Harry Potter

And we're back! Hello everyone, we are officially back, up and running! Sorry we've been gone so long, don't worry we definitely missed you. There has been a lot going on in the world of Potter these last seven days; here is a brief round up:Pottermore won The Bookseller Industry's Digital Strategy of the Year Award, for its creative e-marketing of the Harry Potter books.Emma...

A very rare copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is going to be put up for auction on Tuesday. The auction is to aid the writers' association, English PEN. The auction will sell numerous novels annotated by their authors, including an incredible first edition (yes, one of the original first-run 500 copies) of Philosopher's Stone annotated by J.K. Rowling. This special...

New photos of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida were released this week, where aerial shots display how far along construction has come for the buildings, including the London facades and shops. Of particular note is the Gringotts entrance, with columns, and London buildings exterior facades, which will soon become King's Cross station, Wyndham's Theatre, and Grimmauld Place. Attractions Magazine released a video showing the expanse of the Hogwarts Express railway, so far built from the entrance at Hogsmeade Station at Islands of Adventure to two-thirds of the way towards Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in London. The railway featured starts as a monorail for one train to enter or exit, and in the middle is split into two tracks, where one Hogwarts Express train will go towards Hogsmeade, and the other to London. Those images can be seen here; the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley will open next year.

The first clips from Emma Watson's upcoming movies, This is the End and The Bling Ring, were released online this week. In the This is the End clip, Emma, who portrays herself, explains to the lead characters how she managed to survive the apocalypse, so far. The Bling Ring short clip shows Emma's character Nicki with her family discussing what they find appealing about actress Angelina Jolie. Both films starring the Harry Potter actress will hit theatres the middle of June.

Scans from a rare, first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were released online, revealing a few notes author J.K. Rowling scribbled throughout the first of series. Rowling admitted that the original animal mascot for Hufflepuff House was a bear, and not a badger as it had been written as throughout the series. That, and the origins of Quidditch, and hand-drawn art of baby Harry from the first chapter, sleeping outside Number 4, Privet Drive, can be seen here. SPOILER!!: Hi-res scans. Quote: Title page [beneath title] 'changed my life forever.' Title page 'No shield here - crest. I mean all that came in the later editions. This one's a bit wonky but you get the idea. Perhaps Hufflepuff house would have the respect it deserves from the fans if I'd stayed with my original idea of a bear to represent it?' p.18 [beneath drawing] 'Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking.' p.133 [beneath 'Quidditch'] '-was invented in a small hotel in Manchester after a row with my then boyfriend. I had been pondering the things that hold a society together, cause it to congregate and signify its particular character and knew I needed a sport. It infuriates men, in my experience (why is the Snitch so valuable etc.), which is quite satisfying given my state of mind when I invented it.'

Daniel Radcliffe returned to The Graham Norton Show this week, where he spoke about his upcoming projects, this summer's West End production of The Cripple of Inishmaan, Horns, and of course Harry Potter. The full episode, with fellow celebrities Isla Fisher, Baz Luhrmann, Ed Byrne and Wretch 32 can be seen here. Please note that there are some mature themes throughout the show. Quote: Daniel Radcliffe: "I was doing a gay sex scene and the director (John Krokidas) was giving step-by-step instructions. And the favorite note I have ever had was when we were kissing and the director shouted, 'Not like that. Crazy sex kissing!' "I spent ten years in a kids' franchise and that was definitely a moment of, 'Yes, I think I'm moving on'."

Evanna Lynch was a guest speaker at Western Washington University in the U.S. this past Wednesday, where she spoke about how the Harry Potter films and series affected her life, as well as the lessons she learned from her on-screen counterpart, Luna Lovegood. A few photos from the event, via Western Front, of Evanna prior to the talk and during, can be seen here. Quote: “There were many nights while studying for my final exams, when I’d get so resentful of my cat’s inactivity I would shut her out in the rain for an hour to settle the score,” she said jokingly. As much as she wants to bask in the laziness of being a cat, Lynch wants everyone to take inspiration from Luna Lovegood and make the most of their lives.

Emma Watson and the cast of The Bling Ring made the press rounds on Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival in France, where they discussed the project during the film's press conference, and attended a photo call and world premiere for the crime drama, directed by Sofia Coppola. Those in attendance included Emma's costars Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Taissa Fariga, and Claire Julien, and Coppola as well. Various publications released quotes from the press conference, including the Associated Press, USA Today, and The Hollywood Reporter, where Emma talked about transitioning on from the Harry Potter series, watching a great deal of American reality television to understand her character's mentality, and working hard to portray the role of Nicki. Those quotes, and photos from all three events, can be seen here. The Bling Ring hits theatres in the U.S. on July 14 in New York City and Los Angeles, and expands nationwide on the 22nd. Quote: ?I watched a lot of Kardashians, I watched a lot of Paris Hilton, I watched some of The Hills, and then really I was just trying to understand [Nicki?s] psychology,? said Watson. ?Because you might easily have made Nicki feel like a parody ... and somehow I had to understand and empathize with her and really that was my biggest challenge second to getting the accent down.? ?It?d be very easy for Nicki to feel like a parody,? Watson said. ?Somehow I had to understand and empathize with her, and that was really biggest challenge, second to getting the accent down. It?s quite a specific dialect.? "I had to get the accent down, the dialect," said Watson. "That took a lot of time." Quote: "I'm not trying to run away from [Harry Potter]," Watson said... "I'm very proud of the work that I did. I'm just really enjoying having the chance to transform into new roles." "It's strange for me because Harry Potter seems like such a long time ago," said Watson. "So much has happened over the last three or four years. But obviously it's very present in people's minds and living rooms." "I am used to really having to stick to my lines. Because people really know them by heart," said Watson. "So it was lovely to ad-lib or improvise [in The Bling Ring]. It was really special." ?I could work in a way that was a lot more loose than I was used to,? Watson said.

Emma Watson graced the cover of the June/July issue of W Magazine as part of promotion for the release of The Bling Ring, premiering Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival. The Harry Potter actress discussed her early interest in acting, and adjusting to portraying Californian thief Nicki in the Sofia Coppola drama. The interview, as well as Emma's glamourous new photo shoot, can be seen here. Quote: W: What is the first movie you remember seeing? Emma Watson: Pretty Woman. I was 7, which was way, way too young. That was when I started loving Julia Roberts and American movies. As a child, I loved being onstage. I loved singing, I loved the lights, I loved the adrenaline. I even loved learning lines. I was completely obsessive. A friend of my mother?s found a tape of me auditioning for Hermione. I wanted to get really, really good at my lines. There was reel after reel, take after take, of me doing the same thing over and over again. How old were you? Emma: Nine. I was crazy. I did eight auditions, and I would literally sit by the telephone in my house and wait for each call. When they had me in for the ninth audition, I was like, Wow, nine! They called me into the producer David Heyman?s office, and he said I was the ?preferred? candidate for the role. Before I could obsess over what ?preferred? meant, they took a photograph of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and me, and it was broadcast on the Internet that we had been cast in Harry Potter. By the time I got back to my house, there was press waiting outside. We moved straight into a hotel. Did you have your first kiss on camera? Emma: Thankfully, no. I?ve always been fascinated by Elizabeth Taylor, and I had read that her first kiss happened on a film set, which actually made me a little sad. You need to have normal experiences of your own. I?ve never wanted to grow up too fast: I wanted to wear a sports bra until I was 22! The allure of being sexy never really held any excitement for me. I?ve never been in a terrible rush to be seen as a woman. And yet, in The Bling Ring, you are a little bit of a bad girl. Emma: With Nicki, I was really taking on a character. Some of her lines are so crazy and absurd?making sure she wasn?t a parody was a challenge. Did her outfits help you get into character? Emma: Who wouldn?t love to go to work in Uggs and very low-slung tracksuit bottoms? The iconic detail of Nicki is her tramp stamp. It?s a lotus flower, a Buddhist-like symbol just above her butt crack. Really classy! [Laughs] And at one point I told the costume designer, ?You can see my bra strap in this top; shouldn?t we pin it?? And she said, ?No, sweetie?Nicki is all about her bra strap showing.? I was like, Right, okay, different mind-set. When did you realize you were famous? Emma: I lived in denial for as long as I possibly could. Until the age of 18, I would take the Oxford Tube, which is a public bus. Then it got to the point where the fact that I was on the bus would spread from one end to the other. I?d think, Why am I doing this to myself? Ignoring fame was my rebellion, in a funny way. I was insistent on being normal and doing normal things. It probably wasn?t advisable to go to college in America and room with a complete stranger. And it probably wasn?t wise to share a bathroom with eight other people in a coed dorm. Looking back, that was crazy. I?m surprised you chose to come to America. Emma: I?ve always loved America. When we came here with Harry Potter, everyone was so warm. Eventually, all of my friends were American, and I think that?s why I was attracted to playing Americans, even extreme ones like Nicki. When I?m presented with a character, I think, Hmmm?I have not had this experience. I don?t really know what this would be like. I?ll have the experience through the character. Do you have a Hollywood crush? Emma: My cinematic crush has been pretty much the same since I was 12: Kevin Costn

Emma Watson, who is currently Cannes, Frances to promote The Bling Ring at its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, confirmed to media outlet AlloCin? that she will begin shooting Guillermo del Toro's Beauty and the Beast adaptation next year. Quote: AlloCin? ‏@allocine 5h A notre micro, Emma Watson confirme le tournage de La belle et la B?te version Guillermo del Toro pour l'ann?e prochaine #Cannes2013 In our [mic], Emma Watson confirms filming Beauty and the Beast release Guillermo del Toro for next year #Cannes2013 For those sceptical, Emma's interview with AlloCin?, where she talks about her character Nicki in The Bling Ring on Wednesday, can be viewed below. The world premiere of the Sofia Coppola drama will take place in Cannes on Thursday, along with a press conference with full cast and crew. The Harry Potter actress currently has no other projects in the pipeline before Beauty and the Beast begins production next year.