Trailer trash

By Katharine MacColl

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WOULD you spend nearly �4,000 to see a sports match you're not even keen on

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Well, Harry Potter fans are doing just that. The boy wizard's followers are heading to America for the Superbowl this week, not to see the game, but for a 30-second preview of the new Harry Potter film.

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The Superbowl XXXV in Florida's Tampa Bay is the first place in the world to screen the 30-second trailer of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone on 28 January. The Superbowl attracts a huge following and gigantic screens will show the trailer in the mid-game interval and again after the game.

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There will be a massive security operation over the next few days to make sure details of the trailer don't leak out.

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But why choose the Superbowl and why are diehard fans prepared to make a trip across the pond for just a trailer

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The Superbowl is often used in the US to show film trailers, because the clips are shown on huge screens to huge audiences.

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Travel agents say Potter fans have literally gone potty since they heard the news. Many have snapped up package deals to see the New York Giants versus Baltimore Ravens.

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Travel agent Thomas Cook says fans can expect to pay �3,237 for a specially-organised package, staying in a hotel for four nights, with tickets to the game and the NFL Superbowl Experience theme park.

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The TV network CBS will be televising the game to around 90 million viewers, but no one knows yet if the trailers will be included.

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It's often the case that trailers generate more press coverage than the movies themselves. When the first reel of Star Wars, Episode 1 was announced, fans of the original trilogy flocked to the theatres for a two-minute trailer of the film, which went on to become the second highest grossing film ever.

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Other crowd-pulling�trailers expected out this year include Lord of the Rings, Pearl Harbour, Hannibal.