HPANA has a link to some great photos of Lacock Abbey, which served as Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films.

Our fellow HP site, The Snitch, has posted a new report from a recent visit to the PoA set. Yes, robes will be making an appearance in PoA, as we’ve said repeatedly…!

The DVD of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is on the ballot for the Viewers Choice Award at the 6th Annual DVD Awards. The awards will be presented on August 20th, so if you’re going to vote, vote now! Thanks for the tip, Annie!

Allison Hayward, of The National Review, gives us a tongue-in-cheek look at what she would write for book 6: Harry Potter and the Magic Campaign. Thanks for the tip, Elaureth! (Editor’s Note: I’m loving the Rancho Hogsmeado!)

The just posted commentary from Stephen Price notes that Gaiman hasn’t commented on similarities between his work and the Harry Potter series; this August 2001 January Magazine interview with him includes questions on the subject. Thanks to wharfle for pointing out the link.

Okay, it’s not that bad! The BBC does report, however, that a recent poll showed people were better acquainted with JK’s work than Shakespeare’s. The short article takes a look at pop culture and its effect on classic literature. Thanks, Geoffrey!

An article from Stephen Price on similarities among literary works, imitation as flattery, and plagiarism, with discussion that includes the Harry Potter series: A boy with glasses and black hair grows up with a foster-father, in a setting of deprived urban dreariness. He’s bright, but lonely, living life through his vivid imagination. He has few …read more!

Not according to Denver Post Critic-at-Large Kyle MacMillian, who quotes one of the top op-makers at the New York Times, Frank Rich: “The children entranced with Harry don’t need a fast cinematic cut to whip them to attention, with an MTV lash, every few seconds,” he writes. “They are perfectly happy to concentrate on a …read more!

Thanks Richard, for pointing us to this BBC article that quotes Newell and Heyman on Newell’s appointment: Newell: “I’m very excited about directing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire…As audiences have become more familiar with both the books and the movies, there has been an increasing challenge to continue to develop each of these …read more!

It’s official (and just hitting the wires): Mike Newell is confirmed to direct Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The franchise’s first British director, Newell directed the hit movies Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is very tentatively scheduled for late 2005 – which would …read more!