New "Order of the Phoenix" Trailer Due by Satellite Tuesday

WB has issued a statement alerting that a brand new trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be fed via satellite Tuesday, April 24 between 8:00 and 8:15pm (EDT) with the following coordinates:

Coordinates for feed:

GAL 25 (Formerly IA-5), Transponder 13, C-Band

Downlink frequency: 3960.000 V

We expect the trailer to be online shortly after this, and will update with more info on that as we can. Update: Confimed with WB, this will be a new trailer and not the international trailer we saw over the weekend. Yay!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

New Main "Order of the Phoenix" Trailer Due May 4, Four New Teaser Pics Released

As if yesterday's excitement wasn't enough with the release of the new International trailer, the USA Today is reporting (and TLC believes this to be accurate), the new main trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will debut before the opening of Spider-Man 3 on May 4.

Also, as a preview, WB has released four new looks from this trailer, which you can see here in our galleries. Included are a photo of Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) fleeing from one of Fred and George's Dragon fireworks, a new photo of Harry (Dan Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Cho Chang (Katie Leung) during a DA lesson, and a stark photo of a deranged Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) imprisoned in Azkaban. Finally, on the front of the print edition of the paper on the Life section is a dramatic new photo of Voldemort (Lord Voldemort) breathing a ball of fire (yes really-amazing). Thanks to UHP, you can see this scan here. We are also hoping to obtain the high res versions of these photos and will update with them when we can.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

New International Trailer for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"

(Digg this news!) As promised, the brand new international trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is now online. For those in the UK you can see it here, via AOL UK.

UPDATE:We now have the new trailer for you here in our video galleries (including an iPod friendly version).

It is also available on the TLC YouTube channel, here.

Screencaps galore can be found here in our image galleries.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Photos from New International OotP Trailer Online

Still photos from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film are now online, including one of an anguished Harry (Dan Radcliffe) and Lupin (David Thewlis) during the battle at the Ministry. The Sunday Mirror has posted some of these new stills from a new trailer due out today, including new looks at Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort by the remains of the fountain in the Ministry of Magic, Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange casting some sort of spell and Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood during a DA lesson casting her Patronus. To see these photos click here. As we reported earlier the new international trailer is due online via AOL UK at 2pm GMT. Stay tuned!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

More on Harry Potter Theme Park Rumor

Previously we have reported about a long rumored proposal for a Harry Potter theme park, possibly in Orlando, Florida. The Scotsman is reporting tonight some additional news about this possible project and says that "Universal Studios is seeking a deal with Rowling to build a $500m Harry Potter mini theme park in Florida." The newspaper has an interview with a former Universal executive who had this to say about such a venture:

Peter Alexander, a former vice president of Universal Studios and founder of a theme park design consultancy, said: "People keep screeching that it's an entirely separate park, but according to Steve Spielberg, who we talked to about it, he says it's going to be a 'land' within the confines of the existing Islands of Adventure theme park. If it's a 'land' it will cost at the very least $500m."

...Sources say that both Universal Studios and Rowling, who owns the rights to the Harry Potter franchise, are agreed on the principle of the mini-park, but are still hammering out the details of a settlement....

Once an agreement is reached, the attraction could be built in as little as 18 months.

The article also state that reps for Jo, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios "all declined to comment." While this is all very exciting, this is still very much unconfirmed and we will update with more on this when we can.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

J.K. Rowling: Winner of 2007 Wired Rave Award

"Honoring the mavericks, dreamers and innovators "changing your mind", The WIRED Rave award recognizes leaders in a wide range of categories including technology, business, music, industrial design and blogs." So says the popular technology magazine, which has just announced their new 2007 winners of these Rave Awards, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Thanks to TLC reader Tami, we now know the May issue of the magazine features the 22 winners, and has the following about our favorite author:

The Mogul
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter, Inc.

"In 1990, before the rise of Second Life and World of Warcraft, before the triumph of MMORPs, a young woman named Joanne Rowling was stuck on a delayed four-hour train ride to King's Cross station in London. She began to conjure up an outcast boy heading to a sorcery school called Hogwarts. Seven years and countless drafts later, the first Harry Potter novel plunged readers into a parallel universe more compelling than any online world imaginable. Rowling was paid a $4,000 advance. Today she is the first person to become a billionaire by writing books. And when "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume in the series, apparates on July 21, it will mark the conclusion of an incredible run: more than 325 million books sold in 200 countries, not to mention the $3 billion or so earned by the first four movies and billions more from games, action figures, and product tie-ins. Rowling is the reigning master of what you might call MMFWs-massively multireader fictional worlds-inspiring a generation of screen-fed kids to devour old-fashioned books on paper." -Liesl Schillinger

The magazine is due on newsstands Tuesday, April 24 and the winners will also be featured online at wired.com. The magazine states the winners will be celebrated at a ceremony in San Francisco,California on April 27, however we do not know if JKR will be attending, and will update with more on that when we can. Congratulations Jo!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Scholastic CEO on Life after "Deathly Hallows" and More

The New York Times newspaper has a new interview with Scholastic Chief Excutive Officer Richard Robinson, who answers quite a few questions on working with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, discussing the impact her books have made on the US publishers of the Harry Potter series, as well as answering a few questions about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

When asked specifically if this was in fact, the last of the Harry Potter books, Mr. Robinson answered "we can believe this is the last book on Harry Potter." He was later asked again about any possible additional Potter books or any other book J.K. Rowling may write and responded with the following:

NYT: Going back to our first question, I noticed you emphasized the words Harry Potter when you said Ms. Rowling’s last book on Harry Potter. Do you have a first option on any other series she might be doing?

RR: No, but we refer to ourselves as her U.S. publisher and she’s very loyal to us and we’re very loyal to her. We’ll keep working together. It’s less likely we won’t get it. It’s more likely it won’t be another Harry Potter."

Later on during the interview, the executive was asked if he knew details and the outcome of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

NYT: Yes, speaking of how it ends, we’ve heard that two people get killed. Can you say who they are? And people also want to know if Harry and Hermione finally, er, get together in the end?

RR: (Laughs) I don’t even know. Really. There’s a small number who read the book. I don’t. I’m sure she thinks of the ending of Charles Dickens’s Little Nell, when people were waiting at the boat docks for the last sequel — to see if Little Nell was going to die. You know, one of the great things is getting people to imagine what’s going to happen: my 10-year-old has an absolutely brilliant interpretation. We’re starting a campaign for teachers to use in classrooms: seven questions, including who lives and who dies. Many people, including world-famous authors, are trying to figure out how it will end.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released on July 21, 2007.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

'OotP' Game Will Show Movie Authenticity & Real Age Characters

In a new interview from EA Games on the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game we learn that the actors from the movie were facial scanned to ensure the game characters reflect the correct age of the movie characters. We also find out that the game has movie authenticity and how dark the game will be in relation to the movie and book. You can also see a new screenshot from the game here.

IGN: Does the game at all explore Harry's boyhood crushes?

Harvey Elliott: Oh yes, we had fun recreating the turmoil of teenage relationships. Whenever Cho and Harry meet in the game, they fumble around for the right words, and most times Harry just fails to say the right thing and ends up feeling a bit stupid. And in the background, Ron is totally oblivious to the whole romance, occasionally making it worse for Harry by criticizing Cho for her sudden support of the Tornados Quidditch team just because they're playing well -- although at one point he does ask Hermione if she's noticed Harry acting a bit strangely around Cho. The script is really strong. And, of course, we feature the famous first kiss.

The game will be released a week before the movie and will be available on the following platforms: PSP, GBA, Nintendo DS, PS2, PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and the Nintendo Wii.

On a side note, will we be able to show you something exciting in reference to the video game next week, stay tuned.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

EW Talks About 'OotP' in Summer Movie Preview

In this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly there is a two-page article on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The brief article includes a new picture of Harry, Ron and Hermione and discusses the movie, director David Yates and Prof. Umbridge.

You can read the article here.

This week's issue is currently on newsstands.

UPDATE: Thanks to Warner Bros. for sending over the high-resolution image that was featured in Entertainment Weekly, you can view it here in our galleries.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Top Artist Slams Harry Potter

One of Britain's top illustrators has attacked publishers for 'taking the pictures out of children's books' and blasted the decision not to illustrate the Harry Potter novels.

Chris Riddle told a meeting of teachers at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk that he "found it amazing" that the Harry Potter books had not been illustrated.

"Illustrations play an important role in children's literature," said Riddle.

The rest of the article can be read here. Thanks to our Hogwarts mate Sylvia for the heads up on the article!

(SOURCE: CHAMP NEWS)

"Equus" Starring Dan Radcliffe, Richard Griffiths to End June 9; Confirmed for Broadway 2008?

An update for you now on the status of "Equus" the play starring Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon Dursley) currently running in London, England. Noted theater website Whats on Stage.com is reporting today the play will indeed end on June 9, and that both Dan Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths will reprise their roles next year when the play moves here in the States to New York City for a summer 2008 debut. Quotage:

Radcliffe and co-star Richard Griffiths, who plays the young wizard’s vile uncle in the Harry Potter films, have agreed to reprise their performances for a Broadway transfer planned for summer 2008, which will be followed by an Australian production.

The article also lays to rest recent speculation that Dan would be replaced in the play by actor Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, the upcoming "Hallam Foe"), as the article states that Dan will continue through with the role as reported previously, and conclude his run in the play in June. The play will then tour in the UK with actor Richard Fleeshman taking on the part. The play's producer is quoted as saying "“We could have replaced Dan and Richard, but the thought of having to do a half-cocked production into the summer didn’t thrill us.”

The BBC is reporting this same story, here, and Playbill is also claiming confirmation of sorts the appearance of Dan and Richard in the play here when the play moves to Broadway next year citing reports that "Radcliffe and co-star Richard Griffiths have agreed to a May or June 2008 transfer." Please note that we are trying to obtain official confirmation of this information and will update with more on this when we can. Also, no additional information on US additional casting, or venue has yet been announced at this point either, so hang tight for now!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

New IMAX OotP Poster

Thanks to sharp eyed TLC reader Justin, we now know of a brand new Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix poster as seen via the IMAX.com website. This poster shows Harry Potter (Dan Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), Neville Longbottom (Matt Lewis), Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch), Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), and Cho Chang (Katie Leung) as very determined looking members of the DA. You can see a capture of this poster, here in our galleries. As TLC first reported to you earlier today, the last 20 minutes of the IMAX edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be seen in 3-D. This film will be released in both conventional theaters and in IMAX theaters July 13, 2007.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Two New Photos from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"

Two additional new photos from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix are now online via Galtvort.net. The first photo shows Professor Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) and Hogwarts Caretaker Argus Filch (David Bradley), while the second one shows Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) and Harry Potter (Dan Radcliffe). To see these photos, click here.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Final 20 Mins of 'OotP' in IMAX 3D

According to a press release this morning, IMAX will be transforming approximately 20 minutes at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix from 2D to 3D.

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

We are so pleased to be bringing audiences yet another outstanding Harry Potter film to the big screen in both 35mm and IMAX theaters. This is the Studio's biggest franchise to date, and we expect this highly-anticipated fifth film to play phenomenally well in all theaters throughout the summer.

Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International added:

The Harry Potter films are an enormous draw all over the world, and this film should prove to be no different. The last 20 minutes in IMAX 3D will add a new element of excitement to the Harry Potter experience, making this a must-see for fans of all ages. We're looking forward to a long and very successful run.

The movie will be released in IMAX and conventional theatres on July 13, 2007.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Director Columbus Struck by "Lightning"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Chris Columbus is in negotiations to direct the family fantasy "The Lightning Thief," his first movie since "Rent" in 2005.

"The Lightning Thief" is the first novel in Rick Riordan's best-selling "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. The third book, "The Titan's Curse," will be published May 1, with a first printing of 200,000.

"Thief" centers on a young boy who discovers that he is the descendant of a Greek god and sets out -- with the help of a satyr and a daughter of Athena -- on a dangerous adventure to settle an ongoing battle between the gods. Along the way, he faces a host of mythological enemies determined to stop him. He also must come to terms with a father he has never known and an oracle that has warned him of betrayal by a friend. The project is set up at Fox.

Columbus, famed for the first two "Home Alone" films, ventured into the fantasy realm with "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

(SOURCE: REUTERS/HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

New Behind-the-Scenes Images from 'OotP'

German magazine Cinema has published some behind-the-scene images from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which have now appeared online. The images feature director David Yates and actors Dan Radcliffe, Evanna Lynch, Emma Watson and many more.

You can view scans from the magazine here. Thanks to Merosh for the link.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Harry Potter on Waterstone's Poll of Top 100 Books

UK Retailer Waterstone's has launched a new poll asking readers to choose their favorite book of the past 25 years. Among the Top 100 books is Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J.K. Rowling. This list, which was drawn up via a poll of the chains 5,000 booksellers, includes novels such as "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, "Bridget Jones's Diary" by Helen Fielding,"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera, "Northern Lights" by Philip Pullman, "Colour of Magic" by Terry Pratchett, "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel, and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon among many others. If you would like to vote, you may do so via this link, with voting due to close May 4.

Also the company, along with the Telegraph newspaper, is conducting the Great British Literary Census of UK readers, asking questions regarding personal habits, as well as asking how excited you are for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on July 21.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Casting Continues for "Half-Blood Prince" Film

Despite no formal director announcement yet, casting is apparently ongoing for the upcoming film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Iceland Review has a new report today about an actor who said he recently auditioned for a role in the sixth Harry Potter film, with the speculation that the part was for the role of young Voldemort. The paper quotes Jón Páll Eyjólfsson (additional photo, here) as saying:

“I have met the people who are behind this film and I have read from the script. At this stage you only get to see parts of the script and there is a lot of secrecy about this whole thing,”
Eyjólfsson said.

The report says he has been asked back for the next round of auditions, with the final announcement due in May. Another interesting tidbit from the paper says that the actor's school mates in London "was Steven Kloves, who wrote the script for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Kloves was the one who suggested Eyjólfsson for a role in the movie."

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is due to begin filming later this summer, and will be released in theaters November of 2008.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows": The You Tube Channel

Have you been watching your Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows channel lately? Yes, that's right, for among the things launched today with the Scholastic "There Will Soon Be 7" campaign and revamped Harry Potter website the US publishers of the Harry Potter novels also revealed their official "Deathly Hallows" You Tube video page. Via this link, you can see the video question asked today, as well as a video with a cover shot of the book from Scholastic. One new question will be revealed every two weeks leading up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on July 21, 2007. No word yet if Dudley has subscribed to the channel. ;-)

Update: We have the first question video for you in our galleries, including an iPod friendly version, here.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

ScreenCap of Hogwarts from OotP Video Game

In addition to the many new screenshots from the various platforms of the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game we have seen recently, we have another nice one to show you tonight. X360daily.com has posted a batch of caps, including this brand new look at the Hogwarts Castle. You can learn more about the new OotP game and all the previous Harry Potter video games from Electronic Arts, here at masterthemagic.com.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

WB Harry Potter Site Revamp Due This Week

In the new issue of the WB Reel News email sent to subscribers, WB announced that changes are afoot for the main Harry Potter movie website. According to the owl this editor just received, under a photo of Voldemort and the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix logo it says:

In Theaters and IMAX
July 13, 2007
Join Dumbeldore's [sic]Army. Check back for the new site this week!

Yay! Stay tuned and we will update once the revamp of the site has launched.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Scholastic Starts Asking 'HPDH' Questions

Scholastic announced back in March news of their publicity campaign for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and let fans know that they will be posting 7 questions for voting and discussion. The first question, released today, is "Who will live, Who will die?"





You can vote here for your choices:

Harry Potter
Lord Voldemort
Snape
Ginny
Ron
Hermione
Neville
Hagrid
Draco Malfoy
Someone Else/Other

The next question will be released on May 1st.

7 Questions of Harry Potter campaign - Beginning on April 17 2007, Scholastic will release one question every two weeks. These are the big questions fans debate at great length online, at book clubs and in everyday conversations, and that they hope J.K. Rowling will answer in this final installment. The questions will be posted on scholastic.com and released through advertising and publicity outlets. The final question will be released on July 7th.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

New High Res OotP Photos of Draco, Crabbe, Neville, Weasley Family

WB has now sent us two new photos from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in glorious high res. The first new photo,which you can see here in our galleries, shows Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and Vincent Crabbe (Jamie Waylett) as part of the Inquisitorial Squad holding Neville (Matt Lewis) and Hermione (Emma Watson) prisoner in Professor Umbridge's office. The second new high res photo shows members of the Weasley family including Ginny (Bonnie Wright) Fred and George (James and Oliver Phelps) and Ron (Rupert Grint), perhaps as they await news of Arthur's condition after the attack at the Ministry.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Harry Potter Number One in Australia

The Courier Mail is reporting about a new survey where Australian readers were asked to list their top 100 favorite books. The Harry Potter series by author J.K. Rowling was ranked at the number one spot. According to the newspaper, 75,000 people took part in this survey and according to one bookseller the "Top 100 Book List provides the public with a selection of popular quality reads that are tried and true," Angus & Robertson general manager Dave Fenlon said."

Others in the top ten include To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen as well as two books by Dan Brown. To read the entire list, click here.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

J.K. Rowling and the Quest for Inspiration in Art

In an introduction written for a new guide to children's books set in Edinburgh, J.K. Rowling describes how she once took to wandering through the some of the great art collections in Scotland seeking inspiration while writing some of the Harry Potter novels. The Scotsman reports tonight that Jo "took to wandering the halls of the National Galleries of Scotland in a 'desperate and random measure' as she sought inspiration. However, it only left her feeling miserable."

The newspaper goes on to cite further quotes from Jo via the Reading Round Edinburgh book:

Memories of Edinburgh "leap out of the pages of Harry Potter for me", Rowling writes, "the places I wrote particular chapters and passages; where I despaired of ever having another idea; where I experienced all the delights and the frustrations of living in a fictional world."

But while the city has many "Potteresque vistas", she cannot point to particular buildings or streets featured in her books.

She slaps down the idea that Hogwarts was based on a "certain public school" in the city.

You can learn more about this book, here and here. It is also available via our Cauldron Shop as well.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Another Rumor on Harry Potter Theme Park in Orlando

Yet another rumor has surfaced online about a possible Harry Potter attraction at a major theme park in Orlando, Florida. As we reported back in February, persistent rumors abound regarding this issue (Jo denied the Disney park rumor last year), including this new report about the Universal park again from Deadline Hollywood Daily, which claims:

"Universal Studios Florida is finalizing terms to bring a type of “Harry Potter World” to its Orlando resort. The entire themed area would be at a previously unused portion of the amusement park. The negotiations have been kept uber-secret."

This is the second report now involving Universal, and TLC is trying to obtain some additional information on this and will update with more when we can. However, in the meantime please keep this very much in the rumor category for now.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Evanna Speaks of 'OotP' & Her Theories

We very rarely hear from Evanna Lynch, (Luna Lovegood), from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but recently she gave an interview in which tells of her experiences on the set. Evanna also mentions that she knows some things about the last book as well as gives her own theories.

You can read some snippets of the interview here:

Are there many similarities between yourself and Luna Lovegood?

Evanna: I think the main difference between us is that I am a lot more ambitious and that makes me serious. Luna is so free and seems to drift along with life, dealing with everything as it comes to her. I have more goals so I've more worries. I think that's why I love Luna so much. She doesn't have to have achievements or approval to feel satisfied and she's as wonderful and balanced a person as anyone could be. She knows worrying is pointless so she just floats and I really admire that in her.

The new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is due out in July. Have you any idea what is going to happen in this book and what is ahead for Luna? Do you know what the Deathly Hallows refers to?

Evanna: My favourite theory is that it refers to the veil in the Department of Mysteries. All Hallows Eve is the time when the 'veil' between the two worlds is at it's thinnest. I think Harry will have to go through the veil for some Horcrux-hunt related reason and he'll have to get to understand death more and he may meet Dumbledore because apparently JKR told Dan that DD was giving her 'trouble'. Also HKR is always emphasising that there are worse things than death and I think it would be very like her to trick us like that, so that Harry is 'dead' but we're still with him, death isn't the end. Most people think that he either lives or dies but I like the idea that it's an in-between.

Please note that you must register (free) on the site to read the full interview.

Thanks to Snitchseeker for the news.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Photos of Phelps twins; audio from Dan on 'Equus'

Last November James and Oliver Phelps, from the Harry Potter movies were featured in People's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue in the twins section. Now outtakes from the session have surfaced online. Thanks to Snitchseeker.

Also, Page from DR.co.uk let us know that she has loaded an audio clip from her interview with Daniel Radcliffe from her set visit last year in which Dan answers a question about his participation in the play Equus.

UPDATE: Page also let us know that Dan attended The Society for Theatre Research Book Prize ceremony this morning in London and that pictures from the event can be seen here.

Also thanks to Ami you can see some additional pictures of Dan here.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Scholastic Announces Library Tour Schedule for the 'HPDH' Knight Bus Tour

To kick off their publicity campaign "THERE WILL SOON BE 7" Scholastic, the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter books, announced this morning the schedule for the 37 library tour schedule for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Knight Bus Tour.

The tour will launch on June 1, 2007 from New York City and will travel to 37 libraries across the country, ending back in New York at Scholastic headquarters to kick off the release of the seventh book at 12:01 a.m. on July 21, 2007.

The list of cities include libraries in Providence & Boston, MA; Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, NY; Newark, NJ; Philadeplia, PA; Cleveland, OH: Chicago, IL; St. Louis, MO; San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco in CA.

You can go here to read the full list of libraries and dates or here to read the press release.

Lisa Holton, President of Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs, Scholastic says:

We know that one of the most incredible things about Harry Potter is the amazing discussion that it ignites among fans of all ages. The Knight Bus tour is the perfect way to let fans from across the country share their Harry Potter experience as they await the conclusion of this remarkable series.

Members of the public will be able to do the following at each location:

In each location where the bus stops, fans will be invited to board the Knight Bus and share on video their thoughts and feelings about the Harry Potter books. Select video clips from each location will be uploaded for viewing and sharing on http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter. Additionally, each person will receive a unique username and password so that they can view their own video online.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Michael Goldenberg on Working on 'OotP'

Michael Goldenberg, the screenwriter of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie recently gave an interview in which he discusses meeting JKR, adapting the book to film,
Quidditch and more.

Below are some snippets from the interview, which you can read in full here:

It's not just David Yates, and David Heyman, and I, and the actors. It's however many thousand people are working, doing backbreaking labor, and endless nights, and killing themselves to get this prop done, or that set painted, or that special effect finished because they love these movies, and they really care about these movies. And these movies are their legacy. They're damn proud of these movies, as they should be. ... Believe me, we care as much as it's possible to care.

Mr. Goldenberg on cutting down the book for film:

Even though the book is the longest book, as far as the actual amount of narrative material and story, it's not that much different than the other books; there's just a lot more detail and some sub-plots and digressions, but in terms of the main story, it seemed pretty manageable. I mean, the heartbreak is always, "What do you have to lose? What can't you find on the floor?

But David Yates and I worked from the beginning. We both like really dense films which are very generous in the same way books are so generous, and look for every opportunity to get everything we could in there. And where we couldn't, to sort of pay homage to, to have it somewhere in the background or to feel like it could be taking place off-screen. Because we both grew up with those kinds of films where you can watch them again and again and see the details and we're both pretty hard-core geeks, ourselves.

On cutting Quidditch and Ron from the movie:

I know there was some controversy about the Ron-Quidditch sub-plot. I hated to cut anything. But in that case, because it wasn't really central to the story and there's so much else to deal with, we all felt pretty early that was something that might not make the film. But on the same token, the spirit of that story, and Ron growing as a character and Ron facing challenges and coming into his own in the same way that Harry is, we tried to get that into the film in other ways, as much as possible. So, you feel like, if not the details of that story, at least the spirit of it is present in the film. I feel like we've done that.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

USA Today: "Sorcerer's Stone" Most Memorable Book of Past 25 Years

The USA Today newspaper has a feature on the 25 Books that leave a legacy, spotlighting the most memorable reads of the past 25 years. The number one spot on this list is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. According to the paper:

"Midnight book parties, all-night readathons, overnight deliveries: A boy wizard named Harry got kids (and adults) thinking that reading was cool. And mega sales of the magical series redefined what it meant to be a best seller."

Rounding out the top ten are the following:

2) "The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard (1996)
3) "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown (2003)
4) "The 911 Commission Report" by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (2004)
5) "Chicken Soup for the Soul" by Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield (1993)
6) "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" by John Gray (1992)
7) "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" by Robert C. Atkins (1992)
8) "And the Band Played On" by Randy Shilts (1987)
9) "Beloved" by Toni Morrison (1987)
10) "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw (1998)

To see the entire list, more information about these books, as well as a poll to vote who you think should be the number one book, click here.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)