Tonight, the “J.K. Rowling…A Year in the Life” documentary by James Runcie was broadcast in the UK on ITV, and is now being playedon iTV’s web site.
We have early reports on some of the new things contained in the program. TLC reader Andy writes that after Jo completed writing “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” Jo “puts on the page numbers and plays Lily Allen’s “Smile.” Andy writes that new artwork “for Ollivanders at Universal can briefly be seen,” and Jo would “like to be remembered as someone who did “the best she could, with the talent she had.”
Readers will remember that we saw three preview clips from the documentary (clip one, preview clip two, and this trailer) with the media currently making much ado of a question posed in the recent Time magazine interview, and posed in this video regarding a possible eight book, but as we saw, Jo says No. Specifically, she said “I think no, it’s time to stop, it’s time to stop now. It gives me a certain satisfaction to say what I thought happened and to tell other people that, because I would like my version to be the official version still, even though I’ve not written it in a book, because it’s my world.” As we first reported several days ago, there is new information in the documentary about the second generation of students at Hogwarts, found in the form of a handwritten family tree that you can see here in our galleries, or via the office on JKRowling.com. Thanks Andy!
Awesome. I could watch that show for hours (if it was hours long). I’ll probably watch it for hours anyway, just re-watching. I think the reason I enjoy her so much is because I am so accustomed to seeing celebrities with lesser talent who act like they are the most genius people who ever lived. With JKR, it’s vice versa. She has this otherworldly talent, and yet acts like a normal person. It’s so refreshing to see for a change.
Thank you for the link to this video. I feel like I’m just beginning to know and understand the person that is Jo Rowling. I was deeply touched by this documentary.
Thank you Jo for opening your home and your life to us.
If you’re reading this Jo, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! That was such an amazing documentary and it was very nicely done.
You are truly an amazing person, and I don’t think luck could have picked a better person to be with on the day you thought up Harry Potter. You are truly an inspiration to me. Seriously, though—all of that mail makes me truly wonder what made my letters so special. They’re really nothing extraordinary!
Thank you for providing the link. I watched the show and found it very informative. (I had to fib to register at the ITV site so that I could thank them as well…seems I had to become a UK Resident living in the US)
I am more and more impressed with Mrs. Rowling. I hope that she and her family have a very happy and full life together.
Oh…and after the polit0ical thriller book I hope she writes “The Scottish Book” and names it “Hogwarts, A History” (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Well, the “tvcatchup” link that is posted here only shows part of the show – it doesn’t play through until the end (at least on my computer). I managed to look it up on YouTube, but still have only found sections 1 thru 6 …. and I know there’s more, because they haven’t played the bit they showed in the preview where she goes to her old apartment.
Eventually I hope to be able to locate all the segments to this show, so I can see the ending – it has been a wonderful documentary so far! I can’t help wondering if some of the bits are a little “set up” for the camera, though… like when she finds a Harry Potter book on the shelf in her old flat, or when she finds a name in the church registry book that she “stole for the Harry Potter books”, and she slams the book shut before the camera can focus in on it…
Even if some of the documentary was staged, her life is still an amazing story, and I’m glad they filmed it. Her husband was a bit of a turd on the plane, though – criticizing her personal defense mechanisms while his arse was sitting in a huge comfy private jet that he wouldn’t have been in if it wasn’t for HER. He should have found something nice to say about her, since they only put him on camera for five seconds. Prat.
The way interrogation bits where questions were thrown at her felt, it was like she had taken Veritiserum. That’s how it felt to me. So, I suppose, very open. I felt she was really opening herself up to us, which really is huge. And is therefore a huge help. I really feel it deepened the meaning of the books for me.
Thank you for posting the youtube files. It was lovely. I was hoping the documentary would focus more on what she does in a year, how she writes, how she comes up with ideas, etc. But beggars can’t be choosers. I’m very happy that she did this. Thanks Jo!
Oh that is so bizarre. When I was watching it earlier and they were talking about the letters she gets, I thought I saw my handwriting on one. I went back later and, sure enough, it was! That was from back in March . . . how completely amazing!
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Awesome. I could watch that show for hours (if it was hours long). I’ll probably watch it for hours anyway, just re-watching. I think the reason I enjoy her so much is because I am so accustomed to seeing celebrities with lesser talent who act like they are the most genius people who ever lived. With JKR, it’s vice versa. She has this otherworldly talent, and yet acts like a normal person. It’s so refreshing to see for a change.