More casting news from the Harry Potter Movie Site! Lily Potter will be played by Geraldine Somerville, best known for “Cracker” in the UK (TV series). She has aslo appeared in Jilting Joe as Olivia (1997), as well as playing characters in many other TV shows. James Potter will be played by Adrian Rawlins, who’s …read more!

The overall reaction to the new and improved Official Harry Potter Web site from readers, other fan sites and discussions on Web boards has been quite subdued. The site, while displaying excellent graphical arts and sounds, is completely lacking in any new content or interactivity. The Daily Prophet section contains old news from last year …read more!

According to an AP article, Warner Bros. has tapped Coca-Cola as their only marketing partner for the Harry Potter movie. Luckily, it will only include images of Harry on product packaging and will not include product placement in the movie. Rames from the Harry Potter Galleries has reminded me “It’s $150million, the largest promotional deal …read more!

Very interesting news this morning. According to Empire Online, it appears that John Hurt will be playing the role of Mr. Ollivander and *not* Morgana as the same publication had originally printed. Note that Empire was also the publication who said the role of the wand salesman would be played by Derek Jacobi. I wonder …read more!

A few readers have emailed me and asked why I did not have permanent links to the Harry Potter Anti-Warner sites like PotterWar and DADA. I cannot speak for the rest of the editors at “The Leaky Cauldron” but while I fully support the right for fans to have their own Harry Potter-related domain names, …read more!

The Bath Chronicle reports that filming has wrapped up in Lacock and a total of seven children from Lacock School participated as extras as well as 11 students from Bath’s Ralph Allen school. They also mention some interesting news about Daniel Radcliffe as Harry: Although 11-year-old Daniel Radcliffe has been officially cast in the title …read more!

According to the Western Daily Press a Warner Bros. spokesperson said that filming for the movie was not and has never been behind schedule.

The Washington Post says Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” are a more sophistocated alternative to the Harry Potter series.

The Detroit News has more details about the Harry Potter toys coming out from Tiger Electronics and Mattel: Harry Potter IR Magic Wand, Tiger Electronics, $20: To cast a winning spell, you must follow commands to press colored buttons and move the wand different directions without missing a step. Hogwarts 3-D Game, Mattel (www.mattel.com), $30: …read more!

Ananova has an update on the article from The Observer this weekend about WB wanting to extend Daniel Radcliffe’s license to appear in the movie by 20 days. The Education Authority has received the request for an extension. Hopefully we’ll find out soon if it is approved.