Well, this is a new wrinkle. There’s fan films, and then there’s fan fiction (fanfic), and never the twain shall meet right? Usually, but not this time. Turns out there’s a new fan film being made, James Potter and the Hall of Elders’ Crossing, and it’s based on a Harry Potter fanfic novel.
James Potter is Harry’s son, introduced briefly in the epilogue of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Released last November, Elders’ Crossing is a 350-page fanfic novel that follows the kid as he enters Hogwarts in the shadow of his legendary father. Reportedly downloaded more than a million times, the fan story led to its author, George Norman Lippert of St. Louis, MO, being interviewed by the London Times, Canadian National Radio, and Fox News; all that, in turn, was enough to compel him to write a sequel, James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper, due online in September.
And in what might be a first, there’s now a fan film being made of the first novel as well. Shot by a California teenager and his friends, the film will be released in serial form via YouTube and the teen’s website. “They consulted me by email about the screenplay and casting,” Lippert said, “but that’s about it. It’s their creation entirely, and I can’t wait to see how the story looks through their eyes.”
Theirs is not the only visual media related to Lippert’s James Potter fanfic, however. His day job is in computer animation, so the websites for both his stories feature impressive CGI trailers, such as the lovely opener to the Gatekeeper site, which features a sweeping flyover of the Hogwarts Express before it zooms over the school.
So, has anybody actually read Elders’ Crossing? Do you know of another fan film based on a fanfic story? Think the kids will complete their serialized movie of the first novel? Throw in your two cents in the comments.
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