Transcript for MuggleCast Episode #362, An interview with the Harry Potter Film Concert Series Team
Show Intro
[Show music plays]
Andrew Sims: This is MuggleCast, the Harry Potter podcast discussing everything about J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. Welcome to MuggleCast Episode 362. I’m Andrew, and unfortunately, Micah and Eric both weren’t able to make it this week. Eric is celebrating Easter, something I’m not doing. Micah was supposed to be on the show, but then he fell ill before recording. He’s still kind of recovering from something. However, we are still joined by, actually, a longtime listener of the show, who also currently writes for Hypable, Nasim! Welcome to the show, Nasim.
Nasim Mansuri: Hi, thank you. It’s great to be here.
Andrew: Yeah, so you’ve been writing for Hypable for a couple years, but you’ve been listening to MuggleCast for… ever?
Nasim: So this is really sweet, actually, because I started listening to MuggleCast when I was about 11 years old, and I lived in Paraguay, and at the time I didn’t know a single person who knew what Harry Potter was, who had any Harry Potter books. I don’t think they were even for sale in my city in Spanish at the time, so I had no friends who knew what my passion was, so MuggleCast was my mom’s way of helping me not feel lonely, so I kind of grew up with you guys.
Andrew: Aw, that’s interesting. Wait, so your mom found the podcast?
Nasim: I think she did. I mean, I think… I remember my dad found MuggleNet for me, and without intending to, got me obsessed with fandom, so maybe he regrets it now. But look at me now, Dad.
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Nasim: But yeah, and I think… I don’t really know. I think it’s my mom, because I remember listening to it with my mom, and I remember she was like, “Oh, what upstanding young gentlemen.”
[Andrew laughs]
Nasim: So we went to Infinitus and saw you guys, and I was like, “Oh, this is the closest I’ll ever be.”
Andrew: Aw, that’s so cute. Yeah, you and I haven’t met in the Hypable era now, but one day. One day.
Nasim: Yeah, one day.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, it’s great to…
Nasim: I mean, at least we live in the same country now.
Andrew: Right, yeah. Closer, closer. You’re in the northeast, right? You’re Boston area?
Nasim: Yeah, around here.
Andrew: Where are you studying at?
Nasim: Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Andrew: And you’re actually podcasting from a classroom today, right?
Nasim: Yes.
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Nasim: The dorm life.
Andrew: Just as the school intended the classrooms to be used.
Nasim: Of course. For entrepreneurship, you know?
Andrew: Right, there you go. Yeah, I mean, when I was in college, I never podcasted from my dorm. I always went home to New Jersey, where I actually am this weekend, to podcast because I had a roommate, and I don’t even know if he knew about the podcast. I assume he did. But yeah, I always went home to do it. Anyway, so we’re going to talk about a couple of stories. We’re recording on April Fool’s Day. I had a little fun on Hypable with Pottermore, which we’ll talk about in a moment.
Cursed Child in NYC
Andrew: But I wasn’t on the show last week; I was avoiding Micah. I was in New York City, but I was avoiding Micah, as he brought up on the episode. [laughs] I stopped into the Cursed Child, which was absolutely… the venue. I didn’t go inside, other than the gift shop, but the venue on the outside looks absolutely beautiful. Are you going to it in New York? I forget.
Nasim: So I wrote an article saying why I’m mad I didn’t get Cursed Child tickets, when I hate Cursed Child.
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Nasim: That should tell you enough. I should probably use the opportunity, since I’m not a whole continent away…
Andrew: Right.
Nasim: … but still kind of like, “I don’t know if I want to give them my money.” I’m so mad at them. I should probably not be this bitter.
[Andrew laughs]
Nasim: But you know that if I go… I went to London and I went to see the outside of the theater, and I was like, “Oh, wow.” And then it was like, “You hypocrite.” [laughs] So I educated myself the whole time. I’ll probably do the same thing if I go to New York.
Andrew: When the photos of the Broadway setup first were released, I wasn’t too impressed. I was like, “What is that giant wing on the side of the building? And why is the nest on the rooftop? It’s so far away.” It looked dumb. But then seeing it in person, I was actually kind of blown away. It was very cool to see in real life. So I stopped into the gift shop, which is actually open to the public, for anybody who is in the New York area but doesn’t have tickets or just wants to get a little taste of the Cursed Child. They actually have a gift shop that’s open, I believe, on the 42nd Street side of the building, and it’s open during the daytime. It seems like they close it off before shows, so you’ve got to go long before the show on any given day. But anyway, it was actually really nice, and you can tell… we knew this already; they redid the entire theater inside, and just from the gift shop alone, you can tell how much that this redesign was all about making it very Potter-y. There’s Hogwarts emblems on the doors; the carpet is all magical and whimsical. And the photos that we’ve seen so far from inside the Lyric Theater, there’s this giant Patronus mural in a circular room, and just the photos of the theater inside look amazing. So I think they just went all out knowing that Harry Potter is probably going to be at this theater for probably a decade or more. [laughs]
Nasim: Wow.
Andrew: It’s just a total Harry Potter takeover. I’m actually really impressed by what they did. And I couldn’t wait, so I did buy a Cursed Child hoodie, and a Cursed Child program, and a Cursed Child mug.
Nasim: What other kind of merch do they have? Do they have stuffed Delphis or something?
Andrew: [laughs] Stuffed Delphis, no. But they do have stuffed owls, which Micah will be very pleased by. They had House shirts with the Cursed Child versions of the House emblems, which were kind of cool.
Nasim: Wait, are they different?
Andrew: They are different from the movie one and the… yeah, from the movie one.
Nasim: Okay.
Andrew: Time to write a new article: “Why I hate the Cursed Child House emblems.”
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Andrew: I spent… how much do you think a hoodie, a mug, and a program costs total?
Nasim: Oh my God. I just… in December I went to the Wizarding World, and the robes are $140…
Andrew: Oh, yeah.
Nasim: … and my little 10-year-old sister just walked out saying, “Why is everything so expensive in America?”
Andrew: [laughs] Especially the theme parks. Oh my God, the robes are so expensive.
Nasim: I would say you paid $200.
Andrew: Oh, phew, not that much.
Nasim: Oh, really?
Andrew: But $100, which was still a lot for three things.
Nasim: The hoodies I’ve seen are so expensive.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. The hoodie is cool; it’s like a matte, glittery effect on it. So if a shirt is sparkling, you would kind of presume it’s for women. But this one, it’s sparkling but it’s matte, so it’s not shining, so I was like, “Oh, this seems unisex,” so that’s why I bought it. And it has the Cursed Child nest emblem on the shoulder, and it says, “Cursed Child Broadway,” I think, on the back of it. I don’t know why I bought it. I was just excited to see Cursed Child there. [laughs]
Nasim: Don’t let gender norms hold you back, Andrew. You should get all the glittery clothes you want.
Andrew: Yes, yes. I have to say, though, I bought this mug. It’s a tin mug, which I’d never had one of those before. And then I get home and I pour coffee into it; I’m like, “I’m going to enjoy some coffee in my new Cursed Child mug.” Well, the tin mug is not meant for hot drinks. I practically burnt my hand off when I picked it up with the coffee inside of it. It doesn’t insulate. So if you buy the tin mug, I do not recommend hot drinks in it.
Nasim: I mean, I guess it’s for water. I always felt weird when people had tin glasses. Well, cups, not glasses.
Andrew: Yeah. They need a warning. I might sue them.
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Andrew: Anyway, Micah, Eric, and I will be going to Cursed Child in a few weeks from now. We’re now in Cursed Child month for us, so we’ll have a lot more to say there. And to you listeners out there, since we recently completed the 777 challenge, we are going to do some sort of livestream after we see the show, so we can give everybody our instant reactions to the show and the theater and all that. So that’ll be later this month.
Recent Hypable articles about Pottermore
Andrew: So today is April Fool’s Day. I wrote an article on Hypable called “Exclusive first look: Pottermore is turning into Pottermorum, their latest stab at fitting in with fansites.” [laughs] I came up with this idea yesterday. My April Fool’s joke is that Pottermore still wants to be hip and relevant, but they know that the current Pottermore isn’t working, and since they just laid off all of their writers, they’re asking the fans to generate all the content. So now it’s like an old school early 2000s forum with several sub forums, like “Officially sanctioned theories,” “Officially sanctioned news,” “Officially sanctioned fanfiction.” And Nasim, you saw this this morning and actually believed it?
Nasim: [laughs] And I’m an idiot because I’ve seen the lineup of the article. I knew that this was a joke, but still, I logged into Facebook and I thought, “Oh my God, I hate them. This is perfect timing. Of course they’re going to do that with fanfiction; we should have expected it.” No, how can I fall for this stuff? I’m sorry.
Andrew: You’re not alone, though. I mean, it’s only been up for about an hour, and a lot of people are saying, “Wow, I actually believed that.” Because when you read it, it’s not totally off-base from what’s been going on.
Nasim: And the whole fanfiction thing is like what Marvel did.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, exactly. My fanfiction paragraph, I’m particularly proud of. “Playing off the site’s Pottermore (more Potter) name, the forum will also welcome fanfiction to further open up the wizarding world. However, keeping with guidelines set by the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts 2, no LGBTQ+ romances will be permitted.” [laughs] And then I wrote…
Nasim: You know that they would do that, though. They would still do that.
Andrew: Oh, yeah. “That said, Pottermorum has buckled to fan pressure in at least one regard: Johnny Depp. One area of the forum will be exclusively dedicated to complaining about how ugly and terrible the Grindelwald actor is. Pottermorum will even allow fans to suggest who would be a way better Grindelwald, but fans must acknowledge in the terms of service agreement that WB is never, ever replacing Depp.” [laughs] When I set out to write this, I didn’t intend for it to become so savage, but then it did. Oh, well.
Nasim: I’m just imagining Johnny Depp having to negotiate with Warner Bros. and them being just like, “Actually, we’re just doing this to appease the fans. It’ll actually be better for you in the long run.”
Andrew: Yeah, right, right. “This is smart for your career, Johnny.” What I love about this is people at Pottermore are definitely going to look at this article.
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Andrew: They’re going to be like, “What the hell is this? Oh, it’s an April Fool’s joke.”
Nasim: The recently fired staff is going to appreciate it.
Andrew: Yeah, I think so. They seemed a little bitter in that interview with BuzzFeed.
Nasim: I would have been bitter.
Andrew: But I wanted to bring that up on today’s show, because you actually wrote an article on Hypable after the writers were laid off, which of course, by the way, is very sad that these people are losing their jobs. And I imagine it was a very cool job, writing for Pottermore. What do you think went wrong with Pottermore? What was your premise for this article? What did you have to say about it?
Nasim: Well, I don’t know. I feel like, in a way, the plight of the writers kind of… I felt for them a lot, because I remember when they had the announcement that they were going to be hiring writers, and I remember being like, “Oh, that would be cool,” and then being like, “No, it wouldn’t. You hate Pottermore.”
[Andrew laughs]
Nasim: And then being like, “Okay, fine.” And so I remember having those feelings, and then being like, “Well, it would still be pretty cool.” And then it hasn’t even been that much time, honestly, and now they’re all being laid off. So I don’t know; I feel like it’s just one more thing in a line of things that Pottermore can’t seem to get right. And I know they talked about this in the last episode, but this whole idea of what is Pottermore? Is it a promo site? Is it J.K. Rowling’s new blog? Is it supposed to be a social networking community for Harry Potter fans? It’s never really been clear, and I think especially with J.K. Rowling’s statement about the casting, I kind of expected that to be on Pottermore, so I remember being confused about that, because that would have made sense.
Andrew: Yeah. What do you think Pottermore should do? What do you think they should be?
Nasim: I have no idea. I think they should just kind of let it go, you know? [laughs]
Andrew: Let it go! Should they just shut down?
Nasim: I don’t think they should shut down, but I feel like… this is the thing: Their content was never meant to be eternal. We wouldn’t be logging in every day to see new info. I believe that that’s what they thought they would be able to do, but ever since the beginning, that’s not what this was conducive to. We had bonus information, which is interesting. You read it once, and you’re great, but I don’t even go back to the site. I write a lot of fanfiction, so sometimes I look things up. I remember looking up Draco’s backstory… well, it’s not backstory; what happened after the war, things like that. I remember looking that up, but I didn’t go to the site itself, because I was like, “I don’t want to click through all those things to try and find where it is.” So I would end up going to the Potter Wiki or something. So even in that… and of course, the interface was beautiful. It was a beautiful experience – to look at wands, to do your Sorting – but then you’re not going to come back.
Andrew: Right.
Nasim: I don’t know. And I know among the fans, it’s still a pretty small fraction of people who even have an account on Pottermore. Or people just do it to get Sorted, and then they leave.
Andrew: Right. I think they just need to get down to the barebones of what has been a hit for them: the Sorting Hat, the Patronus quiz, Hogwarts quiz, Ilvermorny quiz, wand selection. The new writing, the original writing by J.K. Rowling, that stuff was amazing when it first came out; we were all looking forward to reading stuff like that. So just keep all those things, and then also be an official news resource. But stick to news. Don’t speculate in your articles, like, “Is this going to happen? I don’t know! We’re officials, but we don’t know.” It just comes off strange. So official news, the tests, the writing by J.K. Rowling, and I guess these character bios. I mean, they have them; may as well keep them. Yeah, and that’s it. I can see why they got rid of the BuzzFeed-y type articles, because that’s just not what belongs on an official resource.
Nasim: I think that they could have… yeah, something they could do… I don’t think they’re ever going to be what their original goal was, the digital heart of the wizarding world, but they could have better precedent by actually putting everything in one place. So if we had Rowling giving us messages through Pottermore, if we had all the statements there, if they were releasing exclusive interviews, things like that, I guess it could be the platform for their promotion of the movies that are coming out. Still, I mean, that’s still not necessarily something that’s going to last, be relevant forever…
Andrew: Right.
Nasim: … but they could have a different angle. They could approach this more as like, “We are the Harry Potter movies.”
Andrew: Right, right.
Nasim: But the bias that the writers have been forced to have when they’re writing statements or articles, like not being able to talk about Johnny Depp, that’s just so sad. And they basically weren’t being hired to write articles; they were being hired to write promotion. This is publicity, at that point, when you can’t really say anything against it.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, exactly. All right, well, we do have an interview on today’s show with the creators of the Harry Potter Film Concert series. Micah and Eric conducted that interview earlier this week. But before we get to that, this week’s episode of MuggleCast is sponsored by Blue Apron.
[Ad break]
Andrew: Nasim, if you ever come to Chicago, let me know, and I’ll make you some Blue Apron.
Nasim: Nice. You’re making me hungry.
Andrew: [laughs] Have you eaten yet? It’s kind of early.
Nasim: No.
Andrew: You didn’t have a pre-podcast meal?
Nasim: I did not. I like to live dangerously, you know? I podcast without eating.
Andrew: Oh, I have to eat before podcasting. Anyway, let’s jump over now to our interview conducted by Micah and Eric.
Harry Potter Film Concert Series interview
Eric Scull: We are here joined by Mr. Justin Freer and Brady Beaubien, both of CineConcerts, who are currently touring the world, doing Harry Potter in Concert. I’m joined with Micah here, and we’re really excited to get to talk to these guys about that experience and what they’re currently working on. So hey, guys, how you doing?
Justin Freer: Very well, thank you. How are you?
Brady Beaubien: Thanks for having us.
Eric: Yeah, glad we could get this together. We’re both doing well, I think. We’re coming off of a high news week with the recent Fantastic Beasts 2 trailer that came out that gave us a lot of discussion points, so we’re revved up and really excited about the future of Harry right now.
Brady: Very good.
Eric: So tell us about this concert series we keep hearing about. How did it originally come together?
Justin: Yeah, well, we’re nearly two years into its first premiere. We started this in 2016, at least the first performance, and we worked on it for some time prior to that, building things out and getting things ready. But I think this is born, as many of our projects are born, from a similar kind of point of conception. Brady and I very much love the art of film, and love the art of film music, and to be able to share some of the greatest music written for our craft that connected to some of the most iconic films made in film history is a great pleasure, and to share that with the world and give a unique concert experience to highlight these two pieces of art is really quite humbling, and it’s great fun at the same time.
Eric: So the two of you were both cofounders of this Harry Potter Concert Series?
Justin: Yes, sir.
Eric: Did you know each other beforehand, or did this sort of come together through this?
Brady: Yeah, we did, actually. We were friends long before we decided to embark on this great adventure together, and we just connected over some of the things Justin just mentioned: film, film music, the transport of effective movies, the best ones, the worst ones. And it was out of this love of the art form and the connected art form of film music in particular that we decided to create this adventure, and mostly out of a desire to see these movies with orchestra, and it just so happened that a lot of people around the world wanted to join us on that journey.
Micah Tannenbaum: Yeah, and this is Micah. I got a chance to get a little bit of a taste of this down in Orlando at the Celebration of Harry Potter with the Orlando Philharmonic, and it was really cool to experience in person. I’m just wondering how much the film composers have had any input in terms of how you structure your performances, or is that all really left up to you to decide?
Justin: Well, I think the composers for each of these films have given us the ultimate input, and that is the score. I mean, the music score from beginning to end, when they wrote the music and through to when the music is performed on stage live with the film, it’s truly their input, and it’s our job to find a way to represent with the highest possible quality what their intentions were originally, what the filmmakers’ intentions were, not the least of which, of course, J.K. Rowling, what her intentions were, and recreating this experience for people in a live environment so that they can enjoy what they know and love, but in a new, fresh, and unique way. And it’s much more visceral, sitting with thousands of other people listening to this music breathe life into the film. You can physically feel many of these powerful moments, the melodies, the harmonies, the rhythms, the different instruments on stage. So the composers certainly have input, and they’re all aware of what we’re doing, and it’s very important to us as an entity at CineConcerts and as artists and creators that we are doing the best possible thing with their music, and I hope, in some small, humble way, we are. I hope that we’re doing their music and the filmmakers justice.
Brady: And a great deal of stuff goes on behind the scenes to make sure that happens, from rehearsing scores with makeshift orchestras here, to editing the score books and making continual notes to make sure that they sound the way they should sound. A lot goes into the idea of recreating the original intent of the music. That’s quite an operation, to get from the point where we start with creating a score book to people hearing something the way they remember it exactly, with no difference in the music.
Eric: Yeah, I read an old interview in a Live Magazine when CineConcerts… when Harry Potter in Concert first launched. You guys are performing with local orchestras, aren’t you, in each of these various cities?
Justin: Yes, I think that’s one of the greatest parts of what we do, is being able to celebrate this great music with the local musicians and the local patrons, and I think that there’s a connective tissue that, of course, exists between those patrons and the local musicians that we cannot recreate by touring our own orchestra from city to city. So it kind of reenergizes, rehearsing, perhaps, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the 45th or 50th time.
[Eric and Micah laugh]
Justin: It really does, and I say that with a little bit of a smile, but with the utmost respect for what this music is and what the talent levels are of these orchestras that we work with around the world. It’s great to celebrate these over and over, because every orchestra is different. Every orchestra has their own quality, their own sound, and being able to share this music once again with the next orchestra and the next city is a real joy.
Eric: Could you take us through that rehearsal process? Just when you’re setting up and ready to perform in a new city, and you’re beginning to rehearse, what does that look like? How many rehearsals do you guys get before you go on?
Justin: There’s a little bit of fright and terror, I think, before we begin any of these.
[Eric laughs]
Justin: I mean, we have a great deal of music to learn, and usually only two rehearsals. And to kind of put things in perspective, when they were recording… it’s not an apples to apples comparison, but when they were recording these music scores for the films, they often had two to three weeks to learn the music, to perfect it, to take various different takes and get it to where it was. And as I said, not an apples to apples comparison, but two hours or more of music in every film in the Harry Potter film franchise, and to have five hours, generally, of rehearsal time is a great task for even the best musicians in the world, and we’re so lucky to work with many of them. So we have a great deal to get through. Two rehearsals later, we’re generally performing. Three performances later, we’re out of that city, done and dusted, and we’re on to the next one. So it’s a lot of fun.
Eric: Amazing.
Micah: Yeah, and just given that this is all happening live and in sync with a movie, how do you get the orchestra to stay in sync with what’s going on on screen?
Justin: There’s a number of technical things that we do to keep them together. I have a little mini movie screen in front of the podium that has what we call streamers and punches, which are basically visual cues to help me see where the big changes are coming, perhaps references to where the beginning of each measure, each bar is, things like this. There are a lot of conductors that use what we call a click track, which is an audible tempo in the ear. I have a tendency to avoid that, and all of our projects have a tendency to avoid that, because I believe very firmly that the musicality can be much more rich and natural without a click track, but you can maintain the same level of accuracy without a click as long as you are very close to what the video is and precise with it. And then, of course, the orchestra, they have to play together, and this is no small task. A great orchestra is like a great flock of birds flying from left to right, up and down, and sometimes at a moment’s notice. And so there’s a great deal that goes behind it, but it all works out at the end. If we get to the end of the film and we’re all together, it’s a minor miracle.
[Eric laughs]
Brady: Yeah. This is Brady; I think that one of the things within the previous question and this one, rehearsals being so short and keeping the orchestra in sync, speak to the base level of incredible knowledge that the average classical musician has throughout the world in almost every country. I mean, we don’t really consider this to be common in almost any other cultural art form. Artists differ from country to country; their styles differ. The things they want to say – if they’re a studio artist, electronic artist, what have you – is always different, and sometimes they’re better or worse trained. But classic music is something that for centuries has required a level of training that starts when you’re very young and never ends, pretty much, and the fact that we can do in Rome, or we can do in Chile or we can do in Mexico City or Indianapolis, two rehearsals with those same orchestras and get to the same place at the end of the engagement, speaks to that incredible level of common knowledge and expertise which is so unique to classical music.
Micah: And have you also seen reflected in that just the deep appreciation for this series as a whole, when you’ve gone to different places?
Justin: I think there’s several levels of appreciation. They exist, of course, at the film’s level, the music score’s level, the music score’s level as it works with the film… I mean, there’s so many levels of appreciation, and that’s one of the things that never gets old, is just hearing and seeing and feeling how audiences around the world react to this amazing world that J.K. Rowling has created. And each director has given his own stamp through the films, each composer has given his own stamp through the films, and they’re constantly reminding us, through either sound or color or movement, what it takes to move us as humans, what it takes to suck us into a story and transport us into a world where suspension of disbelief becomes reality, and I think that is an incredible call to order that we all have as artists, and to accomplish that, and accomplish that eight times in a row in this franchise, it’s no small feat, and it’s wonderful to be a part of it.
Eric: I wanted to ask about… so I’ve yet to see Harry Potter in Concert just yet; I certainly hope to catch an upcoming performance. But Brady, I know you have this motion graphic company, Interlace Media, that’s working on these shows. What is the motion graphic aspect of these concerts? Can you talk a little bit about how that fits into Harry Potter in Concert?
Brady: Well, yeah, my history in LA has been with designing visual effects and creative advertising, visual manifestations of movies, and appreciating the visual side of the movie business. I think what we tried to do on these shows is make sure that the visual appreciation of the movie is on par with the music. We spend a lot of time calibrating the projectors as best we can from hall to hall. It’s always a challenge because the halls are smaller or larger, or the screen is smaller or larger. We try to get it as large as we can, we try to use the highest luminance projectors possible, but there’s always the understanding that the visual and the auditory are interconnected in film, and making sure that that experience is as good as possible, along with the orchestra, is something that was always important to me. But in general, just my appreciation for how these different… if you just look at Harry Potter as an isolated piece of creative, and in our film history, it’s some of the most gorgeous usage of visual effects you can think of. It’s extremely organic, they’re integrated into the storyline well, and they’re concurrent with the fantastical or imaginative nature of the movies in general. So it’s a beautiful pairing of visual effects technology with creative intent of the storytelling from J.K. Rowling as manifested in movies. It’s a really nice example of those two art forms intertwining. So just as a fan and an appreciator of graphics and motion graphics and visual effects, I find the evolution of visual effects in the movie and its application of the storyline really, really amazing to watch. From the first movie to Alfonso Cuarón’s version, which was a little bit of a darker, more serious imagination of some of the things, like the Whomping Willow and the Marauder’s Map, all the way through the later movies, to see the effects and graphics evolve with the storyline is really a fun part of the process.
Micah: And kind of going off of that, do you ever take a look out into the audience? Do you watch their reaction as the performance is going on, and what do you see in their faces as they’re looking back?
Justin: I think Brady has got a lot more experience knowing and feeling that, because a lot of the things that he produces from the ground is around the hall. I can’t turn around; the moment I turn around, we’re behind by point five seconds, so…
[Eric and Micah laugh]
Eric: As conductor of the show.
Justin: [laughs] Yeah, well, you can feel their energy, though, for sure. I mean, you can. I’ve said this a number of times, and I’m happy to say it again here, but one of my favorite things with this Harry Potter Film Concert Series is being able to hear the laughter of children in the hall, and that I can hear, and I can appreciate with my own children, and that’s one of my favorite, most magical experiences, is just to hear the different versions of their energy and excitement. Some of them might scream out in a scene that another might not. Some are scared, some are happy, some are laughing. It’s really amazing.
Brady: Yeah. This is Brady again. Justin alluded to it earlier, but the suspension of disbelief is something that’s always been inherent in movie-watching from the beginning, and it’s kind of gotten harder to do that in the last 10 or 15 years for some reason. Maybe the movie theaters are not as magical as they once were. But the usage of live classic musicians and the live orchestra experience helps reignite, I think, that suspension of disbelief again; at least it helps people get there faster. So the first thing I thought of when you said do I ever watch the audience? I do, and I remember watching my dad watch Prisoner of Azkaban, and seeing him get sucked into the movie itself and the narrative itself immediately when the music started, because that charge of auditory energy, I think, helped him pay attention to what was happening and forget that he was where he was, and when he was, and imagine himself in the movie space. So if anything, I think one of the great kind of byproducts of our shows is it allows people to transport themselves into the world of Harry Potter more fully and more in the spirit of the original books and the original movies when we all first saw them.
Eric: I know you guys were down at the Celebration; I’m sure you probably walked away with a lot of good feedback from that, from people who had been to the shows and seen what you do. What are the feedback that you guys are getting off of these concerts and the various…? I see you guys have been to 38 countries already. That’s super, super impressive. What is the response that you’re getting from people after they see this?
Justin: I think that it’s safe to say it’s overwhelmingly positive. And I think to use that word again, “overwhelming,” people are overwhelmed with what this is. I think that one of the things that we forget, among many, when we’re watching a movie – in a movie theater, in your home living room with family, friends, and whatever – are the elements that go into creating the experience that you fall in love with. And one of the most primary, I think – and not just as a musician, but I think in general – what drives emotional ups and downs is very often the music, and our journey through the storytelling that the director has in store for us is often told through the hands and ears and eyes and heart of the composer, and people realize that more and more as they see these. They come out saying many similar things, depending… not even just Harry Potter; I mean, all the things that we do, because the experience is powerful. “Wow, I never realized just how important Voldemort’s theme was to Voldemort, you know?”
[Eric laughs]
Justin: I mean, it might sound silly, but it’s true. “I didn’t realize that one of the reasons why I feel like I’m flying with Hedwig is because the way that John Williams constructs ‘Hedwig’s Theme.'”
Eric: Absolutely.
Justin: And these things are often unquestioned and just taken for granted, and I think it’s wonderful that here we are with this global opportunity to introduce into people’s minds and hearts one of the primary reasons why we love film, and I hope that we can continue doing more of it.
Eric: I see on the website you guys are actually already doing some Goblet of Fire performances in certain cities. Is that correct?
Justin: They’re coming up, big time.
Eric: That’s amazing. So how long do you think that you guys will be doing this concert series for? And it’s not too late to catch Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone some places, is it?
Justin: No, we have them playing all over the world still. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in North America, and the Philosopher’s Stone, as you said, elsewhere. And there’s a lot of beginning performances taking place around the world. And I mean, what a wonderful thing that we’re able to celebrate all eight of them in these cities. It’s part of a cycle. It’s part of… I mean, it’s very Wagnerian, right? I mean, the Ring Cycle is very similar to this. And the celebratory nature of this experience is one that can only be celebrated, I think, by having that journey from film to film, from score to score. And yeah, I mean, absolutely. The first Harry Potter film is out there in droves still.
Eric: So how long are you expecting for it to run? And are you looking to return to specific cities with each film, or nearby cities? What’s the goal there, as far as longevity and for these concert series to continue throughout the next several years?
Justin: I think the length of the series comes down to a lot of variables, but one of the biggest drivers of those variables is whether or not the orchestra cycles through quickly or slowly. Some orchestras prefer to go one per year; others might do two or three in a season. It really just kind of depends on the market, the patrons, how the orchestra likes to run things. But I think the longevity of this… I can’t speak to that. I don’t know. I mean, we’re surprised every day just how amazingly strong this world is, how the films, the music scores are, people’s connection to the Harry Potter brand, and I hope it just goes on and on and on. I hope that we continue to celebrate this for as long as the world allows us to.
Eric: For sure, for sure.
Micah: So now we have a couple more personal questions, I guess. What is your favorite Harry Potter film?
Brady: My favorite film is the Prisoner of Azkaban. I was just so impressed with the choice of director on that movie, his handling of the material, his evolution of a very sensitive idea, which is that these kids are getting older, and they’re embracing more adult or mature themes in their own life, and the fears are getting slightly mature. Kind of balancing the spirit of the series with the more serious or complicated take on the world, I feel like, was done very deftly. And the music is incredible in that movie. It’s incredible in all the movies, but I think in that movie in particular, there’s so many different styles of music that harmonize. I really appreciate that film especially.
Eric: Justin?
Justin: Azkaban. My favorite by far.
Eric: Oh, man!
[Micah laughs]
Eric: Okay, well, we’re solid on that front.
Justin: Love it, love it.
Eric: Yeah. I do recall listening to that score for the first time, and things like the Knight Bus theme were like nothing I had ever heard before. And to know it’s still Williams, the same composer who did “Hedwig’s Theme,” and it works with this film – with this new, bold film that Cuarón is creating – I can absolutely see why it would be anybody who knows anything about movies favorite film.
Justin: Well, the music spans, I mean, hundreds… centuries’ worth of music history. And you’ve got Renaissance music; you have medieval sounds here and there; you’ve got, as you said, 1950s to 60s progressive jazz colliding with very traditional John Williams-esque things that we know him for. And I think one of the great geniuses in our music history, of course, is John Williams, but one of I think the hidden things about him that I don’t think a lot of people know… at least not as many people as there are fans. I believe that some of his real genius is in jazz. We know him for so many different things, whether it’s Jaws or Star Wars or Harry Potter or Schindler’s List or E.T., but I think some of his most amazing work has been done in the field of jazz. And just his sounds, the way he plays piano, that’s one of the things that make his orchestral music very unique, is his jazz influences. You hear it everywhere, and you hear it all throughout Azkaban, and it’s certainly one of my favorite scores as well.
Eric: That is our next question. As far as favorite score of the HP films, is Azkaban still your favorite score? Or when you’re looking into 5, 6, 7, 8… what would you say is your favorite score of the Harry Potter films to both of you?
Justin: Azkaban, for me. It’s movie, score. Boom, boom. Both of them.
[Micah laughs]
Brady: Yeah, I agree. As soon as that hippogriff takes off and soars over the lake, I mean, there’s this… you’re reminded of all the moments when your imagination took flight, for lack of a better explanation, and every other John Williams movie, which we remember from our childhoods.
Micah: It’s interesting; I think you may be persuading two people on this podcast, I think since its inception, that have said that Prisoner of Azkaban is our least favorite film, but I think now we’re going to have to go and reassess all that.
[Eric and Justin laugh]
Eric: Yeah, it’s tough looking at it as a literature adaptation, but as a film, I don’t think it can be argued how amazing it is.
Justin: Yeah, you’re right.
Eric: But absolutely, I think that movies and all of the things you guys have talked about with us today showcase the experience and the ability of traveling to a fantasy world through film. I know you’re both into music; what other movie scores stand out? I know you mentioned Jaws and things, but what are your all time favorite movie scores outside of Harry Potter, just as sort of a wrap-up question?
Justin: Wow, that’s always a difficult one to answer. And I’ll attempt to make it very short-winded, because we could be here for another 30 minutes.
[Eric and Micah laugh]
Justin: I really, really love the Golden Age of Hollywood. There’s a reason why they call it the Golden Age, right? And certainly the music falls into that category. I mean, I adore what Max Steiner did for the industry. I mean, King Kong is certainly one of my favorite scores that he’s ever written. I love The Treasure of the Sierra Madre; what an incredibly unique and gifted score. Anything by Korngold, Sea Hawk and Kings Row and Adventures of Don Juan and Robin Hood. I mean, wow. An amazing composer. But I think one of my all time favorite scores, perhaps a bit more modern… I sing this tune to my children at least two or three times a week. I just adore the music from Rudy by Jerry Goldsmith, and I think that’s some of his finest work. And while not the same level as a Star Trek: The Motion Picture, or a Papillon or a Basic Instinct, the simplicity in that score is unmatched in some ways. Anyway. Again, I could go on and on, and Brady’s got a lot of fun ones too.
Brady: No, and some of them are all very similar. I mean, Lawrence of Arabia, Maurice Jarre, was one of the first times that I actually noticed film music. And so did David Lean, so much so that he plays the score over black before the movie begins, just so people understood that it was a major component of his film. And it was the first time I actually connected that feeling that I felt with those incredible 70 millimeter shots of the desert, and then having a comparative emotional experience with the music and having them play together perfectly was one of my first experiences with how those two art forms, when working in concert, deliver a transport of experience like no other. But I mean, there’s so many, and I think The Mission from Ennio Morricone stands out, too, just for its simplicity and the reoccurring of the themes on small instruments and in orchestral form, from an oboe to a full orchestra. That is a wonderful example of how just a few simple themes can sound completely otherworldly and then get integrated into the main themes of the rest of the movie and move you in different ways.
Eric: That’s real, real, real cool. I actually just saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture for the first time the other day, and I was also wowed by the score and just these massive worlds that are built through music and film music. I definitely have to check out more of the classics. And I haven’t seen Rudy, so I’ve got to definitely, definitely look that one up for sure.
Micah: I’ve got to go listen.
Justin: [chanting] Rudy, Rudy, Rudy!
[Eric and Micah laugh]
Micah: And I think both Eric and I need to go check out the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack again.
Justin: Beautiful. It’s so beautiful. I think John wrote incredible music for this film. It’s one of my favorite scores that he’s ever composed, and I just love the historical journey that exists in that music. It really is significant.
Eric: I’m a huge fan of Hook, but I will absolutely give the Prisoner of Azkaban score another shot.
Justin: Fair enough.
Eric: [laughs] Gentlemen, we want to thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today.
Justin: Thank you as well.
Brady: Yeah, thank you.
Micah: And if listeners want to find out about the latest going on with the Concert Series, just check out the website? Is that the best place to go?
Justin: Yes, sir. HarryPotterInConcert.com.
Eric and Micah: Perfect.
Eric: Well, thank you both so much.
Justin: Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Brady: Bye-bye.
Eric: Good luck with the rest of the series!
Justin: Thank you very much.
Listener Feedback
Andrew: All right, great interview. To wrap up today’s show, we’re going to listen to some voicemails. Here’s our first one.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hi, guys. This is Morgan calling. I just wanted to give some of my feedback on the new Fantastic Beasts trailer as a whole, since you guys have already done a great job going into the specifics. For me, I can’t stop thinking about the fact that J.K. Rowling and her team know that we as fans will dissect the trailer and look at every shot that’s available to us. And with the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling was able to throw people off of what was going to happen in the books. So my question is: Do you think she’s able to do the same with the trailers for the movies, and how much of what we have been theorizing do you think is something that she’s planted in the trailers for us to think about? Let me know your thoughts on this, and keep up the great work. Thanks, bye.”
[Voicemail ends]
Andrew: Yeah, that’s a good question. I don’t think that she has much say in what’s happening in the trailer, actually. You’re right, though; you have to think that there’s purposely some clever hinting going on in the trailer. It may just be that J.K. Rowling’s writing naturally – with hints and whatnot – come through so well in all of her writing that it naturally shows up in the trailer. But yeah, because normally with movies, these studios actually hire outside companies to put the trailers together. So I don’t know. It’s a good question. I would like to think that they’re purposely trying to get us to theorize about certain things that they put in the trailer.
Nasim: I’m sure that they give them lists of things that they’re not allowed to show, which I was kind of surprised that they even showed us Credence. I mean, we all kind of knew he was going to come back, but I thought they were going to save him as a surprise. But I guess that means that there are more surprising things in the movie than just that. I also think that they’re definitely keeping from us Dumbledore with his half-moon spectacles…
[Andrew laughs]
Nasim: … because that’s totally a thing, and it’s probably just going to be the last scene of the movie, where he receives his new spectacles in the mail or something and he just puts them on and looks into the camera, and it ends.
Andrew: And he says something epic, like, “It’s time to fly. Let’s go, Newt.”
Nasim: [laughs] “Do you want a lemon drop?”
Andrew: “It’s time for me to tell you everything.”
Nasim: Oh, God. [laughs]
Andrew: Well, one person they did hide from the trailer was Nicolas Flamel.
Nasim: Oh.
Andrew: And then the young Grindelwald, the young Dumbledore… young-young Dumbledore.
Nasim: Do you think they’re going to show us the young-young…?
Andrew: Yeah, well, they hired people for those. There’s going to be flashback scenes, yeah. Didn’t you read that article on Pottermore? Come on.
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Nasim: I’m just looking at it now, and it says, “Hogwarts: You have explored 0 of 100 locations.”
Andrew: Ooh.
Nasim: I feel like such a fraud. I’m sorry.
Andrew: [laughs] What did you think of the trailer overall, by the way?
Nasim: Oh, I just love it when we see background stuff, like the adults arriving at Hogwarts and these kids just staring through the windows, and it’s like they’ve flipped the perspective now, and I just find that so exciting. I love seeing what’s going on with the adults, while the kids are just having a normal school life for once.
Andrew: Yeah, that is an interesting point, that they’ve flipped the perspective. We haven’t seen it like this before.
Nasim: Yeah, we get to see the darker side, I guess, or just the logistics. I really love that. And I love politics; my favorite parts of the books are the politics between the Ministry and the schools and all these families. So I feel like Fantastic Beasts is kind of made for me in that sense; it gives me that part that I’ve always wanted to see. And since it’s in the past, it also doesn’t ruin your headcanon, so it’s nice.
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Andrew: You can create new headcanon.
Nasim: Yay.
Andrew: All right, let’s listen to another voicemail.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hi, guys. This is Kevin from San Diego. I was just listening to your most recent episode, and Micah and Eric were talking about how there have been some changes at Pottermore. See, I’m kind of happy to hear that the format of Pottermore is going to be changing. Over the last few years it had kind of become a BuzzFeed for Harry Potter specifically, and I just felt like there was no real quality content coming out of it. I wish it would go back to the deep exploration in the books and the revealing of information about the world that J.K. Rowling was doing, and I feel like that’s what got the fandom all really excited about Pottermore in the beginning, and I think it just kind of lost its way. That’s just my feedback. Thanks, guys, for making the podcast every week. I really love listening to it. Thanks.”
[Voicemail ends]
Andrew: Thanks, Kevin. I completely agree with you. I think, like I was saying earlier, the stuff that they used to feature was a lot more interesting than the stuff they’ve been producing recently, so maybe they will get back to that. But I actually think it’s going to take a little restraint from J.K. Rowling; she’s going to have to stop tweeting all her cool Harry Potter stuff. Save it for Pottermore! That’s your site!
Nasim: Yeah, see, that’s also something… there’s all of this information revealed over Twitter, but there’s no way of cataloging it.
Andrew: Right.
Nasim: There’s no way of accessing that. And I am pretty surprised; again, I would have expected Rowling to be more related to Pottermore. I would have expected them to kind of be working together more. I also kind of… I’m not sure if, when they fired those writers, they did it with a vision for the future. I wonder…
Andrew: Right, they might not have a plan yet.
Nasim: Because to me, it was a bit sudden. Maybe just like, “We can’t afford to do this anymore, and we should just step back and wait until we come up with a better idea.”
Andrew: Yeah, maybe.
Nasim: I hope they have a better idea, but maybe it’s better that they bring in new people who can think of something.
Andrew: Yeah. I mean, you say it was sudden; we don’t know how long they had been thinking about it. And if it wasn’t for that BuzzFeed report, we may have never known, unless one day we were like, “Hey, there seems to be less stuff on Pottermore recently.” [laughs] But I would love to see J.K. Rowling maybe do a couple Q&A’s on Pottermore.com. Answer some questions that people frequently ask you. She used to do that on her old, old website. That site was the best. That existed before Pottermore, and we used to love looking at that site to see what was new. Because she didn’t have Twitter back then either, and I mean, there was no social media. We had to go to the website and see if there was anything new that day. Wake up, have a cup of coffee, see if JKRowling.com was updated. “Is there a Do Not Disturb sign on the door today? Has it been removed?” It was so exciting.
Nasim: “Are pen and paper still her priority?”
Andrew: Yes. When will it not be?
Nasim: But do you remember when Disney Channel would, as part of their ads, do promos of High School Musical and stuff in between shows?
Andrew: I can’t say I did, but carry on.
Nasim: Okay. [laughs] I’m really showing a very specific time in my life.
[Andrew laughs]
Nasim: So there was this time where they would have their movies and their shows or whatever, and then when they were doing Chronicles of Narnia or High School Musical 3, I remember, in between shows as part of their ads, they would have some two or three minute behind-the-scenes, or some interviews, or you would see the people who would make the costumes; you would see the people doing the special effects. And I feel like Pottermore could do that. I mean, we aren’t getting a lot of behind-the-scenes content in general. We never really have as a fandom, but I feel like that’s something that fans would really be interested about. And they wouldn’t even have to spoil it for us; they could just give us glimpses of things that they’re working on. They could interview Eddie Redmayne. I mean, people would go to see that. We would go to see that.
Andrew: Yeah, absolutely. By the way, speaking of J.K. Rowling and Twitter, I can’t remember if this was brought up on the last episode or not: J.K. Rowling has finished her next book, Lethal White. That’s the latest in the Cormoran Strike series, which I love. It’s taken her a couple years to do it; she admitted that this one’s taken a lot longer than the others have. So it’ll be interesting to see why it’s taken so long. I just think she’s a busy woman, obviously, but it has sounded like it’s just been a challenging book to write. It might be very complex, more complex than the others, so I’m very excited to see this. We don’t have a release date yet, but since it’s finished, I would imagine it could be out by this year, by the end of the year. Anyway, let’s listen to another voicemail.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hi, guys. My name is Kevin…”
Andrew: It’s the same guy.
“… and I was just listening to your episode where you’re discussing the new Wizarding World logo. And I’ve got to say, I kind of agree with Micah that I don’t really have a lot to say about it. I work in marketing myself, and the logo to me just kind of looks very corporate and pretty obvious all the choices that they made. So yeah, I agree with Micah. I don’t think it’s really very interesting, and I think maybe the fandom is getting a little too excited about it, because really, it’s just a marketing tool. Thanks, guys. Love the podcast. I’m a relatively new listener, so I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say. Bye.”
[Voicemail ends]
Andrew: Yeah, I guess we won’t dig too far back into the Wizarding World logo. Lot of people who aren’t for it out there. Did you like it, though?
Nasim: I just keep thinking that it would look really cool over a gate.
Andrew: Over a gate?
Nasim: Yeah, like when you’re walking into the Wizarding World or something, and then you have over the arch of a gate. I don’t know. That’s all I can think about; that’s what it makes me think of immediately when I see it. I think it’s cool. I think it’s pretty good. I don’t know if there’s much significance to the arrangement of the wand or things like that, but I think it’s beautiful, and… yeah, I don’t know.
Andrew: I was thinking of putting the Wizarding World logo, the new logo, on my Pottermorum mockup that I made for the site, but then I thought Pottermore might get mad at me if I use the logo. [laughs] So I decided not to do that. All right, let’s listen to one more voicemail today.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hey, guys. This is Chloe calling from LA. I wanted to respond to a point from Episode 361 where Micah and Eric were theorizing that we might see Grindelwald kill the Minister of Magic at some point. I came across a part of Deathly Hallows that says Grindelwald never extended his reign of terror to Great Britain, but given, that did come from Rita Skeeter’s book. So that said, do you think it’s likely that we could see a cover-up of something monumental, like the murder of the Minister of Magic? Or how much do you foresee Grindelwald being involved with the Ministry in the UK as we know it? I would love to hear your thoughts, and I’m looking forward to hearing the show. Bye.”
[Voicemail ends]
Andrew: Well, I would say we’re not going to see him… I’d say the chances are going to be low, if we’re working on the assumption that the next few movies aren’t going to be based in the UK. We know that this one’s going to be set in Paris, and the impression we’ve received is that each film is going to be set somewhere else. So I’m not sure how he would get over there and then kill the Minister of Magic. That would be cool, though, especially if it was a cover-up, and that would kind of harken back to the Harry Potter books with there kind of being a cover-up in regards to Voldemort being back. What do you think, Nasim?
Nasim: Oh, I have so many thoughts about this.
Andrew: Ooh.
Nasim: Specifically, I mean, at least my impression has always been that there were families in Great Britain that were kind of supporters of him. So I don’t know. We’ve already seen the Lestranges being involved. I can totally imagine the old, old Malfoys being involved, maybe even funding him in different ways. I don’t know, I can see that being a part of it, because it also makes sense, just given Nazi Germany and all the parallels that you would have kind of quiet supporters among the rich people all around the continent. And I don’t know, I kind of… I’m really looking forward to seeing that aspect. I hope that there is that kind of complexity to it. Yeah, I mean, something has to happen for Dumbledore to decide enough is enough and go himself to defeat Grindelwald.
Andrew: Right.
Nasim: So we have to see what exactly that breaking point is going to be.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, maybe one breaking point could be that Newt just fails in this next film. I think it would be nice to see Newt not saving the day again. Is that going to happen in every movie? What if he gets some failure to kind of knock him down a couple notches? And then maybe Dumbledore could step in that way and be like, “All right, I have to do this myself. I can’t be doing this pig for slaughter thing all the time.”
Nasim: Yeah, I don’t know. I feel like they are definitely going to have to touch on that, Dumbledore’s weird obsession with making other people do things for him.
[Andrew laughs]
Nasim: Does he think he’s too powerful or whatever? I mean, come on.
Andrew: No, it’s not that, is it? Dumbledore doesn’t think he’s too powerful. “I’m too good for this.”
Nasim: Eh, there’s a Gandalf thing, where he’s like, “Oh, if it’s through me, this will wield too great of a power.” I don’t know. It would be interesting. But I feel like this next movie will probably have a lot of focus on the friendships between the characters, so probably Tina will have more of an active role in what happens.
Andrew: Maybe Newt will lose his brother in this next one, in number two, and then that’ll knock Newt down a couple notches. They could lose their battle against Grindelwald – assuming there is one at the end of this movie – and then Newt will just be devastated by it, and then maybe that’s how Newt will potentially, I don’t know, get close with Leta again.
Nasim: No, I think Leta is going to be evil.
Andrew: Oh, yeah?
Nasim: That’s what I feel. Maybe… I feel like she’s kind of manipulative, but I don’t know. We’re just speculating at this point, I guess. [laughs] But yeah, it’s going to be interesting. I really have no idea where this is going to go. I just want them to really explore Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s relationship, and it doesn’t look like they’re doing that in this movie.
Andrew: No, not explicitly. [laughs] We have a few people listening live on Patreon.com/MuggleCast right now; thanks for joining us on this Easter Sunday morning. Jennifer says, “I could see a good cliffhanger end of movie two with Newt trying something and failing, and the movie really trying to hook viewers to come to the next movie to resolve it.” Yeah, I’m with you there, Jennifer.
Nasim: And then Dumbledore puts on his half-moon spectacles and says, “The game is on.”
Andrew: “The game is on. I will help you, Newt.” James says, “Grindelwald killing Theseus is a strong possibility, I think.” Theseus is Newt’s brother. Daisha – hope I’m pronouncing your name right – says, “Maybe Theseus starts out good, and then he changes to G-wald’s side.” Hmm.
Nasim: Oooh, that would be very interesting. You have this whole thing of like, at what point do you have to turn against your own family?
Andrew: Yeah, and then it’s kind of… well, I was just going to say there’s also kind of a parallel there. Newt and Theseus against each other, Dumbledore and Grindelwald against each other.
Nasim: That would be really interesting.
Andrew: Does J.K. Rowling sit there and speculate over all this like we do? I mean, does she think about it as much as we do?
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Nasim: I hope she does.
Andrew: I hope so too. I think she needs a whole brain trust to do this. I mean, we need ten people to talk through all this. How does she do it all by herself?
Nasim: I don’t know. I mean, it’s the screenwriters… I bet they sit at a big table and they have a board with red string connecting everything.
Andrew: Oh, yeah. Could you imagine? Imagine getting a look at that board.
Nasim: I mean, we also have that, but…
Andrew: Yeah, I have one in my bedroom. Trying to keep track of all our theories. [laughs]
Quizzitch
Andrew: All right, I think we’ll wrap it up there. Let’s do a little Quizzitch before we close out the episode. So last week, the question was: In Chamber of Secrets, what three nonsense spells does Harry aim at the bush before Dudley calls for his mother? The answer was, “Hocus pocus,” “Jiggery pokery,” and “Squiggly wiggly.” [laughs] Winners of Quizzitch include Sean Brady, Hayley Hansen, En Celadas, Victoria Rose, and Burgundy Family. So nice job, y’all. We play this game over on Twitter, Twitter.com/MuggleCast. Feel free to answer by tweeting us as soon as you hear the question asked on the episode. This week’s question: In Book 4, what does Imposter Moody make Lavender Brown do under the Imperius Curse in the classroom scene from Goblet of Fire? Answer by going to Twitter.com/MuggleCast. Also just check out MuggleCast.com; we have a complete archive of episodes. Some of the older ones are inaccessible at the moment. We’re working on that; we will have them all fixed in due course. Special thanks to all you new listeners out there; it’s always nice to hear from you. Feel free to tweet us or email us. Let us know, “Hey, I recently discovered the show through…” what? Spotify? iTunes search? Nasim’s parents?
[Nasim laughs]
Andrew: How did you find the show? Let us know. We always love hearing how people discover the show. It helps us grow the show, too, so we can figure out how people find us. We’d also love your support over at Patreon.com/MuggleCast; it is the reason why we are weekly. And we do have a few spots left, actually, in the 777 challenge, even though we are over that number on Patreon. You’ll see we’re at close to 850, which is amazing. Thank you so much to all of you who have pledged. We’re still under 800 $5 plus patrons; there’s about 30 spots left, so you can still get in there. And if you’re behind on your pledges, if you were recently declined, make sure you update your information so you can be active again, and then that way, you will get one of these mugs later this year. Thanks to everybody, again, who’s listening live on Patreon right now; it’s nice to have you joining us and chiming in and discussing with fellow listeners. All right, thanks, everybody. We will be back. I think all three of us will be back on next episode, and Nasim, we’ll have to have you on again sometime. You were great.
Nasim: Thank you. I’d love to be on.
Andrew: Did you tell your mom that you were on the episode?
Nasim: I did, and they were like, “Oh, that’s so cool.” And I was like, “Yeah, I made it.”
[Andrew and Nasim laugh]
Andrew: How old are you, by the way?
Nasim: I’m 22.
Andrew: Ah, you’re so young. That’s so nice.
Nasim: [laughs] You say that like you’re old Dumbledore.
Andrew: Yeah. [imitating Dumbledore] “Oh, that’s so nice. That’s so wonderful, Nasim. Young blood on the show.”
[Nasim laughs]
Andrew: I’m about to exit my 20s. Well, not about to. I’m 28.
Nasim: See, that’s crazy to me, because I guess I just feel like you guys are closer to me in age. I mean, you’re obviously much more mature than me.
Andrew: You’re the youngest writer on Hypable, and you’re also the sweetest. I’m so glad we found you.
Nasim: Aw, thank you.
Andrew: Yeah. And smartest, by the way. Check out Nasim’s writing. She’s got some great stuff over on Hypable.
Nasim: [laughs] Thank you.
Andrew: Proud to say. Absolutely. All right, we’ll see everybody next time. Goodbye.
Nasim: Goodbye!