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IMAX Building Boom Will See Digital Switch
6 May 2008 (StudioBriefing)
IMAX is engaged in a "construction boom" that will see the number of IMAX theaters in North America increase by nearly 80 percent by the end of next year, USA Today reported today. Many of the new venues, it indicated, will deploy digital projectors instead of the enormous machines that have been required in the past to project images from gigantic reels of 70mm film stock onto the oversized screen. Some of the movies that will be converted into the IMAX format this year include Speed Racer, Kung Fu Panda, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and the animated Monsters vs. Aliens. IMAX officials said they were also talking to sports teams about using the new digital projection systems for theatrical presentations of live sports events. Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Eric Wold told the newspaper, "The new [IMAX] theater pace will be huge over the next two years. And I predict them turning profitable in the fourth quarter and staying profitable ever after."

Harry Potter Finale To Be Split Into Two Movies?
15 January 2008 (WENN)
The last installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise may be released in two parts - because one edit of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows could leave out too much information about the boy wizard's final adventures. The sixth film in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is due for release in November, and although the characters' futures are wrapped up in just seven novels by author J.K. Rowling, fans of the movies will be given an extra treat with a double dose of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A source says, "There's so much to fit that the view is the last movie should be in two halves. There is a huge battle when Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, takes on (evil wizard, Lord) Voldemort (played by Ralph Fiennes) that needs to be done really well." And Rowling has briefly commented on the reports herself, stating on her website: "It is simply impossible to incorporate every storyline into a film under four hours long." Fans of the books have previously criticized the big-screen adaptations for their lack of detail.

Broadbent Lands Potter Role
19 September 2007 (WENN)
Oscar winner Jim Broadbent is set to become Harry Potter's latest teacher after signing on to play Horace Slughorn in Harry Potter And The Half-blood Prince. In the Potter books, Slughorn is Hogwarts' potion master and the brains behind the fictitious magic school's Slug Club. The British actor tells DarkHorizons.com, "Slughorn is drawn back out of retirement because he's got some secrets Harry and (headmaster) Dumbledore need in the battle against the Death Eaters. He's quite star-struck as a teacher, and he's drawn back into the fold because he likes to notch up celebrity students."

Harry Potter and the Order of Film Franchises
11 September 2007 (StudioBriefing)
The five Harry Potter films together have now out-grossed all 22 James Bond films to become the top-grossing franchise worldwide in history, Warner Bros announced Monday. The Potter films have now earned $4.47 billion, topping the combined Bond flicks by $30 million, the studio said. (The six Star Wars movies are in third place with $4.23 billion.) The latest Potter movie, Order of the Phoenix, is continuing to play in several countries abroad, and two more are in the works, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which is due to open in 2008 and the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, set to open in 2010.

Warner Bros. Confirms Watson Won't Quit
26 March 2007 (WENN)
Actress Emma Watson has ended speculation about her future as Harry Potter's pal Hermione Granger by confirming to movie executives she'll be by the boy wizard's side for all seven films. Fans were left fretting last week when Watson's co-star Rupert Grint suggested, in a British newspaper article, that his pal might not play a part in all seven planned films. But now Warner Brothers bosses have confirmed the actress has no plans to quit the film franchise. In a statement released on Friday, Warner production president Jeff Robinov said, "We are thrilled and proud that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert and Emma have chosen to complete the arc of their characters in the final two films." The franchise's fifth movie, Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix will be released this summer - just as author J.K. Rowling's seventh and final Potter book, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, hits stores. The sixth Potter film, Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince is scheduled to hit cinemas next summer.

Studio Plays Down Watson Quitting Reports
20 March 2007 (WENN)
Movie studio Warner Bros. has played down reports Harry Potter star Emma Watson is quitting the film franchise, insisting they are "extremely confident" she will continue to play Hermione Granger. British newspaper News Of The World quoted the 16-year-old's Potter co-star Rupert Grint as saying, "Emma doesn't want to do it any more. She's tired of being known as 'that girl from Harry Potter'." However, a spokesperson for producers Warner Bros says, "We're extremely confident that Emma will be back for films six and seven." Filming for the sixth movie, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, is scheduled to begin later this year.

Radcliffe: "I Will Always Be Potter"
16 November 2005 (WENN)
Daniel Radcliffe has dismissed fears continuing as movie wizard Harry Potter will typecast him - insisting he will star in all seven films. The 16-year-old, who has played the wizard since the first movie in 2001, is enjoying himself too much to leave the hit franchise, but intends to prove his versatility in a series of side projects. He says, "Ultimately it comes down to whether we're still enjoying it. If we are then I think we would be sort of stupid not to do them. As long as I'm doing other stuff around the same time, I think it'll be fine. Also, I sort of try to read the books when they come out impartially and not make up my mind, but the fact is when I was reading the sixth, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, there were bits in there where I was going, 'God, I would love to do that because it's so good.'"

Rowling's Latest Book Beats Previous Potter Records
19 July 2005 (WENN)
Author JK Rowling's latest Harry Potter book has beaten the record of her last five boy wizard releases - by selling a staggering 6.9 million copies in America in just 24 hours. The eagerly-awaited Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince novel has earned more than $100 million in revenue by selling over 250,000 copies per hour since its release on Saturday. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix was Rowling's most popular book until last weekend, selling five million copies in America when it was published in 2003. But her latest book's figures have even beaten the combined US box office sales of popular movies Wedding Crashers and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. American publisher Scholastic's spokeswoman Lisa Holton says, "When a book beats out movies, we're in great shape. This is a cause for celebration, not just for Scholastic, but for book lovers everywhere."

Rowling Makes $36 Million in a Day
18 July 2005 (WENN)
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has added another $36 million to her fortune - only 24 hours after the sixth book of the boy wizard series went on sale. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince hit the shelves at one minute past midnight on Saturday to queues of ecstatic fans, and has already sold two million copies by closing time yesterday. When the last book, Harry PotterAnd The Order Of The Phoenix, was released in 2003, the rags-to-riches British author sold 1.7 million copies in the UK and 7 million in the US. But her latest magical adventure is predicted to exceed all previous records, with publishing experts expecting worldwide sales in excess of 10 million. An insider says, "All estimates are that this book will be even bigger than the last one. I think we should expect 2 million sales in Britain on the day of publication."

Rowling Bans Online Potter Books
16 June 2005 (WENN)
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has disappointed fans by banning any copies of the boy wizard novels from being published online in e-book form. The multi-millionairess' unpopular decision was sparked by the problems caused by pirate versions of the Potter releases, which appeared on the internet without her permission last month. Neil Blair, a lawyer with Rowling's literary agency, explains, "This has not been an area that we have sought to license. We monitor the internet and take appropriate action." But experts are convinced the magical Potter saga would be a smash hit in digital format. Nicholas Bogaty, director of the Open Ebook Forum, says, "I'm sure it would be a very big book very quickly and would probably serve as a terrific marketing vehicle to get people to buy the print book." Barbara Marcus, president of the children's books division of Rowling's US publisher, Scholastic Inc, counters, "I don't think that there is a cool enough or interesting enough hardware to get the kids engaged. One of the fantasies I had was of kids walking around, without backpacks, and somebody would say, 'You have to read Of Mice And Men and The Red Badge Of Courage. Here are the e-books.' That fantasy hasn't happened." Rowling's latest Harry Potter adventure, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, is released on July 16.

Potter Thieves Charged
7 June 2005 (WENN)
Two men have been charged with stealing copies of the next Harry Potter novel by police in Northamptonshire, England. Arun Lambert, 19, and a 37-year-old man appeared in court yesterday to respond to Friday's charges over theft and firearm offences. Author JK Rowling was granted a High Court injunction last week to stop the two men leaking details of Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince ahead of its official July release. Lambert is accused of theft and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, while his accomplice has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon and handling a stolen book. The men, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, are free on bail.

Rowling Gives Birth
25 January 2005 (WENN)
Harry Potter author JK Rowling Sunday night gave birth to her third child, an-unnamed girl. Rowling and her husband Dr. Neil Murray are "thrilled" by the birth - a little sister for 22-month-old David and 11-year-old Jessica, Rowling's daughter with first husband Jorge Arantes. During a chat with fans on her website last year, the British author - who recently finished the sixth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince - said she had always wanted three children and "could not be happier".

Latest Harry Potter Book Already Number One
23 December 2004 (WENN)
The sixth book in the Harry Potter series is already number one in sales - even though it won't be released until July 16. Just a day after the announcement that Harry Potter And The Half- Blood Prince will hit bookstores in both America and Britain in the summer, the latest installment in the teen wizard series is already at the top spot on the Amazon.com list in both the USA and the UK. A similar ranking is expected in American pre-orders of the JK Rowling book. To date, the Harry Potter titles have sold 250 million copies worldwide.

JK Rowling Pregnant
26 July 2004 (WENN)
Harry Potter author JK Rowling is pregnant with her third child. The 38-year-old writer will give birth to her second child with second husband Neil Murray next year. Rowling, who had a son David with Murray last year and has a daughter, Jessica with first husband Jorge Arantes, says, "I always wanted three children, so I could not be happier." But in a statement on her website, she insisted pregnancy would not affect the upcoming release of the next Harry Potter book: "Let me reassure you that book six remains well on track. Fingers crossed of course, I don't foresee any baby-related interruptions or delays. I still can't say for sure when it will be finished, but I have written a lot and I really like it (a reckless challenge to fate, that; I bet the next chapter goes horribly wrong now)." Rowling recently revealed Harry Potter six will be called Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.