*What's the big deal that everyone is talking about? That's right, the new Harry Potter movie.
*Based on the series by JK Rowling, Harry Potter is about a young wizard who faces many challenges along the course of his time spent at Hogwarts, the school he attends.
*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth of the Harry Potter movies to appear in theatres. This movie is the longest of the other three. It reached almost three hours, while the other movies are only about half of that.
*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire appears to be the most popular. On the first day of being released, The Goblet of Fire reached a total $39.2 million in ticket sales, the most to have been reached by any of the other Harry Potter movies so far. The Goblet of Fire beat Prizoner of Azkaban by $1 million, The Sorcerer's Stone by $7 million and The Chamber of Secrets by $10 million.
*When asked her opinion on the fourth Harry Potter movie, junior Rachil Moore of North Central High School said, "I LOVED IT! It was shorter than I thought though because they left some stuff out. My favorite movie was definatly the fourth, even though it was my least favorite book."
*Everyone has their different opinions on the books and the movies. Some prefer the book series, some prefer the movie series.
*"My favorite book was the fourth, so I'm assuming that would be my favorite movie too," freshman Jason Jones of North Central High School said. Jones has not yet seen the fourth movie, but he really enjoys the books.
*"I liked them [the books] a lot. It was one of those books that kind of shaped a generation." said Jones.
*Although Harry Potter seems to be more of a children's book, people of all ages enjoy Harry Potter. Harry Potter is especially popular among the teenagers. Teenagers all around North Central were discussing the new Harry Potter movie the Friday if its release. Many of these teenagers proceeded to see the movie that weekend.
*Steven Holliday, a junior attending North Central High School, was just one of those teenagers.
*"I thought it [Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire] was okay, but it wasn't the best. It had its highs and lows but it didn't really grab my attention." Holliday said.
*When asked what was his favorite of the movies, he said, "I liked the third one the best...but in the first and second one, Richard Harris as Dumbledor was great and the new guy kinda sucks."
*Richard Harris formally played as Dumbledor in the first and second movies. Dumbledor is the headmaster at the school that Harry attended, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Richard Harris passed away and a new Dumbledor was found.
*Although Harry Potter is very popular among some, many Christians believe it is wrong to let children read such books.
*"I think it is sad that society has subjected their children to witchcraft as a means of entertainment." Bob Kerr of Terre Haute, Indiana said.
*There have been many riots against the Harry Potter series. In November of 2001, the largest book burning in America was held, burning none other than the famous Harry Potter books. Over 1.5 million Harry Potter books were burned in a church parking lot after their evening service.
*That wasn't the only book burning. Many more book burnings have taken place. A more recent book burning took place in Greenville. The purpose of this book burning was to "demonstrate that glorifying wizardry and sorcery will lead people to accept and believe in Satan." The people from the church were "trying to save their souls by tearing up the devil and burning his words."
*The pastor of that church, Tommy Turner, made the comment: "I don't want anyone to go to hell, and the bible says if people use sorcery and witchcraft they will go to hell."
*Many Christians believe that subjecting their children to Harry Potter will change their beliefs and thoughts. They [Christians] believe that Harry Potter is putting the wrong idea of witchcraft into peoples' minds.
*"I think it [Harry Potter] is overrated. I think its extremely overrated. It my opinion, it glamorizes witchcraft," Christy Wineinger of Indianapolis, Indiana said.
*In response to the book burnings, many angry Harry Potter fans left nasty comments on sites telling about these book burnings. One reader commented, "Harry Potter and N'Sync are bad in the eyes of God? What next? I'm afraid to know. This is absolutely ridiculous, as it is everytime something like this happens. I understand that this is their constitutional right to free-speech, but this is just dumb. People like this give a bad name to the human race. Harry Potter is good literature, and N'Sync is good music, in some peoples' eyes."
*While some found these book burnings to be angering, others found them humorous.
*"Sorry, still not finished laughing... hahahaha!!! This is so stupid. I think the Lord in Heaven can forgive a fantasy book or two...Geez, cry out loud!!! Hmmm...don't like the book think I'm going to burn it and then pray for the poor people who have read it. NOT!!! My parents don't do much in religion...I think this is hysterical...I mean there is other ways to get attention, right. We're not living in the 14 hundred anymore, you know..." another reader commented.
*Although there is still controversy over Harry Potter, that doesn't stop producers from coming out with another Harry Potter movie. Casting for the fifth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, began shortly after the release of the fourth Harry Potter movie. Order of the Pheonix is the longest of all the books, with a total of 890 pages. This will result in a longer film, which means it will take longer than the others to complete.
*Order of the Pheonix is expected in theatres in either June or November 2007.