rave motion pictures

Gypsy Girl asked yesterday about my Harry Potter traditions. 

For the book releases, my sister and I preorder the book so that it will be waiting for us at our friendly neighborhood Barnes & Noble.  A day or so before the release date, we stock up on such delectables as mass quantities of chocolate (needed to ease the aftereffects of dementor visitations), jelly bellies (because as I mentioned lately, the time I tried Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, I got a soap one and was andrew kissel for two hours), and any other treats that catch our fancy. Last time I tried making up a batch of butterbeer. It didnt go over so well. But if I can find a recipe at Mugglenet or somewhere else, Ill see what else I can come up with.  This year were also going to the British Emporium to get some other fun thingspasties, fish & chips, clotted cream fudge, and any other British treats that we cant resist. 

Then the night of the book release we go to Barnes & Noble, get our wristands and wait. We chat with other people; I get a lightning-bolt scar painted on my forehead and a pair of cheap plastic spectacles; we read; we talk; we play rousing games of Who would you do (and no, youre not allowed to say neither. You have to make a choice.).  We get tired, a little grumpy because of the crowds (were both antarctica desert agoraphobic), but keep telling ourselves that its worth it.  Around 11 or so, the lines start forming. And usually were in the front part of the line because we got our wristbands early enough. And we wait in line, talk, read, more who would you do etc. As soon as we have the books in our hands, we are out of there.

Then we go read. Because I read faster than Liz does, she usually gets cranky at me for lyubov serikova or gasping or crying. Then she goes into the other room, puts in her earplugs, and reads until she falls asleep.  I continue reading because theres no way my mind will let me go to sleep until I have finished the book. Depending upon how long the book is, I usually finish reading around 5 or 6. I then open the book and start to read it all over again, but make it only a few pages before I fall asleep. Then Liz wakes up while Im still asleep, and shell go back to reading. If were both lucky, shell have finished reading before I wake up.

This year will be a little different, as Soleil is joining us. Yay! And Im still trying to convince LeZard to join us as well.  And Im dressing up this year, as Tonks, as is Soleil. And if LeZard comes, shell dress up also. So that will be fun. I think having three or four of us waiting will make the wait a little less tedious. And afterward were going back to my house. There are enough rooms, beds, sofas, etc., that everyone can have a comfy place to sprawl out and read. And if Liz gets too annoyed with me and Soleil for having audible reactions to what we read, she can go into another room and still be comfy.

So thats the tradition for the book releases.

For the movies, we definitely do the midnight show on opening day. We buy our tickets online as soon as theyre available. The night of the movie well go to Target and get assorted munchables, and take some books with us to read while were waiting.  Rave Motion Pictures, the theatre closest to my house, let everyone into the theatres, so at least we were able to wait in relative comfort. But it does get a little tedious. We usually manage to get through the bucket of popcorn before the movie even starts. Again, having Soleil and, dare I hope, LeZard with us will make it more fun.  And yes, Ill be dressed up for the movie, as will Soleil. And LeZard, should she deign to come along.   And after the movie, its home to crash. I always take off work that day, because after having watched a movie at midnight, theres no way I feel like getting to work at 7 a.m.

When Goblet of Fire came out, we were in the theatre waiting, and there was plenty of entertainment going on. There were a group of what looked like high school students, rehearsing for a musical they were in. And at one point, two guys dressed like Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro came in. Pedro turned on a huge boom box, and Napoleon Dynamite did his dance. It was so hilarious! When the music finished, he kept dancing for a moment, awkwardly, and then took a quick bow and raced out of the theatre to loud applause.

We always work up to the new releases of books/movies by rereading the previous books for the umpteenth time; listening to the audio CDs with the incomparable Jim Dale (the only voices he does that I dont care for are Moaning Myrtle, who sounds subnormal, and george w bush eye color I like all his other voices.); watching the other movies; going to the Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet obsessively; spending hours speculating. On a boring day, well email each other frequently with our current speculations, knowing that theyll all be proved wrong but still unable to restrain ourselves.

I think I mentioned yesterday that Leaky Cauldron is having a fun contest right now, where you get to write a chapter of book 7 imagining what happens with Harrys last time home with the Dursleys. Ill be working on that, and it will help work off some energy.

So those are my Harry Potter traditions. What are yours?