MuggleCast 133 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music starts]
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[Intro music stops]
[Show music starts]
Micah: Because Laura may be walking the plank, this is MuggleCast Episode 133 for February 23rd, 2008.
[Show music continues to play]
Andrew: So last week we got a few complaints that we only had three people on the show, and nobody is appreciative anymore of the hard effort we put into MuggleCast these days anymore. So, we said, “You know what? Okay. All right, you listeners are cranky, you’re bugging, you want more.” This week, we’ve got six people on the show, and a new host.
Laura: Ooo.
Elysa: Hello.
Andrew: I would like to welcome on behalf of everyone, Elysa Montfort to the show. Round of applause.
Elysa: Hey, guys!
Laura: Yay!
Andrew: Now Elysa has connections to MuggleNet. You…
Matt: She’s a girl.
Andrew: What do you do, Elysa?
Elysa: I’m [laughs] True that.
Andrew: She’s a girl, too. Imagine that, yeah.
Elysa: I’m one of the Head Moderators for MuggleNet Fan Fiction.
Andrew: Sweet. MuggleNet Fan Fiction has been around for what?
Elysa: Oh God. Three and a half years. Yeah.
Andrew: Wow.
Elysa: It began in October, 2004.
Andrew: Ha. Wow.
Eric: Newbie.
[Andrew and Elysa laugh]
Laura: Shut up, Eric.
Eric: Newbie.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Five and one quarter years here. Yeah.
Andrew: So, Elysa, we are very excited to have you on. You’re a friend of all of ours.
Elysa: Thank you. Thanks.
Andrew: Are you excited? You said you were a little nervous.
Elysa: I was a little nervous at first, but I think I’m good. I mean, yeah. I’m pretty comfortable now.
Andrew: Okay, good. All right, we’re confident you are going to be a good on the show. I’m Andrew Sims.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: [Automated voice] I’m Matt Britton.
Elysa: [laughs] And I’m Elysa Montfort.
[Show music continues to play]
News
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum’s in the MuggleCast News Center with this week’s top Harry Potter news stories. Hey, Micah.
Micah: All right, thanks, Andrew. As if anyone needed to tell us this, MTV published an article on Friday about research concluding that the Harry Potter series can in fact be addicting. The story notes:
In a just-finished study that’s being submitted to the Journal of General Psychology, Psych professor Dr. Jeffrey Rudski and two of his undergrad students at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, report that they found characteristics of addiction in at least ten percent of the 4,000 Potter fans they polled online.
While the doctor discusses that the end of the series did have serious withdrawal symptoms for some, likening it to going off a drug “cold turkey,” he also said he chose to do the study on the end of the boy wizard’s saga over the conclusion of the hit series The Sopranos, because of his 15-year old daughter and the things she’s taken from it:
“She’s picked up guitar because she wants to be in a wizard rock band,” he said. “She’s studying Latin because she wants to better understand J.K. Rowling’s choices of names for her characters. She started reading Stephen King and John Irving because they spoke with Rowling at Radio City two summers ago.” If that’s being an addict, he’s down with it.
David Barron has revealed to the Herald Sun that a new scene has been added to the upcoming Half-Blood Prince film in order to remind moviegoers that nowhere is safe. Having J.K. Rowling’s approval of the scene, Barron is confident that people will like it. He says:
“But this was brought in because Jo [Rowling] was able throughout the quite lengthy book to keep dropping little snippets of what was happening in the outside world. There’d be people reading newspapers and talking about how somebody’s parents had been killed, or somebody had been withdrawn from school because their parents didn’t think it was safe. And we’re making aware that the Muggle world is also experiencing these disasters, but thinks they are disasters rather than the work of Voldemort. The book is peppered with those moments, but we couldn’t do that quite so easily in the film. So the extra scene comes in the middle of the film and it just reminds us the world is no longer a safe place. Even in what would normally be considered the safe haven of the Burrow, nobody’s safe.”
Lois Lowry, a children’s book writer, has updated her online blog with information about The Giver movie. She had hoped Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince director David Yates would be able to direct The Giver. However, he has just decided he wants to do the final Harry Potter first, thereby postponing The Giver by several years. While this is not confirmed by Warner Brothers yet, it appears to be a pretty reliable source.
And a new MTV Movies blog entry comments on the Deathly Hallows rumors. MTV says that a source at Warner Brothers told them an announcement was coming within the next week or two, but we’ve learned that MTV may have not been told this at all.
Finally, reports have emerged online that two new actors have been cast forHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. David Legeno will play the role of the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, and Ralph Ineson has been cast for the part of Death Eater Amycus Carrow.
That’s all the news for this February 23rd, 2008 edition of MuggleCast. Back to the show.
Announcements
Andrew: Okay, thank you, Micah.
Micah: You’re welcome, Andrew.
Andrew: You want to do a little competition this week, you were saying?
Micah: Yeah, I’m feeling in a giving mood this week. So I figured what better way than to give somebody out there a chance to read the news on MuggleCast? And the way we’re going to run this little competition is anybody out there who listens to the show, send in a thirty second spot to mugglecastnews at gmail dot com. And what we’re going to do is we’re going to go through and we’re going to pick out the top five, and then on next week’s show we’re going to play the top five. And we’ll put up a poll on MuggleCast.com, and all the fans can vote to see who they think is the top news anchor there. And the following week we’ll have that person on the show to record the news, and that’s it.
Andrew: Cool, cool. That’s a great idea. I think everyone will enjoy that.
Eric: I have to say it’s one of the most innovative, I think, competitions we’ve had here on the show.
Matt: Yeah.
Eric: I think it’s great. It’s also, you know, competition is always welcome, but I’m thinking this late in the game, we haven’t had one of those for awhile, and this is just a brand new idea. It’s shaking things up. I like it.
Andrew: Yup.
Micah: So that’ll be, what, Episode 135?
Andrew: Yeah. That sounds right.
Micah: We’ll play the news for whoever wins, and hopefully it’s a good competition.
Andrew: Yeah. Can I enter? Can any of us enter?
Laura: Do you really want to do that much extra work? I mean, isn’t that kind of what Micah’s trying to do anyway? He’s trying to get a week off the news?
Andrew: That’s true, that’s true.
Eric: Well, he’ll still have to script it, won’t he? Or will these people be in charge of scripting and…
Micah: No, it’s their whole responsibility.
Andrew: They do it all? They have the MuggleCast News Center for the weekend?
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: They do.
Eric: Cool.
Micah: It’s all theirs.
Laura: They get to go to Micah’s house.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: All expenses paid.
Eric: He’ll lock you in his basement.
Andrew: Except for flight, hotel, car…
Eric: Yeah. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean the transcript dungeon. He’ll lock you down there.
News Discussion: The Giver and Deathly Hallows
Andrew: Speaking of news, a couple new developments this week involving the movies. Firstly, reliable source reveals David Yates is directing Deathly Hallows. This is a little leak that I’m sure Warner Brothers is not very happy about. Lois Lowry, a children’s book writer, updated her blog online with information about The Giver movie. She has a book called The Giver. Has anyone read it?
Laura: Yes, and it’s so good.
Elysa: I love that book.
Laura: Oh my gosh, yeah.
Andrew: Would it be a good movie?
Laura: If they do it right, yeah.
Elysa: Yeah.
Andrew: Would David Yates be a good director?
Laura: Yes. Absolutely. I think he would be, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to get to.
Andrew: Well, not yet. She updated her blog and said that David Yates has just “decided he wants to do the final Harry Potter film first, thereby postponing The Giver by several years.” That’s an exact quote. So this is the nail in the coffin, if you ask me, in terms of director rumors. Right?
Matt: Yeah. Well, it is kind of, but it’s not totally official or anything. I mean, heck, I decided I want to do the final Harry Potter movie, but you don’t see it being official for me, either.
Andrew: Right. Well, what I’m saying is it looks like Lois Lowry and David Yates talked to each other a few times, because apparently David Yates has planed on doing The Giver, but in my head, I see a phone conversation going down where they’re calling each other up, whether it’s on Skype or, you know, they got their numbers through Facebook or whatever.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: And they’re calling each other up and David Yates is like, “Sorry, Lois. I mean, I’m going to do the Potter film first.”
Eric: And then she proceeded to de-friend him on Facebook.
Andrew: Yes.
Eric: She wrote a nasty note about him, tagged him in it, and then de-friended him, because all of them have Facebook. But no, I think this is pretty reliable source. To be honest, though, I’m relieved, because obviously it is reliable because he was going to adapt her book, she’s a respectable author. And I would jump the gun. I would take this as official, or at least I would be very relieved because, to be honest, I think David Yates is very capable, and I’m really relieved if this is true. If he’s doing the seventh movie, I’m really happy with that.
Andrew: Elysa and Laura, what is this book about, The Giver? Just out of curiosity.
Laura: Well, I read it in like eighth grade, and it’s basically – Elysa can probably give a better summary of it than I can, but it’s about a world in which people are assigned their working roles. Like certain women are assigned as birth mothers, and you’re assigned to work at a specific area, and you’re assigned a family unit. And in this, one boy is assigned the role of being the Giver, and he can see in color, when no one else can see in color, and he just has all this knowledge that no one else has, and it’s a very, very tragic story. Really, really sad, but really good.
Elysa: Yeah, yeah. The premise of it is sort of that humans aren’t capable of handling all the emotions and senses that come with being human, which, like Laura said, includes seeing in color, but also hearing certain things, and other things like that, and so there’s only one person in this society at any given time that experiences all these emotions, including emotions like love, and even laughter and hatred, and the Giver is the only one who’s capable of doing that. And so every time the Giver sort of retires, a new Giver is chosen. And so the story is following this one boy who is chosen to be the next Giver, but just his trials and tribulations and whatnot. It has a really awesome ending, but I’d be excited to see the movie.
Andrew: Well, cool.
Matt: Sounds like fun.
Andrew: It’s too bad we’re going to have to wait four or five years now.
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: Probably longer.
Matt: Ten or twelve.
[Elysa laughs]
Eric: David Yates is blowing her off here.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Well, is he still directing it or are they going to choose a different director?
Eric: Well, they could do that, too, but I think I would want David Yates. I think it’s worth waiting a few years if he had really sort of committed to do it, maybe.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: I mean, I think the author has said, well, it’ll be delayed a few years.
Andrew: Right.
Eric: ‘Cause I think she really wants him to…
Andrew: Right, that’s how it seems. That’s the impression I got, Eric, just that…
Matt: Well, they seem to have a pretty good relationship between each other.
Andrew: Exactly. So.
Elysa: Well, since he’ll probably be directing the next Spiderwick Chronicles movie I’m sure he’ll be busy for the next ten years, too.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Uh, Elysa, you can go on your Spiderwick spiel slash jokes in a second, they’re very funny.
Matt: Rant. Yes. Please do it.
Micah: So, Andrew.
Andrew: Yes?
Micah: The question begs, if you were a betting man, would you say that David Yates will be directing Deathly Hallows?
Andrew: If I was a – Micah, I wouldn’t be a betting man in this situation.
Micah: Awww.
Matt: He’d be a cheating man.
News Discussion: Director Announcement
Andrew: My betting skills are not on par for this news item. However, another item that we’re going to discuss in a second I can be the betting man. But another story that came out the following day was – well, MTV picked this up and went to Warner Brothers asking for confirmation, and MTV quotes Warner Brothers as saying an announcement should be coming in one to two weeks about the director, and I would assume at this point it seems like they’re going to make the director and movie split announcement at the same time, right?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I mean, ’cause both of these stories are floating around…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: …and, you know, we heard the director split announcement is going to come in the not too distant future, and this now is in one to two weeks so it seems like, you know.
Micah: It would make sense.
Andrew: It would.
Eric: I find that very interesting.
Andrew: Yeah, this is – frankly, I’m very intrigued by all these, you know, developments and rumors going around. So apparently we’re going to be seeing official word about this within one to two weeks.
Matt: You think so?
Andrew: [laughs] MTV thinks so. However, when I went to Warner Brothers and asked if this was true, one to two weeks, I heard that they told MTV they cannot confirm or deny. So, you know, whatever. It’s a guessing game.
Eric: Well, I think the bubble is ready to burst.
Andrew: Yeah, exactly.
Eric: You know, either way. I think it’s just so many – I mean, how long has this rumor been going around unconfirmed or un-denied by Warner Brothers about splitting Book 7 into two movies?
Andrew: Right. It’s been a while.
Matt: At least a week.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: [laughs] Since I last podcasted.
News Discussion: New Scene Added to Half-Blood Prince
Andrew: Yeah. And then we found out Thursday that a new scene, a brand new scene, was going to be added to Half-Blood Prince. And what do you guys think of this? I mean, this is interesting, this is the first time Warner Brothers has actually ever added a scene.
Eric: Oh, I wouldn’t say it’s the first time.
Andrew: Oh, it’s the first time.
Eric: I can’t – Well, it’s the first time they’ve actually…
Andrew: A major scene.
Eric: Well yeah, a substantial – I think a substantial enough thing where they had to go to Jo about it and say, well. But listen for their reason for doing it. I mean, when we had seen David Yates’ – there was a David Yates interview, it was audio only, where he was talking about how he was going to make Book 6 into a really sort of teenage film about the romance, and here they are saying that the book has all these moments about showing what’s going on in the outside world that we couldn’t do that easily, didn’t really translate that well to film, so they’ve written this scene to, you know, make up for it. I think that’s a novel idea. I would love to see whatever scene they have to offer.
Micah: Well, the problem I have with this is that to me, this says that they’re cutting out chapter one from Deathly Hallows. Not Deathly Hallows, Half Blood Prince.
Matt: It does look that way. Well, didn’t they say that, Micah?
Eric: You did hit the nail on the head there, Micah.
Micah: No, no, they don’t…
Andrew: They said this is going to be in the middle of the film.
Micah: They don’t say that, they say this is in the middle of the film, which leads me to believe that the, you know, the whole scene with the Muggle Prime Minister, and Scrimgeour, and Fudge is going to be cut and essentially replaced by this scene that they’re making to show what exactly is taking place in the Muggle world.
Eric: Though to be terribly honest, if you think about it, the fun in the first chapter is more sort of what has happened in the past, because not only are we getting with the Prime Minister – what’s happening with the Prime Minister now, but remember she then goes in that chapter of Book 6 back to sort of all the previous times that Fudge had visited the Muggle Prime Minister, which, you know, was to tell Sirius Black escaped, that sort of thing. So she was able to do sort of several visitations of the two Ministers in that chapter, and that really, I guess, wouldn’t translate well to film. Especially in the beginning of the film people would be lost.
Andrew: But wait, who’s to say that…
Micah: Well, no.
Andrew: Who’s to say that this new scene is involving the outside world?
Micah: He says it. He said, “we’re making aware that the Muggle world is also experiencing these disasters, but thinks they are disasters rather than the work of Voldemort.” So…
Eric: Yeah, yeah.
Andrew: I have to read this.
Micah: Those are his words. Those are David Barron’s words.
Eric: Yeah, and then he says, “the book is peppered with those moments but we couldn’t do that quite so easily in the film, so the extra scene comes in the middle of the film and it just reminds us that the world is no longer a safe place. Even in what normally would be considered the safe haven of the Burrow,” you know.
Micah: Well, they could have done it quite easily if they just followed the first chapter of the book.
Matt: Yeah, but that would’ve been too easy.
Eric: Right especially – well, especially talking about the bridge collapse and all those kinds of things, they could have done that.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I don’t know.
Laura: Elysa, you have pretty strong opinions on how the movies should be directed. What do you think of this?
Elysa: Oh man, I mean, honestly, we’re not going to know if it works or not until we see it, but I sort of think that the whole premise of it trying to make up for other areas that they can’t portray – I think that’s a little – I don’t know. I’m not quite sure that I buy that. Because, I mean, a lot of the things that were in the books that were showing what was going on outside in the Muggle world were the Daily Prophet, the newspapers, and then of course Harry seeing names that he recognized in these articles and stuff. And they’ve used the Daily Prophet – I mean just in the last movie, you saw a bunch of newspaper articles coming up on the screen, and they used that last time. I don’t know why they couldn’t use…
Eric: It gets old.
Elysa: …it this time as well.
Andrew: Because I didn’t like it.
Elysa: I mean. [laughs]
Laura: I thought it was awesome.
Eric: Andrew Sims, see he was on set.
Elysa: [laughs] Okay, fair enough.
Eric: This is the whole story behind the additional scene. Andrew Sims went on set, and they were talking about using that to pass time…
Andrew: I said no.
Eric: …and Andrew says…
Andrew: No, no. I said no.
Eric: …No, I didn’t like that in movie five, dudes, you’re just going to have to write another scene. J.K.R. will approve it.
Andrew: But wait, we’re missing one huge thing here. He says – David Baron says, “even in what would normally be considered the safe haven of the Burrow, nobody is safe.” I think this scene happens in the Burrow.
Eric: Has to do something with the Burrow, which is what I thought he was alluding to just now.
Andrew: I think it happens in the Burrow, I don’t think it has anything to do with the outside world.
Laura: But…
Andrew: I think the purpose of this scene is to just show nobody’s safe, but the scene’s going to be in the wizarding world.
Eric: Quit picking on the Weasleys.
Andrew: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m just a betting man. I don’t know.
[Laura laughs]
Eric: Yeah, but if something happens to the Weasleys, it doesn’t really emphasize the danger in the Muggle world.
Andrew: Right, but what if you’re just reading into it too hard and it has nothing to do with the Muggle world?
Micah: He said it does.
Eric: That’s exactly the whole…
Andrew: No, he doesn’t say it does. He just says Jo’s scenes show what happened in the Muggle world.
Eric: Yeah, and we weren’t able to portray that, so we wrote this scene. So if this scene doesn’t really make up for that, then it’s just a crap-added scene and I’ll be very upset. Anyway…
Matt: He does tend to make his own scenes though, too. Because what he did in Order of the Phoenix when he wanted to make a chase through London with the flight of the Order. When…
Eric: Yeah, that was potentially hazardous to the… [laughs] Yeah.
Matt: It was stupid was what it was.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: I’m sorry.
Eric: But I liked the rest of the movie. I did like so much of the rest of the movie. I completely see past the whole non-invisible people flying through London. Though, to be fair, if they weren’t visible, you couldn’t watch them flying through London.
Andrew: It was just a cool, fast-paced scene. I mean, they didn’t feel like explaining why they were all visible.
Matt: Yeah, I know.
Eric: But you’re right. It was bad.
Micah: Who knows, maybe chapter one will be in there, but when I read it for the first time, that was what I thought of. I thought that they were essentially creating their own scene to replace the Muggle and the wizard Prime Minister meeting.
Eric: The Other Minister. Do you know what else – and this is just my final thought on it – is that we’re kind of complaining that they aren’t getting the first chapter, and I agree with that, and that’s a problem for me, but wait a minute. I kind of like the idea, if you can’t do it right don’t do it, in a way. I like that, and I like the idea that we’re going to still have some really good scenes in the books that were never translated to film. I agree that the film should be accurate representations of the books, but there are some things that are always going to be better read, and I think maybe chapter one of Book 6 will be one of those moments where it’s just you love reading the book even though there’s a movie out to supplement.
Matt: I kind of agree with Eric.
Elysa: Yeah, I don’t really think that inventing a completely new scene is that big of a deal if it’s just portraying what we already know is happening in the books anyway. It’s not like they’re inventing huge major plot points. They’re not saying Aberforth was the Giant Squid in animagus form or something. They’re not like putting something completely random in there.
[Laura laughs]
Eric: But if he were, can you imagine a giant squid and goat.
Elysa: [laughs] Wow. No, actually. I can’t. I’m sorry. [laughs]
Matt: Gross.
Eric: Well, you said it.
Andrew: Um, yeah.
Eric: So you’re a fan-fic editor. Have you never read that before?
Elysa: Oh, you would be…
Eric: Have you never read…
Laura: Oh my gosh, Elysa…
Elysa: Oh, my God. You would be terrified with the things I’ve read. Let me put it to you this way, okay? There are – inanimate objects do not go well in NC17 fics.
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: Like turkey legs? I remember reading that one.
Elysa: Like turkey legs, no. Turkey legs, McGonagall do not match up. I will…
Eric: The turkey leg always happens to stand out, doesn’t it? We have to cut all of that out.
[Matt and Micah laugh]
Eric: Okay, I’m sorry for all your non-virgin eyes and ears.
[Laura laughs]
Eric: I’m sorry, but I just figured that – well, you said the Giant Squid thing, and I just thought that you’d read that somewhere.
Elysa: No, actually, though, I have read plenty of Giant Squid and Tonks. I’m not kidding.
Laura: Do you remember that one that was Giant Squid and Ron?
Elysa: Yes.
[Eric laughs]
Elysa: That was terrible.
Laura: Oh, my gosh. It was so disturbing.
Elysa: You’d be surprised how creative these people get. Like Tonks and Giant Squid. Obviously, we do not accept that on MuggleNet, but…
[Everyone laughs]
Elysa: …you’d be surprised if you go and Google that. I’m not suggesting this. I mean, beware, but…
Eric: So don’t Google it.
Elysa: No, don’t, but you’d be surprised at how many people write that kind of stuff.
Eric: Well, ‘shipping anything with Giant Squid really brings a whole new meaning to sucking face.
[Elysa laughs]
Laura: Oh God, Eric.
Elysa: Oh, wow.
Andrew: We’re interested to hear all the listeners’ feedback about the new scene. Personally, I think it’s going to be at the Burrow, but I don’t know. Betting man? I don’t know. Whatever.
Spiderwick Chronicles: Review
Andrew: So Spiderwick Chronicles came out this week as well. Actually, last week. And we wanted to do a little movie review. Laura, Elysa, Matt, and I all went out on a quadruple date and saw the movie, and made out during the dark scenes. And we…
Matt: Where was I?
[Elysa laughs]
Andrew: Oh, that wasn’t – oh…
Laura: Uh-oh.
Elysa: Uh-oh.
Andrew: Who was that sitting next to me then? Whatever. So we wanted to talk about it briefly. Let me just start and say I enjoyed it. I thought it was good.
Laura: Yeah, it was a cute movie.
Andrew: Now, Laura, Elysa, and Matt you guys talk about how you thought it sucked, and…
Laura: No!
Elysa: No! I did not think it sucked.
Laura: I thought it was really cute. There’s definitely a lot of Harry Potter inspiration in the film. I don’t know if the books are that way, but you could tell that this was definitely made as something to appeal to Harry Potter fans.
Matt: How so, Laura? How so?
Laura: Well, you know there was that thing that looked exactly like Buckbeak.
Matt: Yeah, but it was a griffith. Totally H.P. unrelated.
Laura: Right.
Eric: I mean, where else is that actor supposed to get work? That actor that plays Buckbeak. They have to make roles for it, so…
Laura: No, but actually – first of all I want to say that Freddie Highmore is such a great actor, and I think he is one of the most adorable people I have ever seen in my life. He’s so cute.
Andrew: He did play twins and as we discussed in the interview, they do a thing where the camera makes the same exact movements twice, and they digitally merge the shots together so there’s two Freddies. And it’s just really cool. He did a perfect job pulling off acting like he was talking to himself.
Elysa: He did. I agree.
Andrew: You couldn’t tell. It was like he had a twin. Even the two other girls we went with, they were like, “Oh my god. He’s not actually a set of twins? He’s actually one actor?” Remember that when we were walking out?
Elysa: Yeah.
Eric: So what’s the movie actually about?
Laura: Well basically, it’s about a family that moves into this house that belonged to – what – their great uncle or something. His name was Spiderwick, and he basically gained the sight to see all things that humans can’t see like goblins, and that type of thing. And he chronicled all of the secrets of these creatures into a book, and basically the book was not supposed to be opened. It was supposed to stay in the house and be protected. And Freddie Highmore and his family move into the house, and of course he finds the book, and he opens it, and there is this giant goblin that wants it so that he can kill everything. And i’s basically about them trying to figure out how to destroy him and how to keep the book safe.
Eric: Okay, so how much of this movie is going to remind me of the last Freddie Highmore movie that I saw, Arthur and the Invisibles?
Laura: I haven’t seen that, so I couldn’t tell you.
Elysa: Neither have I.
Eric: Because that also had a very similar – from what you guys are telling me – a very similar in that the house – I think it was his father I think or grandfather that he had to rescue, and he had to open and figure out how to enter the world of the Minimoys. Except that movie had David Bowie, so that was pretty cool.
Andrew: Well, at any rate, it has been getting good reviews. It’s fair to say that we all enjoyed it. Elysa, do you want to tell as story about what you said once the credits started rolling?
Elysa: Oh, the credits started rolling, and I said, “directed by Alfonso Cuaron.”
[Andrew laughs]
Elysa: Because it was pretty much – it was pretty much – I mean the first five Harry Potter books rolled in one. What really got me – what really got me – I was so confused – what really got me was I guess because I hadn’t read the book – and don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed it and I thought that Freddie Highmore did a great acting job actually – but I was so confused by the allergy season crap that was all over the place.
[Laura laughs]
Elysa: It honestly seemed to me that it was a promotion for Claritin Clear.
[Two hosts laughs]
Elysa: I was expecting it to say, “symptoms may include bloody nose, saggy jowls, death by nuclear radiation.”
[Andrew laughs]
Elysa: I was so confused, and you know what? But it was good. It was good, though. I enjoyed it. I guess just – you know.
Eric: Who has asthma?
Elysa: Who has asthma? [laughs]
Laura: Through the whole movie it looked like a Claritin commercial. The sky was bright blue and there would always little dandelions flying around, so it really did look like a Claritin commercial.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Wow. I…
Matt: It was also a promotion for Campbell’s Tomato Soup and honey.
Elysa: And honey.
[Elysa and Laura laugh]
Elysa: Yeah.
Andrew: See, I liked that though. I enjoyed the little things that – the one little creature that lived in Spiderwick’s house; he needed honey to calm him down.
Elysa: Thimbletag right?
Andrew: Was that the…
Matt: Humbletack? Thumbtack?
[Andrew laughs]
Elysa: I am pretty sure it was Thimbletag.
Laura: Dobby? Was that his name?
Andrew: Dobby?
[Elysa laughs]
Andrew: Dobby.
Matt: It was like a Dobby/Kreacher hybrid or something.
Andrew: The one thing that really got us was when they were all flying on the griffin.
Matt: [laughs] I just remember when we saw that scene I turned over to Andrew, and I said, “I could have sworn I’ve seen this scene before.” [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
[Elysa laughs]
Andrew: It was very reminiscent, but at any rate, we’re just playing around, having fun. It was a good movie. I would recommend you would see it. I’m sure all of us do.
Elysa: Yeah.
Laura: Oh yeah, definitely. It’s very enjoyable.
News Discussion: Casting
Andrew: Yeah. Micah, one other thing you wanted to bring up this week is some casting news.
Micah: Yeah, we finally started to get a little bit more information about two characters. Fenrir Greyback and Amycus Carrow both have been cast for Half-Blood Prince. I think one of the concerns that people have are more on the side of Fenrir Greyback being in the movie as opposed to Amycus Carrow. Don’t know if many people really care if – we knew the Death Eaters by name, but I was kind of getting concerned. It still begs the question, is there more casting information to come?
Matt: I’m getting really scared. They’re not even still casting the new Minister yet.
Andrew: Right.
Eric: We haven’t heard who the new – who Scrimgeour is played by?
Matt: No, we have not.
Andrew: I guess the one thing that could be holding them up is just that they haven’t started filming with the actor yet, so I mean, you know…
Eric: So it’s not relevant to know who the actor is going to be?
Andrew: I guess. I don’t know. I mean they have a reason for everything.
Eric: They’ve got their reasons.
Andrew: They’re not the best reasons, but they have reasons.
Eric: Maybe he is cut out. I don’t think they will cut him out of Movie 7, so, you know. It just kind of happens.
Micah: Well, when will we get – is there a time that Warner Brothers releases a full cast report for a movie? Is that something that they would do?
Andrew: I would think by the first teaser trailer they would have all the casting out. I mean that just makes sense for me because that’s just when they’re starting to kick off the publicity.
Matt: Yeah. That’s when they’re done with principle photography and everything.
Andrew: Well, is that true? Teaser trailers come out before that.
Eric: Teaser trailers can be – no, teaser trailers can be out for anything. If you recall, even the new Indiana Jones trailer, it has a – it has some from the upcoming movie, but most of it is the previous three movies. So they can do those kinds of teasers, which just go back into those sorts of things. And I mean if you remember in the original Harry Potter trailer, which you may or may not, it was more or less, you know, Vernon Dursley going, “There’s no such thing as magic.,” and slapping the trap, and it was like this really cool, sort of – you know, teaser trailers – no, you don’t need to have the whole movie completed to do that.
Matt: They kind of tease you a little bit.
Eric: They just tease you a little bit.
Andrew: I guess that would make sense why they call them teaser trailers.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: Why do they call them trailers at all? Okay, so moving on. Announcements.
Announcements
Andrew: Okay, so moving on to announcements. This sort of is relevant to our first news item that we were talking about. It comes from Lucas. I was planning on talking about it anyway, but Lucas read my mind as I e-mailed him. It’s Lucas, 16, from Chicago. He’s been on the show a couple times when he calls in during the live shows. He writes:
“I think that you guys should have one more live show that lasts for a couple hours. You haven’t had one in a while and I noticed that tons of people would love it.” And then he talks about some other podcast we’re doing in the future. But yeah, so I think what we should do – we should do another live podcast. I’m personally itching to do another one because they are a lot of fun. Are you guys – Would you guys be up for doing one?
Laura: Yeah. I’d be all for it.
Andrew: Yeah, I think we should do one when they make the announcement – the director and split into two announcement, so then maybe we’ll step off Chapter-by-Chapter for that live show and we’ll just…
Matt: Talk?
Andrew: Yeah, well, we’ll talk about the official announcements, and we’ll have people call in, and we’ll discuss what their thoughts are on the movie being split in two, and the new director.
Matt: Okay.
Andrew: So…
Laura: Sounds good.
Andrew: I think it would be a timely – I’m just saying ahead of time, we’re going to set some ground rules this time. First of all, no shout outs. They’re fun, they’re fun. We all laugh. We all LOL on the chat.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: But…
Laura: Until the point when every person that calls in doesn’t have anything to say.
Andrew: Yeah, such as a shout out.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: We need to stop that. It slows the show down.
Matt: They do that, really?
Eric: Yeah, and no gack, no gack unless you’re like from Nickelodeon, okay?
Andrew: Or unless you’re actually choking on something then you can…
Andrew and
Eric: Gack.
Andrew: Or gag.
Eric: And anyway, anyway. Yeah.
Andrew: So, yeah. Keep an eye out. Whenever there’s an official announcement we’ll try to do a live show as quickly as possible. It seems one’s coming in the next one to two weeks, and that lines up with when I was sort of thinking we could do a live show anyway. So we’ll just wait for that announcement. Hopefully, it’s not during the week. It could be between Thursday and Saturday. Most likely it’s going to be made – the announcement’s going to be a Monday morning or something terrible. So I don’t know, we’ll see. But we will do a live show soon for all of you who are looking forward to one, so plan it out. Most people – a lot of people get upset about when we announce them last minute because then they don’t have time to plan ahead and tune in, so we’re giving your warning ahead of time. So that’s really the only announcement we have this week. Let’s move on to Muggle Mail now.
Muggle Mail: Choosing the Muggle Mail to Read
Laura: Our first Muggle Mail comes from Naomi, 23, of Israel. She writes:
“So what you all are saying is you don’t have time to respond to listeners that send you nice, long letters, but you have time to respond to idiots that talk trash and say horrible things to you. That’s normal. Who am I kidding? I’m crazy. Wow wow wow.”
Eric: Woah.
Laura: “But really, why…”
Andrew: It’s actually, “wowowowowow.”
Laura: Okay, that’s good.
Andrew: Like an Indian.
Laura: Okay, that’s nice. “But really, why do you have the need to respond to idiots and not the people that really think before they write? Because idiots that talk like that just rant about everything. They find flaws everywhere.”
Matt: That’s not true!
[Eric and Laura laugh]
Laura: Actually, it’s true.
Eric: [mocking Matt] “You’re a liar!”
Matt: We don’t just respond to just idiot e-mail and stuff. We respond to stupid ones too.
[Laura laughs]
Laura: Naomi has a point. Every now and then we do like to pick out a ridiculous e-mail to read, but those are just for fun. We don’t really take them seriously. Like…
Andrew: Actually – actually, hold on, wait. Actually, what we were saying…
Micah: [unintelligible] …last week.
Andrew: …last week was we reply to e-mails that have people complaining about the show and stuff.
Laura: Oh. Well, stop your whining. That’s all I have to say.
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: Well, no…
Laura: It’s our show and we’ll run it the way we want to.
Matt: Oooo!
Elysa: Damn, Laura.
Eric: Whoa, Laura. We mean for the people who…wow.
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: That’s…
Matt: Momma’s going to crack the whip.
Laura: You know – you know what it really bothers me? Is every now and then I’ll see an e-mail, and really it’s pretty often, and someone will be like, “I think you’re doing this wrong. You should do…” And I’m like, you know what? Go make your own podcast. Just do it.
[Andrew laughs]
Elysa: Damn.
Laura: If you don’t like the way we run ours, make your own.
Andrew: Yeah. Listen, we do everything for a reason. The reason why we said that we reply to the e-mails that are negative – we reply to the ones that have claims that we’re doing something wrong, like, a serious issue. I’m not really talking about, like, hate mail. Like, we don’t really reply to hate mail. We just reply to things that – with people that are like – like every so often we’ll get a parent whose like, “I can’t believe you said this word for my son, blah, blah, blah.” So like, you know.
Eric: And then we laugh.
Andrew: To us that’s – yeah, I mean, you know – moderate what your kids watch, or listen to. That’s all I have to say. But we’re family friendly here.
Micah: Yeah, we are, and the other thing I wanted to point out about this was, we do read and respond to people who send in nice things, because we do it on the show. We have a whole section where we sit and we respond to people’s rebuttals, we have Chicken Soup, so it’s not like we’re not taking people’s stuff and replying to it. I think everybody probably replies to at least five e-mails a week that are people questioning, “Why can’t I download this? Why isn’t this working?”
Andrew: Right.
Micah: So we do take the time to – to do that in addition to all the other mail.
Andrew: And we’re not trying to be mean here…
Laura: No.
Andrew: We’re just saying, you know, we run the show how we do. We can’t reply to – you know, most of the e-mails – the majority – I will say the majority of the e-mails we get are theories, so we can’t reply back and be like, you know, “Oh, I think this is good because blah, blah, blah, blah, blah” you know, it’s just – we just can’t.
Micah: Yeah. We do – we do read it. That’s the point I think we wanted people to get from last week’s show…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …is we do read everything.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s all.
Micah: But we don’t have the time to reply to it.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, let’s not dwell on this, ’cause it, you know – people, you know, we made our point clear.
Muggle Mail: Gryffindor’s Sword
Andrew: Okay, next e-mail comes from Amanda, 25, of Sunshine Coast in Australia. She actually – a lot of people wrote this response in to our discussion on Gryffindor’s sword last week and why Luna, Ginny, and Neville tried to steal it. She writes:
“This is probably one of hundreds of e-mails you received, but Ginny found out that Harry had Gryffindor’s sword passed to him when on page 11 of DH, U.K. edition, it states, ‘Outside in the garden, over the dinner tables, the three objects Scrimgeour had given them were passed from hand to hand. Everyone exclaimed over the Deluminator and the Tales of Beedle the Bard and lamented the fact Scrimgeour had refused to pass on the sword.’ So Ginny would have heard about it then and thought it was a great way to help Harry since she couldn’t go with him, and to exact some revenge on Snape, too.” So that’s a great point.
Matt: Yeah.
Elysa: I would agree.
Andrew: I think that’s the explanation we needed.
MuggleCast 133 Transcript (continued)
Chapter-by-Chapter: Chapter 16, “Godric’s Hollow”
Andrew: Let’s dive in straight to Chapter-by-Chapter this week, because we have a lot to discuss. We’re going to do two chapters this week. Going to kick it off with Chapter 16: Godric’s Hollow. A short but very important chapter. It’s one we all speculated about before the book came out. We were all saying Harry was going to – he had to go back to Godric’s Hollow. I mean it’s now or never. So who wants to kick it off with a short summary?
Eric: I’ll do the short summary. Okay, so the short summary is, for this chapter, Chapter 16, “Godric’s Hollow”: Following Ron’s departure, Harry and Hermione struggle for productivity as they agree to go and find Godric’s Hollow, a journey which ends at the tomb of the Potters.
Matt: Dun-dun-dun…
Andrew: So the chapter starts off with just a lot of – a lot of narration. I mean Harry’s feeling – Harry and Hermione are feeling the effects of Ron being away.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Right?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Right. And he’s thinking about Ginny. You know, all this being away hurts.
Eric: Yeah, they keep looking out – they hear noises at the door, like if Ron were to come back in. Hermione pretty much just – she delays them leaving the place where they were ’cause Ron, like, won’t be able to find them after that, that sort of thing. And Harry resorts to the Marauder’s Map, and he begins watching people at Hogwarts. Initially, he thinks he’s going to see Ron show up there again, you know, because he sold out for the, sort of, three meals a day that he’s used to. But turns out he just ends up watching Ginny. And Ginny becomes a comfort to him, and he wishes more than anything that she knows that he still cares about her. So – and also connection to Hogwarts, they begin to speak with Phineas Nigellus.
Absence of Hogwarts
Eric: Now did you guys like how this was done? The whole [chuckles] how they kind of came to an agreement with Phineas, and they began to seek answers about what was happening at Hogwarts?
Laura: Yeah, I thought it was pretty cool that they utilized him that way.
Matt: Well, don’t you think that Snape was the one who told him to keep an eye on him?
Eric: Well, we know that now I guess.
Laura: Yeah, it’s – yeah.
Eric: But what do they find from…
Andrew: Yeah, I guess so.
Eric: …this – from these meetings? What do they…
Andrew: Not much.
Laura: No, I mean they mainly just find out what’s going on at Hogwarts. Like, that a few students are kind of rebelling against Snape and…
Eric: Harry theorizes that the D.A. is still alive and well.
Andrew: Which was interesting…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …’cause, like, while I was reading this for the first time, it’s just weird, like, thinking about you don’t know what’s going on at Hogwarts for the first time.
Matt: Yeah.
Elysa: Yeah.
Andrew: Like – it’s just like you try to picture what – what is going on. It would be interesting…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: …to, you know, hear this part of the book from Ginny’s perspective or Luna’s or…
Eric: Well, as the…
Andrew: …Neville’s.
Eric: …as the reader, you’re right. As the reader, you feel very empty because you haven’t seen the seventh Halloween feast, you know. [laughs] I mean, you know? When you’re first given the first Harry Potter book you were expecting seven Halloween feasts, and seven Christmas feasts, and you’re just – you’re not getting it.
Andrew: Right.
Going to Godric’s Hollow
Eric: So they finally get off their bums and they decide they’re going to Godric’s Hollow. Okay? Harry says, “You know what? I want to go to Godric’s Hollow.” And Hermione says, “Well, that’s a good idea. I kind of want to go there, too.” And – so they plan on it and basically, there’s a few very interesting facts about Godric’s Hollow, which I put in the notes here for you guys about Godric’s Hollow. This is sort of what we know. Now it’s still a bit confusing for me how Harry knew to go there at the end of Book 6, but needless to say, by this point in Book 7, he has reason to go there based on what he…
Andrew: Well, I don’t think – I don’t think he – he had – he had reason other than he just wanted to see his parents’ grave, right?
Eric: Yeah.
Elysa: Right.
Eric: But my question was how did he – my former question on the show had been how did he know that his parents were buried there? But I guess that makes sense, I guess, you know?
Andrew: Yeah, nothing’s really happening here. I mean this is just – this is just a big moment for Harry just because he’s finally seeing his parents’ grave.
Elysa: Just a Lifetime movie.
Andrew: What’s that?
Elysa: Nothing.
Eric: It is like a Lifetime movie.
Laura: I heard that, Elysa Montfort! [laughs]
Elysa: I said it was just like a Lifetime movie. I mean three-quarters of the chapter I felt like I was watching Lifetime with a bunch of other girls sewing.
Eric: Have some sympathy! You heartless fan fiction mob.
Elysa: No! No, no, no, no, no. Listen, listen – don’t get me wrong, I cried at the end of this chapter.
Eric: Sure you did.
Elysa: I was really emotional…
Eric: Sure you did.
Elysa: …but that’s part of why it’s a freaking – that’s why it’s a Lifetime movie. Isn’t it? Isn’t that sort of the – the staple of watching Lifetime?
Andrew: Okay, you’re talking to four guys and one other girl. I don’t think – one other girl, who…
Matt: I love this chapter, you guys. Why are you guys bagging on it? Harry cried!
Elysa: No! I liked it too!
Laura: No, this is a fabulous chapter.
Elysa: I liked it too.
Andrew: So they get into Godric’s Hollow, and Harry and Hermione come upon this statue of the Potters and, like, I thought that was just so cool that there’s this statue of you as a child with your parents. The town has this statue there. It’s been there for seventeen years and he just stares at it for a minute, and there’s really no like realization, there’s no like – in the book it’s just written Harry’s staring at it. I don’t know. Don’t you guys think there should have been more like…
Laura: Yeah, but wouldn’t that freak you out?
Eric: That’s a moment…
Andrew: Okay, maybe it was a lot, and maybe it was a lot for him all at once.
Eric: I think I can connect. I think I connect with the exact response that’s in the book, because you got to realize that Harry’s survival impacted the entire Wizarding World, you know? Even though Voldemort is a terrorist who’s in England, you know, being the most powerful dark wizard ever, he’s pretty much the threat to the entire world. Harry’s defeat of him meant something to people so much larger than Harry would ever meet, and will ever know, and so coming to this statue, which he had never seen before, it was just, you know, it had been there for seventeen years. I think that’s fitting, and it’s just – he’s like the last person to see this statue of him and his parents, and it’s just – it’s just really like, you know, there’s nothing to say or do. He’s just there. It’s not a lack of emotional response; it’s just an abundance of it.
Micah: Plus it’s a conscious decision on his part, or maybe a subconscious decision that he can’t pay too close attention to things like that, just because there’s that threat that he may be being watched by somebody else. Obviously that ends up happening, but, you know, if he just goes into an emotional breakdown, and he’s under Polyjuice Potion, you know, wouldn’t that seem kind of weird that some middle-aged guy is breaking down in front of a statue and…
Matt: Okay.
Elysa: There’s…
Laura: Well, also we see later…go ahead.
Elysa: No, I think I was going to say the same thing that you’re going to say, which is just that we see a lot of the emotion later when he’s at his parents’ grave and then again, you know, a little less sadness, but when they see that sign that pops up later, with all the graffiti written on it and stuff…?
Andrew: Yeah.
Elysa: So I think there was so much emotion already transpiring in that short period of time that it didn’t really – I don’t know – it didn’t really surprise me that there wasn’t anything more intense at that point, but I understand that point completely, but it didn’t really surprise me.
Laura: Yeah. And also the way I think about it is – I think that seeing a statue of him and his family, like a memorial, is really not all that different than reading about his family in textbooks like he did at school because it was just a representation. I think it became…
Eric: Well, he didn’t – sorry to interrupt. Hermione was always the one to read about Harry in the books.
Laura: Yeah, I know, but she was the one who told him about it. I mean, that’s all very much a surreal experience because it didn’t become real to him. Like he actually said that – I mean, he actually detailed the idea of his parents’ bodies being beneath him under the ground.
Eric: And he said he almost wanted to crawl in and sleep with them.
Laura: Yeah, and it wasn’t until then that it became real, I don’t think.
War Memorial
Andrew: Well, let’s jump to the gravestones.
Matt: Yeah, please.
Andrew: You guys are just all about proving me wrong about future events.
Micah: Well, I just wanted…
Andrew: Go ahead, Micah.
Micah: …to mention one thing. I thought it was interesting that it first appeared as a war memorial, and then…
Eric: Yeah, what was up with that?
Micah: …it turned into the Potters.
Elysa: Yeah, what kind of war memorial?
Eric: Well, it could be that – well, think about the Godric’s Hollow – think about Godric’s Hollow – Godric’s Hollow is not a full – an all-magical town like Hogsmeade. Hogsmeade’s the only all-magical establishment in Britain, but Godric’s Hollow’s kind of a half-magical…
Andrew: Ooooh.
Eric: …half-Muggle thing. Now think about Harry and Hermione, who are under the Polyjuice Potion as Muggles. I think that the war memorial, considering Lily and James are only significant to magic people. You know, I mean, they’re significant to Muggles, but Muggles would never understand why. You couldn’t even begin to explain, so I think if the wizards are going to build a memorial to – I mean, quite like the Potters’ house, which you see in the next chapter, it’s just – I think the whole idea with that was that the war memorial was, you know, once they got closer to it kind of revealed itself just like the cottage did because they weren’t Muggles.
Micah: My point was that it’s more symbolic. That…
Eric: Oh, it’s a battle-scar.
Micah: …you know, the Potters…what?
Eric: It’s like a…
Micah: The Potters are the central point of this war against Voldemort, and the fact that a war memorial changed over to, you know, a statue of Lily, James, and Harry I thought was, you know, symbolic in a sense of what is taking place in this book.
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: Mhm.
Micah: That was more of where I…
Elysa: The war memorial, though, isn’t that what the Muggles see? Isn’t that sort of the disguise for Lily, and James, and Harry?
Eric: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Elysa: I was just curious as to which war that was for. I mean, obviously it has to be something valid if it’s going to fool the Muggles.
Andrew: WWII.
Eric: Yeah, or the Australian-American war.
The Gravestones
Andrew: Okay, so the graves. They go through the graveyard, they’re finding different people, and Harry’s getting frustrated because Hermione keeps pointing out different graves other than his parents’, but then finally, of course, it’s Hermione who finds the grave. Well, okay, first we’ll talk about the inscription on Kendra and…
Eric: Ariana.
Andrew: Ariana Dumbledore’s grave. I guess, Eric, you had this in here so you should probably talk about it.
Eric: Yeah. There’s two inscriptions they come across in this graveyard. One of them is on the grave of Dumbledore’s mother and sister, and the other one is on James and Lily’s tomb. And Harry makes note of the second one and has some open dialogue about Hermione, but the first one on Kendra and Ariana’s grave is – reads as such: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What do you guys think that means?
Laura: Well, first of all, that’s from the Bible. It’s from Matthew 6:21.
Eric: Ooh.
Laura: It is. Actually…
Andrew: Now wait a second, how did you know that? Did you Google it afterwards?
Laura: Yeah, I looked it up. And basically, both of these phrases are from the Bible.
Eric: Really?
Micah: Aww, isn’t that nice that Jo did a little tribute to Laura Mallory in Deathly Hallows?
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: “Here lies Laura Mallory.”
Andrew: Ooh.
Laura: Ooh.
Andrew: That’s a little too much.
Laura: But actually if you…
Eric: [unintelligible] …in the dust rather than the marble of the graves.
Laura: It’s really interesting if you read Matthew 6 and you’re looking at lines 19 through 21. That section is called “Lay Up Treasures in Heaven.” And it says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Andrew: Aww.
Laura: And I thought it was really fitting to say that you should really treasure the important things in your life and not link your entire being to material possessions that will have no meaning when you’re gone.
Eric: That’s kind of…
Elysa: Isn’t that a little ironic if – isn’t Dumbledore the one who put that inscription on it?
Eric: Yeah, and that’s the open dialogue.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: When they talk about this Harry says, “It makes sense that Dumbledore would be the one to choose this, because he was they oldest member of his family after Kendra and Ariana died.”
Matt: Well, it’s possible it’s something that his mother said. I mean he had to have gotten his loving nature from someone in his family. Maybe his mother was the one who was very loving and concerning, and probably that’s where Dumbledore got most of his sense from.
Eric: I like that.
Laura: Mmhm.
Andrew: Elysa, do you have something else to say about that?
Elysa: No, no. I just wanted – I wasn’t quite sure what it meant. At first my thought was that maybe – I don’t know. I don’t know what I was thinking. But I thought that there was maybe some sort of significance to it and – like a Horcrux or something. But obviously…
Matt: Yeah, I was kind of thinking the same thing. Like, “Where your treasure is there your heart will be.”
Elysa: Exactly, yeah.
Matt: Like your treasure you put your soul into.
Elysa: Right. Exactly.
Eric: I think we’re meant to think that a little bit. Because obviously…
Matt: Yeah, just a little bit.
Laura: Maybe.
Eric: It’s to be contrasted. With the kind of life that Voldemort is living, that he has souls and Horcruxes for the fact that treasure and heart can mean nothing about means of survival in the mortal world, but be actually really meaningful.
Andrew: I think that makes perfect sense, the Horcrux parallel.
Elysa: Yeah.
Andrew: It makes good sense. I mean, you know, obviously Matthew wasn’t jotting this down about Horcruxes and J.K. Rowling 2,000 years later.
[Elysa laughs]
Laura: Honestly though, I don’t think that – I mean we know that Jo is a Christian. I don’t think that she would use a biblical quote in reference to something evil like a Horcrux.
Eric: Well no, but it’s the kind of thing about being well written is that you can imply all these things from it, you can take all these things out of it. She’s also…
Laura: Oh yeah, I know.
Eric: All the time that she wrote that – in this chapter just five times it’s appeared – how the little beating heart inside the locket is going faster, and faster, and faster.
Andrew: Yeah.
Elysa: I think maybe it might have been less of a reference to a Horcrux directly and more of a reference of, you know, anti-Horcrux perhaps.
Eric: That’s what I mean; it’s contrasted. It’s to be absolutely contrasted.
Elysa: Exactly.
Eric: It has nothing to do with a Horcrux but you’re meant to think – or, you know, it’s in there. It’s definitely there to think about it.
Elysa: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: So on James and Lily’s tomb, what about the second inscription? And Harry questions that isn’t this what a Death Eaters’ think? It says, “The last enemy that will be defeated is Death.”
Laura: Yeah.
Elysa: I like that one.
Andrew: Harry sort of ruined the moment – yeah – Harry sort of ruined the moment for me right there though, because it seemed like he was getting angry, wasn’t he?
Eric: He was. Well, he read it wrong because Hermione’s like, “it’s not a bad thing.”
Micah: This is a very angry chapter, though.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: If you’re sort of following Harry throughout everything that’s been going on in this book in particular, and you’re not a fan of Dumbledore – I know there are a couple of people like Jess out there.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Who should be spammed.
Micah: But you get very aggravated. At least I did, re-reading the chapter, with Dumbledore. Because here you have, I think, just two rows behind the Potters’ graves behind Ariana and Kendra Dumbledore’s. And you start thinking to yourself, why was Harry never brought to Godric’s Hollow? Why was Harry never given this information? And it really starts to sink in because, up until this point, it’s sort of been like, “Okay, Dumbledore didn’t pass along this information, you can deal with it.” But once you start to see the reality that Harry’s going through, that he’s sitting at his parents’ grave, and Dumbledore had this information all along and never shared anything with him. I mean I would…
Laura: I would be frustrated too.
Eric: You’re right, this is the moment where it hits, Micah. And I mean, you did the news item where J.K. Rowling had said there was legitimate concern in that Dumbledore was – well, I guess using Harry as a puppet was the term used. But I mean, this is the moment where Harry’s thinking about walking with Dumbledore. What an emotional impact he thinks that would be for them both to have walked there. I think the term is, “What a strong bond that would be for Dumbledore to have taken him to this place,” and he didn’t! And the line is something to the effect of, “was it more important to just get Harry to do what he wanted him to do?” And I mean you’re right, this is the chapter where it starts really hitting home.
Micah: Well, not even Dumbledore. Nobody ever took him.
Eric: Well, nobody took him, yeah. That’s kind of sad, too.
Matt: Well, do you think that Dumbledore really thought about – before he died – about this precaution? About how danger it’d would be if he went back to Godric’s Hollow?
Eric: It’s a good question.
Micah: I think he would have been able to deal with the situation without ever drawing attention to those graves. Yes, they’re close together, but I still think Dumbledore may have been able to go to Godric’s Hollow and sort of not pay any attention to the two graves that were there. And maybe in the end that’s the reason why he never took Harry there. Maybe that would be the explanation, that it would have been too difficult for him to deal with everything surrounding his mother and his sister.
Laura: Yeah. Now, Andrew, I actually want to hear what you think this little inscription means. I thought your interpretation was interesting.
Interpretation of Inscription
Andrew: Okay, well, what I think – okay, Hermione’s probably right; I’ll just say that first. However, when I look at it and I think about it, I feel like it means that – this might sound stupid but this is just an alternate interpretation – that once everyone in the world is dead then there will no longer be death, and it is therefore defeated. Let me read the line back. “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” It will be defeated, it won’t exist anymore, because everyone is dead already and they can’t die anymore.
Laura: Okay, but that’s like – okay, that would be like saying that everything on the planet would have to die though. Like including the planet itself.
Elysa: Honestly, I never thought of it like that, and I don’t think it’s a stupid theory at all. I just think that…
Andrew: Thanks.
Elysa: I really don’t. I think that it sort of assumes that maybe in order for you to destroy death you have to eradicate it. And I think that for something as ambivalent as…[coughs]…excuse me – death that it’s something that has to be overcome and not eradicated. And I sort of think that that’s where Laura’s interpretation fits in, is that if you can overcome it, then that is sort of destroying death in a sense. And I think that James and Lily were overcoming it through keeping Harry alive through their sacrifice, as she has suggested.
Andrew: Well, Laura, what is your interpretation?
Laura: Well, it’s basically what Elysa just said, that it’s for anybody who has overcome their fear of death, and I mean I think of James and Lily, who are living on in their son. And I think that regardless of what your belief in any sort afterlife is, you do leave an impression in this world, whether it’s through your children or through things that you’ve done. I really think that you do. And just like reading it in terms of how it’s presented in the Bible – because it’s in Corinthians – it’s like Corinthians 15:26 or something. But all through Corinthians 15, it’s about the resurrection of Christ, and it talks about that. And there was one part that was kind of – it was kind of eerie reading it because it reminded me a lot of the scene where Harry was walking to the Forbidden Forest, and he saw his mother and father, and Remus all standing around him when he puts on the Resurrection Stone. Because it talked about how there would be one to be resurrected and all the apostles would see him and all this other stuff.
Elysa: Wow.
Laura: And you can definitely tell that J.K. Rowling was schooled very much in religion.
Elysa: That’s a good call, Laura. That’s a good call.
Micah: Well, that’s what I thought of when I was re-reading it was – I thought specifically of the Deathly Hallows, and Harry being the Master of Death, and the fact that, you know, he has that whole scene at King’s Cross. You know, I like was Elysa was saying just before about the Potters living on through Harry. In their own way, they defeated death by stepping in front of the curses that were meant for Harry, I guess. Lily more so than James, but even still, James died protecting his family. Harry sort of gives up at the end and knows that him sacrificing himself is supposedly for the greater good, and, you know, that kind of quote for me ties in with the Hallows and ties in with his actions at the end of the book.
Laura: Mmhm.
This Scene in the Movie
Matt: Well, before we go to chapter seventeen, can we just like talk about this scene as a whole? As like, when they film it in the movie, like how beautiful it’s going to be when you see Harry and Hermione holding each other looking at the parents’ grave in the snow.
Andrew: Yeah, I was thinking about that and immediately I closed my eyes and could just picture the typical Emma Watson worried face.
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: But see, that’s the thing I’m kind of nervous for. I think it would be a little better in the film if they don’t actually go through the Polyjuice Potion. So you actually see Harry and Hermione holding each other at the gravesite, rather than what they look like through the Polyjuice Potion.
Eric: [laughs] What’s it going to be – these two strange actors.
[Everyone laughs].
Matt: Yeah, exactly. It’s supposed to be a touching moment.
Eric: Very sentimental, but yeah, you’re right. I don’t think – and the Polyjuice Potion. It’s kind of what they’re saying about Movie 6. There’s all these precautions they take to make clear how unsafe the world is, but I think it’s a better story to tell in a movie if they are not under the Polyjuice Potion at this exact moment. We questioned whether they would be in the Ministry scene.
Andrew: It’s very – this is a very different – oh fuck, I was going to say something but I’ve lost my train of thought. It’s just the perspective you have while reading – you see Harry and Hermione, but in a movie it’s not nearly as effective. They’re going to have to really do something about that. Because yeah, you’re right. Like Matt and Eric, you were saying, seeing these two random people holding each other just won’t make sense.
Micah: Reading this chapter – I mean, you kind of get and idea as to why Ron wasn’t written into it, because I just can’t see him being in this scene.
Matt: Yeah, I agree.
Andrew: Yeah. That’s a good point. That’s a really good point.
Elysa: I just – I was just wondering, I’m not sure if this was specified or if I’m remembering incorrectly, but who decided on that epitaph? “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”? Do we know?
Laura: I don’t think it was ever specified who chose it.
Matt: It’s probably a – like, maybe a favor from Lily or James of the Deathly Hallows from Beetle and the Bard.
Eric: Well, I would rather venture and say that Dumbledore did that one too. I would like to think that.
Elysa: Well, here’s what – yeah – here’s what I was going to say, and I have no evidence in this whatsoever, but I was almost positive that I read somewhere – maybe in one of the interviews that J.K. Rowling did after the release – that Dumbledore had written that. And if so, that gives a whole new perspective to it. Because if Dumbledore wrote that, it would sort of almost be like, I suppose redemption in a way. That he was sort of – because he went through that whole phase of trying to obtain the Deathly Hallows and defeating death in a way that it can’t be defeated. At least not – you know, so he wrote that sort of saying, “I’ve realized my mistake and, you know, where I made an error in judgment, and now I know. I’ve learned through Lily and James that the only way to destroy death is to face it and not to run from it.”
Matt: Yeah, I like that a lot.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Very nicely put.
Elysa: [laughs] Thanks.
Matt: Wow.
Laura is Fired
Andrew: Elysa, you’re the girl. You’re hired.
Matt: Yeah.
[Everybody laughs]
Andrew: You know, Laura, get off the show.
Matt: See you, Laura.
Elysa: Aw no. No.
Laura: Screw you!
[Andrew laughs]
Elysa: Laura!
Andrew: [laughs] I’m just kidding.
[Elysa laughs]
Micah: You can keep the P.O. Box.
Matt: Laura! Bye!
Andrew Gets a Love Letter
Laura: Speaking of the P.O. Box, Andrew, my mom told me that some girl sent you this very serious love letter.
Eric: She reads the letters?
Laura: Like intense…
Andrew: What is she doing opening my personal love letters?
Laura: No, she didn’t, like, put a name on the envelope.
Andrew: I’m just playing.
Eric: She wanted it to be…
Laura: Okay, I was just telling you.
Eric: …found by someone else.
Andrew: Aw, well I look forward to seeing it and being creeped out.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Let’s go to chapter seventeen. I’m just kidding, whoever said that.
Micah: Call Crime Stoppers.
Chapter 17, “Bathilda’s Secret”
Andrew: I’m sure it’s nice. We should move on to chapter seventeen now, Victoria’s – I mean “Bathilda’s Secret.” Basically in this chapter, to sum up Eric’s short summary: Hiss, hiss, bite, hiss, crunch, I can fly…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …hey cute picture, wait that’s him, no.
Eric: That’s the…
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Eric: No, no! You totally destroyed that, Andrew. I write these summaries. I put all my heart into them and it…
Andrew: I know…
Laura: Half of it was hiss.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: I think it came off funny.
Eric: Can I read the short summary? [actually hisses] Bite! Hisss….crunch. My wand! Look at my wand! I can fly, I can fly, I can fly! Hey, cute picture. Wait, that’s him. Nooooooo!!
Andrew: [laughs] Wow.
Laura: Oh my god.
[Elysa claps]
Andrew: Okay.
Eric: That’s the short summary.
Andrew: Elysa Montfort, the only one clapping for that.
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: Aw.
[Elysa laughs]
Laura: That’s because she’s really polite.
Andrew: Thank you, Skype meters. And she’s new, she has to suck up to everyone.
Laura: Yeah, she’ll be meaner next time.
Elysa: Oh, right. [laughs]
Bathilda the Snake
Andrew: All right, so this chapter. I don’t what to think about this chapter. I mean this is another – they should have seen this coming! Like, come on, she was so – while everyone was reading this for the first time, did you know that something was up with Bathilda?
Laura: Of course!
Elysa: Absolutely.
Laura: Of course.
Matt: Oh, obviously. It was obvious she was a snake!
[Andrew, Elysa, and Laura laugh]
Eric: It was absolutely obvious that a giant snake was possessing Bathilda’s dead corpse and inhabiting the carcass and leading Harry alone so that she could bite him and break his – Yes.
Matt: Thank you, Eric. It was so obvious.
Eric: Matt, you and I are the only ones worthwhile – or worthy of reading these kinds of books.
Andrew: You know – well, okay – the only reason I can see someone thinking that, “Okay, there wasn’t anything up with her,” just ’cause they had heard at the wedding that she was just gaga. So…
Laura: Mmm.
Andrew: So I don’t know. Obviously something was up to us because, you know, something was bound to happen. You know, every thirty pages there’s like a new big scary Voldemort attack.
Matt: Yeah, it was – the whole mood was supposed to change anyway. So we were expecting a big change in the mood.
The Plaque Honoring Harry
Andrew: Yeah. So first off, in the beginning of this chapter, Harry feels excited because – he gets a little boost, a little inspiration boost because he sees this graffiti on this plaque honoring him.
Matt: I think that was just what he needed.
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Because he’s getting very skeptical of Hermione and Ron, and he was right that – I mean, they were kind of doubting him a little bit and so now he’s been thinking this whole entire time that his best friends are doubting his ability, and are they really – I mean, they may be with him, but are they really, in a sense? And he reads these graffitis on the scene – on a sign saying how – what does it say on the sign?
Micah: Oh, it says, “Good luck, Harry, wherever you are. If you read this, Harry, we’re all behind you. Long live Harry Potter.”
Eric: Well, yeah, the house is still there. Most of the house is still there, in fact.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s really cool, too, how there’s like a little tribute. Well, I mean they…
Eric: Yeah, I liked that a lot.
Andrew: …kept the house there as a tribute. Like, that’s just amazing. I really cannot wait to see that in the movie because Harry even – well, the narration even points out that, you know, there was the blasted corner of the house, which is obviously where Voldemort killed his mother and tried to kill Harry.
Eric: And remember, we’ve seen this house, guys. In the movie when Hagrid – in the first movie when Hagrid is doing the recount. We see Voldemort go into there.
Andrew: Right.
Recreating Harry’s Parents’ Death Scene
Eric: I thought that would be really cool if they reshoot those scenes, sort of, with the actors – try to recreate it. But then actually, you know, elaborate with all the things that happened – sorry – at the end of this chapter, which is fantastic.
Matt: Well see, that’s what I had…
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: …a question about, too. Because they said in the beginning when they did this movie – the first film – that J.K. Rowling oversaw this entire scene…
Eric: I think she directed that scene or something.
Matt: Do you honestly – oh, yeah I think she did direct it, too. Do you think that they may have actually filmed the entire scene and are saving it…
Eric: No, I highly doubt that.
Matt: …for the last film?
Andrew: Oh.
Eric: If you think about it, the James and Lily actors are very happy to return. They’ve been in almost all the movies. In fact, they’ve been in all the movies. They really have.
Matt: But the baby! It doesn’t look like that; he’s probably a couple years older now.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Well, they could find another child.
Andrew: He’s like ten years older now.
Eric: Well, you’re right. You’re right.
Andrew: That’s kind of a good theory, Matt. I mean – because I don’t think they would have to film much extra. Like – well – I don’t know, it’s hard to say because if you think about the movie scene in Sorcerer’s Stone, it’s not exactly how it is in the book.
Matt: No, it’s not. But also, the actors are ten years older, almost, too. From when…
Andrew: Right.
Matt: …they filmed that scene.
Andrew: Although, Harry was standing in the crib and he had a little smile on his face in the movie, didn’t he?
Matt: A little bit.
Laura: Yeah, he did.
Andrew: It’s very similar.
Laura: He was wearing Blue’s Clues pajamas, too.
Andrew: He was, yeah!
Matt: And they stressed it enough that she was very adamant about getting this scene right. She probably had this whole scene – you know, she had it all envisioned in her head. I still think they may have filmed this entire scene.
Eric: Well, I like the idea of that. It’s just in the history of movies where – it seems like in my history of movies, my experience, when I think that it would be very cool if they did that, they never do that, which is the only thing I have against it.
Andrew: I mean, at the very least, they must have some extra footage lying around. They must have done some extra takes, maybe some extra angles or two. Maybe they could make a whole thing out of it.
Matt: You don’t even see James’ character in that flashback.
Andrew: Right, you don’t. That’s one issue.
Eric: So are we going to talk about Bathilda picking them up then?
Bathilda Knows Who Harry Is
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a great point, Matt, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. That’s a good question for Heymann or somebody. Okay, so Harry finds the photograph of Dumbledore and Grindelwald in Bathilda’s house and – sorry, I’m reading from whoever wrote this. He’s also convinced by looking in her eyes that she knows who he is. He’s partly right.
Laura: Yeah, I was kind of – I don’t know. Just reading that, it kind of creeped me out because…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: …Hermione said something along the lines of like, “Do think she knows who we are?” or whatever. And Harry looks into Bathilda’s eyes and he’s like, “Yeah, I think she does.” And it’s creepy because he’s right but not quite, you know, because it’s actually…
Eric: Yeah.
Laura: …Voldemort’s snake. And it’s – oh my gosh, just gives me shivers…
Eric: There is a really cool – I like how this is written because – and again with the Horcrux that Harry is wearing, it gets excited. It starts really sort of beating, and Harry really starts noticing it…
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: And he’s like, “Oh, I guess it’s starting to be scared. That’s good, it’s scared that it’s about to be destroyed.” But you know that that’s not actually quite what’s happening, and it’s really, just really an intense, sort of scary scene.
Laura: Yeah, it really is.
Matt: That whole scene is going to be so freaking awesome in the movie.
Laura: If they do it right. Like, do you really think they are actually going to have the snake crawl…
Eric: I think they will.
Laura: …out of Bathilda’s neck?
Matt: Oh, they better!
Laura: I would be so mad.
Eric: Why? Oh, if they didn’t? I was like…
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: If it just like transfigures into a snake or something?
Elysa: Oh, that would be…
Eric: Well, they have got to have it.
Elysa: …so terrible.
Laura: Yeah, and if they do something cheap like they’ve done in every movie where they show a shadow. But then like in Chamber of Secrets in order to lessen the gore factor they had a Fawkes pecking at the Basilisk’s eyes…
Eric: Oh, but they didn’t cut that out.
Laura: …but they only show a shadow.
Andrew: Yeah, well, keep in mind that that was the PG days.
Eric: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Matt: We’re almost rated R, ladies and gentlemen.
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: We’re all big boys now.
Eric: Well, the other thing, Laura, that I remember is – sorry, crap, I
just totally lost my – oh yeah! Well, no…
Matt: Well, about when Peter Pettigrew cut off his hand?
Eric: Oh, that’s – did they show a shadow of that?
Matt: They showed it about – like, it just tipped off the arm.
Eric: Well, it made the squishy sound.
Laura: Yeah. It was pretty…
Eric: What I’m thinking of is – remember in Prisoner of Azkaban when Peter Pettigrew escapes the binds by turning into the rat and he does that thing where he disappears…
Matt: Right.
Eric: …into his clothing and then the rat comes out.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: Like, that’s exactly the effect I’m looking for in the Bathilda’s transformation scene. You know, it’s…
Laura: Really?
Matt: But did – she doesn’t really transform. The snake is hiding inside the body.
Eric: Oh no, she doesn’t, she doesn’t, but…
Laura: No, it comes out of her body.
Eric: In my notes, she pretty much discards the carcass like a coat – like discards the body like a coat. And it lets it drop to the floor as the snake sort of slithers out of it.
Micah: Like a snake would shed its skin.
Eric: Exactly.
Laura: Hm.
Andrew: Yeah, I can see that.
Matt: Well, I kind of got – I thought about that when I was thinking of – what’s the movie? Men in Black. When the creature took…
Laura: Oh, right!
Matt: …out the insides of a body and all it really was was just like a layer of skin that stretched over the body.
Laura: Right.
Eric: It was like an egger suit. [laughs] Like an egger suit.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Come to think of it though, this would really by a scary scene for kids.
Matt: I know!
The Potters’ Death Through Voldemort’s Eyes
Andrew: I mean, even if it is rated PG-13. Huh. I don’t know, but let’s stick with the book here; let’s wrap this up. So as we were just discussing – I guess we could skip this too – when Harry sees his parents’ death through Voldemort’s point of view, which is really cool.
Eric. Whoa! Wait, we can’t skip this, we can’t skip this! This was incredible.
Andrew: Well, I’m saying we’ve already discussed a good part of it…
Eric: All right, yeah.
Andrew: …movie-wise, but…
Eric: I’m shocked at how little I remembered how cool this actual part was when I was reading it the first time. Book 7, that is. Because it really is truly cool.
Elysa: Yeah, correct me…
Eric: Would do you guys think?
Elysa: Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the first time that we find out that James Potter didn’t even have his wand when Voldemort killed him?
Eric: None of them did.
Matt: He just falls.
Andrew: Didn’t we discuss this on an earlier show?
Eric: Yeah, this has been said in the books that James was dueling Voldemort, or whatever. You know, went into the landings to sort of duel him, but now we see that it was even more pathetic than that for, you know, James and Lily Potter, who have thrice defied Voldemort, to just drop. Of course Lily didn’t have to die but James just didn’t even have his wand.
Matt: Well…
Eric: I don’t know…
Matt: This is…
Eric: Yeah. Go on.
Matt: Well, just about the whole thing with Harry’s mom and how he kind of pushed her away – like we all thought that there was like some ulterior motive that maybe like he was – he promised that he wouldn’t kill Lily.
Eric: Well, he did, didn’t he? Isn’t that confirmed later? Yeah, Snape asked him not to.
Matt: Oh that’s right. Okay. Nevermind.
Eric: But I’m going to go out on a limb here, and I’m just going to say my absolute favorite thing about this Voldemort recap is that right when he’s about to kill Harry he thinks that baby Harry might, or Harry, or Voldemort thinks the baby Harry might be thinking that Voldemort is actually his dad in disguise, that any moment Lily’s going to pop up and smile, and it’s all a joke. But as Voldemort gets closer to Harry to kill him, he sees that it’s not Voldemort and begins crying, and at that moment Voldemort thinks – I have it written down here – Voldemort thinks, well he says, “He did not like the crying…”
Andrew: Of the orphanage.
Eric: “…he had never been able to stomach the small ones crying in the orphanage.” And this is like right when he’s about to die – right when Voldemort’s about to kill Harry and be killed himself. He has this flash – he connects the crying to the orphanage, and these crying babies in the orphanage. This is Voldemort’s human life. Not only that, but his childhood. He makes this connection to his childhood and of all these – this crying that he couldn’t stand in the orphanage – it sort of connects him to the human world once again. It’s even acknowledged that he’d ever been in an orphanage – a Muggle one at that – and then that’s – it struck me so much. You can clearly tell by the way my voice doing this, that it struck me that that kind of connection to, you know, Voldemort’s – because Voldemort’s not connected to anything, and – but right before he dies, he makes that kind of, you know, “I hated the little ones, the orphans…”
Matt: Well, when I first…
Elysa: Well, it’s totally true…
Eric: And then he dies.
Matt: Well, when I read that, when he said that he couldn’t stomach the babies crying at the orphanage, I – I could be wrong, but I thought when he said that he meant that he went on a murderous rampage in the orphanage, and it was just hard….
Eric: Well, he was about to kill a trick-or-treater. Do you remember that?
Laura: Yeah. He said like one quick wave of his wand and the little boy would never see his mother again, or something like that.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Eric: “But quite unnecessary…”
Matt: But he’d just love the power of that…
Eric: “…quite unnecessary.”
Matt: I think he was thinking to himself. Like, “I could just kill this kid right now,” and that entire life is gone.
MuggleCast 133 Transcript (continued)
Book 1 and 7 Parallel
Andrew: Now, Laura, you had a parallel you wanted to bring up?
Laura: Oh yeah, well, we all know how I am about the parallels.
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: This is a really small one. It’s – it’s not anything major that requires tons of discussion, but it was just interesting to me like, especially thinking about the scene that we talked about in Sorcerer’s Stone that Jo monitored so heavily. It specifically shows Voldemort entering the gate of the Potters’ house, and in the book, Harry says that he can see the bald man entering the gate of Bathilda’s home. And it’s like the first time that they’ve both been in Grimmauld Place in all this time, and both times it happened in Book 7 and Book 1. I just thought it was really interesting. Another one of my little book parallels.
Andrew: Yeah, why do we love parallels, Matt?
Matt: Because they never meet.
[Everyone laughs]
Lack of the Fifth Person
Micah: I was just disappointed because there had been so much speculation that there had been somebody else in Godric’s Hollow…
Laura: Oh, I know!
Micah: …there that night.
Andrew: Yeah.
Elysa: Yeah.
Micah: And then to not have anything really, I mean…
Andrew: Yeah, you’re…
Micah: …everyone pretty much assumed that Snape was the one who sort of made sure that Lily would at least be offered some sort of protection, but…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …it seemed like – even going back to the movie, you guys were talking about – people were always saying, “Oh, it seems like if you look the right way, there was somebody else there in the shadows,” but in the end it ended up not being anybody at all.
Laura: Yeah, and I mean when we were…
Micah: It was Voldemort by himself.
Laura: When we were in London doing our live show, I went out on a limb and made a big speculation about who I thought it was going to be…
Andrew: What did you say?
Laura: …and then it ended up being no one. I said – well, I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced of this, but I figured if it was going to be someone there, it was going to be someone we wouldn’t expect, so I was like, “Hmm, Dumbledore. Maybe Dumbledore was there, and that’s why he has all this stuff” and da-da-da-da-da. But it – of course it makes no sense now, but…
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, Dumbledore was a big theory.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I remember that being passed around a lot. I think you did present an interesting theory at that show, I just don’t remember it.
Laura: Yeah, I don’t remember exactly what I said.
Andrew: Yeah, I just remember it being really good.
Elysa: Aww.
Laura: But then no one in the audience – I remember you said something like, “Everybody raise your hand if you think that’s right!” And like two people…
Matt: Aww.
Laura: [laughs] …raised their hands.
Andrew: Well, see, you have to remember…
Laura: And I was like, “Screw you!”
Andrew: …there were three levels of people we couldn’t see, you know, the upper and lower…
Laura: Yeah, that’s true.
Andrew: We should have been like, “Stomp your feet if you think that…” [laughs]
Laura: Yeah, but then they would put another light out in the bookstore.
Andrew: Yeah. Oh, that was a classic…
Laura: [laughs] That was so funny.
Andrew: Oh, Elysa, Matt, and Micah, you weren’t there, you losers.
Elysa: [laughs] Oh my God! Thanks, Andrew.
Andrew: I’m just kidding.
Matt: Jerk.
Andrew: Okay, so, I think that’s about it.
Hermione’s Lack of Suspicion
Eric: Well, just one more thing.
Andrew: Okay.
[Micah laughs]
Eric: When Harry is – sorry – when Harry is…
Andrew: You’re like Steve Jobs at his Apple keynotes. He always goes, “But there is one more thing…” and then the whole crowd goes, “Aaaahhh!”
Eric: Oh yeah, P.S., the MacBook Air. [laughs] Yeah. Okay so – no, just when Harry is recapping afterwards – I mean, he’d been tossing and turning in his sleep for hours, which, as it turns out – but he recounts that Bathilda was actually – Bathilda Bagsnake, I should say. Bathilda Bagsnake was speaking Parseltongue, and that’s why Harry sort of could understand her and knew that she was saying, “Come, look at this,” that sort of thing. But I don’t think it’s actually right that Hermione were to let Harry go upstairs alone if she couldn’t also hear Bathilda saying those sort of things like, “Come here,” and, “I want you,” and, you know, all this other stuff, you know? Not only did Hermione let Harry go up alone with Bathilda, but she didn’t even follow until she started hearing these loud thumps. I mean if Nagini were any kind of, you know, aim or anything, I mean, if the intent were to be to kill Harry, Nagini would have succeeded because Hermione stayed downstairs. I just don’t think it was realistically suspicious. She wasn’t realistically suspicious enough because if she couldn’t hear Bathilda even speak or, you know, if she would have heard the slithering, I would have been severely, you know, clued in.
Micah: It’s possible they communicated, though, through nonverbal…
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: …means…
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: That’s what I was thinking.
Micah: …because there was that connection that still exists between Voldemort and Harry.
Eric: Oh, yeah – well, yeah.
Micah: Perhaps they don’t need any sort of verbal communication.
Eric: But that would be weird, wouldn’t it? I mean you’d immediately know that something was up if Hermione – ’cause if Hermione like – Hermione didn’t hear a thing. She didn’t hear a thing, and maybe she heard some sizzling and didn’t realize it.
Micah: Well, this whole idea is pretty stupid from the beginning, okay? This kind of goes back to my thoughts on like them infiltrating the Ministry. This was just another scene where like, you know what, you’re really…
Eric: Out of your league.
Micah: …effing stupid. You know? I mean, you’re just going to follow somebody that you’ve never met before..
Matt: You don’t talk to strangers.
Micah: …go into their house… Yeah, exactly.
Andrew: But see, at the same time – at the same time they were pretty confident that she had the sword, you know? Like earlier in the chapter, or the chapter prior, Harry was like, you know, Harry and Hermione were both like, “Okay, she must have it. It makes sense. Dumbledore must have given it to her.” So…
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: …I think they just got too caught up in the moment.
Matt: Well, really it’s mostly Harry.
Micah: It is possible.
Matt: I mean, Hermione did – was hesitant first and usually like…
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: …every time Hermione’s first reaction is hesitation, it’s usually because you should be hesitant about it.
Eric: Well, I think over time, though, their lack of knowledge, their lack of things happening and Ron leaving them, kind of makes them put all their eggs in one basket. And I think that’s why Harry, when he says, “I want to go to Godric’s Hollow,” Hermione says, “Yeah, that’s a pretty good idea.”
Andrew: Mhm.
Eric: She kind of says…
Micah: It was just a…
Eric: But you’re right, Micah. You’re completely right.
Micah: It’s just not a wise decision in the fact that you brought up. I mean Harry can clearly hear what she’s saying but it’s not like they’re having open dialogue. It’s not like they’re having back and forth conversation. You know, it’s just a little bit awkward to me.
Eric: Yeah. I mean what worked in the favor was that they knew how old Bathilda was, you know? They thought that when she was kind of gliding along the ice that she might, you know – she’s very weak and obviously a very old woman who might have the sword of Gryffindor. But just putting Harry and Hermione’s failings aside, when Voldemort flies there and ends up in that room it is said in the book that he looks out the window and sees Harry and Hermione as their disguised people running across the field, and that’s where he breaks down and says, “No!” And obviously he looks down and he gets this nice little consolation prize, which is the photo of Grindelwald, so he can figure out who it is he wants to go after. But he sees them running across the field; why does he not follow them? That is my question, that’s my last question. Why doesn’t he follow them if he sees them running?
Eric’s One Question
Matt: Because they Apparate.
Eric: He can fly. He can overtake them. Who says they Apparate? Hermione is trying to carry Harry; she can’t even do that.
Matt: Well, didn’t she say they twisted and they were gone?
Elysa: I think they did Apparate.
Laura: Yeah, they did Apparate.
Matt: You saw a twist and they were gone, and then he starts screaming.
Eric: Oh, I missed that. [turning page in the book] Sorry.
Elysa: Yeah, I think she Apparated as they fell out or something.
Eric: I thought they twisted their heel or something.
Matt: Yeah, they click their heels three times.
Elysa: “Hermione twisted in midair…”
Matt: [in a high pitched voice] “There’s no place like home.”
Micah: “…and the thundering of the collapsing house rang in Harry’s ears as she dragged him once more into darkness.” Yeah, they Apparated.
Eric: Ah, “into darkness.” Okay, that’s what I get.
Elysa: Yeah.
Eric: Sorry, I thought it was like the darkness of behind a tree or something.
[Elysa laughs]
Eric: I was like, “Why is he not going after them?” Okay, but I get that. Okay.
The Broken Wand
Micah: And the only other thing I would bring up from this chapter is the fact of the broken wand, because that plays a huge role later on…
Eric: I like it though.
Micah: …in the series.
Laura: Should we play a song for Harry’s wand?
Eric: Well, we should play a song…
Laura: Even though it comes back?
Eric: We should play a song for Bathilda, actually, because it’s confirmed now that she’s completely dead.
Micah: Mhm.
Andrew: What do you guys want to hear?
Matt: [singing] “My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard…”
[Everyone laughs]
Quote Quiz
Andrew: That’s a little out of place. I guess we’ll jump right into the next segment, but first it’s time for Quote Quiz. [echoes “quiz”]
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: This is for Chapter 17 this week and…
Micah: 18.
Andrew: Oh, yeah sorry. Chapter 18, “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.” And the quote is – this is a hard one for all you playing at home – “He were a head case, that Aberforth.” [closes book] That’s the Quote Quiz for you this week.
Matt: Did they mumble too, or was that just you?
Andrew: I didn’t mumble.
Matt: Oh, okay.
Make the Music Connection
Andrew: That’s what Jo wrote. So we’re doing a new segment. We tested this last week. For Laura, Eric and Elysa, it’s Make the Music Connection. And we make a connection between – we’re going to start this week. Make the connection between a song I give you and Harry Potter. Okay?
Eric: Okay.
Andrew: So it’s sort of like Make the Connection, only it involves music and the intro goes like this: It’s “Make the Mu-mu-mu-mu-music Connection.”
[Eric laughs],
Laura: Very nice.
Elysa: Good job, Andrew.
Andrew: So Eric, since you’re a “Lost” dork…
Matt: Nice.
Andrew: …and you have to get out of here…
Micah: So you’re going to give us the song and we’re going to have to place it in the series as opposed to us coming up…
Matt: Yes.
Micah: …with a song?
Andrew: Exactly. I’m going to give you a…
Micah: That’s a lot easier.
Andrew: Okay, good.
Micah: I hope.
Andrew: All right, so, Eric, this is your first song.
[“Yesterday” by The Beatles begins playing]
Eric: [singing along] “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now…”
Andrew: “Yesterday” by The Beatles. Make a connection between this song and Harry Potter.
Eric: That’s a really good question. I mean, sorry, this is a really good connection to be made. I think that an instance where this song would be most pertinent…actually! What about right this – I think a lot of characters are singing this song at different points in the book. Particularly, well, clearly Harry – plenty of people the night that Voldemort is – you know what? Dumbledore sings this when he goes back to his office after the Triwizard Tournament has ended. And Voldemort’s back. [chuckles]
[Andrew laughs]
[Music stops]
Eric: You know, “yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away. Darn it, he’s back again!”
Andrew: [laughs] Okay. All right. All right, that’s good.
Eric: Yeah, or Ron sings it.
Matt: Wait, wait. So what scene was it?
Eric: Well, okay. Then I’ll do the other one. Ron’s singing it after he left Hermione. You know, because we read in these chapters that Hermione’s crying and stuff all over Ron. Ron is at home, or in the bushes by his house, singing this song. Like, “why did I have to go and be so dumb and leave? Sorry, yesterday sucked, but I shouldn’t have left,” you know.
Andrew: Okay.
Eric: Anyway, got to go! [laughs]
Matt: Okay.
Andrew: All right…
Laura: Bye, Eric.
Andrew: Eric, we’ll see you later.
Eric: Okay. Bye, everybody! Thanks for the great show.
Andrew: Bye!
Laura: Bye!
Matt: Bye!
Micah: Bye!
Andrew: Micah, it is your turn for Make the Music Connection. You ready?
Micah: Yeah. Let’s go. Ready.
Andrew: All right, this is your song.
Matt: Let’s do it!
[“Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel begins playing]
Micah: [laughs] Of course, the Billy Joel.
Andrew: “Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel. Make a connection, sir.
Micah: I would probably say when Harry is going through, you know, Hogwarts, and he’s looking over the table. And he sees Remus and Tonks. Because, in reality, they’re still pretty young. You know.
Andrew: Okay.
Micah: But it’s kind of a more upbeat song, you know?
[Matt laughs]
Micah: It has some really solemn lyrics but it’s an upbeat song. So I don’t – it’s kind of hard to place that.
Andrew: No, no. The lyrics are terrible…
Matt: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: …if you listen to it, if you get the meaning of the song. It’s terrible. I don’t know what it is, I’ve just heard it’s terrible.
Matt: I could just see Harry running down the Great Hall scene…
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Matt: …Remus and Tonks lying there, dead. And he just breaks out and dances to this song.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Yeah, okay. Good. Matt, you’re next.
[Song ends]
Matt: Okay.
Andrew: Actually, no. Let’s get a girl.
Matt: Oh.
Andrew: Um…
Micah: Matt, you’re next.
Matt: I knew it!
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew and
Laura: Ohhh!
Matt: Micah, I knew you were going to say something.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Matt’s actually hurt too.
Micah: He knew that. It’s like Andrew set that up perfectly.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Matt: I know, I was waiting for something to say something.
Andrew: I didn’t even think about that, despite the fact that Matt does have girl attributes. But anyway, Elysa…
Elysa: Yeah.
Andrew: …here’s your song.
[“Misty Mountain Hop” by Led Zeppelin beings playing]
Elysa: [gasps] Led Zeppelin?
Andrew: “Misty Mountain Hop.”
Elysa: Hell, yeah!
Andrew: By Zeppelin. I hear you’re a fan.
Elysa: Oh, are you kidding me? Of course! Oh gosh, well they’re all British. How’s that for a connection?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Okay.
Elysa: Um, let me think. I’m going to say that this is Tonks and the Giant Squid’s love music.
[Everyone laughs]
Elysa: That’s the connection.
Andrew: Okay, all right, very good. Oh God.
[Song ends]
Andrew: Okay, Laura, you’re next.
Laura: Okay.
Andrew: Keep in mind, I’m tailoring all these songs to everyone’s interests this week, so…
Laura: Yeah, I’m just guessing what mine’s going to be. [laughs]
Andrew: Laura. Laura, may know what’s coming.
[“Time of your Life” by Greenday begins playing]
Laura: Oh, boy.
Elysa: Aww!
Andrew: This song makes me cry.
[Elysa laughs]
Andrew: “Time of Your Life” by Greenday.
Laura: Well, I think there are multiple meanings you could pull out of this song. One of the first things I think of is when Billy Joel says, “time grabs you by the wrist and directs you where to go,” because Harry didn’t really have much of a choice of his destiny. It was kind of thrust upon him.
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: And also, if you know anything about Greenday, and this song, you know it’s actually not a happy song. So – and it’s not even supposed to be a nice song. It’s actually all, kind of, sad. So the whole, it makes me think of a Harry Potter ending. It makes me sad.
Andrew: Aw.
Laura: So sadness. And Harry’s destiny.
Andrew: Okay, good. I like it.
[Song ends]
Andrew: All right, and last but not least, Matthew Britton, here’s your song.
[“Circle of Life” by Elton John begins playing]
Matt: I knew it! A Disney song.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I love when he gets constipated for a second. [mimics song]
[Elysa and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Uh, “Circle of Life.” It was written by Elton John, right?
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: All right think. Make a connection.
Matt: God. Um, damn. It’s like, well, there were animals in it. And our patronuses are animals.
[Laura laughs]
Matt: And I got nothing here.
Andrew: Now I’m picturing all the patronuses coming up on the big mountain with Simba.
Matt: Um…
Elysa: Well, Simba and Harry were both orphans, who had to…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Aww, that’s true.
Matt: Yeah but are – are we making – are we making a music connection to a – an exact scene in the film?
Micah: Or the books.
Laura: It can be.
Andrew: It can be in the film, or, you know, you can picture a scene for Deathly Hallows.
Matt: Or in the book I mean. I’m sorry. A scene in the books.
Andrew: It can be books or movies, whatever.
Matt: Well, that’s what I mean. Okay. Um, jeez. I have no idea. I’m sorry.
Laura: Hey, Matt, what about Harry – er – Simba’s parental figure dies to save Simba.
Matt. Mm. Oh, I got it! In um, oh not the, well, no I can connect the movies but not the song. Sorry.
Andrew: Okay, go ahead.
Laura: Yeah but…
Matt: I was thinking, ’cause, at the very end when Simba and Scar start walking in circles, it’s just like what Harry and Voldemort do at their final showdown.
Laura: Well, that’s true.
Matt: But the song is just so happy and life and I can’t really make a circle of life because nothing gets – no one gets killed and then eaten after they get [unintelligible] grass or something.
Micah: It would be a good song for the epilogue, how about that?
Matt: Yeah. Or just the opening of the entire series. The prologue. There we go.
[Laura laughs]
Elysa: How about this? The circle of life is that Harry ends up marrying a woman that looks exactly like his mother.
[Laura laughs]
Matt: Ooh.
Laura: Ooh.
Matt: What kind of fan fiction do you do now, Elysa?
Elysa: [laughs] No, I’m just saying, I mean, seriously. A lot of people were making – talking about parallels that, you know, Harry looks exactly like James and that Ginny looks exactly like Lily. I mean I’m not, like, suggesting anything. I’m just saying, circle of life. There you have it.
Andrew: We’re going to wrap it up today with a favorite.
Favorite: Movie Poster or DVD Cover
Matt: Uh, so this week’s favorite is what is your favorite movie poster slash DVD cover? And I was thinking of that because I was at Best Buy the other day and I was just looking at all of the Harry…
[Hannah Montana’s “See You Again” plays]
Andrew: Oh sorry, sorry. Accident.
Matt: What the hell was that?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Just accidently clicked my top songs playlist. Just ignore me, sorry.
Matt: [laughs] Ladies and gentlemen, Andrew Sims likes Hannah Montana.
Andrew: It was a complete mistake, I didn’t mean to do that, sorry.
Matt: Well, the reason why I thought of this was when I was in Best Buy and I was looking at all the DVD covers, and I thought, you know which one’s my favorite? And then…oh my God, I should do this as a Favorites! So that’s why I put it up. I guess we can – we can go with what’s your favorite DVD cover and what’s your favorite movie poster because they – they send – there’s always a lot more movie posters than DVD covers.
Andrew: My favorite has to be from Chamber of Secrets. There were quite a few promo images I really liked from that movie, and I used to have the movie poster, I don’t know what I did with it. But my favorite one is the one with Harry turned on his side sort of like he’s – he’s – his body’s turned to the side but he’s looking straight at the camera and he’s holding the Gryffindor sword. And then Hermione’s in the background with her wand up looking ready – ready to go and Ron is like a little nervous, but he’s also holding his wand.
Matt: Yeah. Is that for the DVD cover or the poster?
Andrew: That’s the poster, that’s the movie poster.
Matt: Oh okay.
Andrew: Sorry. That’s the movie poster.
Laura: Yeah, I think I’m going to agree with Andrew. Overall, I really enjoyed all the promotional images and the DVD cover for Chamber of Secrets. I feel like, after that, a lot of the promo images kind of dissolved into just generic, magical type backgrounds…
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: Where as this they brought more attention to the actors and their props and that kind of thing, and after that I just felt like all the posters kind of looked the same.
Andrew: Yeah. You know, which reminds me, Matt and I were in Best Buy last week and we were looking at all these, and I was just thinking like, they’re all the same now!
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Like, it’s all the same, you know, trio with the wands, just…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: It’s – it’s all the same!
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Do something different!
Elysa: See, that’s what – I want to go with Goblet of Fire here, on the DVD covers just by virtue of the fact it has the other Triwizard champions on it, despite the fact that they got about 20 minutes of screen time and about half a line each in the movie, but yet they were on the cover. But I still like – I actually I like the poster a lot for that one too, in all seriousness, because, the one with Harry and he’s standing – it’s just him, and it’s sort of like his back’s to you, and there’s all this smoke and mist and it’s really dark, and I think at the top it says something like, “Difficult times lie ahead, Harry.” Do you guys know which one I’m talking about?
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Mmhmm. Yeah, yeah, the teaser poster?
Elysa: Yeah, yeah, I like that one a lot. It’s just – it was badass. It’s like it could be on the cover of National Geographic or something. I was all about it.
[Micah and Laura laugh]
Matt: Yeah!
[Elysa laughs]
Micah: For posters, I mean, I would say I was a big fan of the Order of the Phoenix one with Voldemort that says, you know, “You will lose everything.”
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Because I think it started to take the series in a new direction, obviously, with Order of the Phoenix sort of being the turning point. I could care less about the DVD covers, to be honest. [laughs] I don’t really have…
Andrew: They’re not that good.
Micah: …a preference one way or the other on the – on the DVD covers. But yeah, I like what they started to do, and you guys bringing Goblet of Fire before also was a good one when they finally started using other people besides the trio. They’re doing that with the posters for Order of the Phoenix, I think, and obviously, or hopefully Snape will be used for Half-Blood Prince. Alan Rickman.
Matt: Yeah, possibly, or something.
Andrew: How about you, Matt?
Matt: Okay, let’s – let me see what we can do. Well, my favorite DVD cover hands down is definitely Sorcerer’s Stone, because it’s very – it has an almost like a hand-drawn artistic kind of look to it, and it’s not – it doesn’t look like it was photoshopped like in the other DVD covers. And I liked the first film DVD cover the most because it looks like a collage of all things in the film, and I kind of wish that they did that with all the other ones. And let’s see, my favorite poster. I agree with Andrew and Laura about their favorite being Chamber of Secrets ’cause they did have the best in advertising. And my favorite poster of that book was – or that movie was when they have a silhouette of Dobby in the middle of street saying, “Dobby has come to warn you, Harry Potter.”
Laura: Oh yeah…
Matt: Or something, you know what I’m talking about?
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: That was – that was – I think that was the teaser poster for the film.
Laura: Yeah, it was.
Matt: It’s that poster and the Order of the Phoenix poster when they have the Death Eaters against Dumbledore’s Army, and they’re in that fighting stance against each other
Laura: Oh yeah! That’s actually really cool.
Andrew: That is very cool.
Matt: That’s my favorite poster of the films so far.
Andrew: See, I didn’t really count – I agree I think that’s my favorite promo poster, but that was never really a movie poster. It showed up on gigantic billboards, but I don’t know.
Matt: Actually, I think I’ve seen it at Hot Topics.
Andrew: Oh really?
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: You’re talking about for Order of the Phoenix, right?
Matt: I’m talking about for Order of the Phoenix, yes.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is really cool. They have come up with some really cool promo images. Even with the adult actors. I love the ones with Snape when they do – they do five posters each with a different set of characters.
Laura: Mhm.
Contact Information
Andrew: You know all those? Those are really cool. I guess that wraps up the show today. We’ve covered a lot this is a long recording. It’s time to remind everyone about our contact information. Laura, where do people send us gold?
Laura: That’ll be:
P.O. Box 3151
Cumming, Georgia
30028
No pickles.
Andrew: [laughs] No pickles please. Sorry, pickles not accepted, like in the commercials. You can also call the MuggleCast hotline if you want to contact us when we do voicemails occasionally. If you’re in the United States you can dial 1-218-20-MAGIC. If you’re in the United Kingdom you can dial 02081440677, and if you’re in Australia you can dial 0280035668. We also have a Skype username, which is MuggleCast, if you want to contact us that way to leave a voicemail. No matter how you call us just remember to keep your message under a minute and eliminate as much background noise and possible so you sound clear and beautiful just like all of us. We also have a handy feedback form on MuggleCast.com that you can use to contact any one of us. Or just use our first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com. Except for Matt who’s Matthewb at staff dot mugglenet dot com. And Elysa, if someone wants to contact you, you are Elysa at fanfiction dot mugglenet dot com, right?
Elysa: That’s correct!
Andrew: Excellent. You can also visit MuggleCast.com for a variety of community outlets, including our MySpace, we got the Facebook, the YouTube, Frappr, Last.FM, and of course the Forums.
Andrew: Elysa, thank you so much for joining us today, you were a great part of the show.
Elysa: No, thank you for having me!
Andrew: Would you come on again?
Elysa: Absolutely, of course!
Laura: Yay!
Andrew: Would you come on as much as possible?
Elysa: Hell yeah!
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Okay, oh so yeah!
Elysa: Hell yeah!
Matt: She must really want to. [laughs]
Andrew: Laura, I have some news for you.
Laura: I better be getting a severance package if that’s what you’re saying.
[Elysa laughs]
Jamie: Your fired.
Andrew: Your fired. I’m Andrew Sims…
Matt: Laura…
Laura: I’m not going to outtro myself, you just fired me!
Laura and Elysa’s Site
Andrew: I just want to plug real quick a site that Laura and Elysa are maintaining. It’s a new site by them, it’s a political blog, it’s (little children cover your ears), it’s PoliticalBitches.com. You guys want to talk about that for a second?
[Show music begins]
Laura: Yeah, pretty much we take the politics and we bitch about them.
Andrew: [laughs] Okay…
Elysa: Yeah, and – and okay, a little bit of informing. I recently made a 5 million word post about Kosovo, so – but it’s interesting because we cross like sailors if that helps at all.
Andrew: It’s really good and it’s really funny. I would not recommend it if you are not one to read adult language. But it’s – it’s very – it’s a very funny read. Of course they do take a particular political stance. So some of you will not be happy. [laughs]
Laura: Yeah, we do. We’re not going to lie about where we stand. It’s just, – it’s really fun for us to do because, we actually first really talked on election night of ’04. So that’s where our political relationship was fostered from.
Andrew: Matt and I kind attest to the fact that Laura and Elysa are hilarious to listen to.
Matt: I was crying. I almost choked – I almost choked on my Big Bacon Classic when we went to Wendy’s.
Elysa: I was concerned for their health.
[Elysa and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Yeah, and I almost lost it and spit up a Frosty in the back of Elysa’s car when she made a joke about being sent to Guantanamo Bay. Oh god, that was so funny.
Elysa: I’m surprised I’m not there already.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: One of the funniest moments of my life. Elysa, be prepared to get several hundred Facebook requests from now on. Just so you know. Friend requests.
Elysa: Sweet.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Elysa: Bring it all in, bring it all in.
Andrew: It’s fun. Yeah, yeah, more power to you if you want to accept them all.
[Everyone laughs]
Show Close
Andrew: Thank you, everyone, for joining us for this 133rd episode. I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: I’m Matthew Britton.
Elysa: And I’m Elysa Montfort.
Andrew: We’ll see everyone next week for Episode 134. Buh-bye!
Laura: Bye.
Micah: Bye.
Matt: Bye. Bye. Bye! Bye.
[Show music ends]
Bloopers
Matt: It rubs the lotion on it’s skin or it gets the hose again.
Elysa: [laughs] Oh my god! Oh my god!
[Everyone laughs]
Elysa: I was just saying that to Laura in IM.
Matt: Wow.
Micah: Wow.
Andrew: I don’t know what is going but…
Micah: And Andrew edit, please.
Andrew: Speaking… [laughs]
[Laura and Elysa laugh]
Andrew: Speaking of news…ummm….
———————–