: …but it seems the…
Micah: It’s not a choice?
Matt: No it’s not a choice. It’s only two. The majority, like, 75-80%, I think it is…
Andrew: Butterbeer?
Matt: Butterbeer, yeah.
Micah: That’s not a poll. You can’t have two choices on a poll.
Andrew: Yeah, I don’t get that. I didn’t get that. [laughs]
Matt: Maybe it’s like their specialty drink that they’re trying to go to.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Why can’t they do both?
Matt: I know, that’s what I’m saying.
Laura: I don’t understand.
Matt: Why can’t they just do both? It’s not really that hard of a recipe.
Andrew: I bet they will. I bet they will. It’d be boring if there was just one Harry Potter drink on the menu.
Matt: Well, I’m sure there’s going to be a bunch of other stuff. But I think they’re just trying to figure out who’s more keen to drinking it than the others. So they’ll probably make more of this drink than the other.
Andrew: I’m not very impressed by the concept art. Like, okay, yeah maybe it is real to the books, but it’s just bland. Like…
Matt: It’s not supposed to be like brand new and modern.
Andrew: Yeah, well, I know.
Matt: It’s supposed to look like it’s lasted there…
Andrew: But is this exciting? Like…
Matt: I think it looks very – it looks very busy.
Andrew: It looks [unintelligible].
Matt: Like a whole bunch of stairs and stuff.
Andrew: Yeah, and it’s cool, it has a Sirius Black wanted poster towards the back.
Matt: Yeah, that’s going to be cool.
Laura: Oh, that’s awesome.
Matt: It reminds me a lot of the Three Broomsticks in Prisoner of Azkaban.
Andrew: Oh, well, then I think they did their job.
Matt: Oh, well, then good.
Andrew: I guess that’s really all that’s worth discussing. The theme park – and we actually didn’t post this on MuggleNet, but originally they said it would be opening late 2009, early 2010, and with those updates on the website they changed the release date to just 2010. So I think that’s a sign of…
Matt: Well, we were all – we were all pretty much thinking it was going to be 2010 anyway.
Laura: Yeah
Andrew: I just think it’s just a sign of many delays to come. All right, well, I guess that’s it for news this week. Thank you, Micah.
Micah: Oh, you’re welcome.
Audible Advertisement
Andrew: And now a quick reminder: today’s podcast is brought to you buy Audible.com, the leading provider in spoken word entertainment. Audible has over 35,000 titles to choose from to be downloaded and played back anywhere, just like MuggleCast. On the summer road tour the co-hosts and I listened to a few audiobooks from Audible to pass the time. It is a fantastic listening experience and is a great way to do some reading. Log on to www.AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast to get a free audiobook download of your choice when you sign up today. Again, go to www.AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast for your free audiobook.
Matt’s Thoughts on the Teaser Trailer
Andrew: Oh, Matt, also we did the live show last week and you couldn’t make it.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: What were your – you want to just give a brief overview of your thoughts on the teaser trailer?
Matt: Yeah. I absolutely loved it. If you’ve seen our beautifully-made teaser trailer spoof.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Right.
Micah: Can I tell you, that was one of the funniest things I’ve watched in a long time.
Andrew: Really?
Matt: Really?
Andrew: Oh, thank you, Micah. That’s very nice.
Matt: Awww, thanks.
Andrew: It’s hard to make Micah laugh and I’m glad we did.
[Micah laughs]
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: I’m just kidding.
Matt: I have to say that this is probably one of my favorite teaser trailers of the Harry Potter movie series. I think other than this one I think it’s the Prisoner of Azkaban teaser trailer, and what I’ve noticed a lot is – I don’t know if you guys touched on this but – there were – the Harry – the Half-Blood Prince teaser trailers, both of them, even the one for IMAX, and the movie Prisoner of Azkaban, have close relativities to each other. They have the same music. And in the Half-Blood Prince teaser when you see young Tom Riddle sit down, you hear the music, the kind of eerie music.
Andrew: Mhm.
Matt: That’s when the Dementors come on the train in Prisoner of Azkaban.
Andrew: Oh, really?
Matt: Yeah, that’s the theme – that’s the song for it. And in the IMAX teaser trailer, when you hear this music right before you hear Dumbledore speak, “I must ask too much of you again, Harry,” or something like that, that’s the same music they played for the Prisoner of Azkaban teaser trailer in the very beginning.
Andrew: Hmmm. Wasn’t it just “Hedwig’s Theme”?
Matt: No. Because in the very beginning you can hear, like, the chorus. They’re going, “Ahhh,” sort of like that. But I think it was definitely a really good – it was a perfect teaser just meaning what a teaser trailer is, because it didn’t really tell us anything about the plot or anything. It just showed us one aspect of the story, and I thought that was just brilliant. They just centered on Tom Riddle instead of it being scattered to different kinds of scenes in a big collage.
Andrew: Yeah. That’s what the theatrical trailer will be.
Matt: The theatrical trailer will definitely have a more, like, you know, detailed version of what the movie’s about and will show a lot more scenes. It didn’t really show that many scenes either. It was just, like, four of five scenes that were just dragged on.
Andrew: Mhm.
Matt: So I thought that was really good.
Announcement: Podcast Alley
Andrew: All right, thank you, Matt. Let’s move on to announcements now. Just a couple this week. Don’t forget to vote for us in – on Podcast Alley. Number 5 right now. Not bad. Could be better. But, hey, it’s okay.
Matt: Yeah, the month’s not over.
Announcement: Teddy Bears for Hope Update
Andrew: That’s true, it’s only just begun. And, Micah, you have an update about Teddy Bears for Hope.
Matt: Can I have one?
Micah: [laughs] Can you have one?
Andrew: You have a teddy bear.
Matt: Yeah, but I want hope too.
[Micah laughs]
Laura: Ask Barack Obama.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: Oh geez.
Matt: Oh geez.
Micah: Yes we can.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Yes we can.
Andrew: Oh god.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: What’s going on with Teddy Bears for Hope, Micah?
Micah: As we mentioned last week on the live show, and I’m sure many people have already heard at the beginning of our show, we’re doing a little bit of charity work with this organization called Teddy Bears for Hope. It’s a non-profit, and the idea is to be able to give these teddy bears out to children who have been afflicted some way in their life, whether that be by disease or disaster. The effort so far is going very well. We made a post on MuggleNet.com at the beginning of the week. That obviously had a tremendous impact, and I don’t know if I should say where we’re at as of right now, but I’ll just say that we’re doing extremely well, and we appreciate obviously anything that anybody can give. No amount is too small and, you know, everybody’s kind of been rallying around this cause so far, and you know, all the listeners and the visitors to the site. So we really appreciate it.
Matt: That’s a really good organization. I was reading up on it yesterday. It’s really sweet.
Muggle Mail: The Fandom Changing
Andrew: Mhm. All right, thanks, Micah. Let’s move on to Muggle Mail now. Laura, you want to take the first one?
Laura: Sure. Our first Muggle Mail comes from Maggie, 16 of Michigan. She says:
“Hi, let me just say that you guys are amazing and that I love each and every one of you in your own special way. I was listening to your podcast when the subject came up about what is next for the ‘Harry Potter’ fandom and whether it is shrinking or changing. I just had this to say: with such a monumental series as ‘Harry Potter,’ its fanbase can never shrink. It only
becomes an even more integral part of our life. Since we have no new book to look foward to, ‘Harry Potter’ is slowly becoming an everyday part of our lives, a concrete part of our childhood. It’s in this weird stage where the books are going from a pop culture phenomenon to a classic piece of literature. Slowly but surely ‘Harry Potter’ will be passed on to our kids and they will have the same awe and wonder we all felt when we first read it. So yes, the fandom is changing. There may not be as many people coming out celebrate at conventions, or Harry’s birthday, but that is only because ‘Harry Potter’ is such a normal everyday thing in our lives that it just seems silly to do that
anymore. Yeah, it was a long message but there you go. Shrinking? No. Changing? Yes, but for the better.”
Andrew: Yeah, I like what she has to say, because I think she’s right, and when people do say, you know, it’s dying, it’s not really. I mean it’s just the same things that happened in the Harry Potter fandom continue to happen every day, so people think, oh, it’s dying just because there’s not big change. But when we have things like podcasts and Wizard
Rock, and I – you know, I was thinking earlier today, the Harry Potter fandom has contributed two major things to
the fandom as a whole, and that’s podcasting and a musical genre for that fandom, and it really is amazing of the impact of both of them.
Matt: Well, and so to speak, I mean the Harry Potter fandom can’t really shrink as long as the people who love the books still – still love it, yeah. I mean, just because you don’t go to conventions doesn’t mean you’re part of – not part of the fandom.
Micah: I think the online aspect of it as a whole, too. I mean, not just necessarily podcasting – I know that’s unique in itself – but kind of the whole online aspect to it too. I don’t know if it was as rampant just because of, you know, the Internet not necessarily being available as much to sort of – the other, you know, fandoms that existed previously.
Andrew: Right.
Matt: Right.
Andrew: And never again will there be a fandom that does not have online websites, forums, fan fiction, Wizard Rock.
Well, maybe not fan fiction because that sort of comes down to books, but like the musical genres. I just think that, Matt, you brought up a good point.
Matt: Well, it’s just so unique. I mean the fandom – I mean how many books – how many series have made a sport out of the book series, have made a genre of music from it? I mean…
Andrew: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.
Matt: It’s never been done; it’s a totally original fandom.
Micah: Yup.
Muggle Mail: Theatrical Trailer
Andrew: Next e-mail comes from Ivan, 17 of West Covina, California, writing about the theatrical trailer. He says:
“Hey guys, I was just wondering, now that we have seen the HBP teaser trailer and how much it focused on young
Tom Riddle, what do you think the theatrical trailer will focus on? Will it continue the focus on Tom Riddle or do you think it will focus on something new? Just wondering what you guys think, I love the show and all of you are awesome.”
Matt: I think it will, mostly, because that’s mainly…
Andrew: Mostly what?
Matt: Oh, focus on Tom Riddle. I mean not all of it focus on Tom Riddle, but I think especially at the end of the trailer when it gets to more, you know, the climatic scenes, it’ll show mostly about – it’ll show Harry and Dumbledore together, and basically what they’re together to do is hunt Horcruxes about Tom Riddle.
Micah: I kind of brought this up last week too, and I know it’s not necessarily the focal point of the book or the movie, but Snape and just kind of including him a little bit more in this because he does play such a huge role, even though…
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: …you know, it’s kind of a behind-the-scenes role. You’ll probably get a lot more of the end battle scene at
Hogwarts, which we haven’t really seen much of at all.
Matt: Yeah, definitely. I hope we get to see some Snape and Draco scenes.
Andrew: Yeah. I think there’s going to be a lot of love in it, too.
Matt: I don’t…
Laura: I hope not. [laughs] But you’re right, there probably – there will be, a little bit. I think it’s going to be a pretty encompassing trailer. I think they’re going to show a little bit of everything. There will probably be some Tom Riddle follow up, I’m sure, and like Micah was saying about the battle scenes, and Andrew’s thing about the love…
Andrew: The love.
Laura: …so I think we’re going to see a little bit of everything.
Muggle Mail: The Magic Number Seven
Micah: The last e-mail comes from Leela, 21, of Daytona Beach, Florida. She says:
“Hi, love the show, you guys are awesome! I just wanted to point out something interesting in the latest ‘Half-Blood Prince’ trailer. At one minute and ten seconds, if you look behind young Tom Riddle, you can count exactly seven stones laying on the windowsill. It also is shown again at one minute and sixteen seconds. I just thought it was pretty cool. Seven stones for seven Horcruxes. Again, love the show, pickles, Layla.”
Laura: Oops, it was Layla. [laughs]
Andrew: Uh-oh! That’s kind of clever.
Laura: Yeah, that is a nice little…
Micah: Is anybody looking at it right now? I don’t have it up.
Andrew: No, but I can real quick. Watch, she’s probably lying. See, one thing we fail at is checking the authenticity of – the legitimacy, I guess I should say, of the e-mails.
Laura: Well, that’s because…
Andrew: People could tell us anything and we’ll believe it.
Laura: We trust our listeners.
Andrew: Well, exactly. That’s exactly what I meant. Okay, let me see, I’m looking here.
Matt: Yeah, but he doesn’t know anything about seven, though. The power of seven. Because he’s not…
Laura: Yeah, but…
Micah: Doesn’t mean David Yates couldn’t put it in there, though.
Andrew: Oh, there they are. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Yeah, seven stones.
Matt: Oh, wow!
Andrew: That’s really – I wonder what they’re trying to do with that.
Matt: They may not – I mean, we’re only seeing it from a pretty far – they could be just the knickknacks he stole because we know he stole stuff from…
Andrew: Those are stones.
Matt: They’re stones?
Andrew: They’re stones. Yeah. They’re not…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: They’re not knickknacks. If Mikey B. was here he could confirm that for me. He would…
Laura: Yeah, really.
Andrew: He would do a close up and analyze it with Photoshop, and…
Laura: We would have a twenty-minute long analyzation.
Andrew: Yeah, analyzation [laughs] of the different shapes…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …and how rocks form, and all that. [laughs] Thank you for that, Layla.
Interview with Stephenie Meyer
Andrew: Okay, well, it’s time now for our interview with the one and only, the fantastic, the charming, the bubbly – as Laura and Elysa described her after the show – interview, Stephenie Meyer. And now, for those of you who have read Breaking Dawn or are planning on reading it, we do get into the plot of the book, but I inserted a little spoiler warning before Breaking Dawn content so you’ll know when to stop it so nothing gets spoiled for you. So, we’ll take it away to our interview with Stephenie Meyer. Joining us now is Stephenie Meyer, the author of the highly successful Twilight saga, which was just completed Friday when Breaking Dawn was released. Hello, Stephenie!
Stephenie: Hi, Andrew!
Andrew: How are you today?
Stephenie: I’m pretty good. I’m starting to get a little nervous [unintelligible] the show tonight. That always happens.
Andrew: Yeah, you’re in the middle of this tour right now. What is this, your second or third?
Stephenie: This is my fourth tour.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Stephenie: So both books, and then one tour for The Host, and then, you know, various international tours. [laughs]
Andrew: Right, right, and you are in Chicago tonight, right?
Stephenie: Right.
Andrew: Awesome. So, we’re going to ask you some questions about the Twilight fandom and how it compares to the Potter fandom, since we are a Harry Potter fansite, and then we’ll get into stuff about Breaking Dawn. Does that sound good?
Stephenie: That sounds cool.
Andrew: All right, cool.
Elysa: With the release of Breaking Dawn, the press is really all over this huge phenomenon that you’ve created with these books, and a lot of them are comparing you to J.K. Rowling because of the similarities in the fandoms. Why do you think so many Potter fans also enjoy Twilight and vice versa?
Stephenie: Yeah, I think everyone says that, actually, not most of them.
[Andrew and Stephenie laugh]
Stephenie: I get that all the time now, and I don’t really know. I mean, when it comes down to it, there isn’t that much that’s similar…
Elysa: Mhm…
Stephenie: …about the books, except for the fans of the books are very similar. And of course all my fans are Harry Potter fans because everyone is a Harry Potter fan.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Stephenie: That just goes without saying, right?
Elysa: Right. I agree with you, yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: Yeah, so, I mean, I think the fans see, and they’re fun reads, but they do appeal to people who like a little bit longer books, so there’s that too, I guess.
Elysa: Right.
Matt: Okay. Stephenie, in your opinion, what is it about this whole genre that appeals to so many readers?
Stephenie: The vampire genre?
[Matt and Stephenie laugh]
Matt: Yeah.
Stephenie: You know, I don’t know, because I’m not – I don’t read vampire books, so – and that – before, now I’ll be able to. I – I’ve never really been into horror, so I’m not sure what the appeal is. I think it’s because – you know, a lot of people like horror movies, people who aren’t me, and I guess people liked to be scared, and vampires, of all the monsters that we can scare ourselves with, are definitely the sexiest. I mean, the rest are unattractive.
[Andrew laughs]
Matt: Oh. Yeah.
Andrew: Right.
Elysa: Clearly.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Andrew: Now, one major difference between the fandoms is that – between Harry Potter and Twilight is that J.K. Rowling has had ten years to develop her fandom, whereas yours has only had three years. So if your fandom only had – not only – if your fandom had ten years to develop, do you think it would grow into this huge thing?
Stephenie: You know, I don’t know. Everything has been so much more than I expected…
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: …so it’s hard to say. I kind of keep waiting for everything to crash and burn.
[Andrew laughs]
Stephenie: Something about my personality…
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: It just seems like, you know – I would have to wonder what would happen if there was just more time. It would be fun to watch, and just seeing this whole fandom grow has been a lot of fun to watch for Twilight.
Stephenie: Yeah. It’s been really fast. I mean – obviously, cool and fun for me…
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: …so I don’t know. I kind of like the idea of starting over with new characters though. It should be – I imagine J.K. Rowling deals with is the idea that people feel like the characters belong to them, and after a while they have their guess and idea of what they want to see happen. You don’t really have to deal with that so much when you’re starting over with fresh characters.
Andrew: Is that a hint of things to come?
Stephenie: Well, I – well, obviously, I’ve got to go and do Midnight Sun, so people don’t come after me, right?
[Everyone laughs]
Stephenie: But I’m still – I’m still in the Twilight world for now, but then I’ve got a lot of other, you know, non-vampire: ghosts, time travel, mermaids. I got a ton of stuff…
Andrew: Wow.
Matt: Oh, wow.
Stephenie: …to work on.
Elysa: Awesome.
Matt: Oh, cool.
Andrew: That’s a spectrum there. Yeah. [Andrew laughs]
Stephenie: Yeah.
[Matt and Stephenie laugh]
Laura: So, considering that you’ve said the two stories don’t have a lot in common, what do you think Harry Potter fans would like about Twilight, especially people who haven’t read the books yet?
Stephenie: You know, I don’t know. It’s not – to me it’s so not comparable, but I do think that people who are readers – I was always a reader when I was growing up, and I just liked really big stories. I never wanted them to end. And my stories are long, so they’re – they have that going for them, but then I think they’re kind of fun, fast reads, you know, for as long as they are. My top priority is always entertainment, and so I think that is similar to Harry Potter. Rowling just had such a whimsical, magical, escapism that’s really cool, and I with Twilight I think it’s a bit closer to home because it’s set more in the world that we know, but I still think it has that escape that people might be looking for.
Laura: Right.
Andrew: Yeah. You know, and I’ve got to say, that’s what I’ve always liked about your books is – it is set in today’s world, and in America, too. I mean, I’ve always appreciated your reference to Rotten Tomatoes. I think that was in…
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Andrew: Twilight or New Moon. Just thought it was good.
Stephenie: [laughs] Well, you know, Rotten Tomatoes is a good tool.
Andrew: Yes, it is.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Matt: Okay, Stephenie, you’ve read the Harry Potter books, correct?
Stephenie: Yes.
Matt: Okay. What would you say is your favorite of the series?
Stephenie: Probably number three. I’m just a huge Sirius Black fan.
Matt: Ohh.
Elysa: Oh my God.
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Elysa: I’m there with you. Me too.
Stephenie: I had a really hard time when he died. It was not easy for me.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Laura: Aww. Well, I think we all felt the same way. [laughs]
Stephenie: Yeah. [laughs]
Laura: But if you had to pick something specific, or maybe not so specific, what do you admire most about J.K. Rowling’s work?
Stephenie: Oh God. Her imagination. I mean, she – I – when I work, I work within the world that I’m in because I kind of like having that foundation of realism. Also it’s a little bit easier. People are used to being in this world. To create a whole other world and get the walls up as solidly as she does takes a ton of imagination and just a real gift. I am constantly amazed by that with her.
Matt: Yeah. Aww.
Elysa: Okay, so if Harry and Edward had to duel against each other, using their own abilities, who do you think would win?
Stephenie: Oh gosh. Don’t get mad at me, but, I mean…
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Stephenie: Okay. I don’t know what a wizard fight looks like in her head. I know what it looks like in the movie, so I kind of have to go on what it looks like in the movie.
[Andrew laughs]
Stephenie: But here’s the thing: if it’s possible for a human to duck a wand being [unintelligible] at them, the vampire’s not going to have a problem. I mean, the fight would be over in .01 seconds, because Edward would be across the room, snap his neck, and be done.
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Stephenie: He wouldn’t even have time to say his spell word. I’m sorry. Edward would win that one.
[Everyone laughs]
Elysa: Yeah.
Andrew: All right, let’s move on to…
Matt: I kind of… [laughs] …I kind of agree with her.
Laura: Yeah, me, too.
Andrew: Let’s move on to Breaking Dawn now.
Warning: Breaking Dawn Spoilers
Andrew: And if you, the listener, have not read Breaking Dawn yet and you plan on it, and you don’t want to be spoiled, now’s the time to fast-forward about thirty minutes ahead to get the rest of MuggleCast.
MuggleCast 156 Transcript (continued)
Back to the Interview
Andrew: Because we all finished reading it, I think it’s safe…
Stephenie: Yay!
Matt: Yeah…
Andrew: ..to say we all loved it.
Matt: Yes.
Stephenie: Thank you.
Laura: It was amazing.
Stephenie: I – you know, I haven’t gotten all the reaction yet, but I hear murmurs that some people are upset with me, so I’m glad to hear you guys liked it.
Matt: Well, it’s over. That’s probably why a lot of people are so upset.
Andrew: Yeah. That’s definitely part of it, I think.
Stephenie: I think it kind of goes back to the dream of what Steven Spielberg was saying about the new Indiana Jones and how people all had written their own stories.
Andrew: Hmm.
Stephenie: And I think that when you leave that space for people to do that, it’s hard to make them happy.
Matt: Exactly.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: Yeah.
Andrew: So, did you always have a four-book saga planned out in your head?
Stephenie: No. When I wrote Twilight, that was – you know, I didn’t know I was writing the book…
Andrew: Right.
Stephenie: I wasn’t thinking about that, right? So as I wrote that, it was its own thing. And then when I continued on, I wrote, you know, the other sequel, Forever Dawn, which was basically a rough draft of Breaking Dawn.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Stephenie: And then – so that was the end. So two books then. And then my editor came and said, “You skipped right over the end of high school. People want to see more high school Bella. Let’s go back and develop that.” And so that’s what I did. But I knew the ending, and when I started New Moon I knew it would be a four-book story arc.
Andrew: Oh.
Laura and Matt: Oh.
Andrew: Interesting.
Matt: Okay. But how did you come up with the…
Stephenie: I’m a little disorganized. As you can tell.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Andrew: I think it turned out great, though.
Matt: So, Stephenie, how did you come up with the title for Breaking Dawn?
Stephenie: Well, the first book was originally called Forks because…
Matt: Yeah.
Stephenie: …I just really liked that, and I thought, “I would pick up a book called Forks. How can you write a book that’s wrong about Forks?”
[Everyone laughs]
Stephenie: My editor didn’t think this was a very good idea, so we kicked around a ton of titles. And then we finally did come up with Twilight. Then the other titles became really easier. [unintelligible] was really obvious to me. Eclipse came really well. And then Breaking Dawn, I fevered on something cheesy, I didn’t want to go back to that. I wanted more of a sense of impending doom while at the same time breaking day, you know?
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: And, actually, Pel on the Lexicon was the one that originally suggested that. I kind of was kicking it around, like, “Guys, what do you think?” She said, “Breaking Dawn.” And I said, “Ooh, I like that.” And that’s what I ended up using.
Andrew: Oh wow.
Matt: Yeah. It does kind of have that…
Elysa: Awesome. Okay, so this has been discussed and mostly the cover of Breaking Dawn. What does it mean to you?
Stephenie: Ooo, you guys are – I figured I’d answer that one tonight for the very first time, but you guys [unintelligible].
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Stephenie: This cover has kind of two – two things. For me the main thing is, this is a metaphor for the entire story arc, because you have Bella going from being the most helpless player on the board to being the most powerful on the board.
Matt: Yes! Yes!
Stephenie: So…
Laura: Oh, Matt had it right.
Matt: Yes!
Andrew: Good job, Matt.
[Elysa says something unintelligible]
Stephenie: The pawn to queen. And the other – I kind of wanted to foreshadow – the final scene in the book is not a battle scene. For me it’s more of a court room drama. And so I wanted to get that sense of people very methodically plotting their move. And so I liked the chess metaphor.
Andrew: Oh, wow. That’s great. You know, what I really loved about this cover was that there are so many ways you could interpret it.
Matt: Yeah.
Stephenie: Right. But all the covers are that way, to an extent.
Andrew: Oh.
Stephenie: And so I thought it would fit well with the whole series.
Andrew: Sure.
Matt: Mhm.
Laura: Yeah. I will say we spent hours sitting around discussing what this cover could have possibly been.
[Andrew, Matt, and Stephenie laugh]
Laura: We had everything you could possibly think of. It was ridiculous.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: Well, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to work. So awesome.
Andrew: Yeah.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Laura: So, this might be a difficult question to answer, but what was your favorite scene to write from Breaking Dawn?
Stephenie: I said at Comic Con that it was my favorite Edward and Bella scene…
Andrew: Yes.
Stephenie: …was in Breaking Dawn. And it’s the very last scene in the book, like the last two pages.
Matt: Aww…
Stephenie: Yeah. That was one of my favorite things of that. So then, writing the Jacob Black section was the most fun I’ve ever had. I was just laughing the whole way through. It was fantastic.
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Matt: That’s awesome.
Laura: Yeah, really. I have to say, I’m so appreciative that you did that, because Jacob – I know I’m not the only one here who says that Jacob is their favorite character, and reading from his perspective was just awesomeness. That’s the only way I can describe it.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: It was fantastic.
Andrew: Yeah, it was really…
Stephenie: Writing from his perspective was was just hugely fun. And he’s always been one of my favorites, and, you know, I’ve been hearing his little snarky inside comments the whole time I’ve been writing, you know? I know what he’s thinking, I’m hearing his responses…
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: …that he doesn’t say, and it’s been great to finally be able to have those.
Andrew: I’m so glad you brought up those snarky comments, because I was actually laughing when he was saying some of those things.
Matt: Yeah. Uh-huh.
Andrew: Especially the Rose-Jacob interaction. It was just so funny. I loved it.
Matt: Yeah.
Stephenie: Oh. I very much enjoyed Jacob and Rosalie. [laughs]
Matt: Yes.
[Andrew laughs]
Matt: Oh, I love them. I love those blonde jokes.
[Andrew laughs]
Stephenie: Yeah.
Matt: Well, I just love how when Bella was sick, and we were from Jacob’s point of view, he was kind of taking over Bella’s sarcasm a little bit. And you kind of mention that a little bit in the book.
Stephenie: Yeah. Well, one of the things that went in Forever Dawn, the original series, it does not have that section, and the whole thing is narrated from Bella’s perspective, because Jacob has not developed into the character that he was by the time I started Breaking Dawn. You know, it’s just in Twilight he’s a very small role, so – but part of the problem with the original draft was that it gets a little grim for a while.
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: Oh.
Stephenie: And I…
Laura: Yeah.
Stephenie: …wanted it to be outside of this life and death struggle for a little bit. And, you know, to have it there but at the same time be away from it. And I also wanted to show where the action was. Bella’s sitting in a house for a week during that part of the time doing nothing… [laughs]
Andrew: Right.
Stephenie: And there’s a lot going on that she can’t see, so I needed [unintelligible].
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Mhm.
Laura: So, kind of moving along a little bit, Renesmee. Was she always going to happen from the beginning, or was she a surprise to you the way she was to Bella and Edward?
Stephenie: From the time I started Forever Dawn she was a big part of the story.
Andrew: Oh.
Stephenie: And, in fact, wouldn’t be in [unintelligible] situation.
Matt: Mhm.
Laura: Mhm.
Stephenie: They wanted me to end the story at three books, and I couldn’t do that and get Nessie at the same time, and so it was really for her that I was fighting that whole time, because I wanted her. [laughs]
Laura: Oh, wow. So kind of like the way Bella was fighting for her. That’s really cool.
Stephenie: Very similar. It was very similar, actually.
Andrew: Hmm.
Elysa: Going back to Jacob a little bit, because, like Laura, he really is one of my favorite characters. I really love him a lot. I’ve always sort of felt like fans judged him a bit too harshly for some of his behavior in Eclipse, and I’m wondering, do you think that now after Breaking Dawn, after we’ve seen all the sacrifices that he’s made, that fans will ease up? Do you think that he’s redeemed himself?
Stephenie: You know? No. Because I thought that people would get him in Eclipse. I thought that they would understand how much of his gruffness and attitude is about his heart being broken and how much he was already giving, even in Eclipse, to make an alliance with his enemies for her.
Elysa: Yeah.
Stephenie: So much of it’s self-sacrifice, and the willingness he was to hurt himself for her, it kind of broke my heart. And then for people not to get that, I was very surprised. So I will never predict [laughs] that people find Jacob Black redeemed.
[Andrew laughs]
Stephenie: No matter what I write. Because I don’t think some of them can be convinced in any direction besides just hating him. [laughs]
Matt: Yeah.
Elysa: All right, that’s true. And I was disappointed with that too, becasuse from the very get-go I loved Jake, you know, so – but…
Stephenie: Well, I’ve always been inside [unintelligible], so I’ve never gotten that – that sense of – that he was up to no good, that he’s this bad person. That’s always surprised me.
Elysa: Right. Right.
Andrew: Mhm.
Elysa: Well, what about imprinting? There was a bit of that – well, obviously, a lot of that in Breaking Dawn, but Jake says at some point, I think it’s when he’s talking to Leah, that he wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of having him imprint. I think he says something along the lines of, you know, he wanted to keep a mind of his own, or at least he had a mind of his own, or something. So, what are your thoughts on imprinting? Do you think that it sort of relinquishes free will or is it just sort of the werewolves – or the shape-shifters, excuse me – the shape-shifters…
[Andrew laughs]
Elysa: …version of soul mates?
Stephenie: I’m kind of on the line between that. On the one hand it doesn’t leave you a choice. And it can mess up your life, like it did with Sam. You know, and someone else’s life in the bargain. On the other hand, it gives you a life-long love that you’re never going to tire of, and that is always going to be fresh and new. And so there’s a gift and a curse wrapped up in there.
Laura: Right.
Andrew: One thing I had been wondering about: towards the end there is the resolution with the Volturi – Volturi, sorry. Why did you have the Volturi understand Rensesmee’s situation instead of having some sort of, you know, like, climactic battle or something? Because it was a surprise – I did enjoy it, but I was surprised that the Volturi sort of, you know…
Matt: Cowered away…
Andrew: Understood – well, not so much coward…
Stephenie: Work it out.
Andrew: What’s that?
Stephenie: They work out. They work out, and it wasn’t a big battle where everybody got slaughtered. And a lot of that is because I was not ready to slaughter everybody. And it would have happened that way, and I had this discussion with my editor, you know, there were a couple different people giving me feedback on this, and I always wanted it to be an official game. I knew who I was going to have to kill and I didn’t want to go there. It was always this way for me, but, you know…
Laura: Speaking of…
Stephenie: …I thought about doing it. I just couldn’t do it.
Andrew: Okay.
Matt: Aw, okay.
Andrew: Go ahead, Laura.
Laura: So just speaking of the Volturi, we were curious to learn more about some of the other vampires. Like, for instance, what did Jane have as a human that translated to her special ability as a vampire? And were there any other interesting tidbits you could give us about any of the Volturi or the Denali that we don’t already know?
Stephenie: Well, that’s an open-ended question.
[Everyone laughs]
Stephenie: I could go on for hours! There is stuff on the website, actually, about Jane and Alec and how they were sort of shaped as they became vampires, because they were, you know – they were in England and considered witches at the time, because they had, like, Alice had – when the Volturi caught up to them they were actually being burned at the stake, which shaped how their powers manifested.
Laura: Okay.
Stephenie: It’s the pain of that. So that was one, but yeah, all of the characters have, you know, back stories in my head. I’m kind of waiting for some questions that I’m expecting about the index that I provided at the end. I’m sure – I’m pretty sure those are coming. [laughs]
Andrew: Oh yeah, I thought that was…
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: I thought that was pretty cool how you had that in there.
Matt: Yeah, I like them too.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: I liked as a reference to keep going back and forth.
Andrew: Yeah.
Elysa: So, why was Bella able to, essentially, skip her newborn stage? Was it due to the attitude and preparation that they had suggested?
Stephenie: Yes, it was because…[unintelligible]…her personality. Well, her personality is a very controlled personality in some ways. And it translated really well. She was sort of uniquely fitted towards it.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Elysa: Right, right.
Matt: And she pretty much embraced the vampire stage too, I mean, she didn’t really – it wasn’t really like her body was – her whole existence wasn’t against it.
Andrew: Mhm.
Stephenie: No, and it was just Bella. Everyone else was kind of stunned by it.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: The Cullen family anyway, and then those that were born into different families, like, you know, the Volturi, would never have been taught that they needed to do anything differently. So she just had a lot more prep time than anybody else.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Elysa: Right, right, that makes sense.
Laura: Now this – it seems like this is somewhat disputed between some of the vampires, particularly Edward and Carlisle – at least for a little while. Is there an afterlife for the vampires?
Stephenie: Damn. You know, I’m not good about answering questions about things that haven’t been answered in the novels that are…
[Everyone laughs]
Stephenie: Because there’s that chance that I might go there.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: I mean, I think that at this point in the story it is still up in the air. None of them know because they haven’t seen.
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: Okay.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: That makes sense.
Elysa: I think you touched on this a little bit already, but our next question was, was there ever a point when you considered killing off one or more of the main characters?
Stephenie: I know who would have to die if I went ahead with the series, and that is kind of one of the reasons why I don’t want to.
Andrew: Oh.
Stephenie: I’d have to kill a lot of people if it ever really came down to a fight, a pitched battle. People would die and that’s no fun. So I do know who I would kill, but I don’t know if I ever will go there.
Andrew: Mhm.
Matt: Oh. So, Stephenie, we saw that the issues between Jacob and his old pack were resolved in Breaking Dawn, but does he ever go back to join them with Sam and his pack? Or does he stay as an alpha and lead his own.
Stephenie: The alpha thing isn’t something you can really turn off.
Matt: Right.
Stephenie: So, he realizes he’s in, so that’s why he sort of pulled some of his friends over and he’s got his own pack now. There’s no going back.
Laura: And speaking of that, did you always know that Jacob and the rest of the pack were shape-shifters? Or was it just kind of something that came about maybe in the middle of the series, maybe?
Stephenie: I still think of them as werewolves because, really, what’s the definition of a werewolf? A man turns into a wolf so technically, yeah. But I knew their back story in a very – I haven’t defined it entirely, but I knew where it came from. And I knew that it had been a different story than if they had been bitten by a traditional werewolf, and so I kind of had to make the decision early on, do traditional werewolves? Where are they at? What’s with the moon and the silver bullets? And I kind of decided that they must [unintelligible] and that they would be close to extinct at this point. So, I’ve known that.
Andrew: Now, Edward mentioned at the end of the book that the Volturi would eventually try to pick each of their family off individually. Does this mean we’ll see more books about the future of the Cullens? Is that what you may be leaning more towards? Or are you ready to move on to something else?
Stephenie: I mean, that’s definitely left open for that purpose.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: Clearly, there would be a possibility for a lot more stories there, but I have not yet decided. You know, I have to admit, it’s been a really long year.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: And I don’t know if I am ready to dive back into that. I think that I’m going to go and explore a different direction for a while.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Uh-huh.
Andrew: If you had to choose a character’s point of view to go from, other than Edward’s, who would be your third favorite to write from, I guess it would be.
Stephenie: You mean from this point out?
Andrew: From – yeah, just from anyone else’s point of views. Like Jaspar, or…
Matt: Alice.
Andrew: Yeah, or Carlisle. Alice, of course. Yeah.
Stephenie: Do you mean for – to go back and redo from a different perspective? Or from this point on?
Andrew: Well, maybe…
Matt: Maybe…
Andrew: …either.
Matt: Like, their story, or something even.
Andrew: Yeah, maybe.
Stephenie: Well, because I’m writing from Edward’s perspective on Midnight Sun, I actually get to get a lot of people’s perspective because he’s reading everyone’s thoughts.
Andrew: Oh, yeah. That’s true.
Stephenie: So, you really get a lot of Alice’s, and a real extent to Rosalie, as well, and Emmett. It all just – you really get their perspective, too, when Edward’s telling the story. I don’t really have the urge to go back to any of those characters. And if I were to go forward, I don’t think that those would be the ones I’d do.
Matt: Hm.
Andrew: Hm.
Matt: Okay.
Elysa: All right.:So, we get to see a lot of really cool new characters in Breaking Dawn and, just as a personal aside, I have to tell you how much I adore Garrett.
Stephenie: Yes, I loved him instantly.
[Everyone laughs]
Stephenie: I’m a big Garrett fan. I love the guy.
Elysa: And his little monologue at the end, the revolutionary sort of monologue, that just thrilled me.
Matt: Yeah.
Elysa: He just won be over completely. But, I mean, who’s your favorite of the new characters? The personality-wise and in terms who you like to write?
Stephenie: I enjoy Chavon quite a bit. She actually had – and Maggie – in the original draft there was a little bit longer towards the end. It was too long, which is why it got cut down. It’s still very long. But I cut out some interactions with Chavon and then I also – I really enjoyed the Romanians. They’re new to the version of the story and I loved having them come in with their totally different attitude…
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: …and just kind of their – I got a huge kick out of them. [laughs]
Matt: That was funny. I love the Romanians.
Andrew: Didn’t Aro give them a look too? I was like, oh geez.
Stephenie: Oh, yeah.
Andrew: Yeah. That was great.
Stephenie: It was just like the last cue and they’re still kind of the thorn in the side, never quite eradicated the entire clan, you know.
Andrew: Right. [laughs]
Matt: So, Stephenie, this question I’ve been dying to ask ever since Breaking Dawn finished. What is your opinion – or not what is your opinion, gosh. What is the overall message to the series?
Stephenie: [sighs] You know, my editor said that to me.
[Everyone laughs]
Stephenie: When I gave her the outline, she said, “What’s the moral of the story?”
[Andrew laughs]
Stephenie: And I was like, there’s no moral to the story. The point is to have a good time.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Stephenie: So the message is, did you enjoy, you know, the ride? Hopefully, because that’s what it was about. It was about having fun and entertainment.
Matt: Oh, okay.
Stephenie: Nothing beyond that was intentional. [laughs]
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: Okay, interesting.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Elysa: Right. Yeah. Okay, so I have a question for you about Jasper because our mutual friend, Kim, is just in love with him, so – and she’s wondering, does Jasper actually feel other people’s emotions or does he just feel the emotion coming off of them?
Stephenie: Oh, he feels their emotions, which, to me there’s not really a distinction there. You know, for him, people are putting out this emotional aura all the time and if someone’s very sad then he’s going to feel that too. He can separate from himself a little bit, you know, and he knows that he’s not sad, but he’s still feeling the effects of it.
Elysa: Right.
Matt: Mhm.
Elysa: Right. Well, when he is trying to influence someone else’s emotion, does he have to feel it himself? Like if he’s trying to calm someone down, does he have to feel calm or is he able to do that outside of his own emotion?
Stephenie: He has to be calm to calm someone down.
Elysa: Wow. Poor Jasper.
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Laura: I feel so bad for him.
Stephenie: He’s had a lot of practice. He’s good at it. [laughs]
Elysa: Yeah, I guess that’s true. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Mhm.
Laura: So I know we kind of talked about the encyclopedia or the official guide to the Twilight saga that was advertised at the end of Breaking Dawn. What, if anything, can you tell us about what to expect?
Stephenie: You know, I am only tangentially involved in that. It should just be sort of – I think a lot of it will be old information to someone who’s read everything on the Lexicon, and everything on my website, and everything that’s out there. They’ll be like, oh yeah, I know a lot of this. But to someone who hasn’t put in that effort, it’ll be a good reference guide for them.
Matt: Mhm.
Stephenie: I’m hoping to be able to add in some new material. Don’t know if it’s going to happen. We’ll see when we get off tour and what their production schedule is like. If what I’m working on doesn’t make it in time, I’ll just put it on my website.
Andrew: Okay. Cool.
Laura: Awesome.
Elysa: Cool.
Andrew: Now – oh, Elysa, you have a question?
Elysa: Oh, okay, sure. Well, I know that you’re a big fan of the band Muse, and so am I, so I was wondering, was there any particular songs that really stood out to you while you were writing Breaking Dawn? Any one or two in particular that inspired you the most?
Stephenie: On my playlist at the end in the – it’s fitted to the battle scene, I hear the song “Take a Bow” as the Volturi are coming into the meadow. I can just see them almost moving them to that, the way it builds and kind of expands. I mean, it’s an amazing song. And then “Assassin” is Garret’s speech, which you guys [unintelligible]. [laughs]
Elysa: Right. Perfect, yeah. I totally see that. That’s a good one.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: Awesome. Now a couple questions about the movie. At Comic Con, you were doing an interview with Katherine Hardwick, the director of course, and she said that you’d be seeing what they put together the following Tuesday. So do you want to say anything about the film? Like, have you seen it? A rough cut of it at this point?
Stephenie: I did see a very, very rough cut.
Andrew: Ooooh.
Stephenie: There were, you know, there’s a lot of transitions and things like that. A lot that they didn’t do because it’s still in the very early stages.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: But I was kind of amazed at how the emotions came through and how certain Rob is and how Bella-y Kristen is, and how them together just really caught that chemistry. It’s kind of mind blowing.
Andrew: Wow. Awesome. That’s really exciting to hear.
Stephenie: And I think – I think that you guys knew Rob before, as Cedric. And kind of have seen him in action but he’s going to blow you away. You’re not going to believe it when you see how – what his skill range is. He’s amazing.
Andrew: Right. Because Matt and I were at Comic Con and we saw the scene that they played at the panel, at that now, like, historic panel…
Matt: Yeah.
[Stephenie laughs]
Andrew: …with you guys. [laughs] And that scene, it seemed like it was pretty much complete. It was definitely a lot different than when they played it at the MTV Movie Awards. And that scene was just awesome; it just felt so cool.
Matt: I was so excited. The last scene we actually saw what Bella was seeing when she got bit.
Andrew: Oh yeah.
Stephenie: Yeah. [laughs]
Matt: And then they stopped. [laughs]
Andrew: That was crazy. So is it true to the books? Do you think the fans will be very happy with it? Because that’s always been a big thing with Harry Potter, about it being true to the books. And, frankly, they – they really haven’t, and it’s a thing the fans have come to accept. So what do you think the Twilight fans should expect?
Stephenie: It totally depends on the attitude they go in with. Like I’ve had people e-mail me about trailers they’ve seen, and say, you know, this line is different than it is in the book, I’m concerned. It’s like, okay, well, you need to be because if you’re expecting them to come out and spout all the lines out of the book and have everything happen in the same order, you know, that’s just not possible unless you were doing a twelve-hour mini-series.
Matt: Exactly.
Stephenie: Can’t be done. But what I was looking for, and hoping for, was that it would feel like Twilight, and the little things that are different are almost, like, little extras, you know, that totally could happen because they’re absolutely in character, and when they’re talking to each other it sounds like Bella and Edward and it’s, like, little extras for me and there are scenes even that I wish I could put into the book.
Andrew: Yeah.
Stephenie: They’re that much in line. So if you’re expecting to see the book exactly as it is, you’re not going to see that. But you are going to see the soul of Twilight, and that’s what counts to me.
Andrew: Yeah. Awesome.
Laura: Awesome.
Matt: Awesome.
Stephenie: Okay, well, Elizabeth just walked in so that’s my cue; I have to run over to the theater.
Andrew: All right, great. All right, well, Stephenie, thank you so much, this was a lot of fun.
Laura: Yeah, we really appreciate it.
Stephenie: Oh, absolutely. It was fun for me too!
Andrew: Awesome!
Matt: Aww.
Andrew: Good luck on your show today. I’m sure you’ll do fine.
Matt: Good luck, Stephenie.
Stephenie: Oh, thank you!
Matt: We’ll see you Thursday.
Andrew: Yeah, Matt and I are going to be at your L.A. stop, so…
Stephenie: Oh cool, cool! I’ll see you on Thursday then.
Andrew: Yeah, definitely. All right, thanks a lot!
Matt: Thanks!
Stephenie: Thank you.
Andrew: Bye.
Laura: Bye.
Stephenie: Bye.
Matt: Bye.
Elysa: Bye.
Andrew: Okay, there it was. That was wonderful. That was a lot of fun.
Laura: Wow.
Andrew: Wasn’t it, Laura?
Laura: That was awesome. She’s so nice.
Andrew: Yeah. And many of you know that we do run a fan site and podcast for Twilight, TwilightSource.com, and also Imprint the podcast. So feel free to check those out if interested in what Stephenie had to say. I can’t – do you think that J.K. Rowling would by annoyed that Stephenie thinks that Harry Potter – or Edward – would win in a duel versus Harry Potter?
Laura: I don’t know. I’d be interested to hear what Jo would say.
Matt: Yeah. Hey, Jo, come on the show.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Come on the show, Jo. Fire back.
Matt: We’re waiting.
Andrew: Yeah, now she has to fire back. She can’t let that hang.
Matt: Have you gotten our e-mails, Jo?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
This Week in MuggleCast History
Andrew: Okay, well, actually, today’s actually a very big day for MuggleCast. It’s actually the three year anniversary of when MuggleCast was first released.
Laura: Oh my God.
Andrew: August 7, 2005. Can you guys believe it? Three years. So this week we are going to do This Week in MuggleCast History, and why not go back to the very first episode? I’m just going to start it right from the beginning, and we’ll only play like a minute, minute and a half, but…
Matt: Okay.
Andrew: You know, talk about it afterwards. So, here we go. Let’s go back in time, turn on the time machines. [makes time machine noise]
Andrew: This is MuggleCast, MuggleNet.com’s brand new podcasting feature: Episode 1 for August 7, 2005. If you haven’t finished reading Book 6 yet please do not listen to this podcast, as we do talk about several different spoilers.
Ben: Welcome to MuggleCast. I’m Ben Schoen.
Andrew: I’m Andrew Sims.
Kevin: And I’m Kevin Steck.
Andrew: Loving this music.
Ben: This is the first edition of a brand new feature brought to you by MuggleNet.com. Each week our discussion will be centered around one topic. This week we’ll be discussing the recently released sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But first we need to take a look at this past week’s news. Within the past week we’ve seen a lot of news for the fourth movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Laura: You guys sound so young.
Ben: A lot of brand new pictures have also been released. Kevin and Andrew, what do you guys think?
Andrew: Okay, well, I’m really thinking this movie…
Andrew: Who’s that?
Andrew: …will be one of the best ones yet. And I said that about Prisoner of Azkaban too, but this one I really think is going to be good. The director, Mike Newell…
[pronounces New-ell]
Andrew: Newell! Newell, you idiot!
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …he’s the director of Mona Lisa Smile, Four Weddings and A Funeral…
Laura: Listen to that audio quality. Terrible.
Andrew: [laughs] Okay, well, that’s…
Matt: Who was that?
Andrew: That was me! That was nasally Andrew.
Matt: Awww! Twelve-year-old Andrew.
Andrew: [imitates nasal voice] I think this movie’s going to be the best one yet. I’ve said that before. [snorts] But I really think so this time. I mean it.
[Everyone laughs]
Micah: Ben sounds the same.
Andrew: Oh geez. Ben…
Matt: [laughs] I know.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: So does Kevin. And what’s great about that episode was…
Matt: I agree.
Andrew: …that I was so prepared. I had – I had a notepad with all the – everything I said about that movie in the first sentence, I had it all jotted down. I researched, like, you know, Mike Newell. I was looking into the films he’s done. I was pretending like I was an expert on it, because when we first started that show, there was a little pressure to sort of be experts because we were like, well, you know, how are we going to do this? We need a way for people to rely on us so it was just, you know, [imitates nasal voice] “this movie, I think it’s really going to be the best.” So that was fun. We – I don’t know if I’ve said it on the show before, but it took us so long. Initially, I was doing the intro to that show. Like to, you know, “Hey everyone! Welcome.” But I just kept breaking down or, like, laughing and being so nervous every time I tried so then Ben finally was like, “Okay, let me do it.” Wish we had the bloopers from that original stuff, but there it was.
Matt: Awww.
Andrew: Thank God I’m not nasally anymore.
Matt: That was the first episode, right?
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: That’s amazing. 150 episodes later.
Laura: Yeah, I remember listening to it, too.
Andrew: Yup.
Matt: I know, I know.
Andrew: Micah, now, you were a listener before, you know, you got…
Micah: For one episode.
Andrew: …on to the site.
Micah: Yup.
Andrew: Did you – you listened to the episode. What were your honest thoughts about it?
Micah: My honest thoughts about it. I liked it. I mean, I thought that it had a lot of potential, clearly, and… [laughs]
Andrew: Meaning it sucked but it could get better.
Micah: No, because – hold on a second. Let me see if I have an e-mail here that I sent to Kevin all the way back then.
Andrew: Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
Laura: Yeah, I want to see if my thing in the staff forums is still there, because I think I was actually really mean. Oh no, mine was really nice.
Andrew: What did you say, Laura?
Laura: Well, Ben posted a topic in our staff forums just asking what everyone thought of Episode 1, and everyone was kind of commenting that they thought the episode should be shorter, and I agreed with that. I said, “Yeah, I’d say you want to go around twenty minutes shorter. I like the idea of a rotating cast, but I see no problem if Ben and Andrew want to sit in on them to make sure they’re going the right way, since they’re heading the project. Overall…”
Andrew: Damn straight!
Laura: “…I thought it was really cool and well done. Nice work.” I was so nice.
Matt: Aww. You were so nice.
Andrew: Now, was that legitimate or were you lying?
Matt: What happened, Laura?
Laura: No, I don’t recall not liking it. Like, I just remember a lot of people didn’t like it, I remember, so I thought maybe I was one of them.
Andrew: Staff-wise.
Laura: No, I remember I was upset with you guys because there were no girls on the show. And I ranted a lot about that, but…
Andrew: Yes. You and a couple others.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Anyway, so that’s This Week in MuggleCast, looking back at some MuggleCast history. Let’s see.
Matt: This Week in MuggleCast.
Make the Music Connection
Andrew: What’s next? I know what’s next!
[Make the Music Connection intro plays]
Andrew: Matt, you have some songs prepared for us this week?
Matt: Yes, I do.
Andrew: Okay. All right. Let’s begin with Laura.
Laura: Oh boy.
Andrew: Here’s your song.
[“Funkytown” by Lipps Inc plays]
Andrew: What’s the name of the song, technically?
Matt: [sings] Funkytown…
Laura: Wow. I don’t even know what to say to that.
Matt: You do know the song, right?
Laura: Yeah. Yeah, I know the song. I’m just grasping at straws here to try and think of how it has any connection whatsoever to Harry Potter.
[Matt laughs]
Laura: Oh, shoot. I guess the only – damn it! I don’t know. I guess I can just… [laughs] …this is so stupid. In Book 3, when Harry couldn’t go to Hogsmeade, he really wanted to go, so he really wanted to go to Funkytown, I think.
Andrew: I like that. I was thinking of Hogsmeade, too.
Laura: Okay, good, so I’m not the only one.
Andrew: It kind of is Funkytown if you think about it, you know?
Matt: It is kind of funky.
Andrew: If only it was in the ’70s.
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Who’s next, Matt?
Matt: I don’t care. Someone choose.
Andrew: I’ll go and fail.
Matt: Okay. Oh, I’ll give you an easy one.
Andrew: Oh good.
Matt: Okay, here we go.
Andrew: Okay.
[“If I Didn’t Have You” by Mitchel Musso plays]
Andrew: Is that “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”?
Matt: No, it’s “If I Didn’t Have You” from Monster’s Inc.
Andrew: Oh. Well, this is definitely Snape’s song to Voldemort as Voldemort’s about to kill him.
Matt: What?
Andrew: In the Shrieking Shack.
Laura: Wow, Andrew, wow.
Matt: Is that a joke?
[Laura laughs.]
Andrew: No. Okay, it’s Dumbledore’s song to Snape as in that one flashback where Dumbledore is telling Snape, you know, how much he trusts him and how much he’s done for him.
Matt: Okay.
Laura: That’s – that’s pretty good. I can agree with that.
Andrew: Thank you. Thank you. I got to fix the audio problem where – I don’t know if you guys noticed, but the lyrics on songs are never loud.
Laura: Yeah, I know. You can only ever hear the instruments.
Matt: You can really only hear the melody.
Andrew: Yeah. I don’t – I don’t know why that is, but I’ve got to fix that.
Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul
Matt: Okay. And so now we’re going to move on to Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul for this week, and this week’s comes from Polly Clair, 13, of Dallas, Texas. And she writes:
“Hello, MuggleCasters. First off I wanted to say that I hope you all had an awesome time down here for Portus, even though I was too young to go. I started listening to Imprint and I think it’s really good. Now my Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul isn’t one about some fatal disease or getting me through last year of school, though you got me through my boring math class. My Chicken Soup is about the fact you guys got me through the nights when I thought I would just break down. When I was four years old my sister, who is now eleven, was diagnosed, the youngest person in my country to have bi-polar disorder. And in the past couple of years she’s been showing signs of Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. Our family recently got into a big fight with our school district, which automatically meant stress in my house. Stress in my house means I get yelled out because if someone yells at my little sister she throws things, and when she was two she broke my mom’s front window of the car with her head. And on top of that, I apparently am the one who’s expected to pick up after my sister has had little fits, and I have glass in my feet to prove it. So what I did to keep myself from totally breaking down is this: I will go into my room and play all the old MuggleCasts as loud as my speakers would let me. All your jokes and little quirks made it that much easier to forget the stress that I have that a normal thirteen year old shouldn’t. I mean, come on, I just turned thirteen on the 14th of July. Oh well. Thanks for reading this. I love the show and I can’t wait until your next live MuggleCast.”
Andrew: Aww. Well, thank you, Holly. That was a very sweet e-mail.
Laura: Yeah, I’m glad we were able to help you in some way.
Andrew: All right, well, that does it for this week’s show. People probably know that we had planned on this episode, 156, being our final weekly show, but then the Stephenie Meyer interview actually came sooner than we thought, so we decided to put that here and then delay the final weekly show until next week so we can do it justice.
Micah: Plus we’re missing a couple of hosts that we’d like to have back for our final show, and they weren’t able to make it this week.
Andrew: Right. Right. So next week we’re going to have as many people on as possible, so it’s going to be a fun time. But, of course, again, we’re not ending; we’re just stopping the weekly shows. We’re going to do shows as often as possible. One other thing: check MuggleCast.com for a news post I made about calling in with your thoughts on the show as a whole and all that, and we’re going to play a couple of them throughout the show next week. So I think that does it. Thank you, everyone, for listening.
[Show music begins]
Contact Information
Andrew: Thank you to Stephenie Meyer for coming on and speaking to us about the Twilight fandom and all that. It was a lot of fun. Before we let everyone go we want to remind you all about our contact information. Laura what’s the P.O. Box?
Laura: That’s P.O. Box 3151, Cumming, GA 30028.
Andrew: And as I mentioned, we also have the MuggleCast hotline. To call us if you’re in the United States you can dial 1-218-20-MAGIC. If you’re in the United Kingdom you can dial 020-8144-0677, and if you’re in Australia you can dial 028335668. You can also Skype the user name MuggleCast, but remember no matter how you call us just keep your question or comment or whatever under sixty seconds and eliminate as much background noise as possible. You can also visit MuggleCast.com for a handy feedback form to contact anyone of us, or just use our first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com. I would recommend e-mailing us directly, because right, I know Matt and I – oh, and Micah – we’re all having problems with our e-mail. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I haven’t been getting many e-mails. Matt hasn’t either …
Matt: No.
Andrew: … and neither has Micah. And I think there’s something wrong with something, so we’re going to look into that. But also look at MuggleCast.com for a variety of community outlet links, including the MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Frappr, Last.FM, and the fanlisting and the fan forums over at MuggleCastFan.net. Follow us on Twitter.com/MuggleCast, Digg the show at Digg.com, and vote for us once a month at Podcast Alley.
Show Close
Andrew: Don’t forget also on MuggleCast.com right now we have a banner at the top, Teddy Bears for Hope, and you can contribute to our little campaign we’re running right now. Thank you, everyone, for listening. Once again, I am Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I’m Matthew Britton.
Andrew: We’ll see you all next week for Episode 157. Bye-bye!
Laura: Bye.
Micah: Bye.
Matt: Bye.