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JULY 1, 2004 at 1:51 AM
Posted by CHEESER
Source: HPANA
After making international headlines and enduring the wrath
of Harry Potter author JK Rowling herself, the person responsible for releasing a false title -- Harry Potter and the Pillar of Storgé -- for the series' sixth book offers an apology and explanation in an interview with HPANA.
The real title of book 6 -- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince -- popped up on Rowling's official site just days after the hoax (perhaps because of the hoax?). It has since been confirmed by the author.
The prankster, a 19-year-old male student at the University of Florida, speaks:
Firstly I would like to offer two apologies. I owe an apology to all of the Harry Potter fans that I lied to; I never thought my hoax would go so far and I felt awful when some of you got so excited about knowing the title. I am sorry. I also would like to apologize to J.K. Rowling, as I did an awful thing by impersonating her. I consider her a literary genius.
In the end, the hoax was all in good fun. I thought the title was rather funny and had hoped that at least some people would get a good chuckle out of it.
And now, explained in full, here's what happened -- straight from the horse's mouth:
Do you have any official connection to JKR, Warner Bros., or the book publishers?
No, I have no connection to them whatsoever.
What made you think of doing this, and specifically, the timing of it?
I had recently finished a re-reading of Order of the Phoenix and it got me excited about the Harry Potter series again. As a result of that excitement, I stumbled upon JKR's website for the first time and was fascinated by the unopenable door. I also thought it was great that she was dispelling some of the rumors about the series. Somehow I put two and two together and the hoax clicked in my mind.
The timing of the event was never planned; it was simple dumb luck on my part that I released the hoax at the start of a weekend so that it [became] more effective.
How did you do it?
A hobby of mine is computer graphics/video editing, so I knew I could produce a realistic video. I realized that this was exactly what I needed to make the hoax believable.
I used two programs: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. In Photoshop I edited and manipulated pictures from JKR's site, and in After Effects I animated them into the finished video. I did not use [Macromedia] Flash at all. The blue bars (see image) at the bottom and top are a result of me changing the aspect ratio of the video without distorting it so that I could compress it into an MPEG file. I whipped the video up in about two hours.
As far as the "message" was concerned, I just tried to mimic JKR's style as much as possible. I came up with the title Pillar of Storgé, trying to formulate something with a hidden meaning that people would be able to figure out. It's an ugly title, but I'm quite fond of it.
What did you expect as a result of the hoax? Did you think it would receive the worldwide press it garnered?
I NEVER expected this much attention. I even wondered if anyone would believe it at all. My original goal of the hoax was that a rumor about the title would slowly creep through the Harry Potter community (much like the Green Flame Torch rumor), and that JKR would eventually dispel it as a myth (perhaps releasing some real information while doing so) on her site.
I never wanted the attention of all the Harry Potter fans; there was a clear and specific reason for the hoax and it involved the attention of only one woman. I was highly amused by the fervent guessing of the meaning of the title by eager fans and by the international press that it received.
Finally, a closing thought from the anonymous mountebank: "If I had not started the hoax, would we all know the real title to book 6 right now?" Read The Leaky Cauldron's analysis of that question. In the meantime, consider what an astute reader over there observed: Rowling said on her site that "as a little bonus, and compensation for having been messed around by Mr. or Ms. Storgé, I shall tell you one thing without making you shift any bricks at all: the HBP [half blood prince] is neither Harry nor Voldemort."
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Legilimens
Points: 3013
Extendable Ears says:
Wow, that guy has too much time on his hands. I guess I'm glad that we got some good info from Jo in the aftermath!
So the question is now: who is the half blood prince? Now I want to re-read! I wonder how long we'll have to wait until it comes out.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:21 PM EST
Head Girl
Points: 439
mrs_r.weasley says:
I was totally fooled at first glance, but when I thought about it, I didn't believe that JKR would ever allow such information to "leak." It was a genius plot by the hoaxer, and in the end we all got what we wanted anyway, the REAL title of book 6. So, no harm done!
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:21 PM EST
Muggle
Points: 19
Hermione Faiy says:
Thinking back on it now, now that we know it was a joke, it's quite funny. Anyone who got upset over this is getting a little too worked up. That was really quite clever of him and, as he said, it just got out of hand. He didn't expect or want this, so how can we tell him he's horrible? What about the 'Green Flame Torch' rumor? No one is throwing hateful thoughts at whoever started that, now are they? It was just a prank that got taken too far. (in my opinion, it was taken too far, not by its originator, but by the fans. so we can't very well blame him for that).
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:23 PM EST
Prefect
Points: 380
AvadaKedavra27 says:
Ok clearly this guy has no idea how hard core we harry potter fans are! if you make something up that is SO IMPORTANT to us as we wait for book six to come out, its going to spread like wildfire. so i dont buy all of that "i never expected this much attention" crap.
alright this loser got his fifteen minutes so lets not give him any more! and in no way do i give credit to him for "getting" JKR to tell us the title. I wish he were here right now...I would Crucio his ars so fast he wouldnt know what hit him!!!
TA!
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:28 PM EST
Muggle
Points: 82
that70switch says:
What a swine. I thought actually it was pretty funny, but thank god that it isn't Storge! It's sounds like a pain killer medicine if you ask me!
Then again... he's right. We wouldn't have found out the name this quick...
---
...he's a swine
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:29 PM EST
Student
Points: 286
Mudblood Wizard says:
Of couse i knew all alone that the title piller of storge was fake.
But he did do a good job on the video editing and the written part.
I'm sure i would have been fooled if he'd have picked a better title.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:34 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 4th Class
Points: 1208
danradcliffelovr says:
I think the hoaxer has a point. would we know the title of book 6 now?
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:37 PM EST
Student
Points: 217
Rectilinear Propagation says:
The hoaxer is an idiot. I can't believe that he would let what happened go one that long and then give an interview claiming that he didn't want the attention and was sorry. Sorry dude; I'm not looking to buy any fertilizer.
And yes, we would know the title of Book 6 now; JKR said she planned to let us know when he decided to pull this stunt.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:47 PM EST
Witch
Points: 548
tinkerbel says:
All I can say is, TOO MUCH TIME ON HIS HANDS!!! But, it is amazing what people can actually do if they put their minds to things.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:51 PM EST
Prefect
Points: 334
Hermione781 says:
Everyone, stop giving the hoaxer credit for getting Rowling to release the title of book 6!!! On Rowling's site, she says: "Unfortunately, however, the door opened on the very same day the 'Pillar of Storgé' hoaxer struck, which left a lot of Harry Potter fans bemused ..." Note the unfortunatly. She was going to release it then anyways, and it was unfortunate that the hoaxer struck when he did.
She did tell us that it wasn't Harry or Voldemort because of the hoax, we can thank him for that, and only that, but we would no doubt have gotten that information anyways, probably behind the door a little later on.
Hermione Faiy, no one's mad at whoever started the Green Torch rumor because one, I don't think anyone knows for sure who they are, and two, they didn't go through some elaborate process taking hours to try to trick some people. Sure, other people have made up titles, but no one else has gone through such trouble.
The hoaxer says he didn't want all the attention, but he was hoping it would get around enough to get Rowling to release the title. Obviously if Rowling hears about it, that's a lot of attention.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 1:54 PM EST
Lethifold
Points: 2862
Snitch Sox says:
#Puts on sanctamonis tone#
Let this be a lesson to us all in how jokes can get out of hand! Silly boy!
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 2:05 PM EST
Ravenclaw's Heiress
Points: 3926
PhoenixFire says:
His work was a bit impressive, but I think he's a bit of an idiot to have created that. But the question "If I had not started the hoax, would we all know the real title to book 6 right now?" had to think about that but I have to say no.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 2:15 PM EST
Student
Points: 233
wrathofthepuppy says:
what a loser.... At least the initials arent PoA tho... hehe
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 2:19 PM EST
Professional Beater
Points: 20891
feltonluver says:
HAHA that guy is freaking awesome and although everyone might hate him i think he's freaking awesome. He got what he wanted!
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 2:30 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2286
Terri Boot says:
Yeah, I was really upset about the whole thing. If JK had released the name when she felt like it, instead of days after the hoaxer ... oh well, what's done is done, right? It'll be an interesting thing to tell the grandkids ... :)
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 2:50 PM EST
Ravenclaw Ambassador
Points: 3243
Nevar says:
You know, if it hadn't've been for this guy, we MAY still be guessing if the HBP is Harry or Voldemort. And I'm glad he admitted his mistake. His apology seems very geniune, and it doesn't look like he'll be doing it again any time soon.
Potters_Raven
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 2:51 PM EST
Witch
Points: 832
latinabloomlova says:
Taking someone else's identity is horrible! It's punishable by law too...I can't help but wonder though if JKR would've released the title this early though...we would've found out anyways later...it's the timing of it thats the issue.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 3:10 PM EST
Squib
Points: 180
Mistress of Secrets says:
I have to say, I was actually pretty impressed with him. I'm a fan of the series but I honestly took it as a joke to start with. Cleverness always makes me take notice. I don't think he should be sued or really reprimanded. Why should he be when really, it us the fans that were fooled?
Perhaps I just think it is highly entertaining so I'm not offended. I wish I had half the ability he did. Think about it this way, if nothing had happened, what news would we have on Book 6? We're closer to clues than were before... which for me, makes me happy. I wasn't a fan when the other 5 came out so this is all new - and great fun - for me.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 3:49 PM EST
Auror
Points: 4040
Dan's no.1 fan 4ever says:
What an idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 3:51 PM EST
Muggle
Points: 37
oliversgrl says:
I know I was dying to know the title, but it was keeping me interested not knowing it and waiting. I am still interested, but I am wondering how she would have brought it out had it not been for that hoax... now we'll never know.
~Missi
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 4:04 PM EST
Points: 6760
Zarry Sotter says:
I didn't really believe the hoax at all... It just didn't seem like JK.
Haha, but now we can all look back on it and laugh. It's quite funny if you think about it...
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 4:10 PM EST
Squib
Points: 149
Ninakix says:
It was funny... I didn't fully believe it, but it was a good joke.
Hmm... If I were JKR, I'd name that the seventh book, just for the hell of it. I think it would be funny. But, that's just my humour. :D :D
Or that Icicle-toenail thing she mentioned on her site, haha.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 4:10 PM EST
Professor
Points: 1158
Moonbake says:
All in good fun! I am just glad the title wasn't real! I wasn't fond of it that is for sure!
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 4:24 PM EST
Muggle
Points: 37
oliversgrl says:
I am just super curious as to who the Half Blood Prince is... It's obvious it's not Harry and she already said it wasn't him or Voldemort, but who does that make it? :)
~Missi
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 4:45 PM EST
Brightest Star in the Sky
Points: 3762
Siriusly Black says:
That was a really cruel thing to do and I cannot believe this guy didn't think it would go far when he had a video and everything to prove it. Very very mean.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 4:59 PM EST
Mediwitch
Points: 2608
nickyole1 says:
Goodness, I didn't think it was funny! I can't believe that someone would actually do that to the millions of Harry Potter fans out there, yet alone, have fun with it. I am so mad at this person. He is such an idiot.
Posted Jul 1, 2004 at 5:05 PM EST
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