Sunrise – Moviegoers began lining up at 9 p.m. for the midnight premier of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the Regal Sawgrass 23 cinema. Within an hour, the line of Potter enthusiasts, comprised mostly of teenagers, grew beyond the section of snake lines and across the lobby of the theater.
With over one hundred people arriving hours early, it is almost expected that several fans would proclaim their love for Harry Potter through t-shirts and costumes; unfortunately, this was not the case.
Mark Wilco, 18, from Plantation, was one of about ten people to arrive in costume for the premier, but unlike many of the other patrons, he is not much of a Harry Potter fan at all.
“I just needed an excuse to wear [the cape] in public,” Wilco, who was dressed as a “fabulous” death eater in a purple cape and Mardi Gras mask, said. “[If you haven’t seen the first four Potter movies], you’re not missing anything. Wait, I take that back: The only thing you’re missing is the first Dumbledore.”
Actor Richard Harris, who originally portrayed Dumbledore, died shortly after filming Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; the role is now played by Michael Gambon.
By 10:45 p.m., the line for the movie had become so long that theater management allowed the patrons to seat themselves early; the Sawgrass theater reserved five of its 23 screens for this occasion.
Kelly Gorman, 14, from Fort Lauderdale, brought the Order of the Phoenix book to read while waiting for the movie to begin. Her plan was foiled, though, by the early admittance into the dimly-lit screening room.
“I wanted to finish the book before the movie and compare the two,” Kelly said. “I’ve read it like eight times.”
Kelly’s mother, Barbara Gorman, accompanied her daughter to the theater not only as a chaperone, but as a Harry Potter fan herself.
“I think I’m a bigger fan than [Kelly] is,” Gorman said. “I’ve read the books more than once. Book three is my favorite . . . but I liked the first movie the best.”
With less than a minute left until midnight, the crowd began counting down the remaining seconds, and — much like the hype leading up to the year 2000 — when the clock struck 12, nothing happened.
After what became the longest 10 minutes of the audience members’ lives, the previews and film rolled without a hitch just after midnight.
Now with another Harry Potter film under her belt, the next item on Kelly’s agenda is to begin reading the seventh addition to the Harry Potter series the moment it comes out. Like a true Potter fan, she is not worried about the length of the next book.
“The longer they got, the better they were,” Kelly said.
Wilco, on the other hand, hopes author J.K. Rowling does not go overboard with the text.
“When it reaches the length of Shogun [which has 1152 pages in the paperback edition], you know there’s a problem,” Wilco said.
The longest Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has 870 pages in the American version; the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is rumored to have 784 pages.
