'Goblet of Fire' Receives Oscar Nomination

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has been nominated for an Oscar in the Achievement in art direction category. The movie will be up against Good Night, and Good Luck, Memoirs of a Geisha, King Kong and Pride & Prejudice.

Congratulations to Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan.

You can see the full list of nominees here. The awards ceremony will be broadcast on ABC on Sunday, March 5th (please check your local listings).

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Ralph Fiennes Wins Evening Standard British Film Award

Ralph Fiennes won the Best Actor award at yesterday's Evening Standard Film British Awards, for his performance as Justin Quayle in The Constant Gardner. This is the first time he has won this award (he was nominated in 1995, for Schindler's List). The Constant Gardener was also honored as Best Film. In this new interview, Mr. Fiennes discusses that film, filming in Africa, the death of his father and winning awards. He also has this to say about his turn as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

"he eventually took the part of the evil Voldemort when "the little kid in me that likes to dress up and be bad said 'Yeah! I want to do it!'"

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Downloadable Harry Potter Movies Coming Soon

Warner Bros. is rolling out a digital film delivery system, based on peer-to-peer technology, with an eye on thwarting piracy by making it easier for enthusiasts to obtain movies online. The service will debut in March in Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland, and will include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

(SOURCE: WIZARD NEWS)

Alan Rickman Wins Two Theater Awards

Alan Rickman (Prof. Severus Snape) has won two awards on the What'sOnStage.com Theatergoers' Choice Awards. Mr. Rickman won for "Best Director" and "Best New Play" for the production of My Name is Rachel Corrie. Congratulations Alan!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Rowling's Choices of Books Students Should Read

In a debate on literature and the curriculum famous authors such as Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Philip Pullman have created lists of books that all pupils should read. At the top of Ms. Rowling's list are Wuthering Heights and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Rowling choices:

Wuthering Heights -- Emily Bronte
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- Roald Dahl
Robinson Crusoe -- Daniel Defoe
David Copperfield -- Charles Dickens
Catch-22 -- Joseph Heller
To Kill a Mockingbird -- Harper Lee
Animal Farm -- George Orwell
The Tale of Two Bad Mice -- Beatrix Potter
The Catcher in the Rye -- JD Salinger
Hamlet -- William Shakespeare

Their lists were published in the yearly issue of Royal Society of Literature magazine.

Anthony Gardner, editor of the magazine said:

My impression is that when you are recommending books for children there are books that have stood the test of time and are always going to be popular ... but inevitably people are always going to want to make an effort to keep children in touch with what is being written at the moment.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Exclusive - Potter Casting Update

With filming due to start on the fifth Harry Potter film, CBBC Newsround can reveal that actor George Harris has been cast as Kingsley Shacklebolt.

In the Potter adventures, Shacklebolt works for the Ministry of Magic as a Dark Wizard catcher.

He is also a member of the Order of the Phoenix - the group set up to fight the evil Lord Voldemort.

Harris has had a long acting career, appearing in films including Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark.

He's also been in lots of TV programmes such as Casualty and The Bill.

More casting news

Other casting for The Order of the Phoenix includes teenager Robbie Jarvis as Young James Potter. In the book, Harry sees his father James when he magically enters Potions Master Professor Snape's memory.

Robbie is a keen footballer and basketball player. And has had a variety of stage roles with the East Side Theatre Company.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be released sometime in 2007.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

'GoF' Exceeds 'CoS' in Worldwide Box Office Receipts

With only 10 weeks in movie theatres, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has exceeded Chamber of Secrets in worldwide box office ticket sales. Chamber of Secrets was in theatres for 24 weeks and had a grand total of $876.6 million in ticket sales, while Goblet of Fire currently has a worldwide tally of $879.4 million.

The current total puts the movie at the number eight spot on the list of all time worldwide grosses.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Jo Gives Additional Black Family History for Book Aid Auction

Previously we told you that author J.K. Rowling would be donating an item to auction in order to help Book Aid International, a group that helps support literacy in the world's poorest countries. This item was a handwritten paper from JKR. Today, the Daily Telegraph newspaper has a preview of this item. Reader Tony let us know that it is the Black Family Tree, with a portion of the names showing in a photo. Readers will remember of course, that we learned of the tree as it was on the tapestry at Grimmauld Place in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Tony writes:

"There are several familiar names visible, including Callidora who married a Harfang Longbottom. Her sister Charis who married Caspar Crouch. Intriguingly there is a Dorea (1920-1977) who married Charles Potter and had one child, a son. The time frame seems to be consistent with them being James' parents. "

He also says there is another listing of a name that is very intriguing to Potter fans "Arcturus Black (1884-1959). " The article goes on to mention these items will be on display Monday, February 20th at 24 Maddox Street London W1. Tickets to this event are £10, with proceeds going to charity. This paper from Jo , along with others, will then be auctioned off the next day. Thanks very much to Bald Tony and Michele for the heads up! Anyone with scans please send them in!

UPDATE: Amoscotia was nice enough to send in the scans, which you can SEE HERE, and HERE. Please note that most of the paper is covered up, but you can also make out some other names (Like Phineas Nigellus and his wife). The second page indicates that they expect this family tree page to sell at a very high price. Thanks very much to Marauding Amoscotia

UPDATE 2: Close up of Jo's Black Family Tree part

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

US to Get Potter DVD Ahead of UK

Despite being filmed mainly in England, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be released on DVD in the US two weeks before fans can get it in the UK.

Warner Bros has confirmed the DVD will be out on 20 March in the UK, but US kids will have it from 7 March.

The DVD will have special features including behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

Warner Bros said the difference in dates was a matter of "scheduling".

People who buy the DVD will be able to take part in the action as the makers have created three interactive challenges based on the exciting Triwizard Tournament and a fourth called To the Graveyard and Back.

Viewers will also be able to see how sections such as the underwater lake scene were made, as well as getting a sneak peek at how the Yule Ball and other scenes were filmed.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

JKR's Views Expressed at Yesterday's Conference

At a press conference in Bucharest yesterday, Jo Rowling spoke about her concerns for the mental and physical well-being of children in Eastern European orphanages: "There is now widespread agreement among child health experts that irreparable long-term damage is caused to young children who are institutionalised without a parent."

The TVR interview that was supposed to be broadcast last night has been postponed (as mentioned below). It can be viewed right here at 8 PM EET (12 PM CST, 1 PM EST, 6 PM GMT). Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

UPDATE: The interview should have aired over two hours ago but didn't. Reader Ionut has let us know that the TV station said they will broadcast it in the coming days. We'll keep you posted.

UPDATE #2: Yahoo! News reports that during a charity dinner in Bucharest yesterday, JK Rowling raised a whopping €170,000 by auctioning off six signed Harry Potter books and purchasing a famous Brazilian footballer's shirt. Check out a number of new pictures from Jo's visit to the country here.

UPDATE #3: Thanks very much to Andrei for sending us three videos of JKR's visit to Romania:

Special message from JKR
Dinner appearance
Auction

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

Luna Auditions Down to 400 Girls

More than 400 girls have reached the next stage of the search for a young actress to play Luna Lovegood in the next Harry Potter film.

It follows an open casting call held in London on Saturday. The casting team is contacting the girls concerned.

More than 15,000 people spent hours queuing after Warner Bros. appealed for girls aged between 13 and 16 to attend the casting.

Potter bosses said they'd like to thank every single girl who turned up.

Fiona Weir told CBBC Newsround: "We really didn't have a particular look in mind and saw many fabulous girls from all points of the UK and Ireland.

'Determined'

"We were really amazed at the response and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who gave up their Saturday."

She added: "Even though we had many thousands more than anticipated, we were determined to see everyone who came along."

Huge number

According to Warner Bros. the girls who have reached the next round have a wide range of accents, backgrounds and ethnicity. They came from all over the UK and Ireland ranging from Renfrewshire to West Sussex, and County Clare to Newport.

Because of the huge number of girls who went to the casting on Saturday, the organisers will only be contacting those they wish to see again.

Click here to see pictures of the casting line.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

Scans and Pics of Jo Rowling in The Tatler; Title Tidbits and More

Thanks Tom, for sending us scans of The Tatler article featuring Jo Rowling, which include some stunning new pics of the author.

The article suggests a title is decided upon for the seventh book ("I so nearly told you the title," she tells the reporter, "it almost popped out."); that former U.S. President Billl Clinton is a fan; she turned down partying for her 40th birthday on the Brittannia because it doesn't allow dancing; she owns a Jane Austen first edition (Jo! "Tell us which one!" a gazillion fans cry), and that her least favorite food is tripe (this editor once ate it by accident and agrees loudly).

Enjoy!

JKR in The Tatler (1)
JKR in The Tatler (2)
JKR in The Tatler (3)
JKR in The Tatler (4)
JKR in The Tatler (5)
JKR in The Tatler (6)
JKR in The Tatler (7)

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Castwatch: Fiennes, Thompson on TV This Week

Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney) will be a guest on "The Tonight Show" this Thursday, January 12 (NBC, 11:35 p.m. ET), to publicize her new film, Nanny McPhee.Also, as we told you last month, Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) will be a guest on "Inside the Actor's Studio" this Sunday, January 15 (BRAVO, 9:00 p.m. ET). Thanks to everyone who reminded us to remind you! :-)

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Back to School for Actor Matthew Lewis

The Yorkshire Post has a new interview with actor Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) who talks about school; both his real life classes and the magical on -screen school of Hogwarts. In this article, the young actor speaks about the need to keep up with his schoolwork, as he does not know what the future will hold as he persues his acting career ,and wants to have something to fall back on in the event a career does not pan out in films. Of his role in the Harry Potter films , the article notes:

Fans of the series have seen the character of Neville Longbottom become more and more important, with many believing he is set to play a crucial role when the saga finally comes to an end. It is all good news for Matthew who admits to being glad Neville is now about more than "falling on the floor all the time", although he insists he still reads the books as a fan first and actor second. "I am a fan of the books, and when I first read them through it doesn't really register, and then at the end you start thinking 'wow, that's going to be really fun to do'."

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

UPDATE: Official 'GoF' DVD Cover Art, Trailer, Release Date Revealed

Straight from WB's vault, a trailer for the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD is now available online, showing scenes confirming the previously rumoured features and also revealing the release date: March 7, 2006. You can check out the streaming video, which show teasers of cast interviews, never-before-seen footage, and special effect shots (such as how they rid Ralph Fiennes of his nose) at the following:

QuickTime: 300K 100K

Windows: 300K 100K 56K

Real Player: 300K 100K 56K

Additionally, cover art for an 8-disc box DVD edition of movies 1-4 can be found here, which also confirms the cover art for the single and 2-disc deluxe editions previously reported.

Thanks to MoviesOnline and TLC.

UPDATE: MoviesOnline has also kindly posted the back cover art, if you want to take a closer look: single edition, 2-disc edition, and years 1-4 box edition.

Also since the release is less than two months away, did you order your copy yet? Well, you can now -- advance orders are being accepted through Warner Home Video's online store. You can visit their store at the following:

Single-Disc Edition: Full Screen Widescreen UMD (PSP) Widescreen

Deluxe Double-Disc Edition: Widescreen

Years 1-4 Box Edition: Widescreen

(SOURCE: HPANA)

EXCLUSIVE: Open Luna Castings!

If you're hoping for a part in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, you might be in luck - there's a casting call for actresses on Saturday.

Makers Warner Bros are hunting for a girl aged 13-16, living in Ireland or the UK, to play Luna Lovegood.

It's happening between 10am and 2pm on 14 January, at the Central Hall Westminster, Storey's Gate, in London.

Girls should bring a passport or birth certificate to prove their age, and dress warmly as there could be a wait!

Anybody who doesn't have a passport or proof of their won't be seen, and neither will girls who don't live in the UK or Ireland, and Luna is the only part they're looking for.

You also need to bring something with proof of your address on to show where you live.

They're just planning to take a photo of anyone they think has the right look, and will get back in touch with some of them for an audition.

They also say girls should come as themselves - no costumes, make-up or high heels will be allowed.

The queue opens at 8am on Saturday morning, and closes at 2pm.

The full address for the audition is:
The Central Hall Westminster
Storey's Gate
WestminsterLondon
London SW1

The nearest underground stations are St James Park and Westminster.

You shouldn't contact the venue as there is no further information available.

What they're looking for

The casting is part of a search that's now been going on for weeks. Casting director Fiona Weir told CBBC Newsround they're looking for a unique girl for the role: "The wonderful thing about Luna is that she can have any sort of look at all.

"But it's a very particular quality that's important about Luna. I'm sure anybody who knows of the character from the books is aware that she's very otherworldly, she's not like anybody else."
Fiona also told Newsround that some girls that they've already seen are still being considered for the part: "We've visited schools up and down the country and we've met some brilliant girls. But holding an Open Call is just a way of us making sure that there isn't anyone that we might have missed."

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

Katie Leung Nominated for Asian Excellence Award

Actress Katie Leung has been nominated by the "Asian Exellence Awards" for her performance as Cho Chang in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Katie is nominated in the category of "Outstanding Newcomer." This category is open to the public and you can vote for Katie via this link. These awards honor "outstanding achievements of Asians and Asian Americans in entertainment, music, and science." The show is set to air on AZN Televison on Sunday, January 29th at 8pm EST. Congratulations Katie!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Jim Dale Named Children's Audiobook Narrator of the Year

Publisher's Weekly has named Jim Dale, narrator of the US Harry Potter audiobooks, Children's Audiobook Narrator of the Year. In a short question and answer article in that publication's January 2 issue, Mr. Dale discusses winning a GRAMMY award, what he most enjoys about recording audiobooks, and several of his upcoming projects, including his return to Broadway in the New York Roundabout's production of The Threepenny Opera, which opens in April. HP quotage:

"Each new book is a whole new adventure, and the reader enters Harry's world raring to go, and so should the narrator. He must bring all the excitement and thrill to the listener to appreciate as the reader would. It also helps to have a great book to narrate."

Congratulations to Mr. Dale!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

GoF Wins Golden Tomato Award

Goblet of Fire received RottenTomato.com's annual Golden Tomato Award for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film of 2005, which Prisoner of Azkaban was also won in 2004. With 89% positive reviews, GOF topped competition from Star Wars (82%) and Serenity (80%).

(SOURCE: VERITASERUM)

Muggle Net 'Opening of Book 7' Competition Finalists

Muggle Net has been running a competition for readers to write their own opening page to HP Book 7. They now have the over 1000 entries knocked down to the top five. Here's Muggle Net's piece on the competition:

Write the Opening to Book 7 Competition Finalists

It started off with a pool of over 1000 of you, and now we've narrowed it down to five. MuggleNet's Write the Opening to Book 7 Competition is in its final stage - the fan voting. All of you are welcome to take the opportunity to place your vote for the winner. Voting will end at 12:01 AM CST on Tuesday, January 17th. Honorable mention winners will be posted soon. You can review prizes and competition information on our competitions page.Now to give credit where credit is due. A big thanks goes to Alivans for sponsoring the competition. Major props go to MuggleNet staff members Emily, Brendan, Ciaran, Helen and Tom for sorting through all 1,170 entries. They did an excellent job. A final thanks goes to everyone who took time to enter the competition. It was tough, but we could only choose five finalists.

So go on over to Muggle Net's website and read the finalists in the competition. At the very least, they give us new HP to read!

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

'GoF' DVD contents revealed?

Details of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD contents have been sent to us and while we will treat this as a rumor until confirmed by Warner Bros. we wanted to share with you know some of the segments that may be contained on the DVD.

Content includes:

DVD 1
Main film

DVD 2
Special Features
Exciting Additional Scenes available
Conversations with the Cast – Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

Fun Interactive Challenges Including:
Triwizard Tournament: Dragon Challenge
Triwizard Tournament: Lake Challenge
Triwizard Tournament: Maze Challenge
To the Graveyard and Back Challenge

Breathtaking Making-of Featurettes and Behind the Scenes:
Harry vs. the Horntail: The First Task
In Too Deep: The Second Task
The Maze: The Third Task
Meet the Champions
He Who must Not Be Named
Preparing for the Yule Ball

Exhilarating DVD-ROM Features Including:
EA Game Demo
Magical Trading Cards
Hogwarts Timeline
Web interactivity

Thanks to Richard from HPF for the tip.

Also thanks to HPFZ for letting us know that DVDTown has just posted the details for the 2-disc DVD, with a price tag of $30.97 and a release date of March 7th.

Again, we are awaiting confirmation of this information from Warner Bros. so please treat this as a rumor until we post otherwise.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

New Children's Book for Rowling

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has confirmed that she's written a brand new children's book about a monster.

In a magazine interview Rowling discusses Potter but also confesses to completing a children's book that not even her publisher knows about.

She says the new book is aimed at children younger than the average Harry Potter readers and describes it as a "political fairy story".

Rowling also lets it slip that she's written a number of new short stories.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

Lengthy New Interview with Jo Rowling

Tatler Magazine sat down with Jo Rowling recently for an in-depth interview, the full version of which will hit magazine stands on Thursday. The Telegraph has published a good portion of the interview on their website, and it's quite the intriguing read - one of the most open interviews she's given in the past few years.

There are far too many quotable quotes to include here, but the article does contain some new information in addition to mounds of new quotes:

Jo will host a fundraising masked ball at Stirling Castle ("one of the many attractions will be a treasure hunt with clues set by her") on March 17, and she has completed a new childrens' book, which she calls a "political fairy story," aimed at children younger than Harry Potter-reading age. "I haven't even told my publisher about this," she said.

Be sure to read all that's available of the interview at The Telegraph, and if anyone can pick up a copy of the magazine on Thursday, please send in scans!

(SOURCE: VERITASERUM)

'Goblet of Fire' on Oscar List for Sound Editing

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the list of films up for consideration in the Achievement in Sound Editing category and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is up against:

King Kong
Chronicles of Narnia
Memoirs of a Geisha
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds

Academy members will view clips from all seven films and narrow it down to the final three. The award nominations will be announced on January 31st. Stay tuned.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

'Goblet of Fire' Nominated for Five Visual Effects Awards

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has been nominated for five awards from the Visual Effects Society (VES). The nominations are in the following categories:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture
Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture
Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture
Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture

The awards will be presented on February 15th in Los Angeles.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

'GoF' Sets IMAX Record

Warner Bros. Pictures and the IMAX Corporation announced today that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The IMAX Experience is now their highest grossing movie beating the record set by Batman Begins: The IMAX Experience, which grossed $15.9 million in 2004. Goblet of Fire had a worldwide gross of more than $16 million from only 89 screens.

Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution at Warner Bros. Prictures said:

Releasing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in IMAX theatres enabled audiences to experience the adventure in a whole different way. IMAX has established a new distribution platform that generates incremental revenues for event films, and integrating the IMAX release into the entire Harry Potter campaign contributed to the continuing excitement and success of the film.

While IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler remarked that:

Despite the industry's overall box office decline, IMAX DMR(R) films saw a steady increase in grosses last year. Given the strength of our film slate for 2006, and the growing IMAX(R) theatre network, we believe this new record may be short-lived.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

'Order of the Phoenix' Cast

We previously only knew of five actors who were confirmed for the fifth movie, but we can now make a few additions to that list after hearing from the actors themselves at the world and domestic premieres of GOF.

Confirmed:
James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley)
Jamie Waylet (Vincent Crabbe)
Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas)
Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)

Although he told us at the London premiere he wasn't sure if he would be returning for OOTP, Warner Bros. has now confirmed that Tom Felton will indeed reprise the role of Draco Malfoy in the movie.

In negotiations:
Tiana Benjamin (Angelina Johnson)
Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan)... "things going well"
Warwick Davis (Profesor Flitwick)... "not sure yet"
David Bradley (Argus Filch)... "hopeful"
Afshan Azad (Padma Patil)... "can't say yet"

Not returning:
Miranda Richardson (Rita Skeeter)

We have no information on whether the rest of the cast will be returning at this point, but we suspect most of them will reprise their roles if offered by Warner Bros.

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

Happy Birthday...Severus Snape

JKRowling.com has been updated to wish our (least?) favorite (ex-?) teacher a happy birthday.

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

Possible DVD Cover for 'Goblet'

DavisDVD.com has apparently received an "exclusive" look at the GOF DVD cover - a low-quality image can be seen here. We'll let you know if WB confirms this or not.

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

Potter Fans Take Over IMDB Polls

We asked you last week to vote on your favorite movies and actors of 2005 at IMDb, and the results were astonishing. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was catapulted into first place (or close to) in almost every category - including Best Animated Feature (good job, guys)! It looks like IMDb has now removed the film from inappropriate categories. From the Internet Movie Database's homepage:

It seems that Harry Potter fan sites are sending quite a few of their visitors to vote in our annual "Best of" and "Worst of" polls, placing noted thespian Rupert Grint in 2nd place for Best Supporting Actor with Jake Gyllenhaal just ahead of him (hey, we like Ron W. too, but come on!). Ah well, that's what you get when you invite thousands and thousands of people to vote in your Best and Worst Polls, sometimes the best really are the best and sometimes, well...

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

New Pics from GoF Photoshoots

Thanks to MuggleThai, we have a number of new pictures from promotional GOF photoshoots, including new photos of Katie Leung (Cho), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), and Rupert Grint (Ron).

(SOURCE: VERITASERUM)

Sneak Look at the GoF DVD Cover Art?

DavisDVD.com is reporting tonight to have the first sneak look at the cover art for the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD. While this looks like this is a real possibility, please note that this photo is rather grainy and hard to make out. We can not yet confirm if this is what the actual DVDs will look like, but you can view this sneak look, here.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

GoF is #1 in Worldwide Box Office Receipts

Box Office Mojo reports that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire overtook Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith to take first place in worldwide 2005 box office receipts, with a total gross of $850 million.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

HP Focus of Cambridge Science Festival

Cambridge University's annual science festival will this year scrutinise the science behind the Harry Potter stories, focusing on broomstick flight, the Invisibility Cloak and whether owls could deliver the mail. The festival, running from March 15-26, will also examine a range of other interesting science topics.

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

Harry Potter as Popular as Ever in 2006

Harry Potter remains popular with children, said John Schirle, of the Decatur Public Library children's department, and while the latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, isn't quite so hard to get your hands on as it was, the library's copies stay in pretty regular rotation.

(SOURCE: WIZARD NEWS)

Half-Blood Prince Best Seller of 2005

Selling over 4.1 million copies on the day of its release alone, Half-Blood Prince topped the list of the best-selling novels of 2005 in the US. According to a report released today by Reuters and Nielsen's BookScan, the sixth adventure beat out every other book that was on sale for the entire year.

HBP sales totaled 7.02 million copies for the entire year, and sales only started in July.

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

GoF HD DVD Release Date Announced

Warner Home Video has announced that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be released on HD DVD on April 11, 2006. GoF is one of 24 confirmed titles WHV is releasing on HD DVD from March 28-May 16, 2006. The release is timed in conjunction with the initial deliveries of HD DVD players.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

JK Rowling's New Year's Writing Resolutions

Jo has updated her diary with some "New Year's Writing Resolutions":

2. Do not lose any more notebooks.After a somewhat panicky few weeks I have finally located a missing notebook. As always when I mislay these things, I had been 'remembering', in its absence, that it contained notes so essential and ideas so imaginative that I would never be able to duplicate them, and the whole of the next book would be impoverished if they were never found. Now that I have said notebook beside me on this desk, however, I see that it contains few useful nuggets amid a lot of complete dross. Nevertheless, the stress I endured while believing it to be the notebook equivalent of the Holy Grail was enough to remind me that I must take better care of my working materials.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in!

(SOURCE: MUGGLE NET)

Christian Science Monitor: Harry Potter and Good and Evil

The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article on Harry Potter, and the influence of J.K. Rowling's books on millions of children all over the world. The piece alludes to the continuing debate over the morality of the novels, saying

"Belief in magic is an old trait in myth and literature. Rowling . . . successfully dramatizes for all age groups the high stakes in the battle of conscience between right and wrong.

What parent would not support Rowling's portrayal of the values of loyalty, honesty, and courage in the face of life's perils? . . . The British author puts the cup of the dark arts to the lips of her young readers, albeit with a strong moral sensibility."

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

"Goblet of Fire" Past 800 Million Mark; Tops at International Box Office

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has now surpassed the $800 million mark in world wide box office totals. The BBC also reports today that the fourth Harry Potter film was the most successful film internationally in 2005 (which does NOT include the US totals). However, Goblet was topped here in the US by the final Star Wars film Revenge of the Sith which earned almost $103 million dollars more than Goblet did last year. Box Office Mojo is reporting that current totals for Goblet of Fire world wide stand at $811.9 million dollars.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Possible GoF DVD Deleted Scenes and More

We received word today of a list of some of the possible scenes that will be included on the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD. A few of these things we had heard from the film makers previously that they might be included, as well as some of the calendar scans we saw previously contained scenes not included in the theatrical release. We can not yet confirm these are the DVD deleted scenes, and will update you once we get confirmation from Warner Brothers. You can read this list of eight scenes below.

Also today we heard that Best Buy has the Goblet DVD as being released in three formats, fullscreen, wide screen, and a deluxe version. This is the first time we have heard of a deluxe version; we don't know if this means it will come in a boxed set with the other three films, or if it is a special edition of the film. We can not yet confirm this, and are working on getting that nailed down as well. We were told as well that the Best Buy release date is marked as March 7th, which we also told you was a possiblity back last month. All very exciting, but we consider this a rumor until we get word from WB. Thanks to Harry Latino for the list.!

! BEWARE GOBLET OF FIRE MOVIE SPOILERS AWAIT BELOW !

SCENE 1: Dumbledore ask to his pupils to welcome the Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons students. All the Hogwart students then start to sing Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts or the school song.

SCENE 2: A Durmstrangs student asks a girl if she wants to go with him to the Yule Ball. She says "yes" and the two friends make gestures in the background.

SCENE 3: Harry tries to speak with Cho Chang, but her friends are around her and the opportunity never works out.

SCENE 4: At the Yule Ball, Flitwick introduces the Weird Sisters band. The star singer addresses the crowd and then the music begins.

SCENE 5: Karkaroff tell to Snape about the mark on his arm. Snape ignores him and removes points to Fawcet and Stebbins, who are briefly shown, and Snape disregards Karkaroff's concerns then.

SCENE 6: Mr. Crouch and Harry are speaking, then Madeye appears as Barty leaves.

SCENE 7: The trio speaks about the death of Mr. Crouch. Ron thinks that the Daily Prophet will cover it up on Fudges orders. Hermione believes that this death, Harrys burning scar, and the fact that the Dark Mark had been cast, are too much of a coincidence, and she thinks Harry should go talk to Dumbledore about all of this.

SCENE 8: The trio discuss their suspicions about what Karkarov has on his arm. Hermione asks Harry what ingredients Snape think he stole from him, and she relises that they are all ingredients in a polyjuice potion.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)