Issue 75; Vol. 2; November 20, 2007

Owl Post: Bringing you the best in Harry Potter

The Official Newsletter of LeakyNews.com!
BandB

Sotheby's to Display Copy of "Beedle the Bard" Here in US

Auction house Sotheby's put the copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" out on display this week for the press. The book will then go on display to the public here in the US at Sotheby's in New York City starting Monday, November 26 at 10am (ET) then again on Tuesday, November 27 and Wednesday November 28. Bloomberg.com reports that keen interest in obtaining this unique handwritten book by author J.K. Rowling will result in a "record 50,000 pounds ($103,000) at a Dec. 13 London charity auction J.K. Rowling's commercial success adds value to the manuscript," Sotheby's book specialist Philip Errington said in an interview: "It makes it more desirable."

The website noted how rare it is for unpublished manuscripts by living authors to go up for auction, and it is hard to value what these pieces will sell for. They cite previous auctions of works by J.K. Rowling, including one that we at TLC were involved in for our first Get a Clue charity drive, the handwritten note card with words from “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” which sold for "28,680 pounds in 2002." The article continues to state that the "other six copies of the fairy tale may come onto the market "at some point, but this is the first," Errington said." JKR created seven copies of "Beedle the Bard" in all, giving these other copies to friends as a thank you gift for all the years of support during her writing of the Harry Potter series.Proceeds from this auction will benefit The Children's Voice Charity.

You can see some photos of the book, here courtesy of Reuters, as well as early photos here in our galleries, with more on the auction, here.

HBP Cover

Casting Now Complete for "Half-Blood Prince"

The names of two actors who will portray a younger Lord Voldemort in the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" film have now been revealed. Newsround is reporting that Hero Fiennes Tiffin (age 9 and nephew of actor Ralph Fiennes) will play the 11-year-old Tom Riddle. An actor named Frank Dillane, who is 16 years old, is said to be cast in the part of a teenage Voldemort.

Warner Brothers has just issued a press release indicating the casting is now complete for the sixth Harry Potter film. In addition to the Trio of Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), confirmed in this press release are the return of:

Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange)
David Bradley (Argus Filch)
Robbie Coltrane(Hagrid)
Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick)
Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)
Michael Gambon (Professor Dumbledore)
Alan Rickman (Professor Snape)
Maggie Smith (Prof essor McGonagall)
Natalia Tena (Tonks)
Julie Walters (Molly Weasley)
David Thewlis (Remus Lupin)
Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood)
Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom)
Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)


As announced earlier this month, included in the press release are the confirmation of actress Helen McCrory as Narcissa Malfoy, and Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown. Finally confirmed is actor Jim Broadbent in the role of Professor Horace Slughorn.

Noting that director David Yates is returning to the helm of the Half-Blood Prince movie, as is screen writer Steven Kloves, HBP producer David Heyman is quoted as saying, "I am really excited that David Yates and all our cast are back for the sixth film and welcome some wonderful new additions to our ensemble. We all share a commitment to Jo Rowling and to Harry Potter fans around the world to keep making these films the best they can be and, as we head into the final installments, I can promise that this level of commitment will not waver."

In addition, confirming earlier reports here on TLC, noted cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel ("A Very Long Engagement," "Amelie") will serve as the director of photography, along with the return of production designer Stuart Craig, editor Mark Day, costume designer Jany Temime, creature & make-up effects designer Nick Dudman, special effects supervisor John Richardson, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, and composer Nicholas Hooper.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is in production in London, England and will be released in theaters November of 2008.

More Big News...

New Interview with J.K. Rowling for Release of Dutch Edition of "Deathly Hallows"
New Behind the Scenes Clip from "Order of the Phoenix" DVD
Rumor Alert: Halloween and Holiday Plans Afoot for Harry Potter Theme Park?
J.K. Rowling Updates with New Rubbish Bin Entries On India Religious Festival Controversy and More

What's HOT in the Leaky Lounge

The Book Club has been the staple of many a group of friends for many years. Now you too can participate in a Book Club type discussion with your friends and fellow Leaky Loungers in our own Harry Potter Book Club. Organized and contained by the Leaky Lounge, here readers can discuss and debate the specifics of each Harry Potter book and find out the theories and thoughts of their fellow members. Currently, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is the book of choice. Check out and see what is happening in your Leaky Lounge Book Club today!

New from PotterCast

Fan conferences are the talk around town in this week'sPotterCast, our Harry Potter podcast. In our 125th episode, Sue and John chat with Becky from the organizers of Portus, the fan conference in Dallas, Texas, and to Amy, from Terminus, set to be held during the summer of 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. In these interviews, we go into much detail about the two conferences and of what each conference will bring those in attendance. We will have much more on this theme in the future, as we check in on 'What's Up In the Fandom.' Our own Kristin Brown is also back with us to share some of your latest owls in a new MailBag. We also bring you the latest news from the "Half-Blood Prince" casting office, the "Order of the Phoenix" UK DVD release, author J. K. Rowling's "The Beetle and the Bard" charity auction, and much more.

The latest in HP essays!

This current issue of Scribbulus, Leaky's premier essay project, contains five brand new essays on the themes and characters of Harry Potter. This month's issue contains an essays on the issue of global warming via drawing parallels between Harry's fight against Lord Voldemort and a character analysis on the much beloved Neville Longbottom. We also have for you a particularly interesting look on the topic of the books in the Harry Potter series by one of our own staffers. Check out this and so much more in the November issue of Scribbulus today.

New and featured items

With the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" UK DVD release more than a week ago, venues for pre-ordering the DVD in the United States have started to detail their release plans. Our own Cauldron Shop today! now also has each of the specific versions of the DVD now available for pre-order. You can choose from the standard wide-screen or full-screen single disc edition of the DVD, or the deluxe two-disc special edition "Order of the Phoenix" DVD which comes with featurettes, deleted scenes and much more. For those with the latest and greatest technologies, our Shop also contains the Blue-Ray and HD/Standard DVD versions of the film. You can check out all of these versions, along with our entire Harry Potter film DVD collection, right here in our own Cauldron Shop.

 

Jingle Spells: Leaky's Sixth Get A Clue Fundraiser Now Open

JS Leaky's sixth Get a Clue fundraiser, our yearly efforts which have raised more than $30,000 to date to aid literacy around the world, is now under way, and it's a doozy this year.

The holiday season is nearly upon us, so we asked 14 of the biggest and best wizard rock bands around to donate a Christmas or Holiday themed song for a very special compilation album. They all did so with enthusiasm, and what we now have to offer you for our fundraiser is one of the best holiday albums any of us has heard. It is all-new music, from 14 different bands, and buying the album is the only way you can hear the music on it. It's a perfect gift for yourself or anyone else you know who loves Harry Potter. It's for a good cause. It's a holiday gift and a holiday good deed, all rolled into one. Every penny of profit on this album will be donated to Book Aid International, to aid in their effort to install libraries in the places in the world that need them most.

The album is selling for $15, including shipping (there is a $3 surcharge for orders outside the U.S.), and is now available for pre-order at this link. All pre-orders will be shipped out in mid-November, and the album will only be available (and only as a physical disc) through Dec. 10.

 
  New Pictures
Original Sketch by J. K. Rowling

OotP Extended DVD Scene
Reader E-mails

Dear Leaky Cauldron,
I read that Katie Leung won top spot on The Scotsman's "Hottest Scots" list. I think Emma should have won - can we start a petition in protest?

-A Devoted Reader



Dear Devoted Reader,

Well, no (and not just because we don't do petitions at Leaky). Geography 101: Emma Watson is English. Katie Leung is Scottish. While both girls can also be called British, because they live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Scotland and England are actually two different countries.

Therefore, Emma is not Scottish and not eligible for the list.

-Kristin for TLC