Leaky’s 2010 Year In Review: Part One

Dec 29, 2010

Posted by: John Admin

News

2010 was a year filled with excitement, creativity, and new experiences in the Harry Potter fandom. This year, production on the Harry Potter films wrapped for the last time after ten years, fans across the world got to walk inside Hogwarts and buy a wand from Ollivander’s, and we joined together to help people miles away recovering from a incomprehensible natural disaster. We got to see the world of Harry Potter as if we were LEGO figures, discovered more about Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling care of Ms. Oprah Winfrey, and saw our favorite Harry Potter actors and actresses branch out and explore new arenas, both on film and off. Join us for a three part look back at the year that has been in Harry Potter news for 2010. Enjoy!
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January
The year of 2010 began with a reflection on the year that passed with the winners of our 2009 Leakies, as well news of “A Very Potter Sequel” from the Team StarKid troop. The first previews of the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” film followed, along side updates on the nearly-finished Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. Our Leaky Lounge celebrated its fifth anniversary on the 5th of the month, Leaky was had the honor of being nominated for the TotalFilm.com Movie Blog Awards. The “Half-Blood Prince” film was then listed as a possible contender for both the Oscars and BAFTAs (ultimately receiving two nominations). Photos of Emma Watson’s Burburry ads appeared online, as did the first official photo of Hogwarts Castle and concept art for Ollivander’s wand shop. On the film front, Alexandre Desplat was confirmed as the composer for “Deathly Hallows: Part 1,” while a trailer for the LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1- 4 accompanied with the news that the game will be released in May. Reports of a home purchase by J. K. Rowling were then debunked and efforts began in the Helping Haiti Heal charity drive, along with the Harry Potter Alliance, members of fandoms the world over, and J. K. Rowling. We then heard from DH:1 director David Yates, who called the film “a big opera”, the saw first official photo of Hogwarts from the Wizarding World. The month of January closed out with news of a permanent film studio with tours of the Harry Potter sets at Leavesden Studios in England, whispers DH might be in 3D, and another look at the LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 video game.
February

The month of February started with a commercial and new website for the Wizarding World, even though we had yet been given an opening date. In other good news, “Half-Blood Prince” was nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar and Warner Bros. announced that “Deathly Hallows: Part 1” would be released in 3D, a first for the Potter films. We also received some new information on the Silver Doe scene, the first look at a J. K. Rowling Barbie doll, and some new aerial shots of the Harry Potter theme park. Also another first happened this month: “Order of the Phoenix” premiered on ABC Family during one of their popular Harry Potter Weekends. For the new film, filming for “Deathly Hallows” continued in Swinley Forest and set photos from observant fans were posted online. A nomination for the HBP video game followed, as did photos of a new series of HP toys from ToyFair 2010 and box art for the LEGO Harry Potter game. In J. K. Rowling news, the author was named a defendant in a long-going copyright infringement suit, while one of Ms. Rowling’s charities, the Children’s High Level Group, changed its name to Lumos and is continuing its work to help institutionalized children in Central and Eastern Europe. February came to a close with a fantastic profile of Potter film set designer Stuart Craig, actress Helena Bonham Carter’s take on Bellatrix, the first of many “Deathly Hallows” split rumors, and a total of $123,754.41 being raised for Partners in Health via Helping Haiti Heal.
March

As March began, the Harry Potter author once again made use of her Twitter account, while her books were voted to be the most likely to be passed down. Photos and reports came in from the Helping Haiti Heal effort, as the first of four cargo planes filled with 16,000 pounds of medical supplies touched down in the country. Actors Matt Lewis, Bonnie Wright, and Richard Griffiths, auctioned off their doodle drawings for National Doodle Day, and both Dan Radcliffe and Rhys Ifans spoke about their roles in the final films. We also saw the arrival of the Hogwarts Express at Universal Orlando, as well as the long-awaited grand opening date for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: June 18th. In anticipation of the park’s opening, several new details emerged about what fans could expect including information about the tasty food! On the “Deathly Hallows” film front, new and promising footage premiered at ShoWest, as Emma Thompson confirmed she would be returning to the series as Professor Trelawney. Matt Lewis also tweeted that he had finished filming at Pinewood Studios, and actor Christian Coulson (Tom Riddle) was announced to be a special guest at Infinitus. Later, Jason Isaacs spoke to changes his character, Lucius Malfoy, would see in the final film, while film producer David Heyman promised that the final two films would be even more epic in 3D. March wrapped up with a final conclusion in the Wyrd Sisters legal battle with WB, a special Leaky report on the food from the Wizarding World, and five nominations for the “Half-Blood Prince” film at the MTV Movie Awards. Finally, Bloomsbury showed us the repacked editions of the Harry Potter series, set to go on sale in November.
April
Spring sprung with a bit of gleeful fun starting the month in April. Jo hinted that new work would not be too far off as she read as part of the White House Easter Egg Roll and the Wizarding World gave us shots of Hagrid’s Hut and a new preview of the Wizarding World as it finished construction. The Phelps twins were on hand as the traveling exhibition of props from the films opened in Toronto and Jo Rowling voiced her opinions about the upcoming British elections. Confirmation of Dan Radcliffe’s role in a new Broadway musical followed the launch of the official website of actress Emma Watson, and news of Matt Lewis (Neville) being cast in “The Sweet Shop.” Approval then came for a public attraction at Leavesden Studios, the home of the Harry Potter films and we got official word that the first part of DH would be released in 3D. April wrapped up with the launch of LeakyTV and news of the Epilouge filming from Tom Felton and Rupert Grint.
Check back for part two shortly!





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.