FINAL Harry Potter out 7/21

Dig on this: J.K. Rowling's final installment for the HP series, titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is set to be published on July 21, 2007! Also, the new film will open July 13. Translation: July is Harry Mania. From the NYT:

Millions of fans around the world are fiercely anticipating this latest installment. But the end of the series, in which Ms. Rowling has hinted she may kill off one of the main characters, comes as a bittersweet finale not only for readers but also for the publishing companies, booksellers and licensees who have cashed in on the international phenomenon since it began more than nine years ago with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” It is hard to imagine how the publishing industry will ever replace the sensation that spawned midnight parties and all-night lines to get the books the moment they went on sale. When “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the sixth in the series, was published in July 2005, it sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours.

Yes, yes, very very sad for the publishing industry. What about sad for us? What about the impending death of two major characters? What about rumblings of Emma Watson quitting her role in subsequent films? And worst yet, what about the fact that Daniel Radcliffe has CLEARLY HIT PUBERTY and has decided to show it off in front of a horse named Equus and a naked British girl. She looks nothing like Cho or Ginny. Oi Oi Oi. West End Theatre will never be the same.