Amazon: 2007 was 'The Year of Harry Potter'

It comes as no surprise that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows marked this year's top-selling book online, according to a list released today by Amazon.

Amazon's second best-selling product? The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD, which was released last month in the UK and earlier this month in the US.

Amazon's spokesman said, "It has very much been the year of Harry Potter, as is shown by the fact that he features in our number one and number two best-selling products. It has been the global phenomenon of 2007 and you are still going to get probably another couple of Christmases which will see Harry Potter high on the chart because there are another couple of DVDs still to come."

(SOURCE: VERITASERUM)

Radcliffe & Watson Included on Yahoo's Most Popular Stars List

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, stars of the Harry Potter movies, are both included in this years '10 Most Popular Stars of 2007' list from Yahoo.

#3 - Emma Watson
Emma Watson had her fans on the edge of their seats when it looked like she might not return for the last two Harry Potter films, but thankfully, she decided to stick with the series until graduation.

#10 - Daniel Radcliffe
A teenage Harry Potter got angry in this summer's The Order of the Phoenix, but it was news of his nude stage appearance in Equus that got Daniel Radcliffe the most attention this year.

Other notable stars on the list include Jessica Alba, Megan Fox, Jessica Biel, Aishwarya Rai, Angelina Jolie, Shia LaBeouf, Scarlett Johansson and Lena Headey.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

JK Makes Teary Return to HP Flat

JK Rowling was left in tears when she went back to the place where she wrote the end of the first Harry Potter book.

Rowling was living in a flat in Edinburgh in Scotland when writing the books, and famously wrote lots of the Philosopher's Stone in a local cafe.

Rowling went back to the flat as part of TV film about the last 12 months of her life that will shown on ITV1.

The flat is now owned by other people, and when Rowling returned she saw that they had bought their own Potter books.

In the film, which will be shown on Sunday evening, Rowling said: "Oh, look, Harry Potter books! Now that is really freaky.

"This is really the room where I finished Philosopher's Stone. This is really where I turned my life around completely. My life really changed in this flat.

"And if I'd known that 10 years on I'd come back with a film crew and there'd be my published books on someone else's bookcase in this room - that is really incredible to me."

Once Rowling had finished the first Potter book she sent it off to publishing companies, and 12 of them told her they didn't like it before Bloomsbury agreed to print the first one.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

More Potter Film Casting Revealed

With filming for the sixth Harry Potter film well underway, Newsround can reveal the names of more actors chosen to star in The Half-Blood Prince.

Cormac McLaggen, the wannabe Gryffindor Keeper who Hermione uses to try and make Ron jealous, will be played by Freddie Stroma.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Louis Cordice will play Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin student who dislikes muggle borns.

Last month it was revealed Jessie Cave, 20, had won the role of Lavender Brown.

Katie Bell, the Gryffindor chaser who suffers terrible injuries from a cursed necklace, is being played by Georgina Leonidas. Isabella Laughland will play her friend Leanne.

Gryffindor fourth year Romilda Vane who tries to use a love potion on Harry, will be played by Anna Shaffer.

And Robert Knox will play Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby.

They will start filming their scenes early in 2008.

The film is due to be released later in the year.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

J.K. Rowling Nominated as a Great Briton

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been nominated for the Morgan Stanley Great Briton 2007 Awards. Jo is nominated in the Arts category, along with acclaimed actor Sir Ian Mckellen and artist Damien Hirst. The Telegraph reports:

"The creator of the Harry Potter books. This year saw publication of the final novel in the series. Selling 11 million copies in its first 24 hours, it broke the record for the fastest-selling book, previously held by the sixth Harry Potter novel, which sold nine million on its first day in 2005.

The books have been translated into 64 languages and The Order of Phoenix managed to become the first English language book to top the bestseller list in France.

In addition, the film of the Order of the Phoenix, in which Harry painfully begins to understand the battles with evil that lie ahead, was released this year. It was hailed as a deliciously dark affair, brimming with impressively gritty performances, still managing to balance magical wonder with breathless excitement.

The judges described Rowling's "unprecedented global reach" as phenomenal - even her official website is available in six languages.

More than anything, they were impressed by the way she had managed to infect children (and adults) the world over with an enthusiasm for reading. They conceded that the form of her novels was "conventional to a tee", but were impressed by the way she had given them a "modern, imaginative twist".

The Great Briton awards recognise those who "contributed exceptional achievements to their field this year in a distinctly British way." The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in London in January. Congratulations Jo!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Preview of 'HBP' from 'OotP' DVD

With the release of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in North America today comes a video preview of the sixth movie in the series, Half-Blood Prince. The preview shows brief interviews with director David Yates, producer David Heyman and actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Matthew Lewis.
You can watch the clip via YouTube.

(SOURCE: HPANA)