"The Magical World Of J K Rowling: Author Of Harry Potter" (excerpt)

Date: October 1999 tour of the U.S.
View: TLC Video Gallery
Interviewer: this is an author visit to a Boston suburb with an unseen audience
Transcript credit: DreamAngel of Dissendium and Jules of Accio Quote!
Type of file: Quicktime
Length: 1:06 minutes
Context:Excerpt from a video called "The Magical World Of J K Rowling: Author Of Harry Potter" from 2002.

[J.K. stands for] Joanne Kathleen. Kathleen is from my dad's mum, one of my grandparents, which is really lucky because the other grandmother is called Frida. So I think I lucked out actually getting Kathleen there, somehow.

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How many books am I planning to write, Harry Potter books? There will be seven in total. One for each - oh, you look happy, I'm so glad. That would be very depressing if you went, "Oh, no. Kindly give it a rest now."

He's going to be at Hogwarts for seven years. In the seventh book he'll turn 17. In my wizarding world, you come of age at 17. So in book seven he'll be allowed to use magic outside school. Ha-ha (cackling). So Dudley's really going to be in trouble. [Laughter]

"Now look at you being nasty to Dudley." I get letters from parents saying I'm mean because I make Harry be nasty to Dudley. And I'm like, have you read Dudley? do you understand what Dudley's like? I mean, there's turning the other cheek and there's just being a moron!

JKR: It's very hard to choose your favorite characters, because, even, even the horrible ones are fun to write about. But obviously I'd hate to meet Dudley. Well, actually I wouldn't mind meeting Dudley, 'cause I would torment him horribly. But, erm – Or Snape for example, but it's fun to write about Snape, even though he's a deeply horrible person.

In terms of people I'd like to meet - if you put aside Harry, Ron and Hermione – Hagrid, definitely. I love Hagrid dearly. I'd, I'd love to have him as a friend. And it would be so cool if you, if you, you know, got into a bit of trouble with someone and said "Perhaps you'd like to discuss that with my friend Hagrid". It would be so useful in, in shops and stuff - and banks. Banks would be good.

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I'm very superstitious about giving the titles of my books before they are published. It's just a thing I got. I don't like telling the title. But if you've been in the internet lately, and you've read that the fourth book's called Harry Potter & the Quidditch World Cup – that is a lie. It is not called that. It is true that see the Quidditch World Cup in Book four, which some of you who have read Book three will know, because Ron says right at the end of Book 3 that he's gonna, he's gonna invite Harry to come and stay and to come and see the Quidditch World Cup. Well you do see it. It's Ireland v. Bulgaria, and erm – That amuses me too! Erm, I chose, I just wanted countries that don't normally do great stuff sports-wise. Erm - Although Ireland did pretty good in the soccer two World Cups ago [Italy 1990], but then, they are not the most sporting nation in the world, and nor are Bulgaria as far as I am aware – although there were some good Bulgarian gymnasts. So anyway, I wont tell you who wins. [as an aside] it's Ireland.

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I'm both excited and nervous about the film, to be totally honest with you. I'm excited because if they, if they do it right it will be amazing for me to see –I'll be more excited than anyone – to see it. The thing I really want to see is Quidditch. Because, - yes I am nasty aren't I? – Erm, see I can see Quidditch really, really clearly inside my own head. To actually be able to see people doing will be wonderful to me – this thing that I've seen in my imagination for so long. So that's why I'm excited.

I am of course nervous that they [the film makers] are going to do stuff that I don't want my characters to do. But that's is a risk you always take when you sell film rights. It just seemed to me, I think I've gone with the right company [Warner Brothers], 'cause they've given me quite a lot of control.

Actually, they are not really giving me control, I have to say. They are giving you [fans] control, because the only reason they really want to listen to me is, there' about a million of you standing behind me, wanting to see my version – And that is why they are giving me power. So I'm under no illusions that it's really about me.