Potter for the People - From the Muggles

Join Al, Ana, and Christina in their LIVE podcast at HPEF's Ascendio 2012. Introducing the Hogwarts Debate Team! Listen as fans just like you debate some of the most controversial topics in the Harry Potter world (and some silly ones too). This podcast was recorded in the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando, Florida in the Venetian V Ballroom at 4:30 pm on Friday, July 13th, 2012 as part of the Ascendio 2012 programming.

You can listen on our PodBean page or subscribe to us on iTunes!

Join Potter for the People in an interview with Greg Laslo, the founder of the Hungarian Wand Shop, at Ascendio 2012! Ascendio 2012 was a Harry Potter convention by HPEF that took place in Orlando, Florida from July 12 to July 15, 2012. The interview can be seen below or at this link.

You can visit the Hungarian Wand Shop's website at this link. And don't forget to Like them on Facebook!

We still have more interviews from Ascendio coming, so be on the lookout!

   

Five years ago today (July 21, 2007), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in bookstores across the globe. Fans scrambled at midnight releases to finally hold the last installment of the Potter series in their hands as they read nonstop throughout the night. For many, it was the end of a very amazing and impactful series of books. However, it was also just the start of a different era for the Potter fandom.

Potter for the People would like to commemorate this five year anniversary by thanking all the Potter fans for allowing the magic to live on through the absolutely amazing fandom we have all created together. Whether it be wizard rock, fanfiction, theme parks, or conventions, there is always something for the typical Potter fan to engage in. We hope you'll continue to stick with Potter for the People and continue to live as the Potter generation for as long as possible!

Maggie Smith--the actress who portrays Minerva McGonagall in the Potter films--has been nominated in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress at the Emmy Awards for her role in "Downtown Abbey"! "Downtown Abbey" itself received multiple nominations, and we wish Maggie Smith and the cast the best of luck.

Last year, Maggie Smith was nominated for and won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie at the Emmys. We hope she goes home from this year's awards ceremony with just as much recognition! 

Basketball star Kobe Bryant will be attending the 2012 London Olympics, and although he is surely excited for the games, he has revealed that his one main goal is to meet the author of the Potter series: JK Rowling.

He described himself as a huge fan of the series: "I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and a huge Joanne K. Rowling fan. I’m a fan of everything she does and I’ve read all the books." Welcome to the fandom, Kobe!

A couple days ago, we told you Daniel Radcliffe was cast in the movie Horns. Now, it has been announced that he will also star in the upcoming romantic comedy, The F Word. The F Word refers to "the dreaded friend zone," as put by the Chicago Tribune.

The movie will be based on the play Toothpaste and Cigars by TJ Dawe and Michael Rinaldi. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Comedy finds Radcliffe venturing to be the first male to have a successfully platonic relationship with a girl he likes (Kazan), only to find out she's already in a relationship." Filming for the movie will begin on August 15 in Toronto. Are you excited for all of Daniel Radcliffe's upcoming projects?

This past weekend at Ascendio 2012, Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley) had a panel where he discussed his dissertation. He wrote his dissertation on various aspects of the Potter fandom, including fansites, fanfiction, wizard rock, conventions, and theme parks. He also included information regarding where he thinks the future of Potter lies.

To hear more about his decision to write about the Potter fandom, check out our interview with him right here.

To see his full dissertation, click on this link and then click on 'The Dissertation!' at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Join Al from Potter for the People in an interview with Chris Rankin--the actor who portrays Percy Weasley in the Potter films--at Ascendio 2012! Ascendio 2012 was a Harry Potter convention by HPEF that took place in Orlando, Florida from July 12 to July 15, 2012. The interview can be seen below or at this link. Keep an eye out for more interviews from Ascendio that we will be releasing this week!

    

UPDATE: Tickets to A Very StarKid Event II have now sold out. Regular attendees WILL be able to watch the even from a live feed in a separate room.

UPDATE: LeakyCon has released more information regarding the show that can be found at this link. Among this new info, Leaky announced that the show WILL be recorded and eventually uploaded to YouTube!

UPDATE: Team StarKid released a video announcement for A Very Potter Senior Year on their YouTube channel! Check it out here.

BREAKING NEWS! LeakyCon recently made an announcement stating that Team StarKid will present a staged reading of their third Potter production, A Very Potter 3D: A Very Potter Senior Year at the 'Very StarKid Event II' at LeakyCon 2012. The event will be from 12pm to 3pm on Saturday, August  11. You must have an additional pass to A Very StarKid Event II in order to see the staged reading. If you do not have an additional pass, regular con attendees will be able to watch a live feed from the Grand Ballroom of the hotel in Chicago! 

More StarKids will be attending this event than any other StarKid event in the past. So far, the list of StarKids attending is: Julia Albain (Thursday and Sunday only), Chris Allen, Clark Baxtresser, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Tyler Brunsman, Richard Campbell, Britney Coleman, Brant Cox, Darren Criss (Saturday only), Denise Donovan, Corey Dorris, Elona Finlay, Arielle Goldman, Brian Holden, A.J. Holmes, Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Lauren Lopez, Corey Lubowich, Devin Lytle, Lily Marks, Alle-Faye Monka, Joe Moses, Jim Povolo, Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal, Dylan Saunders, Meredith Stepien, Sango Tajima, and Joe Walker.

According to Brian Holden:

“This year Team StarKid celebrated the third anniversary of the release of A Very Potter Musical. At LeakyCon, we’ll celebrate three years of being included in this spectacular fandom by presenting one of the most requested and most rumored about projects amongst our fans. LeakyCon 2012 will host the first and only presentation of A Very Potter 3D: A Very Potter Senior Year, the third installment of our ‘Very Potter’ parody play series. Although time and availability only allow us to do a staged reading, we hope this will be a truly unique performance for both Team StarKid and its fans! We’re treating it as something of a reunion, and with the help of LeakyCon we’ll be including nearly every StarKid actor we’ve ever worked with. We may even ask for fan contributions to the reading, making this a true celebration of everything that’s happened over the last three years. So come join us for AVP3D:AVPSY, and see what happens as Harry enters his senior year at Hogwarts, and struggles to find his purpose in a world that may not need him anymore. It’s going to be a once in a lifetime event presented in stunning 3D. We can’t wait to see you there!”

Please note that this is not a full out production of the show, but rather a staged reading. A staged reading is not just a reading of the script, however. There will likely be blocking, costumes, and music involved as well. 

Are you attending LeakyCon? If you are, you can get started on planning which programming and events you want to attend each day! The programming schedule for LeakyCon 2012 in Chicago has been released and can be found here or here. Enjoy!