Wes Farrell expects no less than fans dawning capes, robes and cloaks for the premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at Mission Valley Cinema, across Western Boulevard from campus. He said he’s expecting two types of people—obsessed fanatics and casual moviegoers.
“We have seen some interesting people at Harry Potter movies,” Farrell, employ of the theater, said. “You either have the hardcore people, in $200 outfits, or average people watching the movie. In the past at Harry Potter, some people have jumped over seats and stampeded to get to the front.”
Harry Potter, since its cult popularity success after its first publishing in 1997, has come to define the literary and fantasy world for many. Growing up with the novels and then films, these fans, now in college, are not ashamed to celebrate their Potter zeal.
“I am proud of it—I’ll admit I have what some call at Harry Potter obsession,” Jasmine Velez, recent graduate in microbiology, said. “I got tickets two weeks ago.”
Velez, who first started with the books, said she fell in love with the adventure, suspense and unique storyline of the series.
“I read the books instantly when I was a kid and I would always wait at the bookstore for the new books to come out,” Velez said.
According to Farrell, Potter fans take the line waiting as seriously as sports fans.
“This happened when I was working at Cary Crossroads theater, but for the third movie, a kid was there 8 hours early,” Farrell said. “He was all dressed up with the lightning scar, and the cloak and everything. He brought with himself a charcoal grill and was making hotdogs before the show—like a tailgate.”
Costume wearing and other traditions abound with series like Harry Potter, and Shima Ghattan , junior in biological sciences, watches the premiers of the movies with her brother.
“I started watching Harry Potter since the fifth grade with my younger brother,” Ghattan said. “We started to read the books after the first movie. For our tradition, we would wait for the DVDs to come out and then watch them together. By the fourth one, we started to watch them together in theaters. But he is letting me watch it with friends instead—break the tradition—because he is in Iran right now.”
Velez said she not a fan to that extreme.
“I won’t dress up, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t in the past.”
Ghattan said she dressed up once, as a student from the Hogwarts house Gryffindor.
Mission Valley Cinema has already sold 700 tickets and is at capacity. Farrell said he recommends getting to the show early to ensure a good seat.
“We sold out the main theater so we have expanded the premier to our other screens.”
Movie critics predict this last film in the Potter series to surpass ticket sales of earlier Hogwarts movies.
For Farrell, however, the Potter finale will be his last chance to observe the obsessed wizardry fans. Like Rocky Horror Picture Show or Star Wars, Harry Potter will soon go in the category of cult classics.
