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Tag: J.K. Rowling

  • Eddie Redmayne cast in Warner Bros’ wizarding world adventure

    Eddie Redmayne cast in Warner Bros’ wizarding world adventure

    MUMBAI: Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne has been cast as Newt Scamander in Warner Bros. Pictures’ wizarding world adventure Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

     

    Redmayne will play J.K. Rowling’s creation Newt Scamander, the Wizarding World’s preeminent magizoologist, who in his travels has encountered and documented a myriad of magical creatures, ultimately leading to his penning the Hogwarts School textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

     

    Warner Bros. Pictures president of creative development and worldwide production Greg Silverman said, “Eddie Redmayne has emerged as one of today’s most extraordinarily talented and acclaimed actors. We are thrilled to welcome him into J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, where we know he will deliver a remarkable performance as Newt Scamander, the central character in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

     

    Making her screenwriting debut on the film, Rowling has developed the character of Scamander and his primer – taken from her Harry Potter series – to further explore the unique wizarding world she has crafted in print and bring it to life on screen.

     

    David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films, will direct Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

     

    “Eddie is a fearless actor, brimming with invention, wit and humanity. I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of working with him as we start this new adventure in J.K. Rowling’s wonderful world, and I know she feels the same way,” said Yates.

     

    The film is being produced by David Heyman, producer of all eight Harry Potter features; Rowling; Steve Kloves, who scripted all but one of the Harry Potter films; and Lionel Wigram, who served as an executive producer on the last four installments of the franchise.

     

    Redmayne won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2014 biopic The Theory of Everything. His stunning portrayal of Stephen Hawking in that film also brought him Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards.

     

    Warner Bros. Pictures will release Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 3D and Imax on 18 November, 2016.

  • HBO Defined to premiere ‘The Casual Vacancy’

    HBO Defined to premiere ‘The Casual Vacancy’

    MUMBAI: HBO Defined is all set to premiere the three part miniseries The Casual Vacancy, which is based on the novel by J.K. Rowling.

     

    The first part of the miniseries will premiere in India on 28 April, while the remaining two episodes will be aired on 29 and 30 April at 10 pm.

     

    The Casual Vacancy is directed by Jonny Campbell and written by Sarah Phelps. The ensemble of actors is led by Michael Gambon, Julia McKenzie, Keeley Hawes, Rory Kinnear, Rufus Jones, Emily Bevan, Simon McBurney, Monica Dolan and introduces Abigail Lawrie in her acting debut.

     

    The miniseries is executive produced by Paul Trijbits, Rick Senat, Neil Blair and Rowling and produced by Ruth Kenley-Letts.

     

    The Casual Vacancy is the story of a village tearing itself apart, revealing the townspeople’s idiosyncrasies, and addressing social responsibility and one’s response to the poor and disadvantaged. At times darkly funny, it portrays a town whose residents are selfishly stuck in their beliefs and traditions, unaware they have the power to change. This sadly comical selfishness comes to play an important role as events unfold.

     

  • J.K. Rowling to write screenplay for Fantastic Beasts trilogy

    J.K. Rowling to write screenplay for Fantastic Beasts trilogy

    MUMBAI: Back in September last year, Warner Bros announced in a press statement that it is back to making films in association with world-wide bestselling author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling. At the centre of the partnership is a new film series from Rowling’s world of witches and wizards, inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the adventures of the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander.

     

    In the press release, Warner Bros stated that through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; J.K. Rowling will make her screenwriting debut.

     

    “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,” said Rowling in the statement.  “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.”

     

    In addition to the film series, Fantastic Beasts will also be developed across the Studio’s video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses, including enhanced links with Pottermore.com, Rowling’s digital online experience built around the Harry Potter stories. 

     

    In an interview with The New York Times published on 29 March, Warner Bros Picture CEO Kevin Tsujihara stated that “three mega movies” based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are planned and the main character will be a “magizoologist” named Newt Scamander. The stories, neither prequels nor sequels, will start in New York about seven decades before the arrival of Potter and his pals.

     

    The Studio’s expanded partnership with Rowling also covers the continued expansion of its Harry Potter activities, including The Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks in conjunction with partner Universal Parks and Resorts (currently in Orlando, FL; opening in Hollywood, CA and Osaka, Japan), digital initiatives (including Pottermore), video games, consumer products and visitor attractions. 

     

    In addition, Warner Bros will serve as the worldwide TV distributor (excluding the UK) of J.K. Rowling’s upcoming television adaptation for the BBC of The Casual Vacancy, her best-selling first novel aimed at adult audiences which begins production in 2014.

  • Mini movie on Harry Potter being filmed

    Mini movie on Harry Potter being filmed

    MUMBAI: A mini movie on the Harry Potter franchise is reportedly being shot secretly at the Potter studios in Hertfordshire.
    Actress Helena Bonham Carter, who played Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series, has been shooting for the film.
    It is through this film that Daniel Radcliffe rose to fame after playing lead role of boy wizard while Emma Watson and Rupert Grint played his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
    The film is likely to be shown at one of the two theme parks which are under construction. One of the theme parks will open in California by 2014, while the other will be ready to open in Japan by 2016.
    The eight-part franchise, based on author J.K Rowling‘s book, came to an end last year.

  • Rowling working on Potter encyclopedia

    Rowling working on Potter encyclopedia

    MUMBAI: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is working on a Harry Potter encyclopedia. She will donate the royalties to charity, it is understood.
     
    On her revamped website, Rowling addressed the question of a Harry Potter encyclopedia in a ‘frequently asked questions and rumours‘ section. "For a long time I have been promising an encyclopedia of Harry‘s world and I have started work on this now," said the 46-year-old author. Some of it forms the new content in Pottermore.
     
    Pottermore, a free website allowing visitors to navigate the stories and discover new content not in the original books, is one of several Potter spin-offs following the completion of the seven-novel series.
     
    The novels have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide and spawned a hit eight-movie film franchise that has helped turn Rowling into the world‘s most successful author.
     
    It may be recalled that four years ago the British writer took an independent US publisher to Court to bring an end to its plans for a reference book on the world of the fictional boy wizard saying that it constituted a ‘rip-off‘ of her work.
     
    Earlier this month, Rowling announced the title of her first book for adults would be The Casual Vacancy. It goes on sale on 27 September.

  • Electronic Arts, Warner team up for Harry Potter game

    Electronic Arts, Warner team up for Harry Potter game

    MUMBAI: Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in the US have announced that the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game is in development. The game is scheduled for a July 2007 release to coincide with the film based on J.K. Rowling’s fifth book of the same title.

    EA UK executive producer Harvey Elliott says, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the first in the franchise that we have developed for the next generation consoles. Together with current generation versions, we are creating an immersive and, above all, faithful Harry Potter experience that will both accurately reflect the world showcased in the film and also delight fans of all ages.”

    Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment senior VP Jason Hall says, “Working with EA, we look forward to offering fans the most authentic Harry Potter game to date, one which captures the compelling story of the fiction and high visual quality of the movie. After reading the book and seeing the film, fans will be able to take advantage of the complete interactive experience with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix game.”

    The close and synergistic relationship between book, film and videogame is more defined in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix videogame than ever before the two parties state. Players will be able to explore the many key locations within Hogwarts in minute detail, each one a visual match to its film equivalent, while being engrossed in the thrilling adventures outlined in the rich narrative of the book.

    In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students.

    But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

    With the ability to play multiple characters, including Harry Potter, Dumbledore and Sirius Black, the video game offers fans the opportunity to wield a wand, explore all around Hogwarts.