Issue Date: April 16, 2006
A little game of one-on-one
A professional Wizard relates to "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
THE PLOT: In the fourth installment of the "Harry Potter" franchise, now out on DVD, our hero finds himself unwillingly thrust into the Triwizard Tournament, a hair-raising contest in which wizardom's brightest students face off in death-defying challenges. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) faces formidable foes, such as Quidditch superstar Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski) and the world of dating. And, oh yeah, a guy named Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
"I think of myself as more like Harry Potter. I'm the underdog."
-- Gilbert Arenas
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Insider's credentials: Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, 24, has had an MVP-like season. He is one of the NBA's leading scorers (in February, he torched the New York Knicks for 46 points), a two-time All-Star and a member of the 2006-08 USA Men's Senior National Team. An avid "Harry Potter" fan, Arenas says he has seen all of the movies and read several of author J.K. Rowlings' books.
OVERVIEW: "I think of myself as more like Harry Potter than Viktor Krum. I'm the underdog. Whoever our team is playing against is Krum -- the big superhero. I'm just Harry Potter, 'Zero to Hero.' "
Scene 5: The Triwizard Tournament -- Harry and his schoolmates are introduced in grand fashion to the students at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, their rivals in the Triwizard Tournament.
"I liked it. It showed the magic of the boys' club coming in, showing their thing and trying to control the room, and being cocky with it -- and the girls doing all of their sexy magical stuff while the younger ones watched. It's like they were letting them know, 'We're in charge, we've been doing this for a while.' "
Scene 10: Rita Skeeter -- Tabloid journalist Rita Skeeter (Miranda Richardson) puts words in Harry's mouth when she interviews him and the three other contestants who compete in the Triwizard Tournament.
"That was just like a reporter in the NBA when you first start. They're like, 'Oh, you mean this,' and you're like, 'Uh, I guess so.' I think athletes can relate; you're just trying to be modest, and they make you evil before you even do anything. That happened a lot when I first started."
Scene 14: The First Task -- Harry is terrified when he learns his first task is fighting a Hungarian Horntail dragon.
"This reminded me of my first NBA game ever. I was in Maui playing against the Lakers, with Kobe and Shaq. The place is sold out, everyone is for them. It was after they won their second championship. You can imagine how crazy that arena was. I couldn't feel my legs when I walked out there." -- Ellen Durston
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