The July 2014 Television Critics Association press tour kicked off on Tuesday (July 8) morning with a panel for Nielsen Media that nobody could understand because of sawing and hammering associated with hotel construction.
Pity, that.
Fortunately, we had no such trouble with the day's second panel, which was for Ovation, which likes to boast that it's “America's only arts network,” in large part because networks previously associated with the arts have turned their programming over to wine-swilling housewives or burger-selling Wahlbergs.
Ovation began with a panel for the child prodigy reality series “Young Marvels” and performances by a pre-teen singer and a pre-teen cellist, who both were relatively well-adjusted for underaged geniuses.
And speaking of underaged geniuses, we followed with Daniel Radcliffe, who recalled his first press conference experience as an actor came not for anything Harry Potter-related, but at a TCA panel for “David Copperfield” way back in the day. He swears he enjoyed the experience and remembers that one of the buttons on the “lift” at the hotel gave him electrical shocks.
Radcliffe was beaming in via satellite from NYC to promote Ovation's August/September airing of “A Young Doctor's Notebook,” which is available on Netflix and stars Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm, so you really ought to have heard of it (and I ought to have watched it).
In the early part of the panel, Radcliffe was asked on-topic questions about dancing with Jon Hamm — “I had to dip him at one point, which was not easy” — bathing with Jon Hamm and being six inches shorter than Jon Hamm, even if they're playing the same character. Apparently if you're going to quibble about Hamm and Radcliffe playing the same person, the height thing won't be the only difference you'll notice.
However, on this particular day, with J.K. Rowling releasing a very brief new Harry Potter story, there was no way we were going to get through the panel without a question about future wizarding adventures for Radcliffe.
“I don't know. My inclination is to say 'No,'” Radcliffe said of playing Harry Potter again.
Presumably he interpreted the question to refer specifically to a movie adaptation of Rowling's new story and because Daniel Radcliffe isn't exactly an unbusy man, well… No offense…
“It's not even hypothetical at the moment. What she's written, I haven't read it yet. I am going to read it,” Radcliffe insists. “But [it is], as I understand it, a very short piece that I'm not sure it, of itself, worthy of adaptation to film.”
Hedging his bets, though, Radcliffe adds, “He's at least sorta 12 years older in it than I am now, so I don't think I'll have to worry about that for a long time, I'm hoping.”
So yeah!
Press Tour is off and running.