Hollywood Popular Artists

Jul 16th 2012, 19:00

By Meg Malone

Yesterday, marked the one-year anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2," which I also mark the unofficial end of my childhood. Yes, we're coming up on the five-year anniversary of the final book which is a milestone in itself, but with the release of the final movie installment, it really felt like the Harry Potter chapter of my life had closed. Having literally grown up with the magical story — reading the first two books right before middle school, the last book right after my high school graduation and the final movie after my college graduation — I was pretty distressed after exiting the theater. I may or may not have cried at a Borders when I walked past a Harry Potter themed display the next day.

I have a feeling "Twilight" fans are going to be feeling the same pit of despair after "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" is released on November 16. To them I say, fear not because you will find a way to go back about your daily life, namely in the form of exciting new franchises and continuing to track the stars' careers beyond your beloved series. For example, in the mean time "The Hunger Games" has proved a good series-to-film adaptation so far and with the announcement that "Mockingjay" will be two films, it seems I will have until 2015 before I have another dark period where I mourn the end of a franchise. In seriousness, there are always new bits of amazing creative stories to discover and captivate you, though you'll always hold a special place in your heart for the ones who are no more.

If I can't have the whole HP-trio back together, I can at least enjoy them separately moving forward. Earlier this year, Daniel Radcliffe starred in "The Woman in Black." and he has already generated praise from his co-star Ben Foster for his work as Allen Ginsberg in "Kill Your Darlings," set to come out next year. Emma Watson will be back on the big screen soon when "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (another favorite book of mine) comes out on September 14, and I have been excited since the trailer debuted at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards. And as far as a mini-reunion, the punk-rock pic "CBGB" has both Rupert Grint and Professor Snape himself, Alan Rickman, as part of the cast line-up.

So while they may never be all together at Hogwarts again, there's plenty for me to look to moving forward. Hey, I've made it a year already, and I know there's only more great work to come from my "Harry Potter favorites, as well as new awesome series to discover (suggestions from fellow "Harry Potter" mourners are always welcome).

Anybody else feeling like hosting a marathon of all eight "Harry Potter" movies? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!

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