Harry Escapes Malaysian Ban on Books

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, which strictly censors foreign movies and books, has decided to ban tomes with "ghostly" tales and those touching on the supernatural, reports said on Thursday.
These include books within the categories of mystery, mysticism, fantasy, occultism and superstition, he said.

"TheseContinued...

Emma Thompson Talking (Literally) Trelawney

Thank very much to Simon for sending us this audio file of Emma Thompson on Parkinson where you can hear her mocking her own portrayal of Trelawney:

Parkinson: And also you are doing Harry Potter.

ET: Yes

P: You have done that have you?

ET: I have done that, yes. I am playing Professor Trelawney the professorContinued...

Black on Norton Tonight

Gary Oldman aka Sirius Black will be on Graham Norton's talk show on Channel 4 at 10pm.

It's bonfire night and tonight's guest is sure to cause some fireworks with the ladies in the audience! Graham's guest is Hollywood actor Gary Oldman, famous for his roles in Dracula, Leon and True Romance! They'llContinued...

Philip Pullman on Potter

Despite appearing in "Harry Potter and Me", Philip Pullman has only read one of the five Harry Potter books according to an interview with The Independent:

Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings?

Mel Robertson, by e-mail

Um. This is one of those Archbishop of Canterbury 12-second silences. I can't really answerContinued...

It's a Magical Christmas in Nuneaton

According to the Web site for the Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Phelps twins James and Oliver (known for their role as Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter movies), will be launching Nuneaton's Christmas Light Switch-On Event called "The Magic of Christmas".

(Editor's Note:Continued...

Pettigrew Portrayer Plays Poe

Sue Upton sent us this article from Ananova stating that Timothy Spall, the actor due to play Peter Pettigrew in the upcoming Prisoner of Azkaban will take the role of Mr. Poe in "Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events". He will be joining Jim Carey (Count Olaf), Jude Law (Lemony Snicket), and MerylContinued...

John Hurt Wins Richard Harris Award at BIFAs

Last night, winners were announced for the 2003 British Independent Film Awards. Included amongst those given awards was John Hurt, who played Mr. Ollivander in the first film. He was presented the 2003 Richard Harris Award in honor of the late actor who played Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films.Continued...

Thompson Channeling Alastair Sim for Trelawney Role

According to reader Dawn, Emma Thompson was on Michael Parkinson's chat show this past weekend and she spoke a bit about her role as Professor Trelawney:

[I was] channelling Alastair Sim as he sounded when he appeared as Miss Fritton, the headmistress of St Trinians, in the 1954 film "theContinued...

Harry Potter: The U.S. Tour

Tess, who works at the St. Joseph Press, alerted us to today's edition. It would seem that a concerned reader left a message on their anonymous reader-comment voicemail in regards to "That Harry Potter who is coming to America and speaking at our schools and that our kids are reading his sick, multi-volume manifestosContinued...

Harry Fans Hounded

The Payson Roundup reported that a group from the Victory Chapel gathered outside of the Payson Public Library to protest the library's "Harry Potter, a Kid's Night Out" event. The protesters used bullhorns to annouce to the children that, "God would think Harry Potter is an abomination".

Thompson To Visit Regis & Kelly

Emma Thompson will be a guest on the Wednesday, November 5th. Live with Regis & Kelly show. It will air at 9am EST.
Thanks, Grace!

Nimbus Paper Published

The Touchstone magazine has published the article The Alchemist’s Tale: Harry Potter & the Alchemical Tradition in English Literature by Nimbus 2003 presenter John Granger, author of the book The Hidden Key to Harry Potter.
Thanks, Alison!

Calling French Fans

Winky of Potter World Online writes to tell us that a get together and read website has been organized for the December French release of Order of the Phoenix. That I can't read French aside, the website looks to be much like what we did for the U.S. release.

William Safire Mentions Rowling - Without Insults

William Safire, author of the NYT column "On Language," who usually pummels Rowling's writing, has mentioned her use of "frog-march", with no sign of condescension (if you don't count his insistence her books are solely for children):

The author of the Harry Potter series,Continued...

Harry Potter translated into multiple languages in India

‘‘Harry Potter aur paras pathar’ kahani hai ek gyarah saal ke ladke ki, jo apne uncle-aunty ke saath dukhad zindagi ji raha hai hai. Parantu tabhi use jaadu aur tantra ke school Hogwarts mein padne ke liye bulaya jata hai aur vahan jaakar veh ban jaata ek mahan jaadugar. SchoolContinued...