For the month of June 2008
June 24th, 2008
International Release Dates Confirmed
From Veritaserum.com:
Warner Bros. has confirmed 60 international release dates for the film adaptation of Half-Blood Prince, which will open in American and British theatres on this November 21st.
The first to see the movie - Egyptian and Belgian fans, followed by German, Greek and other countries. You can view the full release dates list at Veritaserum.
Michigan Kids Enjoy HP Day
From WizardNews.com:
The Hudson Community Library in Michigan held its second-ever "Harry Potter Day" Friday afternoon, offering games, trivia and prizes surrounding the popular book series about the adventures of a boy wizard as a way to encourage middle and high school students to read. Cloak-wearing sisters Heather and Jennica Smith organized the party.
Another Terminus Update
From the Editor:
Danny Dementor is now slated to be playing at Terminus. Terminus will be held August 7 - 11, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. A link to the official Terminus site can be found in the HP Events sidebar on the front page.
New Wrock Tracks
From the Editor:
The Moaning Myrtles have uploaded a new track entitled "Cedric" to their page, while Justin Finch-Fletchley & The Sugar Quills uploaded his newest track "Eff the Ministry".
New Wrock Blog Updates and Pics
From the Editor:
There are new blog updates from Harry & the Potters entitled "Celebrate 6 Years of Harry & the Potters! OMG!" and from The Moaning Myrtles entitled "New songs and a CD cover!". New pics have been added to The Moaning Myrtles' album Summer 2008, as well as to the Grindylow's album My Photos.
June 20th, 2008
GoF In EW's New Classics Books List
From HPANA.com:
With the 1,000th issue of Entertainment Weekly on newstands today, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is included at the #2 spot on their "New Classics Books" list.
Radcliffe & Griffiths at Tony awards
From HPANA.com:
Sunday night in New York, Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths attended the Tony awards where they presented the award for "Best Play". Photos and video from the event are now online at several different sites.
Rumors Debunked
From the Editor:
There have been several different rumors running rampant online lately which, sorry Potterholics, are indeed totally untrue. The HBP video game does not have an early release date, Emma Watson is not the new face of Chanel, and J.K. did not write a script for a short film for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park at Universal Orlando.
June 15th, 2008
HP Prequel Now Online
From HPANA.com:
The shorter-than-short Harry Potter prequel by author J.K. Rowling is now available to read online at Waterstone's website (once there, click "Read our authors' stories" and then select J.K. Rowling's name). The story, handwritten on the front and back of a note card, was one of 12 from various authors auctioned for the bookseller's "What's Your Story?" charity fundraiser. Rowling's went for nearly $50,000.
* NOTE from the Editor - If anyone has difficulty reading Jo's writing, I have provided a typed version which is available on Magykal.
*UPDATE - Within the first 20 hours that Waterstone's placed the prequel online, more than 70,000 fans viewed the story.
New Harry/Ginny Pic!
From HPANA.com:
A new image featuring Harry and Ginny in a hug from Half-Blood Prince has appeared online. Other new promotional images popped up at the Licensing International Expo which took place in New York City. Included at the event were previews of promotional items and merchandise for Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. You can view these images here.
Trelawney Disappears
From HarryPotterFanZone.com:
According to SnitchSeeker.com, Emma Thompson will not appear in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as Professor Trewlaney.
J.K Rowling Commencement Speech
From HarryPotterFanZone.com and HPANA.com:
J.K Rowling spoke to graduates at Harvard University. In her speech, she touched on how imagination is very important to her, and how failure is almost always necessary to succeed. "We do not need magic to transform our world," she said. A video, audio, and transcript version of the speech, courtesy of Harvard Magazine, can all be found here.
Helen McCrory on BBC 4 Radio
From HarryPotterFanZone.com:
Helen McCrory was recently interviewed by BBC 4 Radio. In the interview, she discussed the character of Narcissa Malfoy and speaks about the production of Half-Blood Prince.
Scientists closer to making real invisibility cloak
From WizardNews.com:
A mathematician at the University of Utah has revealed that experts trying to realise a superlens cloak in laboratories have achieved some surprising and exciting results, but admits they are still very far off from inventing a workable device able hide an object in the same way the cloaking devices in Star Trek and Harry Potter films did.
Rumor: Dan Radcliffe in running for Bilbo Baggins
From WizardNews.com:
Director Guillermo del Toro recently spoke with IGN about when the lead role in The Hobbit. In the course of calling all the rumors false, he listed Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe as one of the actors who has not yet gotten the role, leading many to believe he is, indeed, in the running for this most sought-after part.
Kobe Bryant Turns To Harry For Support?
From Veritaserum.com:
Instead of focusing on his team's recent troubles vying for the NBA championship, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said that he read five chapters of the Harry Potter books to his daughters to get his mind off the stress. He said, "They just wanted me to read them and I swear, it was awesome. He had more problems dealing with Voldemort than we have dealing with the media and the Celtics."
Authors unhappy about UK book age sticker plan
From WizardNews.com:
Next year, some publishers in the UK are planning to put age labels on the covers of kids' books. Lots of top authors, including Philip Pullman and Jacqueline Wilson, thinks it's a bad idea. Hundreds of authors have signed an online petition, because they think kids will be afraid to try books for older kids, and get teased if they read books for younger ages.
June 1st, 2008
Jo pens HP prequel for charity!
From HarryPotterFanZone.com:
JK Rowling has written an 800-word prequel to the Harry Potter series for a charity auction benefiting English Pen and Dyslexia Action. The prequel is said to feature "the fictional wizard's father James and his friend Sirius Black in their younger years." A copy of the prequel will be available online after the auction on June 10th and will also be sold in a book containing all 13 auction contributions come August. JK later updated her site to say that the Harry Potter prequel "takes place around 3 years before Harry is born." She adds, "Although I did feel a bit like a relapsing addict as I sat down to write - the words poured from my pen with frightening ease - I am NOT working on a prequel. Indeed, I've written that clearly at the bottom of the card itself".
New HBP Photos!
From Veritaserum.com:
This past weekend, two new photos from Half-Blood Prince surfaced, one showing Harry standing pensively in a hallway with a stained glass window and the other showing the confrontation between Snape, Malfoy, and Filch at Slughorn's Christmas party. These are in addition to three other new photos showing the trio in the Gryffindor Common Room, in Ron's bedroom, and Draco and Snape in a corridor. You can check out all these latest pics courtesy of Oclumencia's gallery.
* UPDATE - Please note that these photos have now been removed.
Jo 3rd most influential woman in UK
From HarryPotterFanZone.com:
A new survey by the Leaders in London international leadership summit found J.K. Rowling to be considered the 3rd most influential woman in the UK, preceded only by Margaret Thatcher (2nd) and Queen Elizabeth II (1st). 1,000 business leaders were questioned for the survey.
John Hurt hints he'd like to be in Hallows
From WizardNews.com:
John Hurt, who played Mr. Ollivander in Sorcerer's Stone, says he hopes to return for the final installment of the boy wizard franchise Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be split into two films. Hurt says, "I didn't spend a lot of time on the Harry Potter film, but I might be spending more time there next time. We'll see."
New Astrid's Message
From Astrid Celestia
I'm very sorry I haven't gotten up any new blogs yet. I have a few reading journals and the new Myth and Mistery article all ready to go but sadly haven't had time to type it into my journal. Things have been crazy around here (and let me tell you the gnomes don't help at all! They are so hard to get rid of) but I will be back with plenty of content in a week or so. Hang in there and remain forever... Potterholic and Proud! ~Astrid Celestia, "Not all who wander are aimless."
New Wrock Blogs and Music
From the Editor:
The Whomping Willows has posted a new blog entry entitled "Canadian Mini-Tour Starts Friday! Important Info!", while Justin Finch-Fletchley & The Sugar Quills posted a new blog entitled "JFF's Wrockstock Vlog", Kingsley and the Shacklebolts posted "New CD Track Listing and Other Info", and The Swinging Staircase Sisters posted "Wrote a few New Songs". The Remus Lupins added a new track to their page called "Seven Potters".
