Transcript for Levine interview

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Transcript: Arthur A. Levine on the Today Show, 28th March 2007

Meredith Vieira: All of you Harry Potter fans, hold on to your Hogwarts Hats. If you've enjoyed reading the first 6 Harry Potter books from bestselling author J.K. Rowling, I'm betting you're counting down the days to the July 21st release of the 7th and final book in the series. It's called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", and it will have a record-breaking first printing of 12 million copies here in the US. This morning, Arthur A. Levine, vice-president of Arthur A. Levine Books and the co-editor of the Harry Potter series is here to unveil the cover. Arthur, good morning to you.

Matt Lauer: Hey, Arthur!

Arthur Levine: Good morning. Nice to be here.

Lauer: You've brought these books over here so this is gonna be very exciting for you.

Levine: It is... you know it's exciting because I've been holding this secret now for months, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with other people and actually being able to talk about it

Vieira: I can't stand it. Can I just do this?

Levine: Yeah, sure

(Meredith reaches for the cloth covering the mock-up)

Lauer: Be careful cause she has a knack... she's a little... Meredith is accident-prone.

Vieira: Ta-daaa!

Lauer: So tell us about the artwork. What are we seeing here?

Vieira: It does not look good for him... for Harry.

Levine: We're seeing Harry in a very interesting situation, and readers will find out exactly what that situation is.

Vieira: We know somebody's gonna die, right?

Levine: We do know, we do know somebody's gonna die.

Lauer: On what page?

(All laugh)

Lauer: Let me show... that's the front cover, obviously, here's the entire jacket the way it plays out, it wraps around the whole book.

Vieira: It wraps around the book.

Lauer: What's happening here?

Levine: Well, I can't tell you exactly what's happening here. BUt that is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and it's the first time he's been shown on the jacket. And actually, it's interesting, cause we've made these extra long... the flaps, the part that's wrapped around the book are a little bit longer than usual, so you have more artwork than usual. It's very beautiful.

Lauer: Do you have... As the guy who brought it here, do you have mixed emotions about this series coming to an end?

Levine: Oh yeah, sure. I mean, when I was reading it, you know I had both the excitement and the power of the book, and the plot driving me forward. But I also was feeling a little sad. It's the last time...

Vieira: Did you cry?

Levine: I did. Sobbing... sobbing.

Vieira: That means that someone we like dies, doesn't it.

Levine: Well, it means that it's a very very emotional book.

Lauer: Just trivia-wise, how long does it take to print 12 million copies of the book?

Levine: It takes several weeks.

Lauer: Gosh.

Vieira: Wow.

Lauer: Congratulations in advance, and thank you. We can't wait to see it in July.

Levine: Thank you very much.

Vieira: Arthur Levine, thank you very much. Just a reminder, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will arrive at bookstores on July 21st.