Gollum vs Dobby

Thanks to Beth for leading us to this Newsround interview of LOTR's Andy Serkis; voice & motion-capture actor for Gollum. Twice in the interview Serkis is questioned about his character of Gollum and Dobby:

"How do you feel about the comparison between Gollum and Dobby from Harry Potter? "

Answer here

and

"WhoContinued...

CoS Widescreen - the only way?

Richard Sliwa has posted an excellent overview of the "Chamber of Secrets" DVD comparing the widescreen version of the film with the fullscreen version. I think his conclusions speak for themselve - he makes a great case for a widescreen view of the movie.

Wizard Magic & Muggle Science

Thanks to Darren for pointing out a This is Gloucestershire article about author Roger Highfield's latest book titled "The Science of Harry Potter". The article also states that Highfield, Science Editor for The Daily Telegraph, will be appearing at the Cheltenham Festival of Science. His presentationContinued...

HP Back on Arkansas Shelves

A judge has ordered the Cedarville School District in the state of Arkansas to return Harry Potter books to its library shelves after it ruled pupils need parental permission to take the books out. The case was brought against the district by parents Billy and Mary Nell Counts who did not want their daughter to be "stigmatized"Continued...

Hagrid's Hut's Renovation

The filmmakers have renovated Hagrid's hut, and Newsround has brand new pictures of it.

2 MONTHS TO GO!

Yes ladies and gentlemen (muggles & wizards alike) we are a little more than 2 months away from the release of the most anticipate books in years! Stay tuned because within the next week or so, we will be announcing an International gathering to celebrate this fine weekend and enjoy the pleasures of the world of Harry Potter.Continued...

A Focus on The Grown-Up Readership (Professors Included!)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on this week's joint conference of the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations, where the Harry Potter series is one of the top topics of conversation. The article notes that nearly 30 percent of the four Potter books so far were boughtContinued...

US Sales of "Chamber of Secrets" Tops 6 Million

According to a Reuters report on Yahoo News, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets sold more than 6 million VHS and DVD combined units in its first day of release in the US.

EW Mention of Catalog Summary

Entertainment Weekly was one of the outlets to pick up our story on the spoilers, and, just like the Daily Mirror and MANY other publications, chose to do so by only sourcing the BBC. (Don't click that link if you've chosen not to read the spoilers.) [Minirant about sourcing cut, because I don't want theContinued...

Trelawney and Skeeter Casting Rumors Squashed

Check out CBBC for the story!

Amazon in US and Canada: OotP Will Arrive on June 21

Amazon has just sent out notice that OotP ordered through them will arrive on June 21. The following rules apply:

1. Applies only to orders for which Standard, Two-Day, or One-Day Shipping is selected. Does not apply to FREE Super Saver Shipping orders (Super Saver Shipping orders will arriveContinued...

Casting Rumors

There is a RUMOR that the long-talked-about Emma Chambers has been given the part of Trelawney in PoA. Several sites are running it, but it's a rumor, we don't have confirmation yet - working on it. We reported on this rumor a little less than two years ago, and this very well could be the recycling of rumors that happensContinued...

Emma Watson's Birthday

Emma Watson turns 13 today! A very happy one from all your fans (specifically the dozen or so who wrote in to remind us)!

The DVD's Timeline

We've seen a few questions in the past few days about how much input JKR had on the extras on the DVD, other than the interview itself. Warner Home Video confirmed the following for us today: JKR reviewed the entire timeline, made notes on it, and then approved the final version, which was incorporated into the DVD. In otherContinued...

DVD Breaks 1 Million in UK

BBC Newsround has a report on the CoS DVD, which has become the fastest-selling ever in the UK, breaking the record held by Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.