Hey guys sorry for the lack of updates!! I've been super busy over the bank holiday weekend
Philosopher's Stone joins A-Levels set text reading
The Daily Mail
is reporting this evening that
Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the
Potter series, is now a choice for A-Levels in the United Kingdom. For those who don't know, A-Levels are academic placement tests similar to the SATs taken in the United States.
Pupils taking the English language and literature A-level next year will study Rowling's first Potter volume – the 12th best-selling book of all time and the basis for a Hollywood film – along with one other book for the module Themes in Language and Literature.
They will have to write a 1,200 to 1,500-word piece of coursework comparing the "approaches" of J.K. Rowling and the other writer.
Examiners will mark students on how they relate story lines and the activities of Harry Potter and his friends to the context of the times.
And students will have to show an understanding of J.K. Rowling's use of language, described recently as gibberish by a High Court judge. They will also have to write their own 500 to 800-word story inspired by the book.
To read more, including quotes from critics who believe that this just following today's pop culture.
click here. Thanks to Sean for the tip!
Hogsmeade structures begin to appear at Wizarding World
Over the past few months,
we've been updating you on various construction photos from
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Today, Screamscape.com
has a few new pictures from construction, most notably one of a building from Hogsmeade Village.
We've also received word from a source who tells us that the entire
Lost Continent area will close in early 2009 to make way for
The Wizarding World. Two places inside Lost Conintent, the Voyage of Sinbad and Dueling Dragons (a show and a ride respectively) will both be kept but converted to
Potter.
It's important to take this information with a grain of salt until we get official confirmation, even though rumors have been rampant lately about The Lost Continent's future. Thanks to Trish and Katie for the tips!
Potter leaves NYT Best-Seller List for First Time in a Decade
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone originally appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list back in December of 1998. The impact of
Potter's popularity led the NYT to creating two new lists so other titles could make the list other than Jo's stories.
Now, almost ten years later, the May 11th edition of The Sunday New York Times will be free of any
Potter novel.
Check out the NYT's Book Blog for more.
Once JK Rowling's
Potter Encyclopedia is released, we're sure Potter will make a comeback. Thanks to Pruneau for the tip!
10 Years Since the Downfall of Lord Voldemort
As revealed in ITV's JK Rowling Documentary
which aired back in December, May 2nd, 1998 was the day Harry finally defeated Lord Voldemort within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
A couple of visitors have asked us to post this wonderful anniversary. And why not? The Battle of Hogwarts within
Deathly Hallows was one of the coolest scenes ever created by Jo. It held what we've been waiting to witness since closing
Sorcerer's Stone. And who can forget Molly Weasley's infamous line to Bellatrix Lestrange: "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"?
So here's to Harry and his triumphant win against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Leave your thanks to Harry and Jo in the comments, and ask yourself: Do Wizards have a name for this anniversary?
Amazon announces Beedle the Bard contest semifinalists
About a month ago,
Amazon announced a new contest giving a lucky winner the chance to read
Tales of Beedle the Bard themselves. The semifinalists were announced today and voting has commenced for the two different age groups.
Click here to vote in the 13 - 17 age group and
click here to vote for 18 and above. You must have a free Amazon account. Each group's winner will receive a $1,000 Amazon gift certificate. They will also move on to the final round of voting to determine the grand prize winner, which begins May 13th.
Voting in the current semifinalists round wraps up May 11th, so make sure to get your vote in soon! Thanks to Becky and Tessa for the tip.
Natalia Tena talks about her role in Half-Blood Prince
SnitchSeeker.com was at Collectormania 13 in England and
spoke with Natalia Tena, who plays Tonks in
Order of the Phoenix and
Half-Blood Prince. Tena revealed that she has completed filming for HBP:
The only scene Natalia has filmed for the movie, isn't actually in the book at all. She was only on set for the part where Death Eaters attack the Burrow at Christmas (where Harry & the Weasleys are present). She said that none of the angst of her character is there - indeed, she and Lupin are just suddenly a couple when they meet there.
Read more at
Snitch Seeker. Thanks to Trish for the tip!
Roger Rapoport speaks to Chicago Tribune
It's been a couple weeks since we've updated you on the JK Rowling VS RDR court trial. The trial itself
occurred from April 14th - 16th, and at this point we are just waiting for the judge's final decision on the copyright infringement claims by JKR/WB.
The Chicago Tribune
recently spoke to RDR owner Roger Rapoport, who sheds some new light on their decision to turn the HP Lexicon into a book:
The publisher did not know of Vander Ark's Lexicon Web site until he saw a newspaper profile of the Webmaster last July. A month later, Vander Ark agreed to put together a print version with the help of three of the site's other editors. The plan was to print 10,000 copies.
"I couldn't understand why this book hadn't been published yet," he said. After all, Rowling herself had endorsed the Web site in 2004, giving it an award as "a great site" which, while writing, she occasionally used to check facts from her earlier books. Little did Rapoport envision that, at the trial, Rowling would dismiss the manuscript of the printed Lexicon as "sloppy."
For the full interview,
click here! Thanks to Jonathan for the tip!
Tony Coburn cast as Young Lucius Malfoy
BlogHogwarts.com has online an interview with Tony Coburn, who will be playing Young Lucius Malfoy in
Half-Blood Prince. In the interview, he talks about what scenes he's filmed and who he's worked with:
BH: Have you filmed your scenes for Half-Blood Prince? In which scenes are you involved?
TC: The scenes have been shot and I was in a dinner scene with Professor Slughorn. I was also an extra in Dumbledore’s death scene which was a night shoot.
BH: Who did you work with? Who did you meet?
TC: I acted with Jim Broadbent and was in the death scene with Michael Gambon, Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith and Robbie Coltrane.
To read more of what he has to say, including how he prepared for the role, check out
this translation at The-Portkey.com. Thanks to them for the tip!
Thanks to MuggleNet