Tuesday, September 10, 2002

Wands and Letters from first movie to be sold
A wand box and one of Harry's letters recieved from Hogwarts are to be sold at Cooper Owen's upcoming Movie auction section.
 posted by Seth Pharos on 9/10/2002 03:17:27 AM

No HP books in Saudi Arabia
HP books have been taken out in Saudi Arabia due to their 'occult/satanic theme' and have an anti-family approach.
 posted by Seth Pharos on 9/10/2002 03:16:05 AM

Second CoS Trailer showed in "Family Fair"
Straight from Leaky Cauldron:

"HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS' TRAILER IN THE WB'S COMEDY PREMIERE IS A WARNER BROS. "FAMILY AFFAIR"
BURBANK, CA (September 9, 2002) - For the second consecutive year The WB Television Network and Warner Bros. Pictures will give viewers an exclusive first look at Harry Potter as the opening episode of the new comedy FAMILY AFFAIR will include an exclusive look at the second installment of the Harry Potter film series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

During the one-hour premiere of FAMILY AFFAIR on Thursday, September 12, 8:00 p.m. EST, The WB will air the world premiere of the first full-length trailer for the movie, which will be released in theaters in North America and in the U.K. on Friday, November 15.

"We are thrilled to offer our growing number of family viewers the exclusive opportunity to get a look at one of the fall's most anticipated feature films, 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,' " said Jed Petrick, President & Chief Operating Officer of The WB. "Harry Potter's huge fan base of kids, teens and their parents should drive viewers to the premiere of 'Family Affair," a new series that's in one of the most difficult time periods on network television."

"We are very excited to be presenting the first look at our trailer for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on The WB," said Dawn Taubin, President of Domestic Theatrical Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures. "The WB brand is synonymous with young adult and family audiences, making the network the perfect outlet to share this exhilarating footage with Harry Potter fans throughout North America."

Last year, The WB presented an exclusive look at a scene from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and achieved its best Friday night ratings of the season. The film has grossed nearly $1 Billion worldwide to date.

In " Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," young wizard Harry Potter (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) and his friends Ron Weasley (RUPERT GRINT) and Hermione Granger (EMMA WATSON) face new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as they try to uncover a dark force that is terrorizing the school.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films/1492 Pictures production of a Chris Columbus film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, starring DANIEL RADCLIFFE, EMMA WATSON, RUPERT GRINT, KENNETH BRANAGH, JOHN CLEESE, ROBBIE COLTRANE, WARWICK DAVIS, RICHARD GRIFFITHS, RICHARD HARRIS, JASON ISAACS, ALAN RICKMAN, FIONA SHAW, MAGGIE SMITH and JULIE WALTERS. Directed by CHRIS COLUMBUS from a screenplay by STEVE KLOVES, based on the acclaimed novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. ROWLING, the film is produced by DAVID HEYMAN. CHRIS COLUMBUS, MARK RADCLIFFE, MICHAEL BARNATHAN and DAVID BARRON are the executive producers. ROGER PRATT is the director of photography; STUART CRAIG is the production designer; PETER HONESS is the editor; and JOHN WILLIAMS is the composer. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will be released in North America and the U.K. on November 15, 2002 by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company. This film is not yet rated.

FAMILY AFFAIR, starring Tim Curry (Mr. French) and Gary Cole (Uncle Bill), is a re-make of the '60s classic about a carefree Manhattan bachelor and his protective butler, whose lives are turned upside down when a pair of 6-year-old twins (Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak and Sasha Pieterse) and a 16-year-old girl (Caitlin Wachs) invade their world. It is produced by Turner Television.

Friday, September 06, 2002

JKRs chair sold!
Remember the chair being auctioned? Well, that chair with many other celebrity chairs were sold for big bucks which go to charity. And JKR also was given permission to add some security measures to her Victorian home in Merchiston.

A CHAIR which J K Rowling sat in to write two of her Harry Potter novels raised £15,000 for a children’s charity at an auction in London. Christie’s "Chairish the Child" celebrity sale included 25 chairs signed and donated by stars including Brad Pitt, Joanna Lumley and Ali G. All the proceeds from yesterday’s sale will go to the NSPCC. Meanwhile, millionaire author Rowling has been given the go-ahead to increase security at her Edinburgh mansion. She applied for permission to increase the height of the walls round her £1.5 million home in Merchiston and to install hi-tech, electronic security gates after she was stalked by an obsessed fan. The security measures are part of a number of home alterations at the mansion which also include a new summerhouse with wooden decking being built in the garden and all the windows being double-glazed. The residents who complained said they were shocked that the application was approved without any debate among councillors. But planning committee convenor Bob Cairns said: "The widening of the gates and increased height of the wall is not a big deal. It would have no effect whatsoever on the character of the area. This type of thing goes on all the time and nobody would be interested if it wasn’t J K Rowling’s house."

Speculating about the Order of the Phoenix
The Atlanta Journal-Consitution speculates about the 5th book, everything from an evil business scheme to understanding of JKRs writing pace.

"At first we were told she [author J.K. Rowling] hadn't turned the manuscript in yet. Then, they kind of dropped that story. Now, they just give you more delays," says Leah Lewandowski, manager of Hobbit Hall, a children's bookstore in Roswell. The delays in publishing "Order of the Phoenix" have even led some to speculate that the book is being held back as part of a nefarious marketing plan, to avoid conflicting with the release of the second movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," due out Nov. 15. Rowling herself has given almost no interviews since the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" last year; she has said, however, that she never considered the summer of 2002 to be a deadline. "There was speculation with book four ["Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"] that she was rushing to make a publication date," says Roback. "And there were some logistical errors found in that book. She said 'never again.' She was going to write at her own pace." But the pace of Rowling's writing has helped fuel the antsiness of Potter fans. She released a book a year from 1997 through 2000. It's now been more than two years since the fourth book, "Goblet of Fire," was released (116 weeks on The New York Times Best-Seller List and counting). It will take at least five months from the time she turns in the next manuscript to the day the book hits stores. "When it does come out, it will be interesting because readers who started the series at 10 or 11 may be in college, and say, 'Well, I used to read that when I was a kid,' " says Publishers Weekly's Roback. "On the other hand, plenty of adults and college students read the Harry Potter books."

Monday, September 02, 2002

Preview of HP CoS games cover
Amazon had a picture of the cover for the new HP CoS games.

Snitch is caught by Emily Elvin
WB had a competition which had children draw up their favorite character. The winner, Emily Elvin got a Golden Snitch as a reward out of 5000 others.

Emily Elvin, seven, won a national Harry Potter competition organised by Warner Brothers. More than 5,000 children entered the competition, which asked them to draw their favourite characters from the movie. Emily was the winner. She drew Harry flying on his broomstick trying to catch the Golden Snitch. Despite artwork being a particular favourite at home, dad Simon Elvin was still surprised when his daughter won.

Chair of JKR being auctioned
The chair that JKR sat on while writing the first and second Harry Potter books is being put up on auction to help raise funds for a children charity.

The chair where best selling author JK Rowling sat while writing the first Harry Potter novels being auctioned for charity. The signed dining room chair, which is accompanied by a letter from the author, is expected to raise £20,000 at an auction for children’s charity the NSPCC being held at Christie’s in London this week. Ms Rowling writes: "Dear new-owner-of-my-chair, I was given four mismatched dining room chairs in 1995 and this was the comfiest. That is why it ended up stationed permanently in front of my typewriter while I typed out Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. My nostalgic side is quite sad to see it go, but my back isn’t."

Analysts are hoping Bloomsbury announces release date for Order of the Phoenix
Ananova gives is a report of how analysts hope for Bloomsbury to give the release date.

Analysts are hoping Bloomsbury will announce a release date for the fifth book in the Harry Potter septet next Wednesday. They've predicted a mid-summer arrival for the latest instalment of the schoolboy wizard's adventures. But Harry Potter will remain the focus of analysts' interest, says Jonathan Barrett, media analyst at Teather & Greenwood. He said: "The market is hoping for news on Harry 5. We are expecting a mid-summer release date, and we hope for confirmation from the results that this will be the case. Bloomsbury depend on Harry, but they are building the business and it's developing strongly. What Harry has allowed them to do is invest a lot of cash into books elsewhere. They now have about 18 months of books lined up and they have a lot more clout in the market. Harry has opened the door for them."

Sunday, September 01, 2002

Warner Bros' Reaction towards the Ain't It Cool review of CoS
ITV.com reports WBs reaction towards the Ain't It Cool review of CoS, the one written by Walkabouter.

A keen nethead has posted an article about the film on the web, despite the fact it is not due out until November. The review is on the notorious film gossip website Ain't It Cool (www.aint-it-cool-news.com), and describes the film as 'funnier and spookier' than the original, though slightly more complicated. The author, who styles himself Walkabouter, concludes: "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets has some things really going for it. "There are improvements, there are smiles and there are scenes of fancy. "But there are drawbacks, too, though few and far between. Secrets seems to have taken three steps forward but one step back." The filmmakers, Warner Brothers, have dismissed the article as completely false. But it is not unknown for well-informed 'advance reviews' of upcoming flicks to appear on websites - placed there by Hollywood sources or other insiders for amusement, revenge or (whisper the word!) publicity.