Chamber of Secrets #3 in Year End Box Office Numbers

Chamber of Secrets is listed as the third highest grossing film of the year in the US according to Exhibitor Relations, raking in over $240 million to date. Click here for a comparison of the box office for both HP films to date (but remember that CoS is still in theaters).

Caroline Rhea Show in the US Repeat

If you missed it back in November, the Caroline Rhea show will be repeating the episode with Daniel Radcliffe on January 3, 2003, for viewers in the US (and parts of Canada and Mexico).

And the New Dumbledore is Rumoured to be ...

... actor Michael Gambon, according to this article from E! Online. (Thank you to Amar for the link. Remember -- rumour rumour rumour rumour rumour. We can't stress that enough -- rumour rumour rumour ...)

Film Designer Honoured

An article from The Times of India reports that film designer Stuart Craig - who brought Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to life in the Harry Potter films -- has been has been named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Dumbledore clarifications

This seems to happen now and then with the rumor bandwagon - a tabloid says one weird thing and it gets twisted around, word by word, it until we have "official confirmation" to which no official will comment. So here is a rundown of what we do and do not know about the search for Dumbledore.

• No one has yetContinued...

New Site for Casting Speculation

Nikki Thompson's new site, Filling the Shoes is still under construction, but looks like it will be a great place to speculate about all those Harry Potter characters who have yet to be cast in the films - with all the rumors flying around right now, it fills a void, so we thought we'd let you know aboutContinued...

The Toronto Star on JKR and Catie Hoch

Today, The Toronto Star published an article that includes exerpts from JKR's emails to Catie Hoch, the child who died of cancer before GoF.

"This is all TOP SECRET," the e-mail continued, "so you are allowed to tell (some close friends) and your Mum, but no one else, or you'll be gettingContinued...

NPR archive link and auction radio interview

If you missed the NPR segment about fanfiction, you can catch it here - it includes our editor Megan calling herself a dork (which in this edtior's opinion makes it not-to-be-missed. :) Seriously, it describes the world of fanfiction really well - here's Megan's quotage about what inspiresContinued...

Top Selling Calendars of 2003

The Associated Press reports on which calendars for the upcoming year are the bestsellers as of Christmas.

1. George W. Bush, daily boxed

2. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, wall

3. German Shorthaired Pointers, wall

4. Harry Potter Movie, wall

5. The Far Side, wall

Also, Entertainment Weekly's latest issue has come outContinued...

Top Woman Earner of the Year in the UK is....

JK Rowling of course! Reuters reports that "Her annual pay of $77 million was six times greater than the salary of Queen Elizabeth, according to an annual list of The Mail on Sunday newspaper." Others behind JK include Madonna, Anne Robinson and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Dave Barry Looks Back on 2002

Today, The Miami Herald and various other papers around the world published Dave Barry's annual Look Back at the year. In addition to a wonderful cartoon of Yoda (he's green-coloured, so is he a Slytherin?) trying to catch the snitch, Barry wrote that in May,

...the big news is the release of the fifth installmentContinued...

The Nation: "The real superstar is definitely not there"

Page from Daniel Radcliffe Rocks sent us this link to an article which states that Daniel Radcliffe may not be overseas as previously reported by the Bangkok Post.

BBC Article Mentioning HP Fanfic

For some reason, they asked a *science reporter* to do an article about fanfic. They quoted a story by Claire Field (possibly because her site is well known for being one of the kids whose domain name Warner Bros tried to take a few years ago), but they don't link to it, or even give her name or its title.Continued...

NPR to Air Segment on Harry Potter Fan Fiction

The Headmistresses of The Sugar Quill along with some of their staff have been interviewed by NPR's (National Public Radio) Margot Adler regarding their site and Harry Potter fan fiction. The interview is set to air this Sunday, December 29th during All Things Considered.

Daniel Radcliffe Visits Thailand

From the Bangkok Post comes this article on Daniel Radcliffe attending the 20th World Scout Jamboree in Sattahip, Thailand.