The Daily Prophet

October 2001

Harry Potter in Virtual Hogwarts

LONDON (Reuters) - You've read the book, bought the broomstick and seen the movie. Now it's time to step into the magic shoes of Harry Potter.

Electronic Arts (EA), the number one games maker in the U.S., is hoping to cash in on 'Pottermania' sweeping across the globe with a computer game starring the teenage wizard in his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The game will hit the shelves in mid-November to coincide with the eagerly awaited release of the big screen version of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.

The first four Potter books have already sold 100 million copies in 46 languages, turning a generation of children into devoted wizard fans and transforming author J.K. Rowling into one of Britain's wealthiest women.

EA executives are hoping the "Harry Potter interactive experience" -- as they call it -- will prove as big a winner for them.

"We are very excited about it," Bruce McMillan, the EA senior vice president who has overseen Harry's transition from book and screen to video console, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We expect it to be the Christmas number one computer and video game."

Rowling, who has been fiercely protective of her creation in his journey from the printed word to the silver screen, has kept a close eye on proceedings to ensure the cheeky apprentice wizard loses none of his charm in electronic format.

"We have worked very closely with J.K. Rowling, and right from the start she had a very good idea of what could be achieved in this medium." McMillan said. "If she ever wanted to be recreated she could have been a great game designer."

One highlight of the computer version will undoubtedly be Harry's central role in the game of 'Quidditch', a high-flying game of broomstick basketball played by the fledgling wizards.

The games are faithful to the book and film -- characters like Harry's female companion Hermione and Hogwarts' headmaster Dumbledore appear -- but there are surprises in store.

Some of Hogwarts' hitherto hidden nooks and crannies will be open for inspection.

Riding an enormous marketing machine, the game's success is almost guaranteed, and EA says it is planning further releases.

It certainly went down well with sample audience of Potter enthusiasts all dressed up for Halloween in central London.

"It's absolutely brilliant," said Luke, an 11-year-old Potter fan. "It's exactly as I imagined. I really hope I get it for Christmas."

Wednesday 31st October 2001


Thefts from the film set

LONDON (Reuters) - Faster than you can say abracadabra the underworld is cashing in on Harry Potter magic.

Props from "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", which opens at cinemas on November 16, mysteriously disappeared from the set during filming at Leavesden studios in Hertfordshire earlier this year only to reappear for sale on the Internet, police said on Wednesday.

"We were called in by the studio in March in relation to things going missing from the set and are investigating," a spokeswoman for Hertfordshire police told Reuters.

Among the items that found their way onto an Internet auction site are a wizard's hat and three "gold" coins, she said.

Police could not confirm newspaper reports that crew members working on the \\$125 million (86 million pound) film were believed to be behind the thefts.

"As far as I am aware no arrests have been made and no charges have been brought," she said.

The adventures of the bespectacled boy wizard were eagerly followed by millions of readers around the globe and his transition from paperback to the big screen hero is expected to be yet another blockbuster event. Wednesday 31stOctober 2001


Harry Potter bigger than Titanic

LONDON (Reuters) - Harry Potter could even sink the Titanic at the box office.

The tale of the boy wizard was eagerly devoured by millions of readers around the globe in 46 languages.

It may now work the same magic at the movies and topple the blockbuster disaster epic "Titanic", which set a world record when it grossed 1.2 billion pounds.

"Pottermania is hitting the screens," said a spokeswoman for the British cinema chain Odeon which is devoting almost half its screens to "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" when it is released on November 16.

Odeon received 20,000 ticket inquiries for fervent fans before the box office even opened.

"It could be a world breaker," she told Reuters. "We have dedicated 225 of our 599 screens to it. That is more than for 'Titanic.'"

And industry experts believe the new 85 million pound Hollywood film about the bespectacled boy wizard will give a major boost to AOL Time Warner Inc's Warner Brothers film division.

Film journalist Marshall Julius, reflecting on the movie that is to be given its world premiere in London on Sunday, said: "It is entirely possible that this will become the biggest grossing film ever."

And the publishers of the four JK Rowling classics expect the film to add another million copies to book sales when it is launched.

"This will give the books mass appeal and introduce them to a whole new range of readers," a spokesman for Bloomsbury Publishing Plc told Reuters.

But not everyone is happy with the Potter bonanza.

A marketing deal with Coca-Cola has sparked an any angry reaction from die-hard Potter fans.

The Atlanta-based multinational has agreed with Rowling to finance a three-year campaign to encourage children to read.

But that is not enough to satisfy Michael Jacobson, executive director of a health advocacy group called the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and founder of the SaveHarry.com website.

Urging fans to send a letter of protest to author Rowling, Jacobson complained: "The bottom line is that an adored literary phenomenon is being put to work to sell more junk food."

Tuesday 30th October 2001


Almost Film Time

LONDON (Reuters) - For the stars of the first Harry Potter movie, the message from all their kids was the same -- "Get a part or we'll never forgive you."

The first four Potter books have already sold 100 million copies in 46 languages, turning a generation of children into devoted fans of the teenage wizard.

Now the youngsters are poised to see if the first Potter film, to get its world premiere in London next Sunday, fulfils their wildest dreams of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Author JK Rowling is fiercely protective of her creation and was determined that Harry should never be turned into a saccharine Hollywood horror.

So director Christopher Columbus, who won fame with "Home Alone" and "Mrs Doubtfire", pledged his undying loyalty to the original.

"I was adamant about being incredibly faithful to the books, which meant shooting the films in England with an all-British cast," he said.

And it all started for Columbus when his daughter Eleanor insisted he read "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".

"I started reading it, finished it in one day and couldn't stop thinking about turning it into a film," he said in the production notes for the 86 million pounds film.

FAMILY PRESSURES

The search for Harry Potter attracted 2,000 children before British star Daniel Radcliffe landed the role.

He has no qualms about the worldwide fame he will gain once the film is released. The 12-year-old said: "I have thought a lot about being recognised and I think it will be quite cool."

But he wasn't so cool when he first heard he had got the part. "I was happy. I cried a lot. That night I woke up at two in the morning and woke up Mum and dad and asked them -- 'Is it Real?'"

Radcliffe's parents were worried about him being propelled to stardom at an early age. But for the grown-up stars, the pressure came in reverse from their own children.

Robbie Coltrane, the rotund Scottish actor who plays gentle giant Hagrid, said: "My son would have killed me if I hadn't so there was no question of me not doing it."

Irish veteran Richard Harris, who stars as Hogwarts' all-knowing Professor Dumbledore, was also under strict family orders.

"My 11-year-old granddaughter telephoned me and said quite simply 'Papa, if you don't play Dumbledore I will never speak to you again.' So I didn't have much choice in the matter."

Alan Rickman, who is eccentric Potions Professor Snape, had little choice either: "I have lots of nephews and relationships with friends' children. They weren't so much excited as insistent that I do the part."

Monday 29th October 2001


Harry Potter Star wasn't a fan

LONDON (Reuters) - The star of the new Harry Potter movie says he wasn't impressed by J K Rowling's wizardry tales when he first read them.

Daniel Radcliffe, 12, told the Radio Times he found the best-selling children's books hard to get into, the BBC has reported.

"I read the first two when I was eight or nine but I found it really hard to get into them," he said. "I couldn't get into any books when I was that age."

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", the first of four Harry Potter books, will be released on November 16 and is expected to be a blockbuster on both sides of the Atlantic.

The young actor told the magazine he was looking forward to being famous.

"I have thought about being recognised and I think it will be quite cool," he said.

"I'm just going to enjoy it -- after all, I might do this one film and disappear."

Work on the sequel -- "The Chamber of Secrets" -- has already begun. But Radcliffe said he was finding it easy to live a normal life.

"I go home every day when I'm filming. So I don't miss anything about the outside world, apart from my friends," he said. "And I still see them regularly and we keep in contact by email."

Monday 29th October 2001


Phew! It's a PG

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of school children and their parents are breathing a sigh of relief following a decision by censors to give the long-awaited Harry Potter film a PG certificate.

There had been worries that the movie, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", would be given a 12 restriction because it contained some scary scenes.

"You have to bear in mind that Harry Potter fans know what they are buying into," a British Board of Film Classification spokesman told The Sunday Times.

"Most will have read the books. Yes, there are some scary moments but children love being frightened a bit as long as they can deal with it."

The film, adapted from J K Rowling's hit book of the same name, premiere's in London on November 4 before opening at cinemas across the country, and in the U.S., on November 16.

Work on the sequel, "The Chamber of Secrets", is already underway. Producers are keen to shoot the film before its child stars mature into young adults.

Sunday 28th October 2001

Branagh to play Gilderoy Lockhart

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Kenneth Branagh, who made his name directing and acting in Shakespearean projects, has signed up to play Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter sequel, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

The second film in the Warner Bros. franchise is scheduled to start production November 16, the same day that "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" will open.

The film is based on J.K. Rowling's second book in the "Harry Potter" series of the same name. The principal leads in "Philosopher's Stone" will reprise their roles for the sequel.

Branagh's character, a charming, golden-haired wizard who has made his name as a successful writer and self-promoter, is enlisted to teach at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He teaches Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione, who develops a crush on Lockhart.

Branagh is also set to play Richard III on stage at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield starting February 11. He is expected to finish most of his work on the "Harry Potter" sequel and then return to finish his scenes again in mid-April.

Branagh most recently starred in Philip Noyce's upcoming "Rabbit Proof Fence."

His other recent credits include HBO's "Conspiracy" for which he has received an Emmy nomination, and "Shackleton," the true story of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 endurance expedition to the South Pole.

Friday 26th October 2001


No Glitzy Gala for Harry Potter Premiere

NEW YORK (Variety) - Marketing anxieties are putting a damper on the holiday season's traditionally splashy picture premieres, and many studio executives are wondering whether the age of the lavish "Pearl Harbor"-style event ended on September 11.

Warner Bros. has downsized the premiere for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." The picture was slated to unspool on November 4 in London's Leicester Square with a gala celebration to follow, but while the event is still set for London, it has been trimmed to a screening plus a dinner for the cast.

Thursday 25th October 2001




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