The Potter Discussion: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the Wizarding World Fandom

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we analyze the second trailer released by HBO for the Harry Potter TV show. This one is for a behind-the-scenes special called Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic. It is a behind the scenes look at the production of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first season of the Harry Potter TV show. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:Listen to episode 326 analyzing the first official trailer here!·      2:54 Dominic McLaughlin looks so much like Harry! But it’s not in the way that he looks like Daniel Radcliff, but that he looks like the Harry from the books.  There are still some differences, but that continues to support the idea that these characters will be similar, but not the same.·      9:00 Wow! We’re getting behind the scenes footage! It’s crazy to think that we just got the release date to the TV show itself, and we’re already getting full releases of behind-the-scenes specials. We’ve almost graduated the point where the product itself is the goal, but an expansion of the fandom and the story.·      14:56 Philosopher’s Stone? Christmas? We glossed over some of the most important pieces of information we learned from the trailer. For one, the project is called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, not the Sorcerer’s Stone. And it will be released this year! Christmas has the right feeling of magic and family to make for the perfect release date.·      21:13 Still no Voldemort? HBO has confirmed that he has been cast and will appear in at least a few seasons, so it’s odd that we haven’t heard a peep. They’re really keeping this under wraps! I don’t really care about the name of the actor playing him, just the interpretation of the character. In this way the casting does actually matter, so any information would be great!·      27:29 Snape and Dumbledore and still stealing the show! Even in the special trailer, these two had big features and interviews. I want them to have a heavy feature, but it would be a shame if they took over the screen. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we analyze the trailer for the Harry Potter TV show. We have our first looks at Hogwarts, The Hogwarts Express, 4 Privet Drive, Snape, Dumbledore, and many more exciting characters and places in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      1:36 4 Privet Drive looks similar to the films. The Dursleys clearly have a mean streak, and Petunia has a big feature. Is she going to be the one doling out punishment to Harry the most? The cupboard under the stairs is more depressing than the films for sure. The whole house looks similar, but it feels a little darker.·      12:40 Harry looks great in action! This is the first time we’ve seen him acting live.·       14:22 Rubeus Hagrid makes an appearance, but it’s not what I imagined. His voice is just the voice of a normal person, not the big clumsy person we know and love. I’m sure we will grow to love him as we always do, but right now I don’t see the vision.·      18:35 The Hogwarts Express is fantastic! It looks pretty much the same which is the right choice. They did it right the first time and I’m glad they didn’t mess with it. However, King Cross is something of an improvement I think compared to the films. Hogsmeade Station is also a cool place which comes across well.·      23:41 Hogwarts is …… interesting. In every shot, I thought one of two things: this is a sky lodge, or this looks exactly like the film. I’m a little disappointed that this is our first impression of the castle because the best parts of the castle are big and bright, not closed off and lit with torches like the majority of what we saw.·      30:30 The characters look awesome. I am blown away by Snape and Dumbledore! Snape clearly has such depth and I’m so looking forward to seeing him develop. And Dumbledore looks like a combination between the Gambon and Harris versions which might be the best of both worlds. Ron is something of a dufus, but that might open the door for the biggest character transformation in the whole series. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we compare Gilderoy Lockhart and Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. With the upcoming Harry Potter TV show, there will be many opportunities to dive deeper into both of these characters. Though Riddle doesn't teach at Hogwarts and Lockhart doesn't make horcruxes in his spare time, they are far more similar than what meets the eye.Topics/Summary:·      1:59 Gilderoy Lockhart and Tom Riddle seem different, but the truth is they are eerily similar. They are both mirrors for things waiting for us in the future of the story. Tom Riddle is a mirror for the later form of Voldemort, showing us what is to come. Lockhart is a mirror for the fear Voldemort inspires in us as he rises to power. It isn’t enough for the story to tell us to be afraid of Voldemort; we have to see it too.·      17:18 Similarities and differences. On the surface, these two characters seem like total opposites. They come from different lives, even different times. However, the deeper we go into their character, the more similar they become. They both have power over people and that leaves a mark.·      24:09 Both Lockhart and Riddle disappear in this season and will reappear in a different form in a future season. What does that mean? An interesting question to ask within this subject is: who changes the most? The truth is, it’s really hard to tell. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Harry finally sees the Burrow for the first time and meets the entire Weasley family. They go shopping for their Hogwarts supplies at Diagon Alley, and meet Gilderoy Lockhart for the first time. Finally, Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts Express and have to take the Ford Anglia to school. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      3:10 Quick recap and life at the Burrow. I want to see what a wizard family does in a day. How do they live? This is Harry’s first time seeing a magical dwelling like the Burrow, and I want to make the most of it. The Weasley family is a lively bunch and that should come across.·      9:59 Off to Diagon Alley! Harry’s mistake with the floo powder sends him to Knockturn Alley and he sees Draco and Lucius shopping for some dark artifacts.·      16:48 Flourish and Blotts. Now that Harry has escaped, we get to see the famous Gilderoy Lockhart in his element. He is a rambunctious idiot. We officially meet Lucius, and he plants the diary with Ginny.·      27:07 Trip to Hogwarts. They cram their car full of things and people and the rush to the platform. Harry and Ron can’t pass through to Platform 9 ¾! They are stuck so they have to make a decision. They decide to take the flying Ford Anglia to Hogwarts. The episode ends with Hogwarts fading into view and another year on the horizon. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we examine characters like Dobby, Petunia Dursley, and Severus Snape and discuss how their defining moments differ between the Harry Potter books, films, and what we should hope for in the new Harry Potter TV show. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      Listen to episode 322 Tea Leaves S2 E2 here!·      2:10 Dobby. He’s the foundation for this episode. Dobby has his big moment at the very end of his arc when he sacrifices himself for Harry and friends to escape Malfoy Manor. That shouldn’t be his moment to shine! Earlier on, perhaps he runs into Draco at Hogwarts and refuses some ridiculous order. The TV has room for moments like these.·      13:49 Petunia Dursley. She is Harry’s last connection to his family, and it’s super easy to forget that when she’s being mean to Harry. But a few moments earlier in the story when we see Petunia’s softer side would go a long way. She really wanted to go to Hogwarts, and her refusal is why she’s so bitter. We should have an opportunity to see past that ice wall. ·      20:19 Snape. His story is truly heartbreaking story, and his love for Lily just wasn’t meant to be. But I don’t want to see that side to him only after he has died. The climax of his arc should be his death and the memory he shares with Harry, but we should see little hints of that emotion behind the greasy hair.·      24:18 Horace Slughorn. He needs more screen time! After the Half-Blood Prince, Slughorn falls into the background. In the Harry Potter TV show, there should be no characters looked over for the sake of time. He has such a heartwarming story, and he showed real courage in overcoming his shame. We should see more of that! [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn the this episode, we discuss Harry's conflict with Mr. Dursley and the Weasley's rescue from 4 Privet Drive in our version of the Harry Potter TV show. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      1:59 Quick recap and Harry at Privet Drive. He is back in Sad Harry mode with his previous life. We want to set this baseline of him hating his muggle existence so later on it means something to him.·      9:37 The Masons are the driving force. Their story is why Vernon is so uptight, and why he is so adamant that Harry be as quiet as a mouse. This will be the conflict that leads to Harry’s imprisonment, so it’s very important that we set it up early.·      18:08 Things start to heat up. The Masons arrive and while the Dursleys are greeting them in the driveway, Dobby apparates into Harry’s room with a loud crack, and maybe knocks something off a shelf. The Masons hear it from all the way outside and the tension is already set before they even walk in.·      29:27 Harry can’t believe what he has done. The whole cake fiasco had lead Harry to believe that he is expelled and will never see Hogwarts ever again. After Dobby drops the cake on Mrs. Mason’s head, Vernon locks Harry up. After a few nights, Ron and the twins come to Harry’s window bars, rips them off, then struggles with the Dursleys to get Harry out. Finally, he’s free. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we discuss the latest news on the Harry Potter TV show and what it might mean for the story. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      1:18 So what happened? HBO announced that they are already casting for season two, and they also mentioned that they have cast Louis Shelton as future Ron for the first season. He won’t play a huge role in the story, but it opens the door.·      9:14 Filmmakers are following the books closely. You could also argue that they are completely branching out, but we have to know more before we can say for sure. With characters like the Flamels, the TV is breaking new ground. But with a future Ron, we technically have seen him before.·      15:16 Flash-futures are dangerous. Imagine we are in the Great Hall or something like that and we flash forward. We watch a scene that is to come, and then are pushed back to the present. In that moment, the present loses some value. It feels like we’re losing ground, even though we saw something from the future.·      21:09 It is very possible to avoid that danger. If we keep the flashes brief and avoid full scenes, and integrate them into the story, the flashes will only enhance the present. Dumbledore thinking about the future in his office is a great opportunity to explore this.·      25:46 Despite all the negatives, there is a huge upside. If we avoid the full scenes, the filmmakers can make these visions of the future truly impactful. The truth is we don’t know everything. Some actors and creative choices are still unknown to us, so there is still potential to be surprised. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we begin the second season of our version of the Harry Potter TV show. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      1:54 Let’s set some goals. 1) Explore Hogwarts. We haven’t seen the whole grounds by now, and there is so much more history to explore. 2) Develop relationships. Especially for arcs like Snape and Harry, beginning to see their relationship take form will lead to a huge payoff later on. 3) Begin Voldemort’s arc. Tom Riddle is the main villain of this book, and we can use his past and memories to understand a little more about Voldemort. This Tom Riddle feels almost closer to the Goblet of Fire Voldemort than the back-of-the-head thing from last book.·      10:33 We begin in the days of old. That’s what I wrote in my notebook. We should begin with the founders of Hogwarts and their dynamics. Salazar Slytherin wanted to keep Hogwarts for pure-blood students and that’s why he was cast out, leading to the creation of the Chamber. ·      18:15 Moving forward through time. As the founders fall into the legend, the Chamber falls into legend with it. We lose a little bit of the gravitas if we snap forward in time and skip over the thousand years in the middle. We should end this section with Hagrid and Tom Riddle’s time at Hogwarts, and seeing the Chamber open for the first time.·      25:24 Now we move into the present day. But not with Harry. The diary Riddle was the driving force in the Chamber, but something had to have worked in the background for that to happen. It would make sense for Voldemort himself to have given Lucius the diary and sent him off to get the gears turning. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we discuss what role the set might play in the new Harry Potter TV show. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      Read the interview with Lox Pratt | See the new leaked set photos·      1:43 So what did Lox Pratt say? He gave us the insight that the TV show would go into Draco’s home and perhaps show us another side to the professors as well.·      8:14 There were also leaked photos of the set. The first photo is a house, the second a timetable, and the third a courtyard. There are some interesting details that might point to some features of the Harry Potter TV show. The house is labeled for an old couple, and seeing as it is only for the first season, that might be the Flamel residence?·      19:34 Location vs. Set. The location is literally where the characters are, but the set is where and how the scenes take place. How should we feel? Why are the characters making these choices? Those are the questions a good set can tell us. With scenes at Malfoy Manor, Draco has an opportunity to show us how he really feels. Imagine how much we would learn in a scene with Draco walking the grounds of his house in the summer.·      25:02 Is this getting too complex? We are seeing so many peaks behind the curtain, and without the finished product to put it all together, it’s hard to see the whole picture. With so many new sets and characters added, the filmmakers are now walking the line between two similar to the films and too complex for audiences to understand. I don’t think it will be too complex in the end, but you never know. [email protected]

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we discuss composer Hans Zimmer signing onto the Harry Potter TV show. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      1:35 Hans Zimmer is scoring the TV Show! He is such a well-known composer in the film world. His music is famous for how profound it is, no matter the film. From Kung Fu Panda to the Dark Knight, Hans knows how to create a world.·      11:05 Hans has a huge sound. I’m interested how music of that size will fit into the world of Harry Potter. John William’s themes are so personal and quiet, which isn’t what Hans is known for.·      19:45 There’s a lot of room to explore. Music is a 3D art, and that dimensions will hopefully be used. However, this world has boundaries, and it would be a shame if Hans ventured too far.·      24:40 His music is intense! It’s full of electronics and different textures. But is that the right feel for Harry Potter? Maybe not. John Williams was famous for his orchestral scores, and Hans would do well to stay in the acoustic world. [email protected]