In the land of fantastic “skazky,” the popular Russian fairy tales, Harry Potter has found himself a comfortable niche. The film “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” has drawn unprecedented audiences to Russian movie theaters, breaking national records not seen since mega-productions “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.”

Ain’t It Cool News has a report from a source on the set of Chamber of Secrets. (Thanks to TWW for the link.) If they could, a small group of Puebloans would like to make the mystical Harry Potter books disappear from District 60 schools. Led by the Rev. Cheryl Hernandez of Highest Praise Fellowship, …read more!

The Flying Scotsman will pull the Orient Express into Oxford on Sunday to launch a series of literary tours. The steam train will arrive at noon, from London Victoria, with about 100 passengers. The tour party will be taken to Christ Church, in St Aldate’s, to see the haunts of Alice in Wonderland author and …read more!

Thanks the multiple readers that sent this in: Countingdown.com has posted a link to Sunday Express article which confirmed that Zoe Wanamaker is out of Harry Potter 2. [If anyone was wondering why this wasn’t posted a week ago, it’s because it was not confirmed]

TV and movie buffs are in for a treat later this month when memorabilia from some of the biggest entertainment shows go under the hammer in London. Taking place on April 23, the sales will be managed by auctioneers Cooper Owen and will be held simultaneously over the internet. Harry Potter fans won’t miss out …read more!

More about AOL Time Warner’s troubles: The company is, or at least was, a darling of the “New Economy.” A top-ranking executive resigns unexpectedly, citing unidentified personal reasons. Accounting issues are swirling about the company’s financial statements, even after it settled an SEC complaint in 2000 and was fined for improper accounting. The company announces …read more!

HP Fashion: whereas most designers emphasized the feminine, flower prints and white at their 2002 spring-summer collections as if to reflect calm and peace in the wake of the Sept 11 terror attacks in the U.S., it seems Harry Potter had a hand in influencing the 2002-2003 autumn-winter collection, Japan Today reports. At least, that’s …read more!

Young wizard Harry Potter could be accused of losing his magic touch as two of the series of hugely-popular books slip out of the top 10 bestsellers list in the UK. (Thanks to Jennifer for the link.)

If the past few years are any example, imported blockbusters, or dapian in Chinese, are expected to dominate China’s cinemas this year, analysts predict. Encountering tremendous pressure from Hollywood movies, domestic movie makers and critics have continued their debate on how to develop the home film industry. The past Spring Festival season saw the huge …read more!

Bad news John Cleese fans (Thanks to Matt): It seems the part of Nearly Headless Nick in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” won’t be any bigger, if even as big, as it was in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” According to an interview in the Calgary Sun, John Cleese shot down speculation …read more!