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Harry Potter and the Color of Money
Aired June 20, 2003 - 15:21 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.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Harry Potter fans are counting down the minutes until midnight when the latest book in the series, "The Order of the Phoenix," officially goes on sale.
CNN's Greg Clarkin reports the Potter brand has become its own empire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL RADCLIFFE, AS HARRY POTTER: What are you all doing here?
RUPERT GRINT, AS RON WEASLEY: Rescuing you, of course.
GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Actually, Harry hardly needs rescuing.
The young wizard has turned into an entertainment conglomerate in just a few years, starting with four runaway best sellers, movies, countless toys, games and other merchandise.
And Potter Inc. is about to get even bigger, with the release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The new book is due to hit store shelves just after midnight Friday. Eight and a half million copies are being printed. That's about 5 million more than other big-name books get. More than 1 million people have already ordered a copy on Amazon.com, a record for the online bookseller.
JASON ISAACS, AS LUCIUS MALFOY: The famous Harry Potter, can't even go to a bookstore without making the front page.
CLARKIN: And you'll find no arguments in the book industry, where Potter and some other big names have jump-started the business.
NORA ROWLINSON, "PUBLISHERS WEEKLY": One of the great things about Harry and Hillary and Oprah restarting her book club is that it just brings enthusiasm back into the business.
There has been sort of a depressed effect, because retailing has been down. The economy has been down. So book retailers have been somewhat down, too. And this just brings excitement back into the business, and I think helps lift everybody's spirits.
CLARKIN: The numbers on Potter are impressive. Sales of the four Harry Potter books total more than $500 million. The two movies, both from Warner Brothers, which like CNN is a part of AOL Time Warner, have taken in almost $2 million worldwide at the box office. And at least half a billion dollars worth of toys and video games have been sold.
JIM SILVER, "TOY WISHES" MAGAZINE: Harry Potter is all about magic. It's not really the figure Harry Potter himself, but it's the magic him and his friends bring alive. It's all the wizardry.
CLARKIN: The question now is how long can sales of everything Potter stay this strong? With the new book there'll be new toys, video games and, of course, a movie. And that's expected to keep the Potter empire strong for the foreseeable future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLARKIN: Now, not only have book retailers seized on this release as an event, but toy retailers, as well.
We're at Toys "R" Us Times Square, where they've had a number of Harry Potter-themed events going on throughout the day. Ten o'clock tonight they will close the store, clear these shelves, stock them with the new edition of the Harry Potter series and then open it at midnight for the consumer to get a crack at it -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. And we imagine there's going to be a line outside ready to grab some.
CLARKIN: And they're ready for them.
WOODRUFF: Greg Clarkin right there with the children's books at the bookstore. Thanks very much.
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 - 15:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Harry Potter fans are counting down the minutes until midnight when the latest book in the series, "The Order of the Phoenix," officially goes on sale.
CNN's Greg Clarkin reports the Potter brand has become its own empire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL RADCLIFFE, AS HARRY POTTER: What are you all doing here?
RUPERT GRINT, AS RON WEASLEY: Rescuing you, of course.
GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Actually, Harry hardly needs rescuing.
The young wizard has turned into an entertainment conglomerate in just a few years, starting with four runaway best sellers, movies, countless toys, games and other merchandise.
And Potter Inc. is about to get even bigger, with the release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The new book is due to hit store shelves just after midnight Friday. Eight and a half million copies are being printed. That's about 5 million more than other big-name books get. More than 1 million people have already ordered a copy on Amazon.com, a record for the online bookseller.
JASON ISAACS, AS LUCIUS MALFOY: The famous Harry Potter, can't even go to a bookstore without making the front page.
CLARKIN: And you'll find no arguments in the book industry, where Potter and some other big names have jump-started the business.
NORA ROWLINSON, "PUBLISHERS WEEKLY": One of the great things about Harry and Hillary and Oprah restarting her book club is that it just brings enthusiasm back into the business.
There has been sort of a depressed effect, because retailing has been down. The economy has been down. So book retailers have been somewhat down, too. And this just brings excitement back into the business, and I think helps lift everybody's spirits.
CLARKIN: The numbers on Potter are impressive. Sales of the four Harry Potter books total more than $500 million. The two movies, both from Warner Brothers, which like CNN is a part of AOL Time Warner, have taken in almost $2 million worldwide at the box office. And at least half a billion dollars worth of toys and video games have been sold.
JIM SILVER, "TOY WISHES" MAGAZINE: Harry Potter is all about magic. It's not really the figure Harry Potter himself, but it's the magic him and his friends bring alive. It's all the wizardry.
CLARKIN: The question now is how long can sales of everything Potter stay this strong? With the new book there'll be new toys, video games and, of course, a movie. And that's expected to keep the Potter empire strong for the foreseeable future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLARKIN: Now, not only have book retailers seized on this release as an event, but toy retailers, as well.
We're at Toys "R" Us Times Square, where they've had a number of Harry Potter-themed events going on throughout the day. Ten o'clock tonight they will close the store, clear these shelves, stock them with the new edition of the Harry Potter series and then open it at midnight for the consumer to get a crack at it -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right. And we imagine there's going to be a line outside ready to grab some.
CLARKIN: And they're ready for them.
WOODRUFF: Greg Clarkin right there with the children's books at the bookstore. Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
