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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Amanda Bower

Aired June 21, 2003 - 14:43   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: If you still think that Harry Potter isn't an economic force to be reckoned with, think again. The little wizard packs enormous marketing punch and his skills are even being recognized by "Time" magazine. Joining us now to talk about the power of Potter is Amanda Bower, a reporter with "Time" magazine. It is your cover story this week. And Amanda, 900 pages long, could it possibly disappoint?
AMANDA BOWER, TIME MAGAZINE: It's certainly, by all early reports, and unfortunately somewhat (UNINTELLIGIBLE) instead of reading it, so I can't vouch for that, but by all reports it doesn't disappoint, but it's a very different book. Harry is growing up, just like his fans are, I suppose, the kids who started out reading the books when they were first published in 1998 in the U.S. are now obviously older.

So Harry is going through adolescence. He is angry. He's probably discovering girls, as well as all the other disappointing and scary things about puberty. These books, it's going to be hard for them to disappoint, but kids are obviously very harsh critics. And if they don't like the book, they are certainly going to say it. But so far we have only heard really good things, and J.K. Rowling has been kind of brave in tackling some harder subjects, getting the kids, the characters are older and that often doesn't happen in children's books. We just see the characters frozen.

WHITFIELD: Yes, she even says and promises that Harry is going to be dealing with you know like you said, or alluded to with the romance issue, a very adult kind of subject, but she thinks it's OK for child audiences. She is writing for the kids.

BOWER: Well, I think that's one of the things that's always been important about her appeal is that she has never underestimated kids, she has never dumbed down her books, and they always felt that she was speaking to them on the level. And I think it's true that adults often -- we want to protect kids so much that we sometimes sanitize the truth, or we try to shield things from them. These books obviously aren't adult books in the sense of adult fiction, but they are not afraid to deal with it. I mean, Harry has been right (ph) from the first book, an orphan; his parents were killed. And kids cope with that. They deal with that. And I think it's important to remember that when we start to get a little bit worried about the things, the problems that Harry is going to be facing in this book.

WHITFIELD: Well, Amanda, are you taken aback at the popularity among this series of books among adults? It started out adults wanting to read it because they wanted to know what their kids are reading. But now they have got a book cover that is being marketed just for adults who want to read it not because they have kids but because they are as riveted by the story as any of the kids are?

BOWER: Absolutely. I mean, there are so many of my colleagues at "Time" magazine, and I'm one of them who preordered the book when they were first able to, who were really excited about this coming out, finally after three years. It's like -- I think two things -- we are sort of taken back a little bit to our childhood, but again because the books are on a sophisticated level, they do speak to adults. They do have adult themes. It reminds us of what it was like growing up a little bit at the same time, and we can be kids again, we can be excited, and they are so magical and they are so much fun, and I think adults really respond to that just like kids do.

WHITFIELD: Now she's already starting to work on the sixth book, and she also says or has alluded to the fact that she is thinking about writing an adult book, something that is non-Harry Potter altogether. Do you have any insight about what it could be about?

BOWER: No insight at all. I would be fascinated to read it. She has got such a strong voice in this genre, that how she would write and what she would write would be fascinating. Obviously people are going read it, I mean, it's a publisher's dream, I'm sure, and probably a smart thing to do. I mean if you are going to continue writing kids' books, where do you go after Harry Potter? So it's not a bad idea to move into adult fiction, I think.

WHITFIELD: And there will be seven in all, right?

BOWER: That is right. She said right from the beginning, that she sort of planned out seven installments in her head, and if she's smart, I think, then like The Beatles she will know that good things must end when you are on a roll. So I think the seventh will probably be the last book.

WHITFIELD: All right, three years in the waiting, we will find out if this book number five was worth the wait. Amanda Bower, thanks very much, of "Time" magazine. Good to see you.

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 21, 2003 - 14:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: If you still think that Harry Potter isn't an economic force to be reckoned with, think again. The little wizard packs enormous marketing punch and his skills are even being recognized by "Time" magazine. Joining us now to talk about the power of Potter is Amanda Bower, a reporter with "Time" magazine. It is your cover story this week. And Amanda, 900 pages long, could it possibly disappoint?
AMANDA BOWER, TIME MAGAZINE: It's certainly, by all early reports, and unfortunately somewhat (UNINTELLIGIBLE) instead of reading it, so I can't vouch for that, but by all reports it doesn't disappoint, but it's a very different book. Harry is growing up, just like his fans are, I suppose, the kids who started out reading the books when they were first published in 1998 in the U.S. are now obviously older.

So Harry is going through adolescence. He is angry. He's probably discovering girls, as well as all the other disappointing and scary things about puberty. These books, it's going to be hard for them to disappoint, but kids are obviously very harsh critics. And if they don't like the book, they are certainly going to say it. But so far we have only heard really good things, and J.K. Rowling has been kind of brave in tackling some harder subjects, getting the kids, the characters are older and that often doesn't happen in children's books. We just see the characters frozen.

WHITFIELD: Yes, she even says and promises that Harry is going to be dealing with you know like you said, or alluded to with the romance issue, a very adult kind of subject, but she thinks it's OK for child audiences. She is writing for the kids.

BOWER: Well, I think that's one of the things that's always been important about her appeal is that she has never underestimated kids, she has never dumbed down her books, and they always felt that she was speaking to them on the level. And I think it's true that adults often -- we want to protect kids so much that we sometimes sanitize the truth, or we try to shield things from them. These books obviously aren't adult books in the sense of adult fiction, but they are not afraid to deal with it. I mean, Harry has been right (ph) from the first book, an orphan; his parents were killed. And kids cope with that. They deal with that. And I think it's important to remember that when we start to get a little bit worried about the things, the problems that Harry is going to be facing in this book.

WHITFIELD: Well, Amanda, are you taken aback at the popularity among this series of books among adults? It started out adults wanting to read it because they wanted to know what their kids are reading. But now they have got a book cover that is being marketed just for adults who want to read it not because they have kids but because they are as riveted by the story as any of the kids are?

BOWER: Absolutely. I mean, there are so many of my colleagues at "Time" magazine, and I'm one of them who preordered the book when they were first able to, who were really excited about this coming out, finally after three years. It's like -- I think two things -- we are sort of taken back a little bit to our childhood, but again because the books are on a sophisticated level, they do speak to adults. They do have adult themes. It reminds us of what it was like growing up a little bit at the same time, and we can be kids again, we can be excited, and they are so magical and they are so much fun, and I think adults really respond to that just like kids do.

WHITFIELD: Now she's already starting to work on the sixth book, and she also says or has alluded to the fact that she is thinking about writing an adult book, something that is non-Harry Potter altogether. Do you have any insight about what it could be about?

BOWER: No insight at all. I would be fascinated to read it. She has got such a strong voice in this genre, that how she would write and what she would write would be fascinating. Obviously people are going read it, I mean, it's a publisher's dream, I'm sure, and probably a smart thing to do. I mean if you are going to continue writing kids' books, where do you go after Harry Potter? So it's not a bad idea to move into adult fiction, I think.

WHITFIELD: And there will be seven in all, right?

BOWER: That is right. She said right from the beginning, that she sort of planned out seven installments in her head, and if she's smart, I think, then like The Beatles she will know that good things must end when you are on a roll. So I think the seventh will probably be the last book.

WHITFIELD: All right, three years in the waiting, we will find out if this book number five was worth the wait. Amanda Bower, thanks very much, of "Time" magazine. Good to see you.

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