Chat-Thread 2: Scholastic-Chat mit J.K. Rowling (16.10.2000)

[Data]

Dies ist nun der zweite Thread, in dem ich Auszüge aus einem Chat mit J.K. Rowling wiedergeben möchte.

Thread 1, in dem es um einen Chat vom 03.02.00 ging, ist hier zu finden!

Besonders (IMHO) interessante Infos werde ich wieder fett schreiben.

Der in diesem Thread in Auszügen wiedergegebene Chat fand am 16.10.2000 statt (Veranstalter: wieder Scholastic) - also ein paar Monate nach Erscheinen von "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

ACHTUNG! Dieses Chatprotokoll enthält reichlich Informationen aus den Büchern 1-4 (also allen bisher erschienenen ) und evtl. noch mehr - SPOILERALARM!

Viel Spaß beim Lesen!

______________________________________

"Is Voldemort some sort of relative of Harry's? Possibly his mother's brother?"

JKR: "I'm laughing...that would be a bit Star Wars, wouldn't it?"

Hehe...

Voldemort: "Harry - ich bin Dein ONKEL!"
Harry: "NEIIIIN!"
Voldemort: "Du WEISST, daß es WAHR ist!"
Harry: "WARUM hast Du mir nie die Wahrheit gesagt, Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore: "Das habe ich, Harry - von einem gewissen Standpunkt aus!"

"In your first book there is a secret message on the Mirror of Erised. Are there any other secret messages throughout the book that we should be watching for?"

JKR: "Not secret messages of that type, but if you read carefully, you'll get hints about what's coming. And that's all I'm saying!"

Öh - was für eine geheime Nachricht - kann mich da jemand aufklären?

"Can you give an example of a surprise in your writing process, such as a character you weren't expecting?"
JKR: "Yes, it was a big surprise to me that Mad Eye Moody turned out the way he did. I really like him. I didn't expect to."

Hmmm - inwiefern? War anfangs nicht klar, daß er in Wahrheit nicht der echte ist?

"How would you describe the relationship between the wizard world and the Muggle world?"
JKR: "Uneasy co-existence! Harry discovers that life in the magical world mirrors, to a great extent, life in the Muggle world. We are all human. There's still bigotry and small-mindedness (unfortunately)."

"In the fourth book, when Harry tells Dumbledore about his fight with Voldemort and how Voldemort could touch him after he took Harry's blood, Harry thinks he sees Dumbledore smile slightly. Why? Is Dumbledore really on Voldemort's side after all?"

JKR: "Hmmmm....like all the best questions I get asked, I can't answer that one. But you are obviously reading carefully. I promise you'll find out!"

...worauf ich sehr gespannt bin...!

"Are there any books you would recommend to your fans to read while they await Book 5?"
JKR: "Loads! Read E. Nesbit, Philip Pullman, Henrietta Branford, Paul Gallico. Just read!"

"Why did Harry have a pet owl instead of something else?"

JKR: "Because owls are easily the coolest!"

I do agree!

"How would you like teachers to use your books with students (e.g. discussion, worksheets, book reports, etc.)?"

JKR: "The teachers I have met who have used the books in the classroom have all done so very imaginatively. It's been wonderful to see the work students have produced. I particularly enjoyed reading essays on what students think they would see in the Mirror of Erised. Very revealing!"

"Do you ever get writer's block? What do you do when this happens?"

JKR: "I've only suffered writer's block badly once, and that was during the writing of Chamber of Secrets. I had my first burst of publicity about the first book and it paralysed me. I was scared the second book wouldn't measure up, but I got through it!"

[quote]

"Do you have a favorite saying or motto?"

JKR: "Draco dormiens numquam titillandus, of course."

Zur Info: So lautet das Schulmotto von Hogwarts - es bedeutet: "Einen schlafenden Drachen soll man nicht kitzeln!"

"Do you have a favorite passage from one of your books?"

JKR: "Hard to choose. I like chapter twelve of Sorcerer's Stone (The Mirror of Erised), and I am proud of the ending of Goblet of Fire."

"How did you make the spells? Did you make them up, or are they real names of people and places?"
JKR: "The spells are made up. I have met people who assure me, very seriously, that they are trying to do them, and I can assure them, just as seriously, that they don't work."

"Are you going to write a book about other characters than Harry Potter?"
JKR: "Yes, when I've finally finished all seven Harry Potter books, I will write something else."

"There are hundreds of rumours and theories going around about your books! Have you seen these, and do you plan to use any of the ideas found in them?"
JKR: "No, I'm not using any of the ideas. To be honest, I avoid reading most of that stuff. Some of it is funny, some of it is weird, and some is just downright crazy."

"What do you think about the movie? Do you think that it'll destroy the adventure of the books?"

JKR: "If I believed that, I wouldn't have sold the film rights!"

Jaja...

"What got you started writing? And how did you get your breakthrough to get the first book published?"

JKR: "I've been writing since I was six. It is a compulsion, so I can't really say where the desire came from — I've always had it. My breakthrough with the first book came through persistence, because a lot of publishers turned it down!"

...was sich als Fehler herausstellen sollte...

"How did you come up with the idea of the underground chamber in Chamber of Secrets?"

JKR: "I always knew the chamber was there. I don't know what first gave me the idea; I just liked the thought that Slytherin had left something of himself behind."

"Are you having a lot of input on the new Harry Potter movie?"

JKR: "I've been allowed a lot of input. They have been very generous in allowing me to make my opinions heard!"

"What person from history has influenced you the most?"

JKR: "Hmmmmm.....Well, my heroine (though she's not really from "history") was Jessica Mitford. I named my daughter after her. I found her inspiring because she was a brave and idealistic person — the qualities I most admire, in other words."

"Did you write another book before writing the Harry Potter series?"

JKR: "Yes, I wrote (and almost finished) two novels for adults and a lot of short stories. I never finished the first two books because I realised in time that they were...very bad."

"How hard was it to pick the actors to play the characters in the movie?"
JKR: "I didn't pick them, so easy for me! But I think they are wonderful."

"Has the huge popularity of Harry Potter changed the direction of the plot in any way?"

JKR: "No, not at all. People have asked me whether Rita Skeeter was invented for that purpose, but in fact she was always planned. I think I enjoyed writing her a bit more than I would have done if I hadn't met a lot of journalists, though!"

"Do wizards and witches have to go Muggle school before they go to Hogwarts?"

JKR: "No, they don't have to."

"How does the Dark Lord affect American wizards and witches?"

JKR: "He affects everyone, but his plan is European domination first."

"Which house was Lily Potter in, and what is her maiden name?"

JKR: "Her maiden name was Evans, and she was in Gryffindor (naturally)."

"Did you write Harry Potter because you like fantasy books, or just because the idea came to you?"

JKR: "The latter. In fact, I am not a great fan of fantasy books in general, and never read them!"

"Do you imagine the pictures or images in your head before you write, or do you have to draw them?"

JKR: "I imagine them very clearly and then attempt to describe what I can see. Sometimes I draw them for my own amusement!"

"What grade and subject(s) did you teach?"

JKR: "French, but it should have been English. I don't know why I did French at university, except that my parents wanted me to. So learn from my mistake — do what you want, not what your parents want!"

"How do you write the really long books without getting bored?"

JKR: "Oh dear...does that mean you get bored reading them?! I never get bored with the writing. I could (and often do) write all day and evening"

"Does Harry have a middle name?"

JKR: "Yep, James after his dad."

"From where did you get the name for Harry Potter?"

JKR: "'Harry' has always been my favourite boy's name, so if my daughter had been a son, he would have been Harry Rowling. Then I would have had to choose a different name for "Harry" in the books, because it would have been too cruel to name him after my own son. "Potter" was the surname of a family who used to live near me when I was seven years old and I always liked the name, so I borrowed it."

Version 2: Sie ist ein Harry Kim-Fan!

"Which book was the most fun for you to write?"

JKR: "Prisoner of Azkaban, without a doubt. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's my favourite book. I love them all, but bizarrely the two that were most difficult to write, Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire — are my favourites."

"As an adult reader, I loved the books and was surprised at how much humour is in them. The Dursleys sound like something out of Monty Python! Do you like British comedy?"

JKR: "British comedy is an obsession of mine. I love Monty Python."

"There are an extraordinary number of names that start with "H" (Harry, Hermione, Hedwig, Hogwarts, Hagrid, Hufflepuff). Is there any reason for that?"

JKR: "Erm...no!"

"Will you ever write an official autobiography?"

JKR: "No, I don't think so. My life is really very boring. You wouldn't want to read about me cleaning out the rabbit cage!"

Nunja - wenn es so kurzweilig geschrieben ist wie HP...

"What is Bonfire Night?"

JKR: "Good question! We celebrate November 5th in Britain every year. There was a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. The ringleader of the plot was called Guy Fawkes (spot any Harry Potter connection?!), and we burn him in effigy and set off fireworks to celebrate not losing our government."

"Harry Potter for grownups again! Is Voldemort the last remaining ancestor of Slytherin, or the last remaining descendent of Slytherin?"

JKR: "Ah, you spotted the deliberate error. Yes, it should read "descendent." That's been changed in subsequent editions. (Keep hold of the "ancestor" one, maybe it'll be valuable one day!)"

Hintergrundinfo: In den ersten engl. Auflagen war ein kleiner Fehler: Dort stand, daß Voldemort Slytherin´s Vorfahre sei, nicht sein Nachkomme...

"Will you ever include more illustrations?"

JKR: "I don't like too many illustrations in novels; I prefer to use my imagination about what people look like. So the answer is, probably not."

...und das ist auch gut so (IMHO).

"What do you think of fan fiction being written about your characters, and have you read any of them on the Internet?"

JKR: "I've read some of it. I find it very flattering that people love the characters that much."

"Is there something more to the cats appearing in the books than first meets the eye? (i.e. Mrs. Figg's cats, Crookshanks, Prof. McGonagall as a cat, etc.)"

JKR: "Ooooo, another good question. Let's see what I can tell you without giving anything away....erm....no, can't do it, sorry."

...was soviel heißt wie: JA!

"If you could be a wizard, who would you be?"

JKR: "If I were a character in the book, I'd probably be Hermione. She's a lot like me when I was younger. (I wasn't that clever but I was definitely that annoying at times!)"

*zu Ce'rega schiel*

"What is your favorite wizard candy?"

JKR: "Chocolate frogs...I'd like to collect the cards!"

Hehe - ich auch...

"How much control do you have on all of the products flooding the marketplace with a Harry Potter theme? Do you think they will sell well?"

JKR: "Unless it's a Warner Bros. product, it shouldn't have Harry's name on it at all, so I have no control and accept no responsibility! Warner Bros. has allowed me to have a say in merchandise relating to the film."

"Is it true that since Voldemort took Harry's blood by force, that Harry can kill Voldemort, but Voldemort can't kill Harry?"

JKR: "It's an interesting theory, but I wouldn't trust it too much!"

"Do you still have the napkins that you wrote the first book on?"

JKR: "I'm giggling...where did you read that? I didn't write on napkins; I wrote in notepads. We really need to squash this myth before people ask to see the used tea bags on which I drafted the first book!"

Die Zerstörung einer (Marketing)-Legende...

"Is the Mrs. Figg with all the cats in the Dursleys' neighborhood the same Arabella Figg that Dumbledore mentioned at the end of book 4?"

JKR: "Well spotted!"

"The Harry Potter series has lots of humorous moments. Do you consider yourself to be a really funny person?"

JKR: "No, not really. I think I am funnier on paper than I am in person; the exact reverse of my sister who is very funny in person, but writes dull letters!"

*g*

"As the author, when reading your books, can you enjoy them as a reader and sympathize with Harry, or is it too hard to be "objective"?"

JKR: "Too hard to be objective. When I re-read the books, I often catch myself re-editing them. It's an uncomfortable experience. However, the more time elapses, the less I find myself doing that — I can now read Sorcerer's Stone fairly comfortably."

"How many students attend Hogwarts, and how many students per year per house?"

JKR: "There are about a thousand students at Hogwarts."

"Did you ever make a study of herbs and other Hogwarts subjects, or did you create all those classes from inspiration?"

JKR: "Most of the magic is made up. Occasionally I will use something that people used to believe was true — for example, the "Hand of Glory" which Draco gets from Borgin and Burkes in Chamber of Secrets."

"You said Ron's cousin was taken out of Book 4, and you developed Rita Skeeter more after that. Do you still think that it would have been more fun to keep her? Can you tell me anything about what she was going to be like?"

JKR: "Well, maybe I will use her in another book, so I don't want to talk about her too much. I had never "killed" a character before (in either sense) until Goblet of Fire, so that made writing the book a little more stressful!"

"Why was a different cover illustration chosen for the books sold in the United States? Why do those books have illustrations at the beginning of each chapter but the British books do not?"

JKR: "Publishers choose to do things differently, and I'm glad about that. It's very exciting for authors to see their work in many different versions. I love the look of the American books, especially the chapter illustrations."

"How old is old in the wizarding world, and how old are Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall?"

JKR: "Dumbledore is a hundred and fifty, and Professor McGonagall is a sprightly seventy. Wizards have a much longer life expectancy than Muggles. (Harry hasn't found out about that yet.)"

"How does the wizarding world protect Muggle banks and vaults, etc. from wizards apparating into them and stealing the contents?"

JKR: "Well, the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on people apparating. That's why you have to have a license to do it, and the moment you abuse it you can find yourself in serious trouble (or Azkaban!)."

"What position did James play on the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Was it seeker like Harry, or something different?"

JKR: "James was Chaser."

"How painful is the editing process for you? Compared with writing a first draft, how long do you spend editing? Who do you conference with?"

JKR: "I work with my editors. I enjoy the editing process, but I edit fairly extensively myself before my editors get to see the book, so it's never a very long job."

"Are you writing all the books at the same time, like in little pieces, while concentrating mostly on the present one, or do you just have a general idea about them?"

JKR: "During the first five years that I was writing the series, I made plans and wrote small pieces of all the books. I concentrate on one book at a time, though occasionally I will get an idea for a future book and scribble it down for future reference."

"Do you think elementary-age children will be able to read the other three books in the series?"

JKR: "Yes, I do. I personally feel the books are suitable for people aged 8 years and over. Though my daughter, who is seven, has read them all and not been very frightened — but maybe she's tough, like her mother!"

"Some sets on the movies are already being created. Do you think they represent how you envisioned them in the book? Have you had any input on the shooting locations?"

JKR: "I know they look as I imagined them (those that have been done so far)!"

"Hello, I was wondering how much Tolkien inspired and influenced your writing?"

JKR: "Hard to say. I didn't read The Hobbit until after the first Harry book was written, though I read Lord of the Rings when I was nineteen. I think, setting aside the obvious fact that we both use myth and legend, that the similarities are fairly superficial. Tolkien created a whole new mythology, which I would never claim to have done. On the other hand, I think I have better jokes.

"Will you have a cameo in the Harry Potter movie?"

JKR: "No, definitely not. I hate watching myself on-screen!"

"Our thanks to J.K. Rowling for joining us today. Any thoughts you would like to leave us with?"

JKR: "Keep reading! (And it doesn't have to be Harry Potter!)"

[Data]

Nachtrag:
Hui - is dat lang geworden - dabei hab ich doch schon einiges gekürzt...

[Ce'Rega]

Re: Chat-Thread 2: Scholastic-Chat mit J.K. Rowling (16.10.2000)

Original geschrieben von Data

Öh - was für eine geheime Nachricht - kann mich da jemand aufklären?

Da gab's afaik keine geheime Nachricht.
Aber ich glaub in dem Game, oder? (Und wieder einmal bestätigen sich Vermutungen, was Rowling tagsüber so treibt )

*zu Ce'rega schiel*

Ich wusste schon immer, dass Rowling, Hermine und ich eine Einheit bilden...

Besonders toll finde ich auch ihre Ansicht zu den Illustrationen. Bilder zerstören imho die Phantasie... na gut, der Film machte vieles zunichte *g* Aber trotzdem finde es gut, wenn man zuerst einmal ne eigene Vorstellung von der Person/Szenen etc. aufbaut.

Ansonsten: Wieder mal schönes Interview!!

mfg,
Miss Granger

[Fawkes]

.... und es trainiert mein Englisch....

Kurze Fragen:

1. "James was Chaser"
Chaser = Sucher?

2.JKR: "Erm...no!"
Was soll denn das heißen? Auf die Frage, warum so viele Namen mit H anfangen...

Das wars auch schon!

[Ce'Rega]

Original geschrieben von Gursch
1. "James was Chaser"
Chaser = Sucher?

Ich denke, in dem Zusammenhang heisst es: "James war dasselbe!" oder so... denn Sucher heisst ja eigentlich "Seeker", oder?

2.JKR: "Erm...no!"
Was soll denn das heißen? Auf die Frage, warum so viele Namen mit H anfangen...

Das heisst einfach, sie weiss es selber nicht, bzw. es hat keine Bedeutung, dass viele der Namen mit "H" anfangen... es ist Zufall.
Das "Erm..." ist nur ein Ausdruck des nachdenkens...

mfg,
Ce'Rega

[Fawkes]

Vielen herzlichen Dank Miss Granger!

Fawkes verbeugt sich und lässt sein Phönix - Geräusch ertönen. Dann schwingt er sich in die Lüfte und schwebt lautlos hinfort...

[Data]

Original geschrieben von Gursch
.... und es trainiert mein Englisch....

Kurze Fragen:

1. "James was Chaser"
Chaser = Sucher?

Nein:

Chaser = Jäger
Seeker = Sucher
Beater = Treiber
Keeper = Hüter

Nanana - Miss Granger! Da bin ich aber BESSERES von Ihnen gewohnt! Sie sollten sich DRINGEND nochmal das Buch "Quidditch im Wandel der Zeiten" vornehmen!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Gilderoy Lockhart

[Fawkes]

Ähem....

Ich habe mal etwas nachgeforscht, in Bezug auf Harry's Vater James, welche Rolle er in Quidditch übernahm. Er war wie Harry ein Sucher!!! "Seeker".
Und zwar ist das im 1. Film ganz genau zu sehen, und zwar als Hermine Ron und Harry irgendwelche Quidditch - Pokale zeigt. Und auf einem Pokal steht "James Potter - Seeker". Und Ron sagt: "Wow, ich wusste nicht, dass dein Vater auch Sucher war!".

Also, kennt die Autorin ihr eigenes Buch nicht?

[Data]

@Gursch:
Nein - eher kannten die Produzenten das Wissen der Autorin nicht - achte mal aufs Datum des Chats...

Kommt halt im Film besser, wenn der Sohn wie der Vater...

Diese Differenz zwischen den beiden Versionen wird z.B. auch hier erwähnt.
Im Zweifel hat aber sicherlich die Autorin "recht"...

Viele Grüße,
Data

[Draco Malfoy]

Original geschrieben von Gursch
Ähem....

Ich habe mal etwas nachgeforscht, in Bezug auf Harry's Vater James, welche Rolle er in Quidditch übernahm. Er war wie Harry ein Sucher!!! "Seeker".
Und zwar ist das im 1. Film ganz genau zu sehen, und zwar als Hermine Ron und Harry irgendwelche Quidditch - Pokale zeigt. Und auf einem Pokal steht "James Potter - Seeker". Und Ron sagt: "Wow, ich wusste nicht, dass dein Vater auch Sucher war!".

Also, kennt die Autorin ihr eigenes Buch nicht?

Ja, das ist mir auch aufgefallen. Ich glaube aber nicht, dass das im Einflußbereich der Autorin lag, da hat halt einer von den Filmemachern wohl nur gemeint, das käme besser, wenn James auch Sucher gewesen wäre. Schließlich ist das der wichtigste Spieler

EDIT: Gerade ist mir eingefallen, was ich vorhin noch hier her schreiben wollte: JKR sagt, die Hogwartsschüler müssten vorher nicht in eine Muggelschule. Gibt es also Zauberergrundschulen? Oder woher können die die grundlegenden Sachen wie Lesen, Rechnen, Aufsätze schreiben etc.? Das wäre noch interessant gewesen zu wissen. Möglichkeiten (vom unterrichtenden Hauselfen bis zur Klein-Zauberer-Schule) gäbe es ja wohl genügend, aber wie hat sich die Autorin das vorgestellt? Schade, dass da nicht nachgehakt wurde...

[Sternengucker]

In Buch 3 heisst es auch, James Potter wäre Sucher gewesen! und zwar ein verdammt guter Zumindest behauptet Sirius das in der heulenden Hütte...

[Data]

Original geschrieben von Sternengucker
In Buch 3 heisst es auch, James Potter wäre Sucher gewesen! und zwar ein verdammt guter Zumindest behauptet Sirius das in der heulenden Hütte...

Hast Du da vielleicht eine Seitenangabe, Sternengucker?

[Ce'Rega]

Original geschrieben von Data
Hast Du da vielleicht eine Seitenangabe, Sternengucker?

Im deutschen Band steht es Seite 368...

Aber lediglich:
"Vor allem gegen James hegte er eine Abneigung. Er war wohl neidisch, weil James im Quidditch so begabt war..."

mfg,
Ce'Rega

[Sternengucker]

Hmm, dann muss ich da zwei Stellen durcheinandergeworfen haben, die ich vorgestern bei der Suche nach dem Kreaturenpflegelehrer überflogen habe... ich guck mal weiter...

[Sternengucker]

Band 1 S. 168:

McGonagall: "Ihr Vater wäre stolz auf Sie. Er war selbst ein hervorragender Quidditch-Spieler."

Und ich finde auch noch heraus wo das mit dem Pokal schonmal erwähnt worden ist