Goblet of Fire Wins Golden Trailer Award

The trailer for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was named winner in the "Best Animation/Family" category at the seventh annual Golden Trailer Awards. These awards honor movie trailers which they feel are " works of art in their own right, expertly blending elements of cinema and advertising." Congratulations to WB and The Ant Farm.

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Georgia Woman Appeals Potter Book Ban Ruling

Last month we told you of a woman who lost her attempt to have the Gwinnett County school board in Georgia ban the Harry Potter books. The school board rejected this claim, allowing the books to remain on the shelves, and now Laura Mallory has filed a written appeal of this decision. Previously, this mother of four had filed complaints against all of the Potter books, saying they had "evil themes, witchcraft, demonic activity, murder, evil blood sacrifice, spells and teaching children all of this." As to what will happen next with this appeal , the Gwinnett Daily Post reports that:"Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks will now have 10 days to submit a copy of the appeal, the transcript of evidence and proceedings from the public hearing, and all other related materials to the Georgia Board of Education. Once the appeal is filed with the state, the legal services division of the Georgia Department of Education will determine the next step in the Harry Potter saga." Thanks Andy!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)

Potter Stars Cast in Queen's Play

Harry Potter stars Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint will be among the celebs taking part in a Royal birthday celebration for children.

The trio have landed roles in a kids' play to mark the Queen's 80th birthday, held at Buckingham Palace on 25 June.

The Potter clip has already been filmed and will be shown at the palace on a video screen. Dan won't actually be at the palace as he'll be on holiday.

Two thousand children have been given tickets for the star-studded event.

Kelly Osbourne and Jonathan Ross have also been cast in the play, which will be a mixture of live acting and video clips.

The production, called The Queen's Handbag, is part of the Children's Party at the Palace. It will be broadcast on BBC One and the CBBC Channel on the day.

Postman Pat

The idea behind the party is to celebrate the success of British children's literature and to encourage kids to read more. The play's storyline is top secret, but organisers say there will be a specially-written scene including Harry and his friends.

Other big names from kids' literature - including Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins and Postman Pat - will also be making an appearance.

Parties

Although the Queen had her real 80th birthday on 21 April, she also gets an official birthday, on 17 June.

The Queen gets another birthday because it's thought the weather is more likely to be better in June, making outdoor parties that bit more fun.

(SOURCE: CBBC NEWSROUND)

'Potter' Stars at the Tony Awards

Tonight stars that have appeared on Broadway in the last year were honored by their peers at the 60th Annual Tony Awards. From the Harry Potter movies, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Zoë Wanamaker and the voice of the books Jim Dale were all nominated for awards.

To start the night off, Frances de la Tour, won as 'Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play' for her work in The History Boys, beating out Zoë Wanamaker for her role in Awake and Sing!

Jim Dale, the voice behind the U.S. audio versions of the Harry Potter books lost out to Christian Hoff from Jersey Boys for 'Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical'.

Ralph Fiennes lost to Richard Griffiths who won 'Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play' for his work in The History Boys.

You can view some images of the stars here

Congratulations to all.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Some Say Rowling Is Not The 'Greatest Living British Writer'

On Wednesday we updated all with the news that JK Rowling, author of the ever popular Harry Potter books, had been chosen as the Greatest Living British Writer in a poll by the UK's Book Magazine. It would seem that two members of the press have a problem with this and discuss their reasons as to why Ms. Rowling should not be considered for the title. According to Daniel Woolstencroft from Blogcritics:

For Rowling to be given this accolade above such talented and accomplished writers as Iain Banks, Philip Pullman, and Salman Rushdie is nothing short of outrageous. For her share of the votes to be three times that of Pratchett is downright appalling.

Rowling's prose is deeply unimaginative, when compared to the vast majority of the other authors on this list. Her content is unoriginal, even if she is dismissive of her peers and cites other sources as the inspiration for her work. And she's not exactly the most prolific author in the world.

While Times online writer Anna Burnside states:

So it came as something of a surprise to discover that readers of The Book Magazine have voted JK Rowling as the greatest living writer in Britain. How can this be? She is no more the greatest living writer in Britain that George Galloway is the greatest living statesman, or Jack Vettriano is the greatest living artist. She is not even the greatest living writer of children's books. She had one good idea that became a formula that she has now worked into the ground.

Thanks to Stuart you can read another scathing piece here.

Editor's Note: Now this editor asks the question - Can we be wrong? My answer to that question of course would be a resounding NO. Ms. Rowling has entertained millions of readers across the globe, yet when given this title by her fans her writings are called 'unimaginative' and the results of the poll 'depressing.'

Why is it when a writer is chosen by her fans for such a title, we are deemed as not knowing what we are talking about? We, her fans, do not know a good book when we read it, yet we wait breathlessly for the next saga in the series. We mourn and cheer for our favorite characters, we may disagree with a certain storyline, but we will pick up the next book and enjoy it for what it is. Are we to be denied the enjoyment of Rowling's imagination just because some 'writers' deem our choice as wrong?

Why is it that every time Ms. Rowling's achieves an honor there are some who come out of the woodwork to spew the reasons why she shouldn't be given all of these accolades? I cannot really say, but some would guess that sour grapes are a reason, and while they all seem to say that they do not begrudge Ms. Rowling her success, I would have to disagree.

In the end, the opinion of the above mentioned authors are just that, their opinions, and everyone is entitled to their own, even this editor.

(SOURCE: HPANA)

Fiennes, de la Tour, Dale Theater Clips Available Online

The official website for the Tony Awards has a gallery of video clips of past and present nomineees. The clips include scenes from nominated performances and shows as well as backstage interviews. Of interest to Potter fans will be the interviews with Jim Dale (narrator, U.S. audiobooks) and Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxime), and the clips from The History Boys (with Ms. de la Tour), The Threepenny Opera (Mr. Dale), Faith Healer with Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) and Awake and Sing! with Zoe Wanamaker (Madam Hooch).

The Tony Awards ceremony will be broadcast on CBS this Sunday, June 11 at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) on CBS.

Thanks, Felice!

(SOURCE: THE LEAKY CAULDRON)