The World of Harry Potter

četvrtak, 24.11.2005.

Pismo za J.K. Rowling

Ovo je pismo napisao Todd Leopold, a objavio ga je CNN.com. Autor pisma objašnjava kako je zapravo teško biti Harry Potter fan.

To: Ms. J.K. Rowling, c/o Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Somewhere north of Platform 9 3/4 King's Cross Station, UK

Dear Ms. Rowling:

Please believe me when I say, with all due respect: Enough. Enough, already.

I have been a fan of yours since the day in late 1999 when I first picked up "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." (I know you called it "Philosopher's Stone," but we Americans are rather thick when it comes to knowing our alchemical totems.) I eagerly consumed your tale of Harry's first year, and quickly went on to books two and three.

Book IV, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," came out just three weeks after I began at CNN.com in 2000. It was all Harry all the time around here, and I couldn't get enough. I nearly got into a car accident while reading "Goblet" on my way home from work one day; that's how enamored I was with Harry's adventures and your witty, imaginative writing.

But you've let it get out of control. The New York Times actually changed its best-seller list because your books were hogging all the top places. And the books led to the movies, and not even that ham-handed Chris Columbus could kill off your hero, despite his best efforts. (Oh, Ms. Rowling, you practically expect to hear a "boing!" spit-take after some scenes in "Sorcerer's" -- uh, "Philosopher's Stone." If your books are Monty Python, Columbus' style is Benny Hill.)

And then came Book V, "Order of the Phoenix," another many-hundred-page doorstop that kept me scrambling during the day covering its frenzy and awake at night gobbling down just one more chapter. Ms. Rowling, I'm not 14 years old anymore! I like to sleep! Your imagination knows no bounds, doesn't it?

The movie of "Prisoner of Azkaban" came out 18 months ago, and it was good -- directed by Alfonso Cuaron, excellent turns by the maturing crew of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson (not to mention the usual British old pros who play Hogwarts' faculty and staff), a little bit of darkness sprinkled amid the light and laughs.

Now, in 2005, it's a double whammy. Just a few months ago you published Book VI, "Half-Blood Prince." And on Friday comes the film version of "Goblet of Fire," directed by Mike Newell ("Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Donnie Brasco") and written for the screen again by the able Steve Kloves.

Ms. Rowling, I don't mean to complain. Your books are a joy. The films range from good to excellent (and, since they're produced by Warner Bros., a division of Time Warner just like CNN, no doubt the money they bring in helps pay my salary). Your imagination is unparalleled: wonderful character names! Clever plot twists! Rich settings! You are, I understand, perhaps the wealthiest woman in Britain, and you deserve every penny of your great and good fortune.

But you've given me this Potter problem. Now I have to see the movie. Now I have to stay awake and read the book. Now I have to wait for Book VII, and who knows when you'll be done with that?

I mean, do you know how many hours you've taken from my life? And all I've received is pleasure. My college English professors would be aghast.

So, please promise me you'll be finished soon, OK? I don't know how much more of this I can deal with.

I remain, your humble reader,
Todd Leopold
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