Library Reference Section

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2009-06-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Release Date: November 16, 2001

Director:

Chris Columbus

Writers:

J.K. Rowling (novel)
Steve Kloves (screenplay)

Producer:

David Heyman

Composer:

John Williams

Cast (in credit order):

Richard Harris ... Professor Albus Dumbledore
Maggie Smith ... Professor Minerva McGonagall
Robbie Coltrane ... Rubeus Hagrid
Saunders Triplets ... Baby Harry Potter
Daniel Radcliffe ... Harry Potter
Fiona Shaw ... Aunt Petunia Dursley
Harry Melling ... Dudley Dursley
Richard Griffiths ... Uncle Vernon Dursley
Derek Deadman ... Tom - Bartender in Leaky Cauldron
Ian Hart ... Professor Quirinus Quirrell
Ben Borowiecki ... Diagon Alley Boy
Warwick Davis ... Goblin Bank Teller / Professor Flitwick
Verne Troyer ... Griphook the Goblin
John Hurt ... Mr. Ollivander
Richard Bremmer ... He Who Must Not Be Named
Geraldine Somerville ... Mrs. Lily Potter
Harry Taylor ... Station Guard
Julie Walters ... Molly Weasley
Bonnie Wright ... Ginny Weasley
Chris Rankin ... Percy Weasley
James Phelps ... Fred Weasley
Oliver Phelps ... George Weasley
Rupert Grint ... Ron Weasley
Jean Southern ... Dimpled Woman on Train
Emma Watson ... Hermione Granger
Matthew Lewis ... Neville Longbottom
Tom Felton ... Draco Malfoy
Jamie Waylett ... Vincent Crabbe
Josh Herdman ... Gregory Goyle
Devon Murray ... Seamus Finnigan
Alfie Enoch ... Dean Thomas
Leslie Phillips ... The Sorting Hat (voice)
Eleanor Columbus ... Susan Bones
John Cleese ... Nearly Headless Nick
Terence Bayler ... The Bloody Baron
Simon Fisher-Becker ... Fat Friar
Nina Young ... The Grey Lady
David Bradley ... Argus Filch
Alan Rickman ... Professor Severus Snape
Zoe Wanamaker ... Madame Hooch
Luke Youngblood ... Lee Jordan
Sean Biggerstaff ... Oliver Wood
Elizabeth Spriggs ... Fat Lady
Danielle Tabor ... Angelina Johnson (as Danielle Taylor)
Leilah Sutherland ... Alicia Spinnet
Emily Dale ... Katie Bell
David Holmes ... Adrian Pucey
Will Theakston ... Marcus Flint
Scot Fearn ... Terrence Higgs (as Scott Fern)
Adrian Rawlins ... James Potter
Ray Fearon ... Firenze (voice)

Additional cast:

Paul Marc Davis ... Ghost of the Cavalier (uncredited)
Julianne Hough ... Hogwarts Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Oliver Lavery-Farag ... Hogwarts' Student (uncredited)
Amy Puglia ... Quidditch Player (uncredited)
Bianca Sowerby ... Hogwarts' Student (uncredited)
Bernadette Jane Vanderkar ... Hogwarts Student (uncredited)

2008-07-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

How Did You Become A Potterholic?

Marauder:
"I am Marauder, the Official PA Deputy Headmistress, and I am a Potterholic. I first read Sorcerer's Stone just after it came out in US paperback edition. I substituted an English class in which it was being used as a supplemental text, thumbed through it, and one look is all it took. I went out, bought the book, and from that point on I was hooked."

isabellacrinklepot:
"I became addicted to HP after my sister introduced the movies first to my 8 year old daughter. We started watching the movies, and for Christmas I got her the entire book collection. We read our way through the books together, and from the beginning we were both hooked. We discuss theories together, and things that may be clues in the books, etc. This series was the first to allow me and my daughter to relate on a different level, so for that 'The Boy Who Lived' will always hold a special place in my heart."

harryxlives:
"I was the worst type of Potter basher. I'm the eldest girl of 10 children... all my younger sibs succombed to the lure of Potter. I mocked those who fell under the spell of Harry... it was such mainstream, and 99.9% of all mainstream material is utter tripe! It was incomprehensible to me that people would stay up all hours of the night to get stupid books of all things! Then, I was staying at my parents' house whilst recovering from a long illness. All they had to read were religious books, self-help books, or religious self-help books. Aaaaand... Harry Potter. What's a gal who's bored out of her mind to do? So, I read the first novel. Finished it in 2 hours! Then the next... until just over 7 days later, I'd read the entire five-novel series! What can I say, I was dead wrong! But I've rarely ever been wrong in such a spectacularly happy way!"

2008-07-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

Are you addicted to Potter?
Are you an HP FANatic?

What defines a serious HP addiction? A serious HP addiction is more than a simple love for J.K. Rowling's prose. Here are the Official PA's top 10 guidelines for defining a real HP FANatic:

1. You've seen all the movies and read all the books... including the Harry Potter schoolbooks written for the benefit of Comic Relief.

2. You've spent every last spare penny you had on the merchandise.

3. You own a wand... or two or three.

4. You own at least five HP board games.

5. You are a member of at least 3 different HP fansites.

6. You created your own HP fansite.

7. You own a broomstick... and have tried to fly on it.

8. You have tried casting spells with your wand and mixing potions.

9. You wear your wizarding robes every time you go out and you've made your own witch/wizard themed outfits to wear when robes are uncomfortable, like in hot weather.

10. You have yelped with joy, gasped, or giggled at every one of these points and you've thought of even more.

___________________________________________________

So, how do you define your addiction?
Send your own addiction definition to Marauder (marauder 1031 at gmail.com)
and we'll add it right here.

2008-07-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

How has Harry Potter influenced your life?

Share it with us!

Midnight book releases, movie premieres, websites, podcasts, forums, fanfic - the whole phenomenon. People who have never previously read a book have become avid readers just because of this boy wizard's influence on the world. We want to know how HP has influenced YOU. How has it changed your life?
We want to hear it all - your release party stories, movie premiere stories, stories about how HP has helped you, what it means to you, and any other stories about how J.K. Rowling's writings have had an influence your life.
Owl your stories to either Headmistress Christina (christinatorma at att.blackberry.net) or to Marauder (marauder1031 at gmail.com) and please put "HP Influence Story" in the subject line. Your stories will be posted right here to share with everyone.
Send us your stories and inspire others!

Now, read on for some stories from fellow fans of how Harry changed their life...

isabellacrinklepot writes:
"I could probably fill a book on how Harry Potter has influenced my life! I will start with how it has changed my life; I have always loved to read, but after my daughter was born, and I started doing the 'mom' thing, that love basically got pushed to the side, the only reading I did for a long time was Dr. Seuss, Disney Princess, etc. Then, my daughter discovered Harry Potter through my sister. We began reading the books together, and I was instantly hooked! This series reminded me of just how much I love to read. Now, I find myself reading every chance I get. This past year, we had a Harry Potter birthday party, 'it was the best party ever!' to quote my daughter. I received so many complements and suggestions of going into business for myself that I am now in the first stages of starting my own party planning business called Wizard World Parties. All of this came about from Harry Potter.
Then there is the bond it has created between me and my daughter. For the first time she and I have connnected on a completely different level. We both share a common love for all things Harry Potter and it is just great to have this connection with her. Finally, what it has done for my daughter. This series has encouraged her to use her imagination in ways she has never tried before, and I feel like it has been great in showing her what kind of person she wants to be. Also, it has helped her move on to books that challenge her, and makes her think. So for us, Harry Potter will always be a love that this family will share and cherish for the rest of our lives."

2008-07-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter Release Party Stories

Housed here are Harry Potter stories from book and film release parties sent to us, the Official PA, by you, the fans and fellow Potterholics.
Click on the type of release you would like to view to apparate there straight away, then take your time and read fellow Potterholics' stories and experiences.

*Note - If you would like to share your story with us and have it added here, owl your story to either
Headmistress Christina (christinatorma at att.blackberry.net) or to Marauder (marauder1031 at gmail.com).
Please put what type of story you are sending in the subject line.


               Half-Blood Prince Book Release                     Order of the Phoenix Movie Release

               Deathly Hallows Book Release

Half-Blood Prince Book Release Stories

Marauder writes:
"Hmm, I'd love to be able to tell you a grand story of all the spectacular Potterholic moments that I encountered while attending a midnight release party for Half-Blood Prince, but, alas, I am vexed by the lack of any. I made the incredibly huge mistake of ordering my copy of HBP online to be delivered to my home. Why would I do such a crazy thing you ask? Well, I ponder that myself now, but I guess I'll just have to chalk that one up to insane Potterholic nervousness. Books-a-Million made pre-orders available online before they were selling pre-orders in the store and I got nervous that I wouldn't be able to get a copy if I waited for the in-store pre-orders... I know, I know, Potterholic jitters! That, coupled with the fact that I really didn't have anyone to go to a midnight release with, caused me to make the horrendous mistake of online ordering, to which the ending result was receiving my book two days late. I swear you just can't trust muggle postmen - an owl would've gotten it here on time! So, I suffered in agony anxiously awaiting my prized parcel and pounced upon the package as soon as it arrived to begin my avid reading of the material within.
Anyway, there you have it, my sad story of how I acquired my copy of HBP... and let this serve as a lesson to never ever order valuable time-sensitive material such as this from someplace relying on muggle transportation systems!"

Cless writes:
"I would love to have a wonderful HBP release party story, yet sadly I don't.
I went to the Barnes and Noble for the midnight release and it had to be the most pathetic release party ever. There were very few people dressed up and the only activity that they had was a little wand making booth for the little kids. I did manage to acquire the book at midnight, but it was a really lame release. I will definitely find a better release party for book 7."

SchmergoWeasley writes:
"I went to the Barnes and Noble release, which was, as previously stated, lame, but I met up with two old friends I hadn't seen for 2 years (which is a long time when you're 13) and we got EXCEEDINGLY hyper. There's a Starbucks in my friendly local bookstore, and since I'm not allowed to have caffeine, I had 3 Strawberries 'n' Creme Frappuccinos. This was only after loudly requesting Firewhiskey and getting my request turned down. Since we had 4 hours to kill before getting the book, my friends, my sister's boyfriend, and I organized a conga line around the bookstore and I'd say about 50 people joined in. We also "BOTHER"-ed a guy dressed like Snape (poor guy probably didn't know what hit him), which was buckets of fun. Oh yeah, and I was wearing my lovely "Weasley Is My King" t-shirt that I made myself with iron-on transfers and Harry Potter glasses on top of my head in place of those trendy sunglasses everyone keeps putting on their heads. Sadly, however, I did embarrass myself... I saw a dementor walk into the store and I thought it was my friend Connor, so I ran over to him and said something like, 'You look hot!' in what was meant to be a sarcastic voice. However, it was not Connor. It was a perfect stranger (hard to tell with the dementor mask on) and I had to hide from him every time he came my way the rest of the night because I was so embarrassed. When I finally got the book, my first thought was that it couldn't be real, that it was one of those fake copies of HBP they were selling on the internet. When I realized that was stupid, however, I went running down the street shouting to random strangers, 'I HAVE THE 6TH HARRY POTTER BOOK! AND YOU DON'T, HAHA!' As I've said, it was the most hyper I've been in my life!"

Deathly Hallows Book Release Stories

harryxlives writes:
"I went to Barnes and Noble release party dressed as Tonks =)"

isabellacrinklepot writes:
"My goodness it was great! We arrived at about 7:45pm, the store was already packed, my little girl was Hermione and she was beautiful(proud mom moment here. People were stopping her left and right telling her she looked awesome and wanting her picture. Alas, she did not win the contest in her age group, there was a 3 year old Harry, and he was really cute, so, of course he won. We entered a trivia contest - my daughter winning the most in her age group and if he would have called on me more, I would have won the most in my age group. Oh well, I had fun. People were dressed up everywhere, the cutest being a Moaning Myrtle complete with toilet seat, a girl dressed as Sirius complete with tatoos, and a group of guys who came as Voldemort, Lucius, Draco, and Dobby. They looked great! The store estimated there were between 700-1000 people at the release party and I think it was closer to 1000. I ended up having my picture in the local paper. My little girl was upset, she had just left with her dad to go get a drink. When I got to work on Monday, my coworkers had hung the picture up. Finally, as I was going out with my book, one of the employees ask if I wanted a empty box that the books were in. Of course I took it, and a overly excited fan tried to take it from me. I just smiled and said, 'I would hate to have to stun you, please step back." She laughed and backed off. It truly was a magical night. I know me and my little girl will never forget it. I hope everyone had as much fun Friday night as we did."

Order of the Phoenix Movie Release Stories

isabellacrinklepot writes:
"We were at the midnight showing last night. We arrived 30 minutes before the show, which was a mistake and we had to sit on the second row. That was o.k. *said with a stiff neck* Anyway, we had a wonderful time. It was the first time I ever took my 8 year old to a midnight movie. I was worried she would be the only kid that young there and people would think I was a horrible mother. Well, there were kids everywhere! They had so many people show up, they had to add another showing at midnight! This is big. I live in a small town in Alabama. I felt a moment of pride, standing there in the line to go in, with all of my fellow Potterholics. The movie was really great. I only cried twice, my daughter threatened to move. Of course, there were things left out that I wished would have been in and a few things changed, but I have come to expect that. Still, it was a great time and, as we walked out of the theater, my little girl looked up at me and said 'We have got to go to an Imax theater and see this thing in 3D!'"

katnorris writes:
"I went to the midnight show at the Lakewood Cinema 8 in Lakewood, NY. I got out of work at 11pm and made it to the theatre at about 11:25pm. As I was coming down the street, I saw their gigantic sign lit up with a flashing red SOLD OUT! Thank God I got my ticket a week ago and didn't have to go home frustrated! There were two theatres open for the show and they were jam-packed. I wore my Molly Weasley sweater and carried my Molly bag (similar to the bag she carries in SS, CoS and PoA - green and blue granny squares). I had my wand and when 12:10am arrived and the movie had not started, I tried 'Accio Movie', but alas, it did not work. Finally at 12:20am the trailers started and then finally the movie! And it was fabulous! I loved the part where DD escaped from his office - wonderful special effects! I need to go see it again, though! And again, and... well, you know."

Marauder writes:
"Logan and I went to the midnight release at the Rave 15 - Mall of Louisiana. This was by no means the only theatre showing a midnight release in that town, but this Rave is brand new, and I mean brand new, they've never done a midnight before... and I don't think they were really prepared LOL but they did a marvelous job! I wore my Official PA t-shirt I made with a 'Support Wizard Rock' ribbon I made as well. Logan was a Gryffindor. Being midnight release veterans, we knew to get there early, so we arrived just after 9 o'clock. The ticket taker thought we were nuts when we showed up, but we were not the first to arrive either. We, along with the other two groups already there, formed our own line in the hallway, but after only sitting there for maybe about 15 minutes, they opened up the theatre for us to go inside, so we got to get our seats and hang out in the comfy seats from about 9:30pm on. That was really great and nice that they did that for us. Bravo Rave! Of course, about 10 minutes after our arrival, gangs started coming... and coming... and coming. They already had two screens open, but wound up opening two more, making a total of 4 screens, by the time the movie started. We had a wonderful time meeting other Potterholics, talking to everyone, taking pictures and handing out Official PA cards! I posted the pics in the site Gallery (located in the HP FANatics common room). Overall, I was very pleased with the film, very pleased indeed. I thought there was some material that should've been included and wasn't, but for the stuff that was there, I thought it was marvelous. I absolutely love Evanna as Luna - spot on. And when Sirius punched Lucius in the face - Awesome! The whole theatre cheered on that one!"

Ruthvin writes:
"This was my first midnight movie since CoS. I had to work for PoA and GoF, I was unable to get off for those. I loved this movie more than any of the other ones. It was great. Some things were left out, but it worked very well. The highlight of the film for me... well beside any scene with Luna in it would be when Sirius punched out Lucius. I really loved the film."

tinamarie writes:
"I saw the show the next day at 11:30am because my husband wanted to see it and he had to work on the midnight release. There were still a ton of people there, but none of them were really potterholics and there were only a couple of people dressed up. This place isn't big on the whole potterholism thing which is one of the reasons I started the site to begin with. I loved the movie, but was distracted by a large man behind me who brought his kid and then fell asleep and was snoring VERY loudly. All in all, I loved it and plan to see it again many times and I am now so, so, so excited for book 7. I think Yates should direct the next ones too!"

harryxlives writes:
"I got in to see the Premiere BEFORE the official premiere on the 11th of July! See, it pays to live 4 blocks from Edwards! I went in to buy a ticket in person, only to find out a new (overflow) type-theatre had been opened up and it WASN'T posted online, it wasn't advertised, the only way you knew they opened the thing was if you showed up in person or were lucky enough to have somebody else TELL you about it! So yeah, after the local radio station gave away the tickets to the 7:30 showing, I show up and get tickets to a 6:30 showing - and boy did I get dirty looks from the 7:30 people who were already in line! I and Lexy [a gal I nanny] just breezed on passed them and went in to watch 'our' show! What made the day extra special was that there was a local photography shoppe who set up a tent on the theatre's property. They super-imposed your image onto your very own Order of the Phoenix poster! I went home and grabbed all 4 of the children I nanny, and on the way over coached them on how their expressions should look: 'We're fighting a war, kids. We're fighting Voldemort. We're Dumbledore's Army, Harry's best of best mates.' Though they were only 10 and under, all of them did serious-yet-intense expressions spot on! I was so proud of them and now I have my very own 16x20 inch Order of the Phoenix poster with ME and 4 of my favourite young people on it. I would have to say it is and will probably remain one of my most treasured possessions. "