The First Harry Potter Movie Made Nearly $1 Billion
The 2001 movie adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was a box office juggernaut. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and a stable of classically-trained British actors rounding out the cast, it was an enormous undertaking. The Christopher Columbus-directed movie grossed $974.8 million at the box office and paved the way for what would become the most successful movie franchise in history.
Harry Potter: The Real
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”
Rowling modeled her young hero after her childhood neighborhood friend, Ian Potter, who once lived four doors down from her in her home near Bristol. Ian, who is now a damp-proofer, was a mischievous trickster when he was young, forming an unwelcoming habit of placing slugs on his friends’ picnic plates and encouraging Rowling to run through wet concrete with her sister.
How Jk Rowling Created The Incredible World Of Harry Potter
This is an excerpt from the new book The Creative Curve: How to Develop the Right Idea, at the Right Time by Allen Gannett. It was 1990. J. K. Rowling was stuck on the train from Manchester to London. The train was delayed, and it was looking less and less likely shed reach London on time. Her mind started to wander. Then, as she later told The New York Times, It was the most incredible feeling out of nowhere, it just fell from above. Suddenly the ideas for the characters inhabiting a magical world began filling her
It was 1990.
J. K. Rowling was stuck on the train from Manchester to London. The train was delayed, and it was looking less and less likely shed reach London on time. Her mind started to wander. Then, as she later told The New York Times, It was the most incredible feeling out of nowhere, it just fell from above. Suddenly the ideas for the characters inhabiting a magical world began filling her brain, starting with Harry Potter. I could see Harry very clearly this scrawny little boy, and it was the most physical rush of excitement. Ive never felt that excited about anything to do with writing. Ive never had an idea that gave me such a physical response.
Rowling continued, By the end of that train journey I knew it was going to be a seven-book series. I know thats extraordinarily arrogant for somebody who had never been published but thats how it came to me.
Image Via BeInspiredChannel.com
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Harry Potter Legend Has It
1. J.K. Rowling scribbled down notes on napkins while enjoying a coffee break in Cafe Majestic.
This gorgeous bell époque space is one of Portos most exclusive cafés, complete with glittering chandeliers, smartly dressed waiters and linen napkins. Maybe she brought her own to write on?
Visit: Cafe Majestic, Rua Santa Catarina 112, 4000-442 Porto. Open 9:30am-11:30pm, closed Sundays.
2. Diagon Alleys premium bookstore, Flourish and Blotts, was inspired by Livraria Lello.
This ornate bookshop in the heart of Porto has been voted one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.
Its such a big tourist attraction that you now need to pay 3 to enter .
Visit: Livraria Lello, Rua das Carmelitas 144, 4050-161 Porto. Open 10am-7:30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm Sat and Sun. Buy your ticket from the booth outside .
3. Escovaria de Belomonte inspired the Broom Shop on Diagon Alley.
Portos artisan brush store dates back to 1927. Although you wont find a Nimbus 2000 inside, you will find handcrafted brushes made from fine wood and natural fibres like horse hair and pig bristle. Four thousand brushes are made by hand each year and exported around the world.
Visit: Escovaria de Belomonte, Rua de Belomonte 34, 4050-096 Porto. Open 8am-7pm Mon-Fri, closed weekends.
4. The university students black cape uniform inspired the way Harry and his pals dress for school.
5. The Fonte dos Leões, with its winged lion statues, provided inspiration for the Gryffindor house symbol.
Places To Visit Where Jk Rowling Wrote Harry Potter In Edinburgh
Of course there are loads of other Harry Potter sites in Edinburgh, including a graveyard, a cobbled street, and a castle that may have served as inspiration for the novels. Harry Potter fans will want to be sure to visit those sites as well!
You can explore the Harry Potter sites on your own self-guided tour of Edinburgh or join a guided tour such as this one. If you are are traveling with younger kids, you might consider this private family tour.
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Is Harry Potter Based On Exeter
Thats right, its thought that many locations in Exeter inspired J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series and the Wizarding World. From the majestic Exeter Cathedral to Saxon shopping streets that look like Diagon Alley and even the Room of Requirement door. There is magic to be found at every corner of this historic city.
For Long Readers Believed That Edinburgh Was The Place Where Rowling Started Writing Her Universally Famous Fantasy Series Well That Does Not Seem To Be The Case
Once a literary character becomes famous, a lot of narratives are spun around its origin, which add to the myth. JK Rowlings famous Harry Potter is one of them and for long, readers believed that Edinburgh was the place where Rowling started writing her fantasy series. In fact, The Elephant House Cafe there is considered to be the hallowed place where the author started writing the first novel.
However, in a recent tweet Rowling has dispelled all those beliefs. Answering an oft-asked query, she wrote, I was thinking of putting a section on my website about all the alleged inspirations and birthplaces of Potter. Id been writing Potter for several years before I ever set foot in this cafe, so its not the birthplace, but I *did* write in there so well let them off!
I was thinking of putting a section on my website about all the alleged inspirations and birthplaces of Potter. Id been writing Potter for several years before I ever set foot in this cafe, so its not the birthplace, but I *did* write in there so well let them off!
J.K. Rowling May 21, 2020
She then went on to further to say, For instance, I never visited this bookshop in Oporto. Never even knew of its existence! Its beautiful and I wish I *had* visited it, but it has nothing to do with Hogwarts!
In a series of tweets, she mentioned the real places that seeped into her fiction. For instance, a building in Manchester helped her invent Quidditch.
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The Release Of Goblet Of Fire In 2000 Represented A Huge Jump In Popularity
Rowling’s first three “Harry Potter” books “Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Chamber of Secrets,” and “Prisoner of Azkaban” all made Rowling even more popular.
Writing her next book, “Goblet of Fire,” was an intense experience. At 636 pages, it was twice as long as “Azkaban” yet written in the same one-year timespan. Her publishers coordinated to release the book simultaneously around the world for the first time, putting pressure on her to finish it on deadline. During that period, Rowling was also involved in making the movie version of the first “Harry Potter” book.
After the book’s release, Rowling slowed down her writing pace. She told Bloomsbury she couldn’t write her next book in just one year.
“The pressure of it had become overwhelming,” she told the New Yorker. “I found it difficult to write, which had never happened to me before in my life. The intensity of the scrutiny was overwhelming. I had been utterly unprepared for that. And I needed to step back. Badly needed to step back.”
Rowling also later talked about how she hadn’t had time to process the level of her fame. She hadn’t purchased an expensive mansion or yacht she’d been focusing on finishing her books and on her personal relationships. Taking some time to breathe was necessary for her mental health.
Why Did Jk Rowling Write The Harry Potter Series
J.K Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series because she thoughtthat a little bit of magic in a child’s life would help to show thechild that imagination is the only way to live life.
That is true and she came up with it on a train in the year1992. The first book, Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone, knownto the UK as Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone, waspublished in 1997.
I personally think part of it came from sheer boredom. She wasin train all day and got bored and just started writing
Most authors write books to let others read them… quiteplausible explanation, don’t you think so?
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Open Letter On Justice And Open Debate
In July 2020, Rowling signed an open letter published in Harper’s Magazine titled “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate“, with 150 other public figures, largely writers and academics. The letter states in part, “The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted”, criticises “a vogue for public shaming and ostracism” and “a blinding moral certainty”, warns of fear spreading in the arts and media, and denounces President Donald Trump as “a real threat to democracy”. The letter sparked much debate about cancel culture . Rowling stated she was proud to sign the letter to defend “open debate and freedom of thought and speech”.
Objections to the letter included accusations that Rowling and the other signatories had powerful means to publish their opinions, and that it was disingenuous to attempt to silence others who might offer criticism of their views. Some thought that Rowling was trying to specifically suppress criticism about her statements concerning transgender topics. After learning who also signed the letter, Jennifer Finney Boylan expressed regret over her support, and stated she would not have signed had she known who the other signatories were. Rowling then sarcastically tweeted that Boylan should incur public penance for the association with her.
What Is Jk Rowlings Real Name
J.K. Rowling was born Joanne Rowling. After her publisher recommended she use a gender-neutral pen name, she chose J.K., adding the middle name Kathleen. She published her crime fiction series, which includes The Cuckoos Calling, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
J.K. Rowling, in full Joanne Kathleen Rowling, pen name of Joanne Rowling, , British author, creator of the popular and critically acclaimed Harry Potter series, about a young sorcerer in training.
After graduating from the University of Exeter in 1986, Rowling began working for Amnesty International in London, where she started to write the Harry Potter adventures. In the early 1990s she traveled to Portugal to teach English as a foreign language, but, after a brief marriage and the birth of her daughter, she returned to the United Kingdom, settling in Edinburgh. Living on public assistance between stints as a French teacher, she continued to write.
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Politics Of Harry Potter
There are many published theories about the politics of theHarry Potter books by J. K. Rowling, which range from them containing criticism of racism to anti-government sentiments. According to Inside Higher Ed, doctoral theses have been devoted to the Harry Potter books. There are also several university courses centred on analysis of the Potter series, including an upper division political science course.
Time magazine noted the political and social aspects of Harry Potter in their 2007 Person of the Year issue where Rowling placed third behind politicians Vladimir Putin and Al Gore.Harry Potter‘s potential social and political impact was called similar to the 19th-century phenomenon of Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s popular, but critically maligned, book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which fuelled the abolitionist movement leading up to the American Civil War.
Jk Rowling In Danger Her Address Revealed Furious She Reacts
JK Rowling is not only known for Harry Potter ! There is also a lot of interest in the debate between her and the transgender community. The author feeds her by revealing that her family has been intimidated by activists.
JK Rowling has nearly 14 million followers on Twitter. She just revealed that three LGBTQ + activists held a mini-demonstration outside her home in Edinburgh, Scotland on Friday, November 19, 2021. They took pictures of themselves during their action, images that reveal the exact address of JK Rowling, now threatened with death.
Last Friday, my familys address was posted on Twitter by three activists who took pictures of themselves in front of our house, positioning themselves precisely so that our address was visible. I implore all those who retweeted the image with the address still visible to delete it, even if they did so to condemn their actionsJK Rowling wrote on Monday, November 22, 2021.
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Education Reform In The Order Of The Phoenix
Teachers have hailed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a “blistering satire on years of politically motivated interference in the running of schools”.
Rowling describes her character Dolores Umbridge, the Ministry-appointed headmistress of Hogwarts and under-secretary to the minister, Cornelius Fudge, saying “She has good contacts at the Ministry. She is one of those people, and they do exist in real life, who will always side with the established order. As far as she is concerned authority cannot be wrong so she doesn’t question it, and I would go as far as to say that whatever happened and whoever took over at the Ministry, Umbridge would be there, she likes power. So she is going to side with the people who give her the authority.”
Andrew Slack, founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, writes in In These Times about the “Muggle Mindset” in which “Lindsay Lohan supersedes news about genocide, men assess their ‘worth’ by their paychecks, women’s bodies are treated as commodities and our educational system preoccupies itself not with stimulating children’s curiosity but rather getting them to efficiently regurgitate information on standardised tests.”
Hungarian Secretary of State for Education Rózsa Hoffmann and her reforms have often been compared to Dolores Umbridge and her actions in the novels.
Its Been 10 Years Since Jk Rowling Finished Writing Deathly Hallows
Its been 10 years since J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
On 11 January 2007 the author stepped out of Edinburghs Balmoral hotel having completed the last novel in the Harry Potter series the culmination of 17 years of writing.
But that wasnt all J.K. Rowling wrote while she was there
Finished Hallows 9 yrs ago today. Celebrated by graffiti-ing a bust in my hotel room. Never do this. It’s wrong.
J.K. Rowling 11 January 2016
Before she checked out, J.K. Rowling signed the bust of Hermes in her room with the message: J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room on 11th Jan 2007.
So why did J.K. Rowling come to finish her novel in this particular place? The story goes that while finishing Deathly Hallows, the author struggled to find some peace and quiet to write.
As she told Oprah Winfrey in 2010, For years and years and years I would just go to a café and sit in a different kind of noise and work. I thought, I can go to a quiet place so I came to this hotel because its a beautiful hotel but I didnt intend to stay here. But they were so nice to me here, and I think writers can be a little bit superstitious, and the first day of writing went well, so I kept coming back to this hotel and I ended up finishing the last of the Harry Potter books in this hotel.
Theres even an adorable owl knocker on the outside of the door. Were sure Hedwig would be proud.
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I Was Renting A Room In A Flat Over What Was Then A Sports Shop The First Bricks Of Hogwarts Were Laid In A Flat In Clapham Junction
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JK Rowling has revealed where she started writing the Harry Potter books, contradicting fans who believed for years that Edinburgh was its birthplace.
The Elephant House Cafe in Edinburgh is widely regarded as the place the now 54-year-old author wrote the first of the seven fantasy novels.
While it is true that Rowling used to frequent the cafe in the early days of her writing career, the author revealed yesterday that she actually started the series in London, in a flat above a sports shop in Clapham.
Referring to the sign on Elephant House which reads birthplace of Harry Potter, Rowling tweeted: Id been writing Potter for several years before I ever set foot in this cafe, so its not the birthplace, but I *did* write in there so well let them off!
Rowling then shared a picture of the Clapham flat where she started her writing process. This is the true birthplace of Harry Potter, she said. If you define birthplace as the spot where I put pen to paper for the first time.
In 2016 Rowling Released A Harry Potter Prequel Play And Sequel Movie
Last year was another landmark year for “Harry Potter.” The play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” premiered in London, with a book version released around the world in July. Finally, “Harry Potter” fans had another chance to go to a bookstore at midnight and buy a new entry in the series.
The play was written with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne. Its story begins 19 years after the events of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” and it concerns the next generation of wizards that followed in the wake of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
“It was 17 years and just because Ive stopped on the page doesnt mean my imagination stopped,” Rowling told The Guardian. “Its like running a very long race. You cant just stop dead at the finishing line. I had some material and some ideas and themes, and we three made a story.”
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