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The Daily Prophet |
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December 2001
JK Rowling Marries in Private
Can't See the Hogwarts Express LONDON (Reuters) - Film studio Warner Bros has blocked plans to turn the steam train in the Harry Potter movie into a tourist attraction, according to the station storing the locomotive. The "Hogwarts Express", which whisks Harry Potter to his school of wizardry in the blockbuster film, is currently kept in a locked shed at Carnforth station in northwest England. The station is keen to put it on display, but it says Warner, which produced "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", has threatened to sue if it uses the Harry Potter name. "I suggested using the train as a tourist attraction but they (Warner Brothers) want to keep it under wraps so when people see it in the movie it will have a bigger impact," Carnforth Station Trust chairman Peter Yates told BBC radio. "The train is parked in a shed just behind the railway station but we can't use it. "It would be very nice if they consider that people want to see this thing and we have an extremely good place to display it," he said. Carnforth in Lancashire, which also served as a backdrop for the 1946 film classic Brief Encounter and is undergoing a 1.9 million pound facelift, says it has already received visitors hoping to see the train. In the best-selling Potter books by J.K Rowling and in the hugely popular film, the Hogwarts Express sped Harry and his friends from platform 9 and 3/4 to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yates told BBC News Online he had rung Warner Bros. and suggested exhibiting the train at a platform which would be renamed 9 and 3/4. "Warner Bros. immediately said, 'No, if you try to use it in any way we'll sue you," Yates said. Warner Bros. was not immediately available for comment, but the Guardian newspaper quoted a spokesman as saying the Hogwarts Express nameplate could not be used for copyright reasons. Saturday 29th December 2001 Love and Death Ahead for Harry Potter LONDON (Reuters) - What does the crystal ball have in store for the world's most famous schoolboy wizard? Romance, exciting new places and deaths await Harry Potter, the author of the bestselling books about the bespectacled orphan has said. Harry Potter's adventures with his friends Ron and Hermione at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have captured the imaginations of a generation of children. The boy with the famous scar made his movie debut last month, casting a spell on audiences on both sides of the Atlantic in the film version of J.K. Rowling's first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." Now he is set for adventures in new places in the magical world of Rowling's fifth book, and must also face up to the challenges of growing up, the BBC said in a statement on Sunday. In the fourth book "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", Harry develops a crush on fellow Hogwarts student Cho Chang. "(There will be) more boy girl stuff inevitably, they're 15 now, hormones working overtime," it quoted Rowling as saying about the thrills to come in book five. "And Harry has to ask some questions that I hope the reader will think, 'well, why hasn't he asked this before?' Harry finds out a lot more about his past," she added in an interview with the BBC due to be broadcast on Friday, December 28. Rowling, a single mother who started writing the magical adventures in an Edinburgh cafe, allowed the cameras to see what Potter fans everywhere would love to get their hands on -- the last chapter of the final volume of the seven-book series, which she has already written. "I'm not opening it for obvious reasons...this is really where I'll wrap everything, it's the epilogue and I basically say what happens to everyone after they leave school, those who survive because there are deaths, more deaths coming," she said. "I really don't think you need much insight to guess that death and murder are always a possibility in the world. And more people are going to die. And there's at least one death that's going to be horrible to write," she said. And life after book seven? Rowling offers some hope for those fans of Harry and his friends. "I'm not going to say I'll never write anything to do with the world of Hogwarts ever again...It could be the encyclopaedia of the world (of Hogwarts) and then I could rid myself of every last lurking detail, but, no, not a novel," she added. Monday 24th December 2001 Harry Potter is the Biggest Bookseller this Year Ananova: The Harry Potter books are the year's biggest sellers so far. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone has sold more than a million copies in the UK in 2001. But the Christmas number one book looks likely to be Jamie Oliver's Happy Days With The Naked Chef. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban is in fifth place for the year overall. It is just behind Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. The full Book Track top 10 for the year up until December 15 is: 1 - Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone - JK Rowling 2 - Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling 3 - Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling 4 - Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding 5 - Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling 6 - A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer 7 - Chocolat - Joanne Harris 8 - White Teeth - Zadie Smith 9 - Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them - Newt Scamander 10 - Man and Boy - Tony Parsons Hot on the heels for the Christmas number one spot are Delia Smith's How To Cook Book 3 and Billy by Pamela Stephenson. Thursday 20th December 2001 Bridget Jones's Diary star cast in Harry Potter sequel Ananova: Shirley Henderson is to join the cast of the second Harry Potter film. The actress will play teenage ghost Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. She is best known for her role as Bridget's best friend Jude in Bridget Jones's Diary. Henderson will also be seen in the forthcoming film 24 Hour Party People, the story of Manchester record label Factory. Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets is set for release in November 2002. Veteran actor Julian Glover, who is best known for playing a villain in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, will provide the voice of Aragog the giant spider. Alfred Burke has been cast as the role of former headmaster Armando Dippet, according to BBC News. Wednesday 19th December 2001 Potter plate fetches nearly £4,500 at car reg sale Ananova: A number plate featuring Harry Potter's surname has fetched nearly £4,500 at auction. The plate - POT 73R - had a reserve price of £2,400. It was eventually sold to an anonymous bidder for £4,400 at the sale at Ragley Hall, near Alcester, Warwickshire. Officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which runs the auction, say the successful bidder will have to pay about £5,600 after VAT and the buyer's premium are added. Damian Lawson, of the DVLA, said: "Bidding was fast and furious. The person wasn't here so we don't know if he or she has a wand or Potter is just their surname." The Potter plate attracted a higher price because of interest aroused by the recent cinema release, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, added Mr Lawson. More than 800 personal registrations were on sale at the auction, which is one of five held annually by the DVLA. Other notable sales include A8 DUL, which went for £25,000 while another, DR51 DHU (Dr Sidhu), went for £6,000. VJ51 NGH (VJ Singh) was snapped up for about £3,500. Tuesday 18th December 2001 Harry Beats Islamic Law in Iran TEHRAN (Reuters) - Flouting international copyright laws and strict Islamic bans, the box-office hit film "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" has appeared in Iran -- with Persian subtitles. Just over a month after its first release, pirated discs of the film were on sale in Tehran for around \\$4 (2.51 pounds). "There is high demand for the Harry Potter movie and I believe it will become a best-seller among pirated VCDs in Iran," Hossein-Ali, a 35-year-old CD shop owner, told Reuters on Tuesday. While Iranian conservatives frequently express concern over threats to Islamic values by a Western "cultural onslaught", contraband foreign movies are openly traded in Iran which is not a signatory to international copyright conventions. The Harry Potter film about an English boy wizard, based on the popular children's book by J.K. Rowling, has been a hit with cinema-goers around the world since its release on November 16. Western movies are popular with young Iranians who have little opportunity for public entertainment under Iran's strict Islamic law. Tuesday 18th December 2001 Potter Casts Spell for 5th Week LONDON (Reuters) - Harry Potter is still flying high -- he topped the UK box office charts for the fifth weekend in a row, figures from Screen International have revealed. Action comedy "The 51st State", released last week, hung onto second spot. The highest new entry, at number three, was "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" -- shortened to "K3G". The film, which was praised by critics, focuses on the relationships within an Indian family, whose adopted son marries a poor girl against his father's wishes. The latest figures take "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" to fifth in the list of highest grossing films in the UK. The young wizard has now beaten the wannabe diarist -- Potter surpassed Bridget Jones as top earning film for 2001. But the release on Wednesday of another magical tale -- the eagerly awaited "The Fellowship of the Ring" -- may spell the end for Potter's reign in the charts. Tuesday 18th December 2001 Harry's got a Rival LONDON (Reuters) - Move over Harry Potter. Lemony Snicket is casting a new spell over young readers with tales of misery and woe that linger long after the lights go out. The elusive writer has already entranced fellow Americans with his macabre tales of the Baudelaire orphans -- now he hopes to wave a grim spell over Europe too. The series begins on a beach with death. Then get worse. "I was bored with happy endings when I was 10 years old," said Snicket, who calls himself Daniel Handler in the real world. "However I was taught the power of the written word and the importance of exposing evil wherever I found it." Snicket sees evil everywhere and young readers around the world cannot get enough of his "Series of Unfortunate Events", hardback books that eschew happy endings, middles or beginnings. "If my books make a few children nervous when the lights go out, I don't think that's the greatest tragedy in the world," Snicket said in a statement. "It would be nice to see more misery and woe." Snicket's wish might well come true if the hype surrounding his old-fashioned hardbacks keeps up, with the latest instalment hitting British stores this month. "The Miserable Mill" follows the Baudelaires' bid to protect their dead parents' fortune from an evil, alcoholic uncle. Set against a sinister Gothic backdrop, Snicket's heroes -- Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire -- are imprisoned, narrowly escape death and are roundly maltreated by Uncle Olaf. Snicket's British publishers Egmont Books say the series could be the next hit after J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. "They touch upon the darker side of life with humour and originality," said Egmont managing director Susannah McFarlane. "Let the reader beware: there is no happy ending." The dark and addictive tales about a gang of abused orphans became an unlikely hit in the United States and are credited, like Potter, with ensnaring the most reluctant of readers. Snicket may wonder why book seller stock his "wretched tales" -- the answer is clear. He sold 2.2 million copies in the United States and that is before the TV version emerges. The "burdensome books" can be read in 20 languages, from Hebrew to Icelandic, and U.S. television company Nickelodeon has bought both film and TV rights for an undisclosed sum. The first four books of the planned 13 have so far sold 250,000 copies in Britain: a drop in the ocean next to Rowling, who has chalked up 100 million in global sales. But word of mouth is spreading fast -- www.lemonysnicket.com/books offers a virtual taste of "the afflicted author" -- and book shops smell a phenomenon. Waterstones, one Britain's biggest high street book chains, said children enjoy fear. "The books are enjoyable because of the awful things which happen," said a Waterstones spokeswoman. "It's like Harry Potter would be if he never left the terrible Dursley family." Monday 17th December 2001 Harry Rules the World SYDNEY (Variety) - "Harry Potter" has continued its triumphant world tour at the weekend, ringing up an estimated \\$45.4 million (31 million pounds) from 39 markets outside North America. That propelled its total to \\$313 million excluding the United States, where it has notched up $252 million. The latest weekend haul, strong as it is, nevertheless falls shy of last week's record \\$62.3 million from 37 countries, which topped the prior weekend record haul of $60.9 million. Known as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in Asia and the United States and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" elsewhere, the picture premiered atop the totem this weekend in Hungary and South Korea, returned for seconds in France and Italy and enjoyed top spot holdovers in Japan, Australia, Israel, Thailand and across Europe including Britain, Germany, Spain and Austria. Only in Mexico was it bumped into second spot, by "Monsters Inc.," whose three-day haul of \\$2.8 million looks set to become the third largest animated opening there after "Tarzan" and "Dinosaur." "Harry" notched an opening weekend record in Seoul, generating about \\$1.4 million, and surpassing by 11% the record held by local picture "Dharma." Nationwide, Warners expects receipts to tally $3.14 million. In Australia, Sony's horror "Thir13en Ghosts" debuted in third spot with about \\$300,000 in four days, below "Harry" and "American Pie 2." In Spain, the debuts of "The Princess Diaries" and "Rat Race" were overshadowed by "Harry Potter," "American Pie 2" and "Don't Say A Word" in that order. "Diaries" raised about \\$180,000 over Friday and Saturday, and "Rat Race," $163,000. In Argentina "Bandits" bowed at No. 3 with about \\$105,000 for the three days behind "Harry" and "Monsters," in laps three and two respectively. Monday 17th December 2001 Chefs Knock Harry off the Top Spot LONDON (Reuters) - Television chefs Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver have tempted readers' tastebuds to whisk wizard-in-training Harry Potter from the top of the British best-seller list, new data has shown. Delia Smith's "How To Cook: Book Three" was at number one of the weekly Top 100 Whitaker BookTrack on Wednesday, having sold over 70,000 copies in the past week. The chef rose to fame in the late 1980s and has made videos to accompany her simple-to-follow cookery course. Her first name also entered the English language as a noun in the Collins English Dictionary last week. A biography of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly and Cockney cook Jamie Oliver's "Happy Days with The Naked Chef" took the second and third slots, rising five and two places respectively. Whitaker Book Track, wwww.booktrack.co.uk, is based on data of weekly book sales at around 6,000 UK outlets and on the Internet. The highest climber was children's author William Nicholson with "The Wind Singer", a thriller about life without free choice. The novel climbed to 94th position from 552 a week ago after 34 weeks in the chart. The novel was voted winner of children's television programme Blue Peter's annual book awards. Wednesday 12th December 2001 Harry’s Still Wowing Audiences LONDON (Reuters) - Harry Potter and his Hogwarts school chums have easily beaten off the challenge from British crime caper "51st State" to remain number one at the UK box office. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" ("Sorcerer's Stone" in America) earned as much as the next most popular 14 films across Britain last weekend, figures from Screen International show. Liverpool mobster movie "51st State", starring cult American actor Samuel L Jackson as a wayward chemist, was the weekend's second most popular film in its first week on release. But the film could only take 913,000 pounds in ticket sales, compared with Harry Potter's 3.3 million. The cinema-incarnation of J.K. Rowling's schoolboy wizard fantasy has now earned over 43 million pounds in its four week run. However, there were some signs Harry Potter's reign at the top could be drawing to a close. Takings for the magical movie were down by almost half on the previous weekend and in American the film has been knocked off the top spot by "Rat Pack" heist remake "Ocean's Eleven". Ben Stiller's fashion satire "Zoolander" slipped to third place in the UK chart from second on earnings of 401,000 pounds, while Nicole Kidman's creepy chiller "The Others" remained in the fourth slot. CIA thriller "Spy Game", starring Robert Redford, eased to fifth from third place. Family drama "Riding in Cars with Boys", starring Drew Barrimore as a teenage mother, was a new entry at number seven. Also new this weekend at number eight was the seasonal animation "Christmas Carol: The Movie". Wednesday 12th December 2001 Artwork Didn't Impress LONDON (Reuters) - Original artwork for the cover of the best-selling children's book "Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets" failed to sell at auction this week. A spokesman for Christie's auction house said the original watercolour designed for the book's front cover illustration had been expected to reach between 20,000 and 30,000 pounds but failed to reach its asking price on Thursday night. The watercolour by artist Cliff Wright depicts boy wizard Harry, his faithful owl Hedwig, and his best friend Ron Weasley taking to the skies in an enchanted Ford Anglia. Two other Potter watercolours for the same book did sell but at the lower end of expectations. The artist's final study of the Ford Anglia reached 14,100 pounds while the back cover illustration showing Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft fetched 4,700 pounds. "We were very happy with that," the spokesman said. Friday 7th December 2001 No Harry Potter Toys Left LONDON (Reuters) - Aspiring sorcerers will be crying into their Christmas dinners throughout the country this year as parents fail to conjure up that crucial Harry Potter gift. Toy shop shelves are emptying fast after manufacturers failed to anticipate the popularity of the schoolboy-sorcerer, Simon Burke, Chairman of British toy-store Hamleys told Reuters in an interview. "It's rather scandalous that stocks of all the major lines -- the Lego Hogwarts Castle, the Lego Hogwarts Express, the Hornby Hogwarts Express, the Professor Snapes Potion Class and the Harry Potter Levitating Challenge -- every one is in short supply across the country," he said. Lego's Hogwarts Castle, which retails at 79.99 pounds and is the site of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the wildly popular childrens novels, has topped the British Association of Toy Retailers' predictions for the most popular toy of 2001. "It is unlikely that we will be able to meet current (Harry Potter) demand... in time for Christmas," Lego said in a statement on Wednesday. Model train maker Hornby Plc, which makes a model of Harry Potter's Hogwarts Express, said in November it was producing more after the initial run of 10,000 sold out. Mattel, which makes the Professor Snapes Potion Class and Harry Potter Levitating Challenge, wasn't available for comment. Burke was unimpressed. "It's one thing to run out in Mid-December, but to start running out in mid-November, as happened this year, is quite another thing," he said. "Some shops have nothing and virtually none have all five top lines." Burke said Harry Potter sales at Hamleys had been "strong, but not ludicrous" and while it still had all five lines, stocks were running low. Nearly a fifth of the UK population is under 14 years old - and that could translate into 11 million requests to Santa for Harry Potter toys this Christmas. NO RETAIL RECESSION Burke saw good signs for British retailers this season. "I'm not seeing or hearing any evidence of a retailing recession. The general picture is good," he said. The British Retail Consortium said this week that food, drink and consumer electronics had been selling fast this year, but toy sales had been disappointing. The Harry Potter mania has spread far beyond the young magician's home country of Britain. Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said this week he was hoping Harry Potter would create a consumer-led economic recovery. "Retailers are reporting strong sales, and it may well be that the world economic recovery will be led by Harry Potter," Costello said. ARMADA OF TOYS The bulk of Christmas toys are manufactured in Asian countries and exported to Europe during October and November, and shipping executives are reporting that a particularly large armada of toys has sailed west this year. "Last year it was Barbie and her jeep coming through," said one shipping executive. "This year it's anything with Harry Potter on the front of it." "The spike (in cargo volumes) has not been quite as high as predicted, but it has been much more sustained," said Derek Smith, business development manager at Southampton Container Terminal, Britain's main gateway for Asian cargoes. "November cargo volumes might almost equal October volumes, whereas normally they would slump by 12-15 percent," he said. "And the information we have from our customers is that ships arriving in the second week of December will still be full." Thursday 6th November 2001 Could Harry Lose His Grip on the Book Chart? LONDON (Reuters) - Frodo Baggins, the intrepid Hobbit, looks set to make a run for the top of the British best-seller list and might even loosen Harry Potter's magical grip on the book charts. As moviegoers old and young alike await the world premiere of "The Fellowship of the Ring" in London on Sunday, J.R.R. Tolkien's book of the same title was among the biggest gainers in the Top 100 book charts, according to Whitaker BookTrack. It moved into 14th position from 92 a week ago after 12 weeks in the chart, data released on Wednesday showed. "Once the film is on release in the cinemas we expect the book to move towards the top of the book charts," a spokeswoman for Whitaker BookTrack told Reuters. The film is the first in a trilogy based Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings". The three films cost 207 million pounds to make. The second will be released around Christmas next year, and the third the following Christmas. The novel has sold 100 million copies in half a century and was voted the book of the 20th century in many millennium polls. But Potter author J.K. Rowling need not to worry just yet. British media have reported that she is on track to become the world's first billionaire author through royalties from three more planned Potter books as well as future film and merchandising revenues. For now, the Potter books -- about an orphaned boy who finds out he is a wizard -- hold their grip on the top four slots, with a combined total of 189,939 books sold in the past week. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" remained number one, while "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" took second position, up from number four last week. They were followed by "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and a celebratory edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", the book on which the record-breaking first Harry Potter film was based. The standard edition of the book was at number six. Wednesday 5th December 2001 Pirated HP Films Seized in Hong Kong HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong customs officials have seized some 20,000 counterfeit copies of smash hit movies including "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". A customs spokesman told Reuters the pirated discs were found inside an apartment which was believed to be a storage and packaging centre for illegal products. A 15-year-old boy guarding the apartment was arrested and is in custody pending charges, the spokesman said. Included in the haul were around 130 copies of the "Harry Potter" film. The blockbuster will not open in Hong Kong until December 20, but pirated VCD's began to appear in the territory's blackmarket late last month. Street peddlers are hawking them for around HK\\$20 (14 pounds) a copy, a fraction of what moviegoers would pay for tickets. Hong Kong customs have already seized at least 360 pirated copies of the fantasy that has caught both Europe and the United States by storm since its release on November 16. The film, produced by Warner Bros Pictures, a unit of AOL Time Warner, reached the US\\$200 million mark on its 15th day of release in North America, the second fastest movie to do so since "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace," which took 13 days in 1999. Violations of piracy laws in Hong Kong carry a maximum penalty of four years in jail and a HK\\$50,000 fine per fake item. Wednesday 5th December 2001 Warner Bros Feud Over Harry Potter LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Synergy ? What synergy ? You would think that when Warner Bros. premieres a really big movie -- like "Harry Potter," let's say -- they would give special treatment to a magazine like Entertainment Weekly, a brother in arms under the AOL Time Warner umbrella. Think again. In a case of corporate infighting, a minor feud between two sides snowballed into a much bigger production, leaving Entertainment Weekly out of the loop for much of the pre-show festivities for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." The story began when the magazine, miffed at being denied inside access to the making of "Potter," went behind Warner's back and did its own story on the film, according to the Wall Street Journal. An upset Warner Bros retaliated by pulling all its ads from the magazine for the entire fourth quarter. It further showed its displeasure by excluding the magazine from its movie screenings, forcing the Entertainment Weekly critic to sneak into a "Potter" preview to get around the ban. A month later, "Entertainment Weekly" fired back by calling Warner Bros. "rudderless" in its annual Power Issue. The magazine also hinted that the studio president's job was in danger, according to the Journal. Both sides dismissed the feud as a non-story, and made only brief comments to that effect. "It's not a story," Warner spokeswoman Barbara Brogliatti told Reuters, adding that the Wall Street Journal story contained "lots of errors." But she declined to list them. She told the Journal: "Gossips have blown this thing way out of proportion. The only thing that is important and relevant is that whatever transpired in the past is behind us and everyone is working together like the professionals that they all are." At Entertainment Weekly, meanwhile, spokeswoman Sandy Drayton said the Journal story "speaks for itself," and added that the issue is "resolved." "It's business as usual," she said. Wednesday 5th December 2001 Harry’s Going Under the Hammer LONDON (Reuters) - Original front and back cover artwork for the best-selling children's book "Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets" will be auctioned off on Thursday, London auction house Christie's has said. The watercolours by artist Cliff Wright to illustrate the second in the series of popular books about the boy wizard are expected to fetch more than 40,000 pounds, Christie's said. The artwork, to be sold in three lots, depict Harry, his faithful owl Hedwig and his best friend Ron Weasley, the enchanted Ford Anglia car, and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Pottermania has intensified since the release last month of the film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" which has raked in more than \\$220 million (155 million pounds) in the United States. Monday 3rd December 2001 Harrius Potterum? LONDON (Reuters) - Can Harry Potter wave his magic wand and revive a dead language? Publishers of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", who plan to translate the adventures of the schoolboy wizard into Latin and ancient Greek, think it might help, the Daily Telegraph reported on Monday. Author J.K. Rowling and her publishers Bloomsbury hope the translations will help children overcome the dread of studying the two ancient languages, the newspaper said. "We aren't under any illusions that the Latin and Greek will be best-sellers but we think that it will mean much more fun lessons for anyone studying Latin and Greek," said Emma Matthewson, Rowling's editor at Bloomsbury. Peter Needham, who taught Latin and Greek at top boys' school Eton College, was translating the first of Rowling's books about the wizard with the tell-tale scar, The Telegraph said. Rowling, whose books contain numerous classical references and spells in Latin, was said to particularly keen on the project, according to the newspaper. "For the time being I'm calling Harry Harrius Potter. Arrius is a Latin name...and it declines perfectly well so that, for example, we have Harrium Potterum. The literal translation of Potter would be Figulus but I very much hope Potter will survive," Needham said. "This is going to be a wonderful thing for children. It has got very witty dialogue...But I think it's going to be a fun thing for intelligent people to have - the sort of thing you giver your father for Christmas," he was quoted as saying. It said Needham was likely to finish the book well before his deadline in August, with publication set for 2003. A translator has not been found for the ancient Greek version, but a linguist has been appointed for a Welsh copy of the book. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is not the first children's book to be translated into Latin. "Paddington Bear," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Winnie the Pooh" have all had the Latin treatment, the newspaper said. Monday 3rd December 2001 Harry Holds off Enemy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Harry Potter charmed moviegoers in North America for a third consecutive weekend, holding off a strong challenge from crowd-pleasing war film "Behind Enemy Lines" as overall receipts suffered in the traditional post-Thanksgiving malaise. Besides "Behind Enemy Lines," the top 10 contained one other new entry: the French romantic comedy hit "Amelie," which jumped two places to No. 9 in its fifth weekend. According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" grossed \\$24.1 million (17 million pounds) for the three days beginning Friday. (The film is called "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in English-speaking Canada and in most international territories.) The family fantasy has now pulled in \\$220.1 million in North America, and passed the double-century mark on Friday, its 15th day of release. The fastest movie to reach $200 million was "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace," which took 13 days in 1999. Executives from Warner Bros. Pictures, the AOL Time Warner unit that released the Chris Columbus-directed film worldwide, expect it to reach the high \\$300 million-low $400 million mark by the end of its North American run. "Harry Potter" lost 58 percent of its audience from last weekend's Thanksgiving-boosted session, about on par with the other top wide releases. RECEIPTS LOWEST IN FIVE WEEKS The top 12 films totalled \\$83.6 million, the lowest sum in five weeks. At this time of the year, movies often take second place to holiday-related events. The sole new wide release next weekend is director Steven Soderbergh's crime caper remake "Ocean's Eleven," a preordained Warner Bros hit starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon. "Behind Enemy Lines" debuted at No. 2 this weekend with \\$19.2 million. Owen Wilson stars as a U.S. Navy pilot shot down in hostile territory while Gene Hackman leads an effort to rescue him. It was brought forward from January 2002 because of enthusiastic responses from test audiences. There had been some industry speculation going into the weekend that it might take the crown from "Harry Potter," but an executive from the film's distributor, Twentieth Century Fox, said that was never on the cards. "To be second to a cultural phenomenon, I'll take it," said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at the Fox Entertainment Group Inc.-owned studio. Based on data collected Friday night, "Behind Enemy Lines" played to an audience that was both 54 percent male and 54 percent aged 25 and older. The film was budgeted at about \\$40 million. The Robert Redford-Brad Pitt thriller "Spy Game" held steady at No. 3 in its second weekend with \\$11.2 million, taking its total to $46.9 million. The film, which cost about $90 million to make, was a co-production between Vivendi Universal's Universal Pictures and closely held Beacon Communications, which has international rights. Sunday 2nd December 2001 Harry’s Still Going Strong LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has topped the U.S. box office again this weekend, taking \\$24.1 million (16.9 million pounds), according to studio estimates collected on Sunday by Reuters. New release "Behind Enemy Lines" was the second highest-grossing film, taking \\$19.2 million, while the Robert Redford, Brad Pitt thriller "Spy Game" was third with $11.2 million. Walt Disney Pictures' "Monsters Inc" -- last week's number two -- took \\$9.4 million, followed by "Black Knight" in fifth place with $5.7 million. Making up the North American box office Top 10 were "Shallow Hal" (\\$ 4.7 million), "Out Cold" ($ 2.9 million), "Domestic Disturbance" ($ 1.9 million), "Amelie" ($ 1.4 million) and "Heist" ($ 1.2 million). Sunday 2nd December 2001 |
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