Friday, July 20, 2007

Jailbait

As I’m writing this, there are 3 days to go until I am no longer considered a dirty old woman. On Monday, Daniel Radcliffe will be 18 and although I’m 10 years older than him and it’s still creepy, I’m no longer courting a felony in my head. It’s all just a fantasy of course, because even if I flew over to England and plopped on his doorstep, he’d have nothing to do with me. And DB would be quite irritated. I still feel naughty just for thinking it, though.

It’s awful, really. A couple months ago, when everyone started talking about him appearing nude in the play Equus, I thought – well, that’s not right cause he’s only 12 or something. Wrong. He was 17 and to prove it, they started issuing all these grown up photos of him with a beard and half naked – no wands or wizard cloaks in sight. My first thought was – that’s just wrong. He’s trying too hard to break the kiddie persona and distance himself from his ingrained character.

But then they started releasing photo stills from the latest movie. Intriguing. He seemed very intense in all the pictures. Then, Thursday before last, Maven Linda, Angel, Kathy and myself went to see Order of the Phoenix in Dallas. As the photos had shown, he’s looking quite grown up, although he’s clean shaven, etc. in the film. There were a couple scenes where I thought – hmm...look at that. He’s growing up quite nicely. Then my internal alarm starts going off screaming “jailbait, jailbait” and I force myself to focus on the plot of the movie again.

At the airport gift shop coming home (we had lots of time to kill – flight delays) Details magazine had him on the cover and the article had more photos of him looking very adult – one even had him bare-chested in a leather vest, his chest hair out for all the world to see. Ack! Now, I have to admit the vest is a little too Village People for me, but those eyes – those are what get me in trouble. And the biceps. And, well...nevermind. (I included the photo originally, but I felt dirty and took it off. If you want to see it, go to the Details magazine website.) I think in another 10 years, when he's a full grown man, I will feel much better about those thoughts. I'll still be 10 years older than him, but I won't feel quite so naughty when he's almost 30.

So, the movie was awesome, if you haven't seen it. I recommend a digital theater or IMAX so you can catch the true experience of the last 30 minutes or so. And of course, tomorrow the book comes out. Amazon will be dropping my copy on the doorstep, so I'm very excited. There's much discussion on how the book will end. (Since I originally wrote this, a bunch of spoilers have cropped up on the internet. For the sake of our readers trying to be surprised, please don't mention any spoilers in your posts.)

Have you gotten wrapped up in Potter-mania? Will you be in line at midnight to get your copy and find out how it ends? Any hopes for how the series will end? (hopes, not spoilers!) I know I'm hoping Snape turns out good (just love Alan Rickman, and I can lust guilt free there) and that Neville hands Bellatrix her head on a platter. Seen the lastest movie? Are those not the bluest eyes you've ever seen?* Ok, enough questions for now - one commenter will win a book and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I dare the winner to eat the vomit one!

SP

*Mel Gibson held the title before, but he's just getting too darn weird these days and so I've dethroned him from my personal list.

24 comments:

Kammie said...

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I've never seen any of the movies or read any of the books. :( Yes, I know, what's wrong with me. lol I hope I can rectify that some day.

Anonymous said...

I'm a Big fan of Harry Potter! I'd love to be the Librarian at Hogwarts and share your Alan Rickman crush.

Theresa N.

Anonymous said...

I'm sort of with Kimw...i've never read the books, but i've seen the movies, including Order.

I've so many friends who are going to get their books at midnight tonite, who refuse to turn on the tv, go online, or listen to any radio station because they don't want to hear spoilers. I'm annoyed for them at the idiots who copied pages and posted them on the computer (rumor), and at the NY Times and Baltimore Sun for writing reviews already..

I feel bad for JKR.

There should be some magic in the book that says if you open it early, the book will dissolve into nothing..

Off my soapbox...and onto writing.

Nini

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

I haven't read any of the books (seen the movies - well except the last one which I hope to rectify soon). I know. I really want to read them... It's just difficult to fit that into my schedule. They're like 700 pages each. That's a lot of pages to catch up on.

Instigator

Anonymous said...

I haven't read the books but me and the kids watch everyone of the movies. My daughter reads the books and she loves Harry Potter.

Anonymous said...

Happy weekend to all.

I havent read any of the books or seen any of the movies. HP is not my bag.

But hope everyone who is, does enjoy and am sorry for them that this is the last book.

Angel said...

Jailbait is right!!! I'm even older than you, so I feel even worse than you do. :)

I have to admit, there were a couple of times in the most recent movie that I had a little Hmmm moment, but since I haven't progressed to full, all-out fantasizing, I think I'm okay. Heaven help us when he moves out in more adult roles.

I feel a great deal for JKR these days! How much pressure must that be to produce these books? To have to worry about the security of your work about 100 times more than any other writer? To see spoilers pop up here and there and to not be able to trust anyone? I don't know if I could write under the pressure!

Anonymous said...

I will be at the store at midnight, which I'm sure will shock--absolutely SHOCK!--all of you. :-)

Anonymous said...

Uh...he has grown up quite nicely. And I am older than you so that makes me double-gross. ;-)

Problem Child said...

And I thought I was obsessive...

Playground Monitor said...

Let's see... if I'd gotten married at 18 and had a child right away who also got married at 18 and had a child right away I could be grandmother to an 18 year old boy. The objects of my lusting are much older than Mr. Radcliffe. :grin:

I've seen the first movie and that's all. Just never got into Potter-mania.

Y'all have fun in line tonight.

PM

P.S. You're kidding about the vomit candy, right??

Maven Linda said...

I resisted HP for a long time because the book covers are downright ugly, plus I thought: "Children's book." But I bit the dust when the third book came out, got all three, read them in order, and was enchanted. It was the original invitations to Harry from Hogwarts that got me: "Master Harry Potter, Under the Stairs," "Master Harry Potter, In the Closet," etc. No matter where they stashed Harry, the letters found him. And Diagon Alley! I love word play, and JKR does a masterful job of it.

Spoilers don't spoil anything for me, but I despise people who deliberately try to ruin surprises for others. I wonder what makes some people so mean-natured, that they take pleasure in ruining the pleasure of others.

Linda

Katherine Bone said...

Daniel Ratcliffe is such a hottie! Oops! I'm old enough to be his mother. ACK! But so true.

My kids have read all the books and we've seen all the movies. LOVED! LOVED the latest movie! I was SO happy to have seen it in Dallas when it first came out. I plan to go again with my family this weekend. (They hate it that I've already seen it.)

My # 2 had a crush on him when the first Harry Potter movie came out. She had a poster of him even though she's 4 years older than DR is. She told us back then that DR was going to be a very handsome man when he grew up. And oh, is living up to it.

Ode to Daniel...
DR is the richest teen in England. JKR is wealthier than the Queen. With two more movies to go in the Potter series, of course, DR's got to start thinking about his future. There's no question as to what he'll do next. He'll have to distance himself from the Potter image in order to prove he's not just a lucky teen chosen to play the most successful character in children's book history. (I believe he's already acted in a movie about a troubled teen too. Combined with the play Equus, that's not such a bad start to breaking free of a golden mold.) Bravo! What bravery! What courage!-----What kahoonas!

Long live Harry! May quiditch be played with zeal and may magic and imagination be free to roam. Hip Hip Hooray! (Thankfully y'all won't be shivering in line tonight. :-)

On behalf of young girls everywhere, I implore.... give the world more DR and those heavenly blue eyes.

Kathy

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

No, I'm not kidding about the candy. In the first book, Harry is introduced to the candy - Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans - as Ron says, "and they mean EVERY flavor." Jelly Belly picked up the rights to start producing the candy around the time the films started coming out. Along with the standbys of blueberry, buttered popcorn and grape jelly are the ever popular - grass, earwax, rotten eggs, and vomit. New flavors included in the box I got are pickle and sausage. I'm not sure how you come up with the flavor of vomit, but I hope the winner will share their taste test with us. :)

Playground Monitor said...

I'm gonna be sick. :-/

Kati said...

I'm in the midst of reading Book 6 for the first time. My roomie will be receiving Book 7 tomorrow sometime and then I expect not to speak to her for a couple of days while she inhales it.

While I don't have lustful thoughts about Daniel Radcliffe, I DO have plenty of dirty old woman thoughts about a couple of the teenaged boys on the TV show Friday Night Lights. Oh yeah. Dirty thoughts. LOL!

Anonymous said...

I am so glad children are into reading these Potter books. I thnk they did for this generation what the Nancy Drew books did for mine. That's what really started me reading. The Harry Potter books let children see that the imagination is a wonderful thing.

Anonymous said...

I watch the movies but don't read the books. We seen the newest movie last weekend. Very good. Except there was a woman sitting by my hubby who had read the book & ever time something big was gonna happen she would say it before it did. Wanted to smack her.

Maureen said...

I saw the first movie with my kids but then they lost interest in Harry. I think it's great, though, that there are so many kids who can't wait to read a book.

catslady said...

My oldest daughter gets first dibs on the book and I just know someone is going to leak the ending before I get to read it and I detest knowing how things end (I will never understand people who go to the end of a book first!). I haven't caught the last movie yet but I'm planning on it.

I know he wants to get away from being known has Harry but since there are 3 more movies to go he could have waited a bit lol. I saw the picture of him naked with the horse - well it didn't show everything but enough roflmao.

Linda Winstead Jones said...

I'll admit, I'm not into the HP books (though I've seen most of the movies and liked them) but I think there should be a special and gruesome punishment for people who not only spoil the ending of a book for others but delight in it. That's just wrong.

As for Daniel -- He's ten years older than my oldest grandson. It is beyond impossible for me to get excited by him. Sorry. Great eyes or not, he's a baby. A baby, I tell you! :-)

LJ

robynl said...

Never got into Potter mania myself. Not my type and the kids are all grown.

anne said...

I have never read any of the HP books nor the movies, but I think that it is great reading for all children and young adults. At least they are reading and enjoying this pastime.

MJFredrick said...

I finished the book at 10 last night - AWESOME!!! I was in line till almost 2 AM!

My son (2 years younger than DR) has the book now, but when he's done I want to read it again.