Harry cometh...

Thank Christ Astro Theater is bringing in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on its opening weekend. I feared for my sanity if the movie wasn't going to get here until some time in December. I would have had a very cranky and sooky wife, who just finished rereading all the Potter books in preparation for the movie. We're also watching the first three movies on DVD to lay the appropriate groundwork for The Big Day.

Oddly enough, won't be on the 18th, which is opening day. We learned our lesson a few weeks back when we saw Serenity on its first night here. I nearly murdered a group of teenagers sitting behind me who did not shut up throughout the movie. Death glares, shhhing and even being yelled at by an older Inuit woman (normally enough to quiet most kids) didn't seem to phase them. Thus the lesson is learned - never see a movie on Fridays here.

I tease Cathy about the Harry fixation, but it does have a soft spot for me as well. One of the first times we went out (with a large group of people, but we made sure we sat next to each other) was for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, almost four years ago to the day Goblet of Fire is coming out. I asked her out on a proper date with just the two of us later that evening. The rest, as they say, is history.



Early reviews say it's the best of the Potter films so far, which I would hope for since it cost a staggering amount of money. A reported $310 million (not including marketing costs, which will probably be at least another $50 million). What's just as strange is that director Mike Newell apparently clashed with Warner Brothers because he felt they were being "cheap" and not giving him enough money to make the movie he wanted.

Dear God, what kind of movie did he want to make.

Oh, the $310 million? Still not the most expensive movie ever made. Reported the forthcoming King Kong,coming out next month, cost $325 million and Superman Returns, which is coming out next summer, is rumoured to have cost $350 million.

One of these three films will tank. I guarentee it.

Two other Potter things of interest. Even though the last book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has sold 11 million copies in the U.S. alone, Scholastic has millions of copies left over and they're terrified book stores are going to start returning them.

Finally, there is a a downside to all the hype about the movies. Cathy teaches Grade 4/5 at her school. Of her class of 20 kids, only one has read any of the books. These kids are about 10 years old, so they're prime Potter age. Why aren't they reading the books? Because they watch the movies instead.

Kind of depressing when you think about it.

Last 5 on iPod
1. Starry-eyed surprise - Paul Oakenfold
2. Graceland - The New Pornographers (iTunes Exclusive)
3. Girl - Tori Amos (To Venus and Back)
4. Wouldn't be so bad - Allison Krauss and Union Station (Lonely Runs Both Ways)
5. The news - Jack Johnson (Brushfire Fairytales)