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CNN Live At Daybreak

Look at Harry Potter Creator

Aired November 14, 2002 - 06:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: From struggling single mum, mom, mum, they're saying mum there, right? To stardom, J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, is now a household name. Her story is as magical as one of her wizardry plots.
CNN's Liz George went to the author's hometown in Scotland to trace her remarkable rise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ GEORGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It would be a long stretch of even J.K. Rowling's rich imagination to conjure up this image of her as a globally recognized celebrity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a book shop without making the front page.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE: Fiction is reflecting fact. Thanks to the phenomenal successes of the Harry Potter novels and movies, this author has become as famous as the characters she's created.

J.K. ROWLING, AUTHOR: It always surprises me. It always surprises me to be recognized like this. So it's odd, but nice, very nice.

GEORGE: Just as the Hog Warts Express led Harry towards his wizardry, so, too, the gravy train of lucrative publishing and movie deals has carried Rowling from struggling single mom teaching part- time towards riches. All from an idea thought up 12 years ago during a tedious train journey.

DAVE PEAT, LEIGH ACADEMY: This is a typical classroom that J.K. Rowling would have worked in.

GEORGE: Just when her department had offered her more work, the Potter magic was cast. The book deal was through from the U.S.

PEAT: She had just received a contract from America and I don't think she hesitated very long before deciding which one to choose.

GEORGE: Now, with four books behind her, is fame frustrating her efforts to finish the fifth? Where once she wrote unnoticed in a local cafe, drawing inspiration from the bustle around her, she's now drawn away into herself and her family.

(on camera): Well, Nicholson's has changed quite considerably since 1994 when J.K. Rowling sat at one of the cafe tables writing her novels in long hand with her mug of espresso, her glass of water and her baby daughter sleeping beside her. It's now more a restaurant than a cafe, although the writer still retains strong links with the place. Being friends with the owners, she pops in every now and again for a bit of a chat before the opera. And she likes to conduct all her media interviews here, as well, although of course at the moment she's not giving any interviews. She's working on that long awaited fifth novel, leading some people to say she's got writer's block.

(voice-over): Others argue it's just a new phase in her life.

JULIA ECCLESSHARE, CHILDREN'S BOOK EDITOR: She's got a new husband. She's going to have another baby. And obviously her interests are changing and broadening. But I don't think she's a frustrated writer.

GEORGE: Just as Potter was bewildered by his magic powers, adjusting to the fame is likely to have come hard to this shy children's novelist. But those who know her say she'll steadily and quietly work through until the series is done.

Liz George, CNN, Edinboro, in Scotland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: And in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that we do have a vested interest in telling the story. "Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets," produced by Warner Brothers Studio, which is, of course, owned by CNN's parent company, AOL Time Warner.

You can find much more about this movie on our Web site. There's going to be a review on there. Also, all this can be found at cnn.com, AOL keyword is CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com



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Aired November 14, 2002 - 06:56   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: From struggling single mum, mom, mum, they're saying mum there, right? To stardom, J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, is now a household name. Her story is as magical as one of her wizardry plots.
CNN's Liz George went to the author's hometown in Scotland to trace her remarkable rise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIZ GEORGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It would be a long stretch of even J.K. Rowling's rich imagination to conjure up this image of her as a globally recognized celebrity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a book shop without making the front page.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE: Fiction is reflecting fact. Thanks to the phenomenal successes of the Harry Potter novels and movies, this author has become as famous as the characters she's created.

J.K. ROWLING, AUTHOR: It always surprises me. It always surprises me to be recognized like this. So it's odd, but nice, very nice.

GEORGE: Just as the Hog Warts Express led Harry towards his wizardry, so, too, the gravy train of lucrative publishing and movie deals has carried Rowling from struggling single mom teaching part- time towards riches. All from an idea thought up 12 years ago during a tedious train journey.

DAVE PEAT, LEIGH ACADEMY: This is a typical classroom that J.K. Rowling would have worked in.

GEORGE: Just when her department had offered her more work, the Potter magic was cast. The book deal was through from the U.S.

PEAT: She had just received a contract from America and I don't think she hesitated very long before deciding which one to choose.

GEORGE: Now, with four books behind her, is fame frustrating her efforts to finish the fifth? Where once she wrote unnoticed in a local cafe, drawing inspiration from the bustle around her, she's now drawn away into herself and her family.

(on camera): Well, Nicholson's has changed quite considerably since 1994 when J.K. Rowling sat at one of the cafe tables writing her novels in long hand with her mug of espresso, her glass of water and her baby daughter sleeping beside her. It's now more a restaurant than a cafe, although the writer still retains strong links with the place. Being friends with the owners, she pops in every now and again for a bit of a chat before the opera. And she likes to conduct all her media interviews here, as well, although of course at the moment she's not giving any interviews. She's working on that long awaited fifth novel, leading some people to say she's got writer's block.

(voice-over): Others argue it's just a new phase in her life.

JULIA ECCLESSHARE, CHILDREN'S BOOK EDITOR: She's got a new husband. She's going to have another baby. And obviously her interests are changing and broadening. But I don't think she's a frustrated writer.

GEORGE: Just as Potter was bewildered by his magic powers, adjusting to the fame is likely to have come hard to this shy children's novelist. But those who know her say she'll steadily and quietly work through until the series is done.

Liz George, CNN, Edinboro, in Scotland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: And in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that we do have a vested interest in telling the story. "Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets," produced by Warner Brothers Studio, which is, of course, owned by CNN's parent company, AOL Time Warner.

You can find much more about this movie on our Web site. There's going to be a review on there. Also, all this can be found at cnn.com, AOL keyword is CNN.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com



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