News: W.B. to Purchase Leavesden Studios

Micah: The final piece of news is that Warner Brothers is set to purchase Leavesden Studios for both production and tourism. So, it seems like W.B.'s means of collecting revenue is endless on this series.

Andrew: But it's a good idea. Leavesden Studios is where they filmed all the Harry Potter films, Sorcerer's Stone through Deathly Hallows, and they're going to - they're going to, you know - it's a huge production studio now, I mean, they've been filming there for what? Ten years?

Jamie: Yeah, but how popular is it for other companies, apart from them? Because are they going to completely monopolize that, you know, some type of film producing thing, if they buy it? It seems like quite a big thing to buy studios. I mean, how many studios are owned by movie - movie companies? I don't...

Andrew: I think the - the interesting thing with Leavesden is that - it originally wasn't a studio, and W.B. sort of converted it to a studio - or maybe not W.B., but Heyman's production company. So, the - you know, they're buying it, and I think rightfully so, and it will be a great tourist attraction. I mean, they said one of the things you'll be able to see when you go in there is the Great Hall. And I mean, that is an iconic set. That is the one set you walk on, and you really feel like you're at Hogwarts. And I don't think a theme park will be able to replicate that. I don't think any part of that exhibit could replicate that. I mean, that is authentic Hogwarts.

Ben: Hey, who - so - Heyday Productions - owns Leavesden right now?

Andrew: Yeah, I'll look it up real quick. I'm not sure.

Micah: Well Andrew, you've been there. I mean...

Andrew: Right.

Micah: How far is it from - say the heart of London? Is it - is it an ideal spot to have a tourist attraction?

Andrew: It's about half hour - 45 minutes. But - you know - there are these Harry Potter bus tours that go around the places that are used for filming Harry Potter and - those are all day tours - so I don't think people will mind going up there. Leavesden - the first film to be shot at Leavesden was actually Golden Eye in 1995 and...

Micah: Great movie.

Andrew: It was acquired - yeah. It was acquired by Pinewood - to do other productions. I guess Pinewood owns it right now, but really it's only been Harry Potter in there. Some Dark Knight stuff was shot in there, as well as Scum 2, which is coming out this year - never heard of it.

Jamie: [sarcastically] That sounds nice.

Andrew: Sleepy Hallow, Mortal Kombat, Star Wars: Episode I.

Jamie: Oh! Mortal Kombat!

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: Yeah. So it's got some history. And - I - I think that's a great idea.

Jamie: [as voice-over guy] "Choose your destiny."

Andrew: We talked about that. I remember a long time ago we were wondering what would they do with all those sets after they're done filming. And now they can preserve them - preserve them - which is great.

Ben: Preserve them and make even more money of them.

Andrew: Yep. Let's get to Muggle Mail now and then we'll get - then we'll get into Chapter-by-Chapter.

Muggle Mail: Homeschooling?

Ben: [loudly] Our first e-mail...

Andrew: [laughs] Go ahead.

Ben: ...comes from Renata. I - actually - her name is - she's from Brazil. She's sixteen years old, and there was a foreign exchange student at my high school that had the same name and it's [pronounces name correctly] - it's not Renata. Renata, 16, from Brazil writes:

"Hello MuggleCasters! While reading 'Half-Blood Prince' I always had the impression that neither Voldemort's mother Merope..."

Is it Merop-ee or is it Merope?

Andrew: Merope.

Ben:

"...Merope nor her brother Morfin had been to Hogwarts. You think all wizards have to go to magic schools or they have the option to teach at home? Please give your thoughts on this subject. Thanks for reading my e-mail. Renata."

Now, I think J.K. Rowling has already answered this and that - that - they do have the option to be homeschooled, don't they? I don't think Hogwarts is mandatory - I mean...

Jamie: No it's not, is it? You can't force someone to go to a school. There always going to be different schools. And also - I guess - you don't have to learn to use magic. I mean it seems to be the way that you get along if you're a wizard or witch but I'm sure you could just get a job and earn some money and just not use your magic.

Andrew: Yeah but who doesn't want to use their magic? You know what I mean?

Jamie: Well, true. But if you're been brought up thinking that magic is bad, bad, bad, bad, bad and then suddenly you've like - "I've got magic" - you could be a wizard hating wizard and then you're like, "I'm not ever going to learn these powers because it'll be really, really bad and yeah - I'm just going to get a job and become a" - don't know - think of it though.

Micah: But why wouldn't they've gone to Hogwarts though? I mean, they're part of Slytherin's lineage. You'd think that they would go there.

Jamie: Yeah - but Micah - if someone came around to your house and said, "Do you want to come to my wizard school?" you'd probably think they're on the sex offenders list, you know.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Andrew: But you know - you'd get a real explanation. I'm sure Harry wasn't completely - what was Harry thinking when Hagrid busted down their door and, [as Hagrid] "Yer a wizard Harry." - and all that.

Jamie: I think he should have been a bit more like critical and assuming. He didn't even as for any ID!

Andrew: True.

Jamie: He didn't ask for anything! Like...

Andrew: Well, he was young. He didn't know.

Jamie: Well, I don't think that's any excuse Andrew.

Muggle Mail: The Poor People's School

Andrew: [laughs] All right! Speaking of schools, the next e-mail comes from Noah, 14, from Wausau, Wisconsin. We're all over the map with pronunciations today.

"Dear MuggleCasters, I love the show but I've only been listening for a short time, and I don't know if you've already covered this topic. Recently, 'ABC Family' showed 'Goblet of Fire,' and while I was watching I realized that Hogwarts seemed to have a lower class and underprivileged vibe to it. When Durmstrang enters the Great Hall, they come in with their fire-sticks and fur coats, and come off as very upper class. Same thing with - uh, Beau, beau, buh, but..."

Ben: Beauxbatons?

Andrew: Beauxbatons.

[Everyone laughs]

Ben: Wooow.

Andrew: I forgot how it was pronounced! Sorry.

Ben: Wooow!

Andrew:

"They enter with a very professional looking dance and in neatly pressed uniforms. Then the Hogwarts students sing the unrehearsed and off-key school song, directed by their loony headmaster. At this point Madame Maxine - Madame Maxine, Madam Maxime - and Igor - Igor Karakoff..."

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: Karkaroff!

Jamie: Andrew, you know you're a radio presenter, how are you so into podcasting when you can't even say words?

Andrew: Sorry, I don't know wizard names.

"...scoff and stick their noses in the air. It just seems that the makers of the movie.."

I haven't read this book in a while, okay?

"...makers of the movie were trying to make Hogwarts look like the place where the misfits and Weasleys of society went, and the rich and pampered went to either Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. Just want to hear your opinions. Love the show, Noah."

Jamie: I think that's true. I think...

Ben: No, I don't think so Jamie, you're wrong, for several reasons. One...

Jamie: Oh, I'm wrong for several reasons?

Ben: ...I think it has to do with geographical location because...

Jamie: I think you're wrong on that, but more on that in a second. Go on, I'll let you finish.

Ben: More on that in a second! [laughs] No, there are definitely a lot of people at Hogwarts that are privileged. I don't think people go to Hogwarts because they're poor or it's like the place for the Weasleys. Not to mention that the Triwizard Tournament only occurs once every however long, and I think the reason that they would show up doing all this song and dance is because it's probably some part of some ceremonial aspect, or...

Jamie: Yeah, you're right about that.

Ben: ...they're just trying to make their school look more prominent than these other schools. But I don't think by any means that Hogwarts is on a lower level of standard.

Jamie: I'd go a different way for that, and I would say that the key in his letter is "loopy headmaster." I think it's just to show that Dumbledore's unorthodox, he does it his own way and he succeeds, and he's put his mark on this school. He's always like "it is your choices Harry", go along Ben, do you know?

Ben: [as Dumbledore] "It is our choices, Harry..."

Andrew: Wow.

Ben: Wow. Dumbledore's...dead.

[Everyone laughs]

Jamie: It sounds like he's dead. Anyway, so yeah, he's put his mark on it and that's how he wants people to sort of think, that even if the song is weird and off-key, it still brings them together and binds them and stuff like that.

Andrew: Yeah, I think you're right. It gives Hogwarts character too, I mean, you see this school...

Jamie: Yeah, it does.

Andrew: ...and it certainly was interesting to suddenly be exposed to these two new magical schools, who were extremely different from Hogwarts. I think, as a first-time reader, you're like "Wow, look at this, there's sort of different cultures within the magical community." And we see that between Durmstrang and Beaux...

Ben: Now, now, do you think it's a coincidence that like the people from Durmstrang all seem to have accents and like...

Andrew: Well they are from different countries, so...

Ben: Yeah so, maybe it's related to geographical location.

Andrew: Oh definitely.

Jamie: Oh yeah, yeah, true.

Micah: Didn't you say that Ben? At the beginning?

Ben: See, I did say that, but Jamie told me that he was going to prove me wrong, and then he didn't!

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: No, no, I was just going to say...

Ben: Story of his life, story of his life.

Jamie: ...oh yeah, yeah, I... [laughs]

Muggle Mail: Ultimate Editions in Australia

Andrew: All right, Micah, next e-mail?

Micah: Next e-mail comes from Jake, 13, of Victoria, Australia. And he says:

"Hi guys, I was listening to the latest episode when someone from Australia pointed out that they haven't seen or heard anything about the Ultimate Editions. I was curious and a bit sad myself until I saw them in a shop, 'Dick Smith,' as DVDs, not the Blu-rays though. Anyway, just thought I'd share. Mikey, Andrew, and Laura are the best. Cheers, Jake."

Andrew: Actually...

Ben: Awww.

Andrew: ...we got a lot of e-mails about this. I was, we were, definitely wrong. They are available in Australia, not England. So, we'll wait.

Ben: Oh, Jamie, Jamie, you can't get Ultimate Edition, how does that make you feel?

Jamie: Pretty cut up.

[Ben laughs]

Jamie: Very cut up.

Andrew: Next e-mail, Ben?

Ben: Tony, 29, from Wisconsin, writes...

Andrew: Oh, sorry, I missed Jamie! Jamie, did you want to read an e-mail?

Jamie: Nah, its fine. Ben started it, he can finish.

Andrew: [laughs] Okay.

Muggle Mail: Dumbledore Had the Hots for Lockhart?

Ben: Tony, 29, from Wisconsin - we got a lot of Wisconsin going on here today. Right.

In Episode 187, you were debating the reason Dumbledore hired Lockhart and decided that no other teachers wanted the position, and Dumbledore was taking anyone that wanted it. Instead, do you think it is possible that Dumbledore hired him because he, like all the girls, had a crush on Lockhart?"

[Micah and Andrew laugh]

"...Or more likely, do you think that Dumbledore recognized Lockhart for the liar he was, and knew that Lockhart would be exposed as a fraud by being in that position. More or less Dumbledore's way of letting Lockhart expose himself?"

Jamie: I think that's a good point. It's a tough one to know why he would. He wouldn't deliberately hire an incompetent teacher.

Ben: Unless he was a piece of eye candy!

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: Unless he was a piece of eye candy, yeah! Dumbledore circles his stuff with hearts...

Ben: And, I mean, Hermione is pretty clever and she was fooled by his good looks, do you think maybe Dumbledore was under the same spell?

Jamie: Maybe.

Andrew: But like Dumbledore said, it's very hard to find a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher these days...

Jamie: That's true.

Andrew: ...so maybe he was the only one he could find. I think this e-mail's a little more, you know, on the joking side than anything else, I would think...

Ben: Well, so, if Dumbledore knew that there was this curse on the position, like, what - how does that implicate him morally in making that decision?

Andrew: That's true.

Ben: Like, if he knows that the person who takes on the position is not going to last through the year, and, I mean, when they say they're not going to last, I guess that means that, just like, they're not going to make it through the job, but they're going to get removed from the job somehow, it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to die.

Andrew: Yeah.

Ben: So maybe that's how he was able to, you know, rationalize it.

Andrew: Well, maybe Dumbledore warns them, "Hey, this job is sort of cursed, as you've probably seen. People - we can't get someone to stick around for more than a year." I think they may...

Ben: So he probably just gives them a one year contract, you know, that's all you need...

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: But if you think about it, the reason each one has taken it, hasn't - you know, it's all been like; Lupin took it because he can't really get work anywhere else, and Dumbledore let him do it. Lockhart took it maybe because his ego is so big he thought that he could do it. Moody took it because he's kind of crazy. Quirrell took it...

Andrew: What about Lupin?

Jamie: No, yeah, I said him, because he can't get a job anywhere, because he's a werewolf...

Andrew: Oh, oh, sorry.

Ben: What about Umbridge?

Jamie: Eh, she's just a bitch.

Andrew: Well, Umbridge, obviously - the Ministry made her take it. I think - so, that's a good point, Jamie. They all had their own unique motivations.

Ben: So you don't think Dumbledore could've had a crush on him though?

Andrew: No, I think he could. He may have.

Ben: You think Dumbledore had a crush on Harry?

Andrew: No.

Jamie: Probably.

Andrew: Oh, I don't know. Do we really want to go there?

Ben: Why, why not?

Andrew: I don't know, I don't think...

Jamie: It's an adult discussion, Andrew. We can go wherever we want!

Ben: Yeah...

Andrew: Harry saw him as a - no, Dumbledore saw Harry as the child prodigy, as a friend, it - Dumbledore - I mean, come on. I...

Ben: What?

Andrew: Okay, you explain! [laughs] Go ahead!

Ben: What - what do you mean? What do you mean?

Jamie: Andrew, Andrew, Andrew...

Andrew: Wha?

Jamie: Love knows no bounds!

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: Isn't age just a number?

Andrew: It is just a number.

Jamie: Age is just a number!

Andrew: All right, maybe - maybe Dumbledore did have a crush on him. How could you not?

Ben: Haha! He is the boy who lived.

Andrew: Right! Do you think he did?

Ben: Hmm?

Andrew: Do you think he did?

Jamie: No.

Ben: I mean, I don't know, maybe! Maybe, who knows?

Micah: Let's ask him.

Andrew: I know.

Micah: Dumbledore?

Andrew: Dumbledore, did you have a crush on Harry?

Ben: [as Dumbledore] "Why, yes, I did."

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: Oh, boy.

Jamie: Dumbledore, do you want to explain that a bit more?

[Prolonged silence]

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: [as Dumbledore] "No. No comment."

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: Fair enough.

Jamie: It's a private matter, isn't it?

Andrew: It would cause a lot of controversy in the wizarding world. He probably doesn't want to comment much.

Jamie: Yeah, delusional, delusional!

Muggle Mail: Colin Creevey's Camera

Andrew: Maybe Rita Skeeter can get on it. Jamie can you read the next e-mail from Tiffany.

Jamie: Yep, this is from Tiffany, 15, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Ben: Pittsburgh.

Jamie: Pittsburgh!

"This is kind of a random question, but it's been bugging me for a while. How does Colin Creevey's camera work in Hogwarts? According to Hermione, Muggle electronics don't work within Hogwarts so how the heck is he taking all those pictures? There are probably a lot of more obvious questions I should be asking you guys, but I'm a bit of an over thinker. Anyway, MuggleCast rocks my socks."

Ben: This is where Jo dropped the ball again.

Andrew: No!

Ben: What are you talking about?

Andrew: Well, think about other real Muggle objects that work in the wizarding world.

Ben: Name one!

Andrew: Well, the Ford Anglia is a sort of a...

Ben: Oh, wait a second, you just mean it wasn't enchanted.

Andrew: Okay, so maybe the camera was enchanted.

Jamie: And that's not electronics either, it's mechanical. Whereas a camera's electronic.

Ben: But the flash - the camera has a flash.

Andrew: Mmm.

Ben: Now, how do - like throughout - do we ever see a wizard camera in the books anywhere that takes the pictures that are alive? You know what I'm saying? Like is it a special type of camera?

Andrew: Surely.

Jamie: We do in the films! We do in the films, don't we? Doesn't someone - I'm trying to think, I recognize a...

Andrew: Oh well, the press.

Jamie: ...someone taking a - yeah, yeah, the press! Taking photos that went on the Daily Prophet or something like that.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: Yeah, for Lockhart and Harry in the Chamber of Secrets.

Andrew: Yeah!

Jamie: Yeah.

Andrew: And the start of Half-Blood Prince, when you see the Ministry or the press surrounding...

Jamie: Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Andrew: ...Harry and Dumbledore in the Ministry.

Jamie: There you go!

[Ben starts to read the next e-mail]

Andrew: Next e-mail comes from, oh - no, you just read an e-mail. My turn!

Ben: You always...

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: Next e-mail. This is a big one. This is hard to navigate. This next e-mail is...

Jamie: You can't handle it Ben.

Andrew: No, you can't handle this next e-mail.

Ben: Dude, you don't even know how to read.

[Everyone laughs]

Muggle Mail: Some In-Depth Questions

Andrew: Dude, that hurts. I'm bummed. This next e-mail comes from Liz, of Arizona.

"Hi guys, love the show, been a listener for years. I have some quick questions. Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with anything you've been talking about recently, however, I have some nagging questions that I thought I would share with you. Okay, here we go."

Now she's asking us three questions, so bear with us.

"Question number one: Why weren't the Weasleys in the Order the first time? We know the Weasleys were not in the Order the first time around. I'm assuming it's because at that time they had six small children. I can understand that Molly might not want to be in the Order, but Arthur? It always puzzled me, because they were so involved in the Order the second time around."

Any theories guys?

Jamie: Maybe because they had six children, and if Arthur had died then it would have been one person bringing up six children. That's what I can think of, but I don't know.

Andrew: Yeah. Well it must've been hard, just even as two people to raise six children full-time.

Jamie: Can I just say though, can I say, witches and wizards complaining about bringing up children. You flick your wand and...

Andrew: The diaper is changed.

Jamie: ...dinner is ready.

[Micah laughs]

Jamie: Yeah, and diapers changed. Sorry, I shouldn't say diaper, really, I should say nappy.

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: Nappy's been changed, but yeah, it's not exactly - I honestly don't get this magic thing. I remember in The Sword and the Stone when Wart is walking with Merlin and he says, "Now don't you think that magic will solve all your problems, because it won't." But, it just seems like it does.

Micah: Yeah.

Andrew: Yeah.

Ben: Well, that's from a Muggle point of view, man. That's like not having an iPhone and thinking that the iPhone is going to solve all your problems and then when you get the iPhone, it feels like it is better for a while, then after a while you're like, man. You get used to it and it's just like - it ain't nothing man.

Andrew: What were you going to say, Micah?

Jamie: I don't have anything to say to that, that's a good point.

Micah: Well, no, I was going to say though, Molly's brothers were both in the Order, so maybe she kind of got a taste for what it was like and didn't want her family to be at risk any more than they already were.

Andrew:

"Question two: What's up with Harry having no grandparents? Lily and James were quite young when they had Harry, about nineteen, twenty years old. We know at least, that Lily's parents were alive when she was eleven and James' parents, I assume, were alive and well into his teens. I assume Lily's were alive though, her seventh year just due to logistics. Wouldn't there be another family member there to care for Lily and Petunia if they were underage?"

Jamie: Mm.

Ben: Yeah, I'm not so much concerned about the grandparents' side of things, like, I mean I think that it is a bit fishy that there are no grandparents but I'm thinking like - there's not even a great uncle or a great aunt, that the grandparents had some kind of siblings, you know?

Andrew: Yeah.

Ben: The chance of that happening of all of them being dead? They seem to be very slim.

Andrew: I guess it was a little too convenient for the story. It would have been too convenient for the story. Or maybe - I bet Jo has some story made up for the grandparents. Why they're not around.

Jamie: Or she'll make one up.

Andrew: Yeah.

"Question number three: Wouldn't Snape be pissed that Harry named his kid after him? Severus? Puh-lease!"

Ben: [as Snape] "I am honored, Potter."

Andrew:

"How PO'd do you think Snape would be to find out Harry named his kid after him, how his name will forever be next to Potter? Yes, it was a sign of respect on Harry's part, but if Snape was never nice to Harry at all in seven years, regardless of the love he felt for Harry's mother, I could not see him being okay with that."

Jamie: I agree. I think he would be annoyed, but the fact of the matter is he's dead, so Harry's like, "this entire feud is over now and I'm going to sign it by calling my son after you."

Ben: Is he turning over in his grave? Is Snape turning over in his grave?

Andrew: No.

Jamie: Well, no. Because he's dead.

Andrew: I think Snape likes it. Because Harry's related to Lily and Snape is in love with Lily. And now Lily's child has a kid...

Jamie: But he was in love with Lily Evans, not - well, I guess he was always in love with her. But I don't know if he - oh, I don't know. It's a very tough question to answer.

Andrew: It is. It really is.

Jamie: It's a good question though. That one.

Andrew: Alright, and final e-mail today. Ben, go ahead.

Muggle Mail: Dumbledore and the Hallows

Ben: Stefanie White, from Phoenix, Arizona writes:

"Hey guys, I just wanted to make a few quick comments. First, in Episode 187, when you were discussing the point that Dumbledore could sense where Harry and Ron are, and someone thought it was because Dumbledore could sense the presence of a Hallow, well, even though in Episode 189 someone wrote in and said J.K. Rowling said he simply used 'Homen...'"

Dude, this is...

Andrew: Hominum Revelio.

Ben: This does not even flow at all!

[Everyone laughs]

Ben:

"Well, even though in Episode 189 someone wrote in and said that J.K.R. had said he simply used Hominum Revelio, I definitely agree with you guys that it was much too simple as that - I agree that had that been the case..."

[Andrew laughs]

"Snape and many others would have been able to see where they are and that spell couldn't possibly have worked, because the fact that the cloak was a powerful object and no spell could penetrate it..."

[Everyone laughs]

"I did want to say however, that I do not think - I don't - I do not think Dumbledore would have recognized Harry under the cloak because it was a Hallow, but perhaps because of the magic emanating from it. It is known that Book Two has ties to Book Six, and perhaps the whole magic, especially dark magic, leaves traces theme comes into play here. I thought that Dumbledore may have sensed Harry simply because he is a Horcrux. What do you think?"

Andrew: Okay.

Jamie: But the Hallows aren't really evil, they're just completely neutral. But that's the thing about them. They just do what they do and you don't really have any innate evil or goodness about them. Whereas Horcruxes are completely evil through and through, whereas Hallows are just what they are. You know, like you can use the wand to do good, or you can hide under the Invisibility Cloak to help people, you know? I guess the stone, you can't really help people with. Yeah, that just killed my point. Sorry.

Ben: So Jamie, Jamie, would you rather brutally murder three innocent puppies or make three Horcruxes?

Jamie: Aww, well, surely I'd be making - well, you're saying, would I rather kill three people or three puppies?

Ben: Yes.

Jamie: Well, to be honest, people aren't very nice whereas puppies, they just do what they do. So...

Andrew: They love you unconditionally.

[Ben laughs]

Jamie: Yeah, they love you unconditionally so I guess I'd rather kill three horrible, horrible people. But I can't say that in today's world! So I have to say no for the greater good, utilitarianism and everything I'd kill the three puppies. I'd probably cry.

Micah: Would you eat them?

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: They're not free range meat are they?

[Everyone laughs]

Jamie: No, I wouldn't eat them then! I wouldn't eat them! Unless they're raised fairly and nicely, I wouldn't touch them! I wouldn't touch them, no. I would still give them a proper burial, though.

Chapter-by-Chapter: Prisoner of Azkaban

Andrew: So, that's all for the book of e-mails we had this week. Now it's time for Chapter-by-Chapter. Like I said, we're starting off with Chapters 1 through 3 of Prisoner of Azkaban.

Ben: What a book this was, folks! What a book!

Andrew: It was. It was quite a book. And Micah's going to lead the discussion of the first chapter and I've got the last two - Chapters 2 and 3.

Micah: All right.

Ben: Why do you get two? I don't get that. Why do you get two chapters?

Andrew: Well, Ben, you would have been more than welcome to have done one.

[Prolonged silence]

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: That's what I thought.

Ben: What do you mean, "Do one"? I could do one right now! I could do it on the fly! I can do it better than you ever could!

Andrew: No, no! Come on. Let's just go! We're 50 minutes into the show.

Jamie: That's a challenge there!

Micah: That is a challenge! All right.

Andrew: All right. Great. Save it for next time.

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