Tag Archives: J.K. Rowling

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ will be told in book form, too

J.K. Rowling is releasing a new Harry Potter book! Well, sorta. As previously reported, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a stage play coming to the West End in London this summer. Today, Pottermore announced that Rowling and her Cursed Child creative team including Jack Thorne and John Tiffany will release a script book of the play. It isn’t entirely made clear what this means exactly, but I guess we are to assume that the new book, transcribed from the stage play, will read more like a play than the typical narrated Potter books we’re accustomed to. Still, this is huge for Potter fans everywhere; if you can’t make it to London to see Cursed Child live, you’ll still be able to enjoy “the official eighth story in Harry Potter canon.” Score!

The stage play is broken up into two separate performances meant to be seen in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or across two consecutive evenings. The script book will combine it all together and is officially titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2. Do you consider yourself a devout Potter-head? If so, take note: Rowling & co. will release two different versions of the book this summer. The first is being dubbed the “Special Rehearsal Edition” and it will comprise of the version of the play script at the time of the play’s preview performances (which begin June 7). Eventually, that will be replaced with the “Definitive Collector’s Edition” following the first official performance of the play that’s planned for July 30.

Looking for more details about the play’s plot and cast? For that you’ll have to jump after the break! Continue reading ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ will be told in book form, too

First look & details: Potter prequel ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ with Eddie Redmayne

It sure is a great time to be a fan of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Less than a month after a Harry Potter stage play was announced, more information surrounding the tightly veiled Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has surfaced. But before we dive in, here’s a quick refresher.

In September of 2013, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling announced a new partnership with Warner Bros. to adapt her 2009 standalone paperback Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them into a movie. Fantastic Beasts, a text book that serves as an extensive introduction to the magical beasts that exist in the magical, non-Muggle world, is actually mentioned in the first Potter novel, The Sorcerer’s Stone; it’s a required reading for first-year students. The text is written by famed magizoologist Newt Scamander. A magizoologist, mind you, is a person who studies magical creatures. In her surprise announcement, Rowling shared, “The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.”

Since then, Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) has been cast to star in Fantastic Beasts as Newt Scamander, and it’s been confirmed that Rowling will make her screenwriting debut here and David Yates (director of the final four Potter films) is back at the helm.

Entertainment Weekly recently published pictures from the set and shared some non-spoilery plot points. Here’s what we know so far:

Eccentric magizoologist Newt Scamander comes to New York (for a reason [EW] won’t disclose) with his trusty weathered case. This case is one of those way-way-way-bigger-on-the-inside magical devices, and within are expansive habitats for a collection of rare and endangered magical creatures from Newt’s travels around globe. He discovers the American wizarding community is fearfully hiding from Muggles (who are called “No-Maj” in the States [pronounced “no madge,” as in “no magic”]) and the threat of public exposure is an even graver concern than in the UK (remember the Salem witch trials?). Fantastic Beasts is the story of what happens when this uniquely skilled English wizard travels to wiz-phobic America and a variety of his creatures, some quite dangerous … get out of their case.

Catch your first glimpse of Redmayne as Scamander in EW‘s cover photo above. The mag reveals that he’s posing here in the “art deco-influenced Magical Congress of the United States of America (or MACUSA), which is the American version of the Ministry of Magic that’s housed inside the Woolworth Building in the film.”

You’ll find even more photos in the gallery below. Featured alongside Redmayne are more new, original characters including Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterston), Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler).

Despite the film taking place in 1926 New York City, some 70 years before Harry realizes his potential across the pond at Hogwarts, I am beyond confident that Rowling and Redmayne will deliver an exhilaratingly fun new adventure for wizarding world fans new and old.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is due out November 2016. Don’t be surprised if we get a trilogy out of this.

[Via EW 1, 2, 3, 4]

Harry Potter returns!

…In a Rita Skeeter column penned by J.K. Rowling. It’s a 1500 word “article” posted at Pottermore.com written in the voice of the fictional Daily Prophet gossip columnist who is known to report false information more often than not. Though the article and its contents must be taken with a grain of salt like anything else Rita Skeeter writes, it’s a short-lived fun look at what Potter and his closest pals have been up to since the Battle of Hogwarts.

It’s the Quidditch World Cup Final and “Dumbledore’s Army” has shown up in support. Harry is “about to turn 34″ and “there are a couple of threads of silver in the famous Auror’s black hair, but he continues to wear the distinctive round glasses that some might say are better suited to a style-deficient twelve-year-old,” rambles Skeeter. “The famous lightning scar has company: Potter is sporting a nasty cut over his right cheekbone.” Intrigue!

The post also catches Potterheads up with Ron Weasley and his family, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood. Though the post was orignially locked into Pottermore.com and required registration to read, the Internet (read: Reddit) has provided an easier way to view it in full: click here.

At the TCAs promoting his upcoming comedy A Young Doctor’s Notebook & Other Stories, real life’s Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe commented on the new HP material that surfaced. “I don’t know. My inclination is to say ‘No,'” said Radcliffe when asking if he’d ever reprise the role on the big screen again. “It’s not even hypothetical at the moment. What she’s written, I haven’t read it yet. I am going to read it. But [it is], as I understand it, a very short piece that I’m not sure it, of itself, worthy of adaptation to film.” Later, he added, “He’s at least sorta 12 years older in it than I am now, so I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that for a long time, I’m hoping.”

Here’s to hoping Rowling steps into Skeeter’s slippery shoes again for another update on our favorite albeit aging wizards.

[Quotes via HitFix]

J.K. Rowling to pen a script set in the wizarding world of (pre) Harry Potter

Harry Potter fans, perk up! J.K. Rowling is back with another film in mind. Now before you freak out too hard, this new film will not star The Boy Who Lived but instead it will focus on Newt Scamander, the fictitious author of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. This book was first mentioned in the first Potter novel The Sorcerer’s Stone and Rowling would later adapt it into a real book in 2001. Adapting Fantastic Beasts marks Rowling’s screening debut, and though plot details are under wraps, a press release makes it known that the original story will take place in the wizarding world featured in the Potter books and movies but it unfolds 70 years before Harry is introduced. Rowling release the following statement:

It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

To learn more about Scamander, a famed Magizoologist and once Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, check out his Wiki page. Buy a copy of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them at Amazon today to prepare for the upcoming film. The plan is for this to be the first picture in a new film series.

E3 2012: Sony takes care of the hardcore gamers with exclusives ‘Beyond: Two Souls’ & ‘The Last of Us’

Sony was all about the games at this year’s E3. The company’s press event started off with a PS3 exclusive title from Quantic Dream, the development team behind the visually impressive Heavy Rain and the even better looking, emotional Kara tech demo that came out recently. Lead developer David Cage revealed his new project Beyond: Two Souls with an extended trailer that introduces the game’s main character Jodie Holmes. Cage hand-picked actress Ellen Page (Juno) to star as Holmes in a game that begs the questions what happens when you die? Cage describes the game as “emotional, mature, and unique, but also epic, breath-taking, and spectacular” and he teases that “if you make the right decisions, maybe you will discover what lies beyond.” Cage ranks up there with Avatar inventor James Cameron as a master of the performance capture technology. Visually mind-blowing with an intriguing storyline, Beyond: Two Souls is a strong exclusive for PS3.

Next, the PlayStation maker brought out developer Super Bot Entertainment to play a round of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. It’s Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros., a game that pits classic PlayStation characters against each other in a battle to a button-mashing death. The game stars Kratos (God of War), Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal), Sly Cooper, Mael Radec (Killzone 2), Fat Princess, and PaRappa the Rapper; at the presser Nathan Drake (Uncharted) and Big Daddy (Bioshock) were added to the mix. More significant than the on-screen battle was that the demonstration consisted of some players using DualShock controllers on the PS3 and others participating with PS Vitas. The game will be released on both the PS3 and PS Vita and will come packed with Cross-Play and Cross-Save functionalities. The former meaning that you can fight players on your PS3 and wirelessly with PS Vita owners; the latter meaning you can start a battle on your PS Vita, save it, and resume it on your PS3 (and vice-versa).

Following the innovations of Nintendo’s Wii U and Microsoft’s SmartGlass, Sony is looking to expand its services to a second screen, in this case the in-house PS Vita. In addition to Cross-Play and Cross-Save with Battle Royale, Sony also teased “cross-controller” downloadable content with LittleBigPlanet 2. Later this year the new DLC will allow gamers to “play, create and share using the PS3 and Vita” together. Sony’s Jack Tretton described the experience like this. “Utilizing dual-screen gaming in single player, Vita becomes an enhanced controller for the PS3. It’ll give each player their own controls and perspectives but working towards the same objective.” He summed up, “Cross-platform features will enhance gameplay and create completely new experiences.” They didn’t focus on cross-platform functionality as nearly as much as Microsoft did, but here’s to hoping that Sony is working closely with developers and content providers to enable this exciting technology more broadly across games and other forms of entertainment.

The PlayStation Move card was played this year by way of a new augmented reality experience called Wonderbook. Sony has invented a physical book filled with pages with AR markers on them that when laid out in front of a PS Eye camera will bring to life stories much like a pop-up book would, only on a much more grander scale. PS owners need only purchase one Wonderbook and it has the potential to tell theoretically an unlimited number of stories. Sony says they’re working closely with developers and authors to come up with various interactive tales. The first one comes from Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling and it’s called “Book of Spells.” It features “exclusive, new and original writing from Rowling herself.” The PS Move controller becomes a wand and the gamer-reader embarks on an journey that will reveal the origins of the spells introduced in the Potter books, like the levitation spell “levioso.” The book releases this fall. Sony makes a point that Wonderbook “isn’t limited to just stories.” It can also serve educational purposes: “imagine sailing the seven seas to explore an atlas, walking with dinosaurs, traveling beyond the stars to discover astronomy.” Though demos of this type of usage weren’t shown, Sony said that Moonbot Studios is developing “Diggs Nightcrawler,” a story inspired by film noir, so at least a couple of books will be ready when the physical Wonderbook hits shelves later this year.

Back to the games for the hardcore gamers… Assassin’s Creed III is coming to PS3 and its pirate-themed demo excited the crowd as did the announcement for Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation for the PS Vita. Link the two games together and another form of cross-functionality takes place. “Cross-goods” include bonus content like new personas for your assassin. Far Cry 3 enables four-player co-op; the prequel God of War: Ascension looks to be a bloody good time; and the next title from Naughty Dog The Last of Us faded out the press event with a bang. The visuals and mechanics of that game look stunning. With Beyond, God of War, and The Last of Us, Sony proved this year that they are fully committed to securing innovative and genre-defining games to the PS3. There’s a reason why PlayStation fans are so loyal; even though the PS3 is transforming into an entertainment hub akin to the Xbox, Sony never loses focus on what matters most: the games.

Other announcements made at Sony’s press conference include: Continue reading E3 2012: Sony takes care of the hardcore gamers with exclusives ‘Beyond: Two Souls’ & ‘The Last of Us’