It’s every Harry Potter fan’s

It’s every Harry Potter fan’s dream – a university certificate in Sorcery, Witchcraft, Shamanism and Healing. The popularity and commercial success of the boy-wizard has prompted one of South Australia’s most prestigious universities to offer just that.

Up in the sky, just moments earlier, Simon Ammann had been huge, a giant, riding the wind for 436 glorious feet. Now, back on earth, he was Harry Potter. A giggling Harry Potter. “I am trembling,” said the 20-year-old Ammann, after winning a remarkable second gold medal in ski jumping to become, now and forever, the King of the Hill of these Winter Games.

Far from the red-carpet glamour and sequined sparkles of Oscar night in March is a down-and-dirty fight where the technicians behind the big screen’s illusions wage an increasingly high-stakes war. Their Oscar rules over robotics, miniatures, computer-generated visuals and wildly destructive explosions, which increasingly are the key to a film’s success. Their academy category, once an occasional honor, now sits on par with best actor and best picture. The path to glory started last week at an annual ritual that, in un-Oscar-like fashion, is called the Bake-Off. It’s a rare process for the academy, whose top-tier categories such as best picture are nominated by voters from the comfort of home.