The just posted commentary from Stephen Price notes that Gaiman hasn’t commented on similarities between his work and the Harry Potter series; this August 2001 January Magazine interview with him includes questions on the subject. Thanks to wharfle for pointing out the link.

Okay, it’s not that bad! The BBC does report, however, that a recent poll showed people were better acquainted with JK’s work than Shakespeare’s. The short article takes a look at pop culture and its effect on classic literature. Thanks, Geoffrey!

An article from Stephen Price on similarities among literary works, imitation as flattery, and plagiarism, with discussion that includes the Harry Potter series: A boy with glasses and black hair grows up with a foster-father, in a setting of deprived urban dreariness. He’s bright, but lonely, living life through his vivid imagination. He has few …read more!

Not according to Denver Post Critic-at-Large Kyle MacMillian, who quotes one of the top op-makers at the New York Times, Frank Rich: “The children entranced with Harry don’t need a fast cinematic cut to whip them to attention, with an MTV lash, every few seconds,” he writes. “They are perfectly happy to concentrate on a …read more!

Thanks Richard, for pointing us to this BBC article that quotes Newell and Heyman on Newell’s appointment: Newell: “I’m very excited about directing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire…As audiences have become more familiar with both the books and the movies, there has been an increasing challenge to continue to develop each of these …read more!

It’s official (and just hitting the wires): Mike Newell is confirmed to direct Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The franchise’s first British director, Newell directed the hit movies Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is very tentatively scheduled for late 2005 – which would …read more!

Jason Issacs plays a card shark in his new film Passionada, a role that’s “180 degrees” from Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series.

Thanks everyone for emailing us this pic of Alan Rickman as Snape, but it’s not a new PoA filming pic, it’s actually a very old CoS filming pic.

Property prices in Perthshire have seen a dramatic increase since J.K. Rowling purchased her six bedroom 19th century home there: A three-bedroom farmhouse next to Rowling’s Strathtay property sold last week for well over £300,000. That’s around £200,000 more than it would have fetched a couple of years ago.

Darby Conley must be a Harry Potter fan…he’s once again featured our favorite wizard-in-training in his Get Fuzzy comic.