Harry Potter
Ok, Pott-heads, grab some popcorn and cozy up on the couch. It's time for a Harry Potter weekend — complete with a sneak peek of the next magical flick.
As part of its "25 Days of Christmas," ABC Family will air the first four movies of the Harry Potter franchise Dec. 5-7. The world television premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will also feature ...
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J.K. Rowling b yMike Marsland/WireImage.com
How much are 800 handwritten words worth? When they're in the form of an ersatz prequel to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, nearly $50,000. On Tuesday night at a London auction house, a bid of 25,000 pounds (or $48,855) claimed someone a two-sided page on which Rowling wrote a preface to the mega-hit series of books and movies. The auction's proceeds will benefit a dyslexia charity and the writer's organization PEN. Twelve other authors and illustrators, including Nobel winner Doris Lessing and novelist Nick Hornby, offered similar short-form items for auction. Lest anyone hope that Rowling's charitible scribblings might lead to something bigger (and bound), it should be noted that the document's final 12 words were: "From the prequel I am not working on — but it was fun!" — Anna Dimond Related:• 20/20 Special Will Bewitch Harry Potter Fans• Judge Urges Rowling to Make Lawsuit Disappear
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ABC News and RDF Media Group, who recently partnered to bring 20/20 a high-rated profile of the royal family, are reteaming for a behind-the-scenes look at the life of Harry Potter auteur J.K. Rowling.An RDF crew tailed Rowling for more than a year for a piece that includes interviews, the Deathly Hallows book tour and a look at locations that inspired Potter characters and events. The 20/20 special also will offer a hint as to what's next for the beloved franchise (besides, that is, a mound of legal bills). According to the Reporter, a November sweeps airing is planned. — MWM
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Michael Gambon as Professor Dumbledore courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
At a Friday-night appearance at Carnegie Hall, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling confirmed that which many fans had suspected: Albus' wand leans the other way. According to the AP, during a question-and-answer following a brief Deathly Hallows reading, Rowling responded to a query about Hogwarts' headmaster finding true love by saying, "Dumbledore is gay." The writer proceeded to elaborate that Dumbledore was smitten with Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle. Upon seeing his good friend go bad, she says, Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."My Dumbledore/Uncle Arthur-from-Bewitched slash fiction just got a lot more interesting.UPDATE: I went to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway Saturday, not long after this story hit the AP, and they worked a Professor Dumbledore joke into the script. Ha.
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Daniel Radcliffe courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Bookmakers in London ("bumbershoots," I believe they are called) have stopped accepting bets on Harry Potter's mortality as decided by the final book, Deathly Hallows, saying the teen wizard's death appears to be a sure thing. "Every penny [wagered] was on Harry dying, and it became untenable," a rep for the betting house William Hill tells the New York Daily News. Instead, Hill is accepting bets on Potter's killer, with HWMNBN paying 2-to-1, Snape at 5-to-2 and a PMSing Hermione at 10-to-1. (Oh, yes, here come the e-mails.... )POLL: Do you think Harry will die in Deathly Hallows? Vote here (bottom right).
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Universal Orlando — the theme park we geeky moms and dads used to visit after dumping our progeny with the grandparents — is adding a mega-attraction that will force us to bring the kids along. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, described as a "theme park within a theme park," is set to debut in 2009, and will feature rides, shops and attractions inspired by the literary juggernaut. Fellow parents, start liquidating that college fund. — Reporting by Raven Snook
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With nine weeks to go until the long-awaited July 21 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, author J.K. Rowling is urging fans to steer clear of spoilers. According to the AP, Rowling, upon learning that possible secrets were being spilled via unsolicited e-mails to The-Leaky-Cauldron.org, on her own site implored readers to "embark on the last adventure... without knowing where they are going. All [spoilers] will do is diminish [your] pleasure in the book."The webmaster of The-Leaky-Cauldron.org herself is threatening spoiler-sports with "the wrath of a staff of almost 200, most of whom have been waiting almost 10 years for these final revelations. We own pitchforks, hot wax and feathers. And we're not afraid to use them." I like her!
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Look at me, simply begging for derision by reporting on this. The wrap-around book jacket for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the spellbinding series' seventh and final entry, was unveiled on Wednesday, sending magnifying-glass-wielding fans into marathons of scrutiny. The eagle-eyed can look past the dominant images of Harry and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to find hints of Deatheaters, the mythical "horcrux" locket, and, by fantastically unreliable accounts, Hurley's numbers. HP and the DH hits stores July 21.
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This just in from Warner Bros. Pictures: "Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will reprise the roles they have made their own: teen wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively, in Warner Bros. Pictures' Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final two motion-picture adaptations of J.K. Rowling's best-selling book series."Watson, who was rumored to be a holdout as recently as Monday, says in a statement, "I could never let Hermione go — she is my hero! I love her too much and love what playing her has meant to me. I am excited and honoured to be finishing what I started and playing her in all seven of the films."What's Parseltongue for, "Back up the Brinks truck?"
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