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CNN Live Today

Wild About Harry

Aired June 20, 2003 - 10:17   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Harry Potter mania is strong in Britain as well. Fans are lining up at book stores in London to get their hands on the boy wizard's latest adventures.
For more now, let's go ahead and check in with CNN's Diana Muriel, who is monitoring the wait in London.

What's happening, Diana?

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, preparations under way all around the country, and certainly here in London. At Worthy Stone's (ph) in Piccadilly, they're transforming the children's department from this book store into a scene from the Harry Potter movies and the Harry Potter books, "Daigon (ph) Alley." They're going to have a huge celebrity party here tonight attended by actors and actresses. All sorts of events planned around the country as well for tomorrow when that book goes on store.

Many book stores staying open at the midnight hour, witching hour, when the book goes on sale. Of course, it's the 21st of June, the summer solstice. That's the longest day in the year. I'm sure that was no accident when the publishers were choosing the publication date. There have been sneak previews of the book, although excerpts have been published in the U.S. We do know that one of the principal characters is killed off in the latest book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The author, J.K. Rowling, has been cagey about giving out details, and is trying to protect the book as much as they can, because it's so available.

This one is expected to break all records for sales, Heidi. The last one sold 5.1 million copies the first weekend it went on sale back in July, 2000. And this one is expecting to break those records, 13 million copies have been produced in the first print run, 8.5 million to go on sale in the United States, and so it's a very, very strong asset that both publishers, scholastic in the U.S. and Bloomsbury here in the U.K., very keen to protect -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Dana, curious to get your perspective at least from people that you've talked with there about the book. Not always do you have a book that's successful written in London, for example, and based on sort of a London characters and the language that they use and everything. Very often, it fails when it goes overseas, but it has really done well in both countries. Why is that, do you think?

MURIEL: That's right, both sides of the pond, absolutely fascinated. Enchanted by this book. It's perhaps because it creates its whole world. It's focused on this character, Harry Potter, in his friend and the magical Hogwarts School of Wizards. There's a whole language associated with this book. Ordinary people are called "muggles," for example, and children really enter to into this imagination world, and so do adults, indeed, to be fair -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, I have to admit to reading all of them, and I'll probably read this one. I understand the books are maybe right behind you. You don't have a box cutter or anything on you, do you?

MURIEL: That's right, I do, tantalizingly I have a box of the books right here with me, and I'm not allowed to open them. There's a security guard wandering around every time minutes. I'll just stroke it for you. It's very heavy. We know that they are two pounds each, a kilogram in weight each, very heavy indeed and huge. A very big read for adults and children alike.

COLLINS: I'm sure most kids will finish these books off in a day or two, the way they're enthusiastic about it, that's for sure.

Diana Muriel, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

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 - 10:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Harry Potter mania is strong in Britain as well. Fans are lining up at book stores in London to get their hands on the boy wizard's latest adventures.
For more now, let's go ahead and check in with CNN's Diana Muriel, who is monitoring the wait in London.

What's happening, Diana?

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, preparations under way all around the country, and certainly here in London. At Worthy Stone's (ph) in Piccadilly, they're transforming the children's department from this book store into a scene from the Harry Potter movies and the Harry Potter books, "Daigon (ph) Alley." They're going to have a huge celebrity party here tonight attended by actors and actresses. All sorts of events planned around the country as well for tomorrow when that book goes on store.

Many book stores staying open at the midnight hour, witching hour, when the book goes on sale. Of course, it's the 21st of June, the summer solstice. That's the longest day in the year. I'm sure that was no accident when the publishers were choosing the publication date. There have been sneak previews of the book, although excerpts have been published in the U.S. We do know that one of the principal characters is killed off in the latest book, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The author, J.K. Rowling, has been cagey about giving out details, and is trying to protect the book as much as they can, because it's so available.

This one is expected to break all records for sales, Heidi. The last one sold 5.1 million copies the first weekend it went on sale back in July, 2000. And this one is expecting to break those records, 13 million copies have been produced in the first print run, 8.5 million to go on sale in the United States, and so it's a very, very strong asset that both publishers, scholastic in the U.S. and Bloomsbury here in the U.K., very keen to protect -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Dana, curious to get your perspective at least from people that you've talked with there about the book. Not always do you have a book that's successful written in London, for example, and based on sort of a London characters and the language that they use and everything. Very often, it fails when it goes overseas, but it has really done well in both countries. Why is that, do you think?

MURIEL: That's right, both sides of the pond, absolutely fascinated. Enchanted by this book. It's perhaps because it creates its whole world. It's focused on this character, Harry Potter, in his friend and the magical Hogwarts School of Wizards. There's a whole language associated with this book. Ordinary people are called "muggles," for example, and children really enter to into this imagination world, and so do adults, indeed, to be fair -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, I have to admit to reading all of them, and I'll probably read this one. I understand the books are maybe right behind you. You don't have a box cutter or anything on you, do you?

MURIEL: That's right, I do, tantalizingly I have a box of the books right here with me, and I'm not allowed to open them. There's a security guard wandering around every time minutes. I'll just stroke it for you. It's very heavy. We know that they are two pounds each, a kilogram in weight each, very heavy indeed and huge. A very big read for adults and children alike.

COLLINS: I'm sure most kids will finish these books off in a day or two, the way they're enthusiastic about it, that's for sure.

Diana Muriel, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

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