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CNN Live At Daybreak

Wild About Harry: Book 5 Out Tonight

Aired June 20, 2003 - 05:43   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.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All of you Potter people, I know you're ready, book five of the Harry Potter series comes out at the witching hour, midnight tonight.
CNN's Diana Muriel reports the little wizard has cast a spell on millions of you who just can't wait to get your hands on that new book.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet the fans of Harry Potter. They come in all ages and sizes, but their enthusiasm for all things Harry Potter knows no bounds.

So just who is Harry Potter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a wizard, Harry.

MURIEL: This wizard with magical powers has captured the imagination of millions all around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wizards are cool.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's fun and I wish it was real.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the hype of it is incredible. I just can't wait to get my hands on the book, so we're hoping we can find it here in London.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each one goes deeper, you know, you can really get into it. It's quite a good story.

MURIEL: The new book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," will be the first in the series to be printed with both the colorful covers designed for the children's market and special covers aimed at adult readers.

So what is the attraction of this children's story for grownups?

MARILYN MATHEW, PSYCHOANALYST: All of us have the capacity to be enchanted and I think probably this more acceptance of and enjoyment of children and of being childlike in our society today.

MURIEL: Harry Potter fans are firmly under the spell. Online bookseller, Amazon.com, has taken more than a million advance orders worldwide, a third of them in the U.K. GREG HART, AKMAZON.COM.UK: Amazon.com.UK has taken more than 350,000 orders for the book which makes it our biggest preorder ever. It's going to be the biggest event in e-commerce history.

MURIEL: Amazon says it's been planning this operation for months, holding the books in a dedicated warehouse under top security. It insists there are ample supplies to meet demand.

(on camera): Come the day, that demand is likely to be overwhelming. The last book, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," broke all records for the fastest selling book in history when it launched in July 2000. Even more people are expected to be going potty over Harry Potter this time around.

Diana Muriel, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And the forces were with some very lucky Harry Potter fans in Indiana, a few Osco Drug stores accidentally sold copies of the much anticipated new book before its official release date so some of the magic in "The Order of the Phoenix" has already escaped. But for the rest of the world, tonight is the night. Bookstores from coast to coast are having Potter parties.

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 June 20, 2003 - 05:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All of you Potter people, I know you're ready, book five of the Harry Potter series comes out at the witching hour, midnight tonight.
CNN's Diana Muriel reports the little wizard has cast a spell on millions of you who just can't wait to get your hands on that new book.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet the fans of Harry Potter. They come in all ages and sizes, but their enthusiasm for all things Harry Potter knows no bounds.

So just who is Harry Potter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're a wizard, Harry.

MURIEL: This wizard with magical powers has captured the imagination of millions all around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wizards are cool.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's fun and I wish it was real.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just the hype of it is incredible. I just can't wait to get my hands on the book, so we're hoping we can find it here in London.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each one goes deeper, you know, you can really get into it. It's quite a good story.

MURIEL: The new book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," will be the first in the series to be printed with both the colorful covers designed for the children's market and special covers aimed at adult readers.

So what is the attraction of this children's story for grownups?

MARILYN MATHEW, PSYCHOANALYST: All of us have the capacity to be enchanted and I think probably this more acceptance of and enjoyment of children and of being childlike in our society today.

MURIEL: Harry Potter fans are firmly under the spell. Online bookseller, Amazon.com, has taken more than a million advance orders worldwide, a third of them in the U.K. GREG HART, AKMAZON.COM.UK: Amazon.com.UK has taken more than 350,000 orders for the book which makes it our biggest preorder ever. It's going to be the biggest event in e-commerce history.

MURIEL: Amazon says it's been planning this operation for months, holding the books in a dedicated warehouse under top security. It insists there are ample supplies to meet demand.

(on camera): Come the day, that demand is likely to be overwhelming. The last book, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," broke all records for the fastest selling book in history when it launched in July 2000. Even more people are expected to be going potty over Harry Potter this time around.

Diana Muriel, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And the forces were with some very lucky Harry Potter fans in Indiana, a few Osco Drug stores accidentally sold copies of the much anticipated new book before its official release date so some of the magic in "The Order of the Phoenix" has already escaped. But for the rest of the world, tonight is the night. Bookstores from coast to coast are having Potter parties.

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