Sirius Black's News

Christmas schedule

plinker@yahoo.com — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:21:00 GMT

As with every December within the past few years, ABC Family is once again running the Potter films as part of their 25 Days of Christmas special. This year will be extra exciting because they've announced some cool sneak peeks at Half-Blood Prince:

To add to the magic, ABC Family will also be airing exclusive first looks at the new film, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (opening in theatres July 17, 2009), throughout the weekend’s three-day event. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Michael Gambon discuss the upcoming film’s exciting storylines, as well as revealing insider information. ABC Family’s first looks at the latest Harry Potter feature film also offer viewers a sneak peek of never-before-seen footage of love running rampant through Hogwarts, a look into Tom Riddle’s past and an introduction of Hogwarts new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Horace Slughorn.

Below is the schedule for the films that weekend:
Friday, December 5th:
(7:30 � 11:00 PM ET/PT) “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”

Saturday, December 6th
(1:30 � 5:00 PM ET/PT) “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
(5:00 � 9:00 PM ET/PT) “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”
(9:00 PM � 12:00 AM ET/PT) “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”

Sunday, December 7th
(12:30 � 4:30 PM ET/PT) “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”
(4:30 � 7:30 PM ET/PT) “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
(7:30 � 11:00 PM ET/PT) “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (extended edition with deleted scenes)

Deathly Hallows split!

plinker@yahoo.com — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:54:00 GMT

It's official: Eight will be the magic number for the "Harry Potter" film franchise.

After months of rumors, Warner Bros. and the producers of the massively successful movies will announce Thursday that they plan to split "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," J.K. Rowling's seventh and final "Potter" novel, into two blockbuster films -- one to be released in November 2010 and the second in May 2011.

'Phoenix' Interviews

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:54:00 GMT

Several press conferences were held in London for Order of the Phoenix over this past weekend, with another one taking place just this morning. Now videos are starting to pour in - click here to view one from GMTV (with Dan), one from Sunrise (with a variety of cast), and one from Sky News (too with a variety of cast).

J K Rowling named "Entertainer of the Year"

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:53:00 GMT

Entertainment Weekly has named J.K. Rowling their “Entertainer of the Year” for 2007 (cover here).The magazine says the reason they selected the Harry Potter author as their top entertainer was “because she did something very, very hard, and she did it very, very well, thus pleasing hundreds of millions of children and adults very, very much. In an era of videogame consoles, online multiplayer ”environments,” and tinier-is-better mobisodes, minisodes, and webisodes, she got people to tote around her big, fat old-fashioned printed-on-paper books as if they were the hottest new entertainment devices on the planet.”

Updates at JK Rowling.com and more

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:52:00 GMT

JKRowling.com has recently been updated with several new features, including a special time turner on the Room of Requirement page. This enables visitors to view previous times in which the door on the site has been open.

Also, the Wizard of the Month section has been restructured so previous months and their respective wizards can be viewed.

You can also find out about the lawsuit that Jo and Warner Bros. has filed against the HP Lexicon and how that is progressing as well.

Potter is no.1

tinferno@gmail.com — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:29:00 GMT

Warner Brothers has announced this evening that the Harry Potter series is the largest-grossing film franchise to date globally, surpassing Star Wars and and James Bond. Totaling $4.47 billion in ticket sales (with two films left to go, WB points out), several high-ups at Warner Brothers are quoted in the press release:
In making the announcement, Alan Horn [President & Chief Operating Officer] said, “It would be an understatement to say we are proud of the success of the Harry Potter films. We also want to congratulate all of the extraordinary actors, filmmakers and artists who have shared this remarkable cinematic journey with us.”

J.K.Rowling provides details after Deathly Hallows

tinferno@gmail.com — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:07:23 GMT

Spoiler alert: This story reveals some key plot points in the final Harry Potter book. So if you've haven't finished the book, J.K. Rowling asks that you not read this story. If you found the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” rather vague, then J.K. Rowling achieved her goal.

The author was shooting for “nebulous,” something “poetic.” She wanted the readers to feel as if they were looking at Platform 9� through the mist, unable to make out exactly who was there and who was not.

“I do, of course, have that information for you, should you require it,” she told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira rather coyly in her first interview since fans got their hands on the final book.
Ummm � yes, please!

Final Harry Potter book breaks all the records

tinferno@gmail.com — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:30:23 GMT

After weeks of hype ahead of the global release of J K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Saturday morning, retailers were clearly happy with weekend sales but were coy today about the details.

The Warehouse spokeswoman Cynthia Church said the chain sold 20 per cent more copies of the final instalment than of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Deathly Hallows averaged more than 300,000 copies in sales per hour globally - more than 5,000 a minute. It generated more than £125m ($250 million) of revenue, more than triple the opening weekend take for the latest Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which came out 10th July.

Door on JKRowling.com opens once more

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:25:23 GMT

This time, though, there is no hidden way of getting inside the Room of Requirement on JK Rowling's official website. Instead, simply clicking on the door and then clicking a note laying on Jo's desk reveals a letter of acknowledgements from the Harry Potter author. She also includes a note to fans:

Within hours you will know what happens to Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest in their final adventure. All the secrets I have been carrying around for so long will be yours, too, and those who guessed correctly will be vindicated, and those who guessed wrongly will not, I hope, be too disappointed! As for me, I feel a heady mixture of excitement, nerves and relief. 'Deathly Hallows' remains my favourite of the series, even after several re-reads; I cannot wait to share it with the readers who have stuck with me through six previous books.

Rowling: Harry Potter 'the experience of a lifetime'

tinferno@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 09:24:23 GMT

In a new interview, JK Rowling expresses her feelings on the final Potter book. She describes the writing of the final words as similar to "a bereavement." She also addresses the criticisms she has faced by putting death in this last book. Even though some critics think that it may be too intense for children in this book, she makes no apologies for exposing it.

"I think children are very scared of this stuff even if they haven’t experienced it, and I think the way to meet that is head-on. I absolutely believe, as a writer and as a parent, that the solution is not to pretend things don’t happen but to examine them in a loving, safe way."

She also says that she "has no plans" for the future, but that she just wants to "fall in love with an idea again, and go with that."