"If we turn our heads and look away and hope that it will all disappear then they will - all of them, an entire generation of people. And we will have only history left to judge us."
Posted By Ana on 07-31-08 @ 3:15 PM - 31 comments | Link
Today, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, the brilliant Harry Potter author, celebrates her birthday! Exactly 43 year ago, she was born in Chipping Sodbury, England. Although her past hadn't been easy, she overcame it and nowadays, she's one of the richest and most powerful women in the world. A very happy birthday, and thank you very much!
Also, her masterpiece, Harry Potter, celebrates his birthday too: he turns today 28. We hope he is having a good day with his wife and children. Congratulations!
'Beedle the Bard' to be published in December
Posted By Ana on 07-31-08 @ 11:49 AM - 21 comments | Link
Today, JKRowling.com has been updated to announced that The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be available to fans from all over the world soon. JK Rowling's new charity, Children's High Level Group, along with Scholastic, Bloomsbury and Amazon will be printing and distributing it on December 4th in two editions.
The standard version costs US$12.99 (US$7.59 in Amazon) and will be published in bookstores too. The collector's edition costs US$100.00, will be sold exclusively by Amazon and includes some special features, such as the original illustrations and the hardcover. Also, both of them will have additional notes by Albus Dumbledore.
As you may recall, seven copies of Beedle the Bard were hand-written by JK Rowling last year. Six of them were given to people who helped her in the creation of the Harry Potter series, and the last one was put into auction and bought by Amazon for US$4 million. After that, the website published reviews of the stories and promoted a contest, which winner would be able to read their copy. Now, Scholastic expects it to generate around US$8 million on sales.
More HBP trailer links, images
Posted By Matthew on 07-30-08 @ 6:09 PM - 28 comments | Link
Thanks to Warner Bros., we now have links to a plethora of versions of the Half-Blood Prince trailer, which was released yesterday, along with four high-quality images from it. First, the images:
Posted By Matthew on 07-29-08 @ 7:04 PM - 93 comments | Link
The theatrical trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is now online, courtesy of MSN Video. Check it out!
The trailer runs 1 minute, 29 seconds.
Update: The trailer can be viewed in high-definition at AOL Moviefone.
New trading cards and teaser picture available
Posted By Ana on 07-29-08 @ 6:01 PM - 6 comments | Link
Nine limited trading cards from Half-Blood Prince were put into sell today in Comic Con and are already available to buy in eBay. They display many scenes and characters of the the upcoming movie, and are available online here and here, courtesy of MuggleNet.
Also, the Italian website Coming Soon has released tonight a new picture from the trailer of the sixth movie in the Harry Potter series, showing Dumbledore handing Slughorn's memory. You can check it out here.
London HBP premiere to be on November 17th
Posted By Ana on 07-29-08 @ 4:58 PM - 8 comments | Link
A new press release has been made today, stating that the British Half-Blood Prince premiere is scheduled to take place on November 17h.
And, for the first time ever, the fans will be able to buy tickets to attend to the event. That is due to the fact that the sixth movie in the Harry Potter series has been chosen to be The Royal Film Performance 2008, an yearly event organized by British Royal Family. Further information about the tickets sells should be available through the e-mail events@ctbf.co.uk.
The money raised in the event will be going directly to the CTBF, an institution that supports industry employees' families who have fallen on hard times.
Sneak peek at Riddle in HBP trailer
Posted By Matthew on 07-28-08 @ 11:45 PM - 27 comments | Link
USA Todayhas posted two sneak peek photos from the upcoming Half-Blood Prince theatrical trailer on their website, one showing the young Tom Riddle and another of Dumbledore in the heat of battle - check them out!
In the photo of Tom Riddle, played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, orphanage director Mrs. Cole (Amelda Brown) and a younger Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) look on from the orphanage hallway. And the Dumbledore image is taken from the battle with the Inferi in the cave.
David Yates remarks, "It's almost a biblical image. He's a bit like Charlton Heston when he parts the Red Sea."
Update:Two new photos were released this morning, showing Harry staring at a bottle filled with a memory and Dumbledore presenting another one to Harry.
According to David Yates's comments, some memories have been cut from the movie "to try to keep everything more in the moment," even though they were "an enjoyable part of the reading".
New video features Harry Potter locations
Posted By Ana on 07-28-08 @ 4:50 PM - 6 comments | Link
MuggleNet visitor Thomas Pardee has been visiting some places related to the Harry Potter series, and this week he posted the latest video from his trip through Great Britain.
This time the video shows his visit to Edinburgh and Glefinnan, in Scotland (where Deathly Hallows's writing was finished and where some scenes from the second, third and fourth movies were shot, respectively) and Gloucester, in England (where some Hogwarts scenes from the first, second and sixth films were filmed).
Posted By Matthew on 07-27-08 @ 11:11 PM - 18 comments | Link
Emma Watson attended the annual Cartier International Polo Day in Windsor, England, today, where England faced off against Australia in a polo match. Other attendees included Prince Charles, who oversaw the event, and actress Rosamund Pike (of James Bond fame).
The Telegraphreports that, "with an air of cool sophistication that belied her age," Emma "managed to stand out even amongst the cream of high society" at the match. England pulled out the squeaker, 10-9.
Scholastic's stock slumps without Harry
Posted By Matthew on 07-25-08 @ 9:12 PM - 16 comments | Link
Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter books, announced somewhat disappointing fourth-quarter earnings today, leading to a drop in profit from $45.3 million last year to $28.9 million this year. The difference, although worsened by the challenging economy, is primarily due to the release of Deathly Hallows last summer and the lack of any new HP books on the horizon.
But while the company did not meet analysts' expectations for this quarter, this news cuts both ways: any publisher would love to have a series half as popular as Harry Potter, and a decline in profit was inevitable following the publication of the final tome. That the decline was a little steeper than expected is not so much a cause for despair as it is an indication of the challenge Scholastic now faces in a post-Harry world.
Half-Blood Prince trailer to debut July 29th
Posted By Ana on 07-24-08 @ 11:57 PM - 31 comments | Link
Warner Bros. confirmed today that the satellite teaser trailer for the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will debut via satellite on Tuesday, July 29th, from 9:00 - 9:15pm EST. The coordinates to pick up the feed are as follows:
Also, WB included a short synopsis of the sixth film:
Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort's defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn't counted on Romilda Vane's chocolates! And then there's Hermione, simmering with jealously but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
The trailer will likely find its way to the internet shortly after the satellite airing.
Japanese 'Deathly Hallows' translation released
Posted By Ana on 07-23-08 @ 4:31 AM - 22 comments | Link
Hundreds of Harry Potter fans gathered in costume at bookstores to get a copy of the book: "I'm so excited I feel like crying. I'm totally enchanted," said a breathless young Japanese woman who had waited outside the Tokyo bookstore since Tuesday afternoon.
Online bookstore Amazon Japan said it received about 95,000 orders for the Japanese version of J.K. Rowling's book, the maior most expressive result reached by a book in the Harry Potter series, topping its bestsellers chart.
Happy Birthday, Daniel Radcliffe!
Posted By Ana on 07-23-08 @ 12:28 AM - 34 comments | Link
Today, world famous actor Daniel Radcliffe turns 19. Since he was announced as the child who would play Harry Potter on the big screen, back in 2000, Daniel has attracted many fans from all over the world.
Daniel has been in the Harry Potter series since then, but his future plans don't include only filming both Deathly Hallows movies; he will also be soon starring Journey and debuting his play, Equus, on Broadway this September. Happy birthday, Dan!
Rowling to be in new MS documentary
Posted By Ana on 07-22-08 @ 2:58 PM - 15 comments | Link
According to BBC News, a new interview with JK Rowling will be shown on a Multiple Sclerosis documentary. In it, Rowling talks about the low national funds for medicinal researches and about her mother, Anne, who died because of the deadly disease:
"I started writing Harry six months before she died. That's obviously a real regret, because I never told her I was even writing it. She knew I wanted to write - I'm not sure how seriously she took it. She never knew anything about Harry Potter at all."
The documentary will air on BBC One Scotland today at 22:45 BST, and you can see a video snippet from it here.
Fans to pay £1,000 a day for Rowling suite
Posted By Ana on 07-20-08 @ 6:33 PM - 23 comments | Link
The suite in Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel where JK Rowling finished writing Deathly Hallows, has suffered changes, not only visually but financially.
Acordding to Telegraph.co.uk, after being renamed in her honour, the sumptuous room has been decorated with a marble bust signed by the celebrated author on January 11th 2007. For that, fans from all over the world will have to pay £965, almost US$2,000, for a night in JK Rowling Suite.
Posted By Ana on 07-19-08 @ 8:57 AM - 33 comments | Link
Rowling's demand on Scholastic to publish the seventh installment in the Harry Potter series in at least 30% recycled paper, impacted the environment, according to the Green Press Initiative.
The institution says that this simple move in the Deathly Hallows publication saved more than 200,000 trees, what makes the same carbon impact as if 1,577 cars were taken off the road. Rowling also requested to her Canadian and British publishing houses to print her books in 100% recycled paper.
Posted By Ana on 07-18-08 @ 10:36 AM - 52 comments | Link
The first Half-Blood Prince trailer, available on new Batman's IMAX version, has surfaced online right now, thanks to the Venezuelan website BlogHogwarts.
It is not revealing, since it's a minitrailer 15 seconds length and shows no new scene, but it's worth to see it in Youtube here.
In addition, Mexican and Brazilian Warner Bros. have reported that a full-fledged HBP trailer will arrive on common theaters on August 1st, along with Mummy 3. Thanks, carolicious!
EW releases new Slughorn picture
Posted By Ana on 07-17-08 @ 6:57 PM - 29 comments | Link
Entertainment Weekly magazine has released a new image from Half-Blood Prince movie, which will be in its tomorrow printed issue. The new photo displays Slughorn and Harry, presumably in the moment in which the Potions teacher gives the Felix Felicis bottle to Harry, for his excellent Draught of Living Death.
In addition, the magazine released a snippet from an exclusive interview with actor Jim Broadbent, in which he says his character is "a good teacher, but he has a fateful weakness for charismatic, high-flying, brilliant students." Thanks to everybody who let us know!
Update: Warner Bros. has just published the same photo in higher resolution. Check it out here!
EA releases screenshots from HBP game
Posted By Matthew on 07-15-08 @ 11:26 AM - 5 comments | Link
EA has today released several screenshots from the upcoming Half-Blood Prince video game, which show Harry dueling in the Great Hall (in a scene reminiscent of Chamber of Secrets) and holding his wand at the ready in another room. Check them out here!
The HBP video game will be released November 14.
Robert Pattinson compares new film to HP
Posted By Matthew on 07-15-08 @ 11:22 AM - 35 comments | Link
In an interview with MTV, Robert Pattinson (who played Cedric Diggory in the Goblet of Fire movie) talks about his contrasting experiences in the Harry Potter franchise and his upcoming film, Twilight. In Twilight, which is based on Stephanie Meyer's novel of the same title, Robert stars as the lead. Here's a snippet from the interview:
MTV: You're the only actor to appear in both the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" universes. Is Stephenie Meyer's material meatier, in your opinion? Pattinson: In a lot of ways. My character certainly is [more substantial] than the character I played in "Harry Potter" [Cedric Diggory], mainly because the entire thing is based on Edward's character and who he is. He is very tortured and conflicted, which is very different from what I played in "Harry Potter." But it's a completely different style of book.
MTV: How so? Pattinson: "Twilight" is a first-person narrative. It's very obsessive, and it's a much more personal book, I think, than "Harry Potter" is, in a lot of different ways. There are only two characters pretty much in the trilogy. Well, I guess three, but essentially two. It's just about a love story rather than a massive adventure and an entire world. It's set as much as possible in the real world, so it's different.
Posted By Matthew on 07-14-08 @ 2:35 PM - 11 comments | Link
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting today that Universal Orlando has closed down an existing ride, shop, and restaurants, including the Flying Unicorn children's roller coaster, the Enchanted Oak Tavern restaurant, the Dragon's Keep store, and the Alchemy Bar, in order to refurbish them for the upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. When the park pieces reopen, they will have a Harry Potter twist.
The newspaper writes:
The Enchanted Oak building, which already looked like a magical, mystical place, is now being rebuilt, presumably to resemble a Hogsmeade establishment such as The Three Broomsticks. A seven-story structure of steel girders rising behind a Jurassic Park fence appears to be framework for the castle. Universal officials won't comment, however.
"It's too soon to talk about specifics," spokesman Tom Schroder said.
New cave photo; Greyback to attack Arthur
Posted By Ana on 07-12-08 @ 10:36 AM - 64 comments | Link
Megacalendars company has released today, in its website, a new image from 2009 Half-Blood Prince calendar, which possibly shows Harry and Dumbledore in the cave where the false Horcrux is. It's possible that it's a manipulation rather than an official image, but we hope WB confirms it soon.
Also, new scans from Movie Magic magazine reveal that, since Bill was cut from the sixth movie, the werewolf Fenrir Greyback "attacks Harry, but Harry or (someone unseen) petrifies him in time. But Ron's Dad is not so lucky -- Fenrir mauls his face and nearly kills him."
Short HBP trailer to debut in IMAX next week
Posted By Matthew on 07-10-08 @ 2:36 PM - 37 comments | Link
ComingSoon reports that a 15 second-long trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be attached to Warner Bros.'s The Dark Knight when it opens in theatres next Friday, July 18. The mini-trailer will play only in IMAX theatres.
Rumors had circulated that a full-fledged teaser trailer would debut along with The Dark Knight in regular theatres, but in the wake of the debunking of that rumor, this is certainly welcome and exciting news.
Yates offers more insight into HBP
Posted By Matthew on 07-09-08 @ 8:26 PM - 16 comments | Link
USA Today has now published more extensive quotes from Half-Blood Prince director David Yates on the promotional photos recently released from the movie.
On the photo of Dumbledore in his office, Yates said that Dumbledore's pensieve "becomes the key to the story. It houses these memories which manifest as spooky inky trails that form into a solid world to explore."
Also, on the photo of Yates talking with Dan and Bonnie in the Burrow, he explained, "We were discussing a scene in which their characters, Harry and Ginny, find a moment together. We actually ad-libbed this scene and introduced the notion that Ginny needed to tie Harry's shoelace, so she could get close to him. Once she comes up, they're just inches apart, and suddenly the moment is quite charged."
Craig: First DH film could end on Ron's return
Posted By Ana on 07-07-08 @ 7:15 PM - 39 comments | Link
Movie Magic magazine brought in its July issue a large Half-Blood Prince-related report, which includes several exclusive interviews with many members of the cast and crew.
The most important piece of information, though, was given by production designer Stuart Craig, who spoke about the splitting of the two Deathly Hallows movies:
We don't have a script yet, so we don't know. I've heard it suggested that the first film ends with the return of Ron Weasley. His return is an emotional high. I guess that could provide a very satisfactory ending. I don't know if Steve Kloves, the writer, agrees, but we'll find out when we receive that first script.
Craig also states that the sixth film in the series is "one of the most challenging of them all", and that they only "built two tiny little parts of it [the cave] and the rest is a computer-generated set."
Also, thanks to DanRadcliffe.com, we have scans from the August issue of Empire magazine, which brings us another two new photos showing the trio and Slughorn with Harry. The magazine also states that, according to Daniel Radcliffe, the Inferi are "horrible" and made him "think of bodies in concentration camps."
Posted By Matthew on 07-04-08 @ 8:45 AM - 17 comments | Link
This morning, EA Games launched the teaser website for the upcoming Half-Blood Prince video game, featuring a minute-long trailer for the game and some other basic information. (To view the trailer in a larger window, click here.) More languages will become available on the website in the coming week.
The HBP video game will be released on November 14, one week before the movie hits theatres.
WB releases 9 new 'Half-Blood Prince' photos
Posted By Matthew on 07-03-08 @ 6:06 PM - 59 comments | Link
Very exciting news today, indeed: Warner Bros. has released a batch of nine new photos from Half-Blood Prince, through both USA Today and AOL Moviefone. Check them out:
The USA Today piece also includes new quotes from producer David Barron and director David Yates. Here's Yates on the budding romance between Harry and Ginny: "Harry has these feelings for Ginny which he's unable to express or fulfill because Ron is very protective of her....They're about to kiss. Then the bloody Death Eaters turn up and cause all sorts of anarchy."
Thanks to WB for sending the photos our way!
'Beedle the Bard' goes on display in Tokyo
Posted By Matthew on 07-03-08 @ 5:37 PM - 4 comments | Link
Amazon took the show on the road today, arriving in Tokyo, Japan with one of seven handwritten copies of JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The company unveiled the book at a press conference today, and it has invited a lucky group of 20 fans to see it for themselves.
Already, more than 70,000 pre-orders have been placed for the Japanese edition of the book, which goes on sale later this month.
Dan likens HBP to 'Trainspotting,' Yates speaks
Posted By Matthew on 07-02-08 @ 6:22 PM - 14 comments | Link
In an interview with Empire magazine, Daniel Radcliffe likened several aspects of the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie to the 1996 cult movie Trainspotting, which centers around the Edinburgh drug scene and stars Ewan McGregor. Dan was quick to note the seeming dissonance of this comparison, remarking, "That's two films I never thought would be mentioned in the same breath."
As for the films' similarities, he explained, "There's a fair amount of sexual energy and there are some drug parallels. We have a couple of what David Yates, the director, calls our 'Trainspotting' moments."
Also in the interview, Yates offered some insight into the film's opening, saying, "We're opening with a big attack. It's talked about in the book, but we're going to show it. We'll bring a major London landmark crashing down. It should be quite spectacular
HP first editions sell for $35,000
Posted By Matthew on 07-01-08 @ 6:22 PM - 3 comments | Link
The signed set of all seven Harry Potter first editions went for £17,800 ($35,200) when they were auctioned off at the Cameo Fine Art Auctioneers in England on Tuesday. This impressive figure is in league with the £25,000 ($49,500) that JK Rowling's 800-word prequel fetched at a charity auction last month.
Signed set of first editions on block Tuesday
Posted By Matthew on 06-30-08 @ 9:40 PM - 11 comments | Link
A signed set of the first editions of all seven Harry Potter books will go on the auction block tomorrow at the Cameo Fine Art Auctioneers, a local auctioneer house in the UK. All of the books are in "near fine condition." They are expected to sell for anywhere from £15,000 to £20,000 ($29,800 to $39,800), a remarkable sum.
"Fine, I'll try and teach him again!" Snape snarled at Professor Dumbledore.
"Severus, please, for me, don't take all those old wounds that you gained from James out on Harry. Harry is not James - do not blame him for what happened." Dumbledore spoke quietly, but his blue eyes held a warning. Snape sighed in frustration...
Disclaimer: Veritaserum is run by fans and is for the fans. We are in no way official and are not affiliated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., EA Games, Scholastic, or Bloomsbury. We do not own any of the characters in the books, movies, or games.
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