|
September 2002
New Casting Office for Azkaban
BBC: Thousands of Harry Potter fans would give their Nimbus 2000
to be in any of the films.
And Newsround's Lizo has exclusively revealed news, straight from the
film set, about a new casting office for The Prisoner of Azkaban.
The film bosses are not actually launching a big search for new kids to
play roles.
R
But that doesn't stop loads of you bombarding the Newsround and the
Leavesden Studio mailboxes pleading for a chance to audition for spare
parts.
So they have given out the only address of a brand new casting office
you can write to.
But don't get your hopes up too much. They are not promising budding
actors and actresses anything.
They just want to give you a proper address to write to if you are
determined to be characters like Cho Chang or Cedric Diggory.
Remember! Leavesden Studios don't want you to phone, write or fax to
any other address you might have heard about - this one only!
Send a short letter and a recent photograph to:
Casting Office
Leavesden Studios
PO Box 322
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD25 7XJ
Friday 27th September 2002
Chamber of Secrets Tickets go on Sale!
BBC: Harry Potter fanatics can get their hands on the first
tickets for the second film on Friday. Tickets for the Chamber of
Secrets have gone on sale at cinemas around the country - more than a
month before the movie's out.
There's expected to be a rush for tickets from kids and adults who are
desperate to be among the first fans to see the new film.
It's officially released on 15 November in the UK. And there will be
special charity preview screenings on 8, 9 and 10 as well as 14 of
November.
The first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, smashed all
box office records. It sold more advance tickets than any other film.
Tickets for the Chamber of Secrets are on sale from Friday at all
cinemas which are showing the film.
Friday 27th September 2002
Potter 5 'really is getting there' says JK
BBC: JK Rowling has spoken exclusively to Newsround and has revealed that the new Potter book, the Order of the Phoenix, isn't as far away as people think!
She says she's getting there: "I have a beginning, a middle and an end - you could read it all the way through and I know a lot of Harry Potter fans will say just give it to us.
"But I'm a perfectionist and I want a bit more time to tweak!"
The Order of the Phoenix will be as long as The Goblet of Fire and there are plenty of new things to keep fans engrossed.
There will be a new female Defence of the Dark Arts teacher and a new sorting hat song!
She also said people shouldn't believe everything written in newspapers and on websites about how far off the book is.
She says she's never had writer's block in her life and admits she's loving the writing.
JK has just won a court case against an US author who claimed JK has stolen some of her ideas.
She said: "I'm so relieved. This court case has dragged on for a few years - I'm a really happy woman today!"
Thursday 19th September 2002
JK expecting a baby!
BBC: JK Rowling has revealed a second reason to be happy.
As well as winning a long court case on Thursday, she has now revealed that she is expecting a baby.
The baby will be JK's second child. She already has a nine-year-old daughter called Jessica from her first marriage.
JK married second husband, Neil Murray on Boxing Day last year.
The magical author started writing the Harry Potter books while she was a single mum in a café in Edinburgh.
She wrote them intended for her daughter because JK felt there wasn't anything new to read to her.
The baby is due next spring - but will it be Harry or Hermione?
Friday 20th September 2002
Princess diaries knock Potter off top slot
BBC: Harry Potter has been knocked off the top book spot for the first time in two-and-a-half years.
His reigning position has been seized not in the form of an evil lord, but in the less frightening shape of a 14-year-old girl.
The Princess Diaries 4: Mia Goes Fourth has now become the best selling paperback for children.
Meg Cabot's stories are about a young girl from New York who discovers she is a princess and the transformation which takes place.
Yet her reign may be short lived as JK Rowling has hinted that the next Harry Potter could be finished by Christmas!
Friday 20th September 2002
JK 'didn't steal Muggles' says court
BBC: A court has said JK Rowling did not steal ideas from another author for her Harry Potter books.
Nancy Stouffer had claimed Muggles was a word she'd thought up for mythical characters in her book The Legend of Rah and the Muggles in the 1980s.
And she said she wrote a colouring book called Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly.
She tried to say some of JK's writing had been copied from her and went to court.
But a New York court threw out all the claims. It said Stouffer had lied and changed evidence to make her claims stronger.
She was fined £30,000 and even had to pay some of the money it cost JK to defend herself.
JK's agent Christopher Little said: "Ms Rowling is thrilled."
Thursday 19th September 2002
It's official - Rowling did not pilfer muggles
Reuters: It has been decided - "Muggles" belong to J.K. Rowling.
A U.S. federal court on Wednesday threw out author Nancy Stouffer's
claims that Rowling, the author of the blockbuster Harry Potter books,
stole words and characters from Stouffer's books. The claims were made
against Rowling and her U.S. publisher and movie producer.
Partly at issue was ownership of the trademark and copyrights to
"muggles."
In Rowling's books, "muggles" is the name wizards give to humans who
have no magical abilities. Stouffer had used the term to describe
mythical characters in her books for children.
But the U.S. District Court for southern New York found not only that
Rowling did not pilfer the "muggles", but also that Stouffer had lied
to the court and doctored evidence to support her claims. The court
fined Stouffer $50,000 (32, 278 pounds) for this "pattern of
intentional bad faith conduct."
Rowling, book publisher Scholastic and Warner Bros., the AOL Time
Warner division that produces the Harry Potter movies, said the court
forbade Stouffer from ever claiming to own the rights to the muggles
name, or saying that Rowling violated those rights.
In addition, the court told Stouffer to pay a portion of the attorney's
fees incurred by Rowling, Scholastic and Warner Bros.
"We never had any doubt that Harry Potter and his world came from the
rich and extraordinary imagination of J.K. Rowling," Barbara Marcus,
president of Scholastic Books, said in a statement.
A lawyer for Stouffer was not available for comment.
Wednesday 18th September 2002
Row over 'Potter-style' Books in Russia
BBC: A massive row has blown up over a Russian book which some people reckon is a copy of Harry Potter.
The book's called Tanya Grotter and Her Magical Double Bass and it stars a girl who wears rounded glasses and flies on her musical instrument.
She also has a mole on her face and goes to a school called the Abracadabra school for young witches.
Sound familiar?
But the Russian man who created the book, Dimitri Yemetz, insists he didn't copy Harry Potter.
He said the book is based on Russian folklore and traditional children's tales.
But the people who publish the Potter books in Russia, Rosmen, are angry.
They say it's a blatant copy and there are even claims that some people are buying it mistakenly thinking it's the fifth Harry Potter book, because the covers are similar.
A company spokesman said the book was "outrageous" and they're thinking about taking legal action.
But Mr Yemetz said he loved JK Rowling and hoped she read his books.
"I think she would be interested in how similar cultural trends are developing in Russia," he said.
Monday 16th September 2002
New Teaser for Chamber of Secrets
BBC: Potter fans: here's a treat - a brand new, never-seen-before, trailer for Chamber of Secrets!
A whole two minutes and 17 seconds of the new wizard movie was shown on US TV on Thursday night.
It's Harry's second year at Hogwarts and this latest sneak preview gave a good idea of what to expect from one of the most waited-for films of the year.
Fans have already seen one snippet of Secrets when a short teaser was shown at cinemas and on the web earlier this year.
This new one was broadcast on the TV station WB, the sister network of Potter film studio Warner Bros.
The film's released worldwide in November.
In Secrets, term starts well but Harry soon begins to hear voices from within the walls and Hogwarts students are mysteriously turned to stone...
Friday 13th September 2002
Potter Film to Work Magic on Internet
BBC: A magic new deal means you'll soon be able to download the Harry Potter film from the internet.
Warner Brothers, who make the Potter movies, have signed the groundbreaking deal.
It means their films will be on the web for the first time.
So you can download Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone and watch it on your computer.
Massive blockbusters like Potter will cost $3.99 (about £2.50) and other films will cost $2.99 (about £1.90).
The films can be watched as many times as you like after being downloaded but will become unplayable after 24 hours.
That means there's less time for people to make lots of illegal copies and sell them.
Tuesday 10th September 2002
Wizard School opens in Austria
BBC: A school for witchcraft and wizardry has opened in Austria.
Pupils of the school, which is located in the mountains of Klagenfurt, can take classes in potions and spell making.
This year up to 15 apprentices will also be taught astrology, magic, the history of magic, and meditation.
If they complete six terms successfully they will be awarded a sorcerers' diploma.
The school director, Andreas Starchel, who's also known as Dakaneth, said the school's aim was to teach about the history of witchcraft.
Nature studies and Celtic and druidic teachings are also likely to feature strongly, but the Harry Potter books are not thought to be on the school's list of recommended reading.
Monday 9th September 2002
|
