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CNN Live At Daybreak

Stars Came Out for Witchcraft and Wizardry in Los Angeles

Aired November 15, 2002 - 06:22   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: The stars came out for a little witchcraft and wizardry in Los Angeles, for the official premier of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." The boy wizard's second film adventure opens on 8,500 screens in nearly 3,700 theaters today. And take a look at the fans in San Francisco, where some lined up for a midnight screening. They even dressed up as their favorite characters from the Potter series of books.
Potter fans are not just wild about his movies, but also his books, his T-shirts, his posters, his toys.

Andy Serwer takes a look at the boy wizard who has become a money making machine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CLIP FROM "HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS")

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE (voice-over): We all know Harry Potter as a blockbuster movie and a series of best selling books. But the real magic of Harry Potter may be that this wizard in training is also a huge business, a multi-billion dollar money making machine for movie studio Warner Brothers.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I'm getting all this Harry Potter stuff for Christmas as my Christmas present.

SERWER: The key being those thousands of Harry Potter toys, video games and product tie-ins which are just as important as the film itself.

CHARLIE LYONS, FILM JOURNALIST: Harry Potter has become a name brand for Warner Brothers and this is more than just a movie, obviously. There are all the ancillaries that create a revenue stream of approximately a billion dollars, which is separate to the approximate billion dollars that the movie itself has grossed internationally.

SERWER: That's right, the first movie took in a billion dollars at the box office worldwide and another billion dollars in, well, stuff. Never mind the Harry Potter books, which have sold some $140 million worldwide, there are T-shirts and posters, marketing deals with Coke. Harry Potter video games were Warner Brothers' biggest sellers last year and then there are the toys.

JIM SILVER, "TOY WISHES" MAGAZINE: Over $500 million last year was spent on Harry Potter toys and this year is expected to be even bigger.

SERWER (on camera): How many different Harry Potter toys are there?

SILVER: There are about 25, 30 different Harry Potter toys. Some are from last year's movie and many are from, obviously, this year's movie.

SERWER: And what about here? This is a hot one, isn't it?

SILVER: Well, this is the one that's going to be a tough one to get after the movie opens. This is the Harry Potter slime chamber.

SERWER: Slime.

(voice-over): At $17.99, who could possibly resist slime like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Giant slime oozing snake. He picked all three of them.

SERWER: So what's Warner Brothers' cut of the action? Silver estimates that for every $100 of toys sold, the studio gets 15 bucks. The magic is that cut quickly adds up to mega bucks and a mega phenomenon.

SILVER: Well, it's definitely more than a movie. I mean it's a movement. It becomes a marketing brand, you know, a brand that has enormous leach in the marketplace in every possible arena, you know? So it's not just entertainment.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: There's the Harry Potter snakes and that over your head.

SERWER: No, Harry Potter isn't just entertainment. It's got more than a little touch of that old black marketing magic.

SILVER: Sounds good?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

SERWER: Andy Serwer, CNN, New York.

Andy Serwer, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was produced by Warner Brothers Studio, which is owned by CNN's parent company, AOL Time Warner. Is the music still playing? And this weekend be sure and watch a special profile of the young wizard in training. The story behind Harry Potter on "People In The News" Saturday, 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, again Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern time.

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






Aired November 15, 2002 - 06:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The stars came out for a little witchcraft and wizardry in Los Angeles, for the official premier of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." The boy wizard's second film adventure opens on 8,500 screens in nearly 3,700 theaters today. And take a look at the fans in San Francisco, where some lined up for a midnight screening. They even dressed up as their favorite characters from the Potter series of books.
Potter fans are not just wild about his movies, but also his books, his T-shirts, his posters, his toys.

Andy Serwer takes a look at the boy wizard who has become a money making machine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CLIP FROM "HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS")

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE (voice-over): We all know Harry Potter as a blockbuster movie and a series of best selling books. But the real magic of Harry Potter may be that this wizard in training is also a huge business, a multi-billion dollar money making machine for movie studio Warner Brothers.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I'm getting all this Harry Potter stuff for Christmas as my Christmas present.

SERWER: The key being those thousands of Harry Potter toys, video games and product tie-ins which are just as important as the film itself.

CHARLIE LYONS, FILM JOURNALIST: Harry Potter has become a name brand for Warner Brothers and this is more than just a movie, obviously. There are all the ancillaries that create a revenue stream of approximately a billion dollars, which is separate to the approximate billion dollars that the movie itself has grossed internationally.

SERWER: That's right, the first movie took in a billion dollars at the box office worldwide and another billion dollars in, well, stuff. Never mind the Harry Potter books, which have sold some $140 million worldwide, there are T-shirts and posters, marketing deals with Coke. Harry Potter video games were Warner Brothers' biggest sellers last year and then there are the toys.

JIM SILVER, "TOY WISHES" MAGAZINE: Over $500 million last year was spent on Harry Potter toys and this year is expected to be even bigger.

SERWER (on camera): How many different Harry Potter toys are there?

SILVER: There are about 25, 30 different Harry Potter toys. Some are from last year's movie and many are from, obviously, this year's movie.

SERWER: And what about here? This is a hot one, isn't it?

SILVER: Well, this is the one that's going to be a tough one to get after the movie opens. This is the Harry Potter slime chamber.

SERWER: Slime.

(voice-over): At $17.99, who could possibly resist slime like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Giant slime oozing snake. He picked all three of them.

SERWER: So what's Warner Brothers' cut of the action? Silver estimates that for every $100 of toys sold, the studio gets 15 bucks. The magic is that cut quickly adds up to mega bucks and a mega phenomenon.

SILVER: Well, it's definitely more than a movie. I mean it's a movement. It becomes a marketing brand, you know, a brand that has enormous leach in the marketplace in every possible arena, you know? So it's not just entertainment.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: There's the Harry Potter snakes and that over your head.

SERWER: No, Harry Potter isn't just entertainment. It's got more than a little touch of that old black marketing magic.

SILVER: Sounds good?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

SERWER: Andy Serwer, CNN, New York.

Andy Serwer, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" was produced by Warner Brothers Studio, which is owned by CNN's parent company, AOL Time Warner. Is the music still playing? And this weekend be sure and watch a special profile of the young wizard in training. The story behind Harry Potter on "People In The News" Saturday, 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, again Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern time.

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