Two new pics of PoA
There are two newer pics available courtesy of Potter Village. Both are of Hermione, and one has Professor Trelawny in it as well.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Poor Hermione, having to face down such a one as Prof. Trelawny. And all on her own too. :(

HP news for gamers


Gamers Hell has several screenshots of the upcoming PoA game to be released in May. The following will all be released at the same time, so be sure to check these out, and grab yours in two months time. ;)
PlayStation 2
X Box
GameCube
PC

The Guardian interviews Sir Michael Gambon:
Asked if he was conscious that he was taking over a much-loved character, he seemed mildly affronted. 'Do a sort of Richard Harris impersonation, you mean? It never crossed my mind. If you were playing Lear, you wouldn't copy the last person to do it.'
Read the whole interview

News from an often reliable scource, has told us - Anthony Hopkins is set to be cast as Mad-Eye ! - a superb choice if it goes ahead and if it is, lets hope he accepts.
One of the UK legends of acting, playing a leading role in what will be one of the greatest films, yeah, cant think of anyone better.

Thanks to the TLC reader who sent in this awesome picture of Wormtail, giving all of us the first glimpse of him. Forget WB haven't confirmed this picture, its Wormtail in all his glory - I dont remember the brilliant Timothy Spall having wands pointed at him in Auf Wiedersehen Pet!

WB confirms one rumor, dismisses another
Well, WB has set the record straight. Studio insiders at Warner Brothers confirmed to Newsround Online that the preview took place on 23 February. A Review from the screening has already appeared on a film gossip website. It said that the film was "a huge improvement over the first two films". Though the review said that the special effects weren't all finished. For example Buckbeak the Hippogriff was nearly done in some scenes, but not finished in other scenes. It didn't mention the Dementors much, but did say that "there's a neat scene early on where their approach is forewarned by ice spreading across a window and into a nearby bottle". Studios often carry out test screenings while the movie is still being completed to see which parts audiences like and don't like, so that they can still tweak the movie before it's finished. Although our studio insider confirmed that the test screening definitely happened last week, they also shot down another rumour circulating around the internet telling us that "Viktor Krum has NOT been cast as yet!"

Krum has been found!
Well, it's finally been decided. And who gets it? A London based Bulgarian boy. Over 600 kids attended the first round of the casting that took place in Sofia on February 4 and 5. However, most of them didn't make it to the final stage. The selected ones were interviewed for a few minutes, their performances taped and sent to London.
Bozhinov had this to say:

"It was a tough choice for people in London, because they were impressed by many of the Bulgarian candidates. The Warner Brothers London office initially picked half of the "best choice" Bulgarian aspirants. Out of them only two boys made it to the next stage, but eventually the jury gave them both the thumbs down."

36 Cho Changs left!
That's right! It's been reported that the casting has come down so far to 36 possibles of the hundreds of girls who interviewed for the part of Cho Chang.
Veritaserum has an interview up of one of the few remaining girls trying for the part.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Premiere Party
Step into the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and become part of the adventure. CMoR transforms into Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade Village. Children create items like personalized wands, spellbound books, magical food and drink and they meet main characters. This will be taking place at Richmonds' (Virginia/USA) Children's Museum on June 4th from 6:00-10:00pm, ages 4-12, Adult chaperone required. $10 member/$12 non-member. Pre-ticketing available. Tickets available at door. Call 804.474.7011 or visit their site at Richmonds' Children's Museum. Look under Exihbits. ;)

Daniel Radcliffe one of the richest kids in the UK?
You heard it right! Along with Prince Harry and Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, the list of the UK's top 20 richest teens included a few surprises. Here's a rundown On that top 20.
1. Sam Branson, 18, set to inherit 1 billion (Richard Branson's son)
2. Luke Berkley-Portman, 19, 850 million (son of a Viscount)
3. Prince Harry, 19, 28 million
4. Charlotte Church, 18, 16 million (opera singer, although some reports say it's only 5.5 million)
5. Dan Radcliffe, 14, 10 million (actor)
6. Cristiano Ronaldo, 18, 8 million (footballer)
7. Glen Johnson, 19, 5.5 million (footballer)
8. Keira Knightley, 18, 4 million (actress)
9. Wayne Rooney, 18, 3 million (footballer)
10. Harry Brooks, 19, 3 million (singer/songwriter)
11. Gareth Gates, 19, 2 million (singer)
12. Adam Hildreth, 18, 2 million (internet business owner)
13. Chris Philips, 17, 2 million (internet business owner)
14. Callie Rogers, 16, 1.87 million (lottery winner)
15. Jamie Bell, 17, 1.5 million (actor)
16. Carl Churchill, 19, 1.5 million (web designer)
17. Charlie Simpson, 18, 1.2 million (pop star)
18. William Felix, 17, 1 million (lawnmower company owner)
19. Hannah Taylor-Gordon, 16, 1 million (actress)
20. James Milner, 17, 1 million (footballer)

Update on the Live Web Chat with JK Rowling
For any of you who would like to have a chance at having your question answered by Joe Rowling, here it is! Joe has agree to answer but ONE question give to her by BBC from all the online fans. That's right, JUST one. So BBC has put out a simple form for any HP fans to write in the one question They're dying to know. They only Get to choose one, so make it a good one. Go HERE to fill out the online form today!

A PG rated PoA trailer?
That's right! The new PoA trailer to soon be released has recieved its' PG rating, making it scarier than the previous ones which were given a U certificate. And it will also be 1 minute and 45 seconds long. The trailer was seen and classified by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) in early February this year. The release date of PoA is June 4th, but no date set as of yet for the upcoming trailer. Stay tuned.

This from TLC...

We now have some more details about the online chat with author JK Rowling on March 4th. The World Book Day Online Festival will be launched by JK Rowling with an interactive web-chat between 10 and 11am (in the UK).This will include 12 special questions from winners of a national schools' competition.

JK Rowling says:

"For me, being online is one of the best ways to get to Harry Potter fans; it's immediate, spontaneous and fun. So I'm thrilled to be taking part in the World Book Day Online Festival where I can talk to readers from around the world."

Latino Director Guillermo del Toro gives a positive review to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban

Source: Latino Review via HPANA

LR: Speaking of Alfonso Cuaron, he has a huge movie coming out with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, are you expecting it be totally different from the first two films?

Guillermo del Toro: I already saw it.

LR: Really? How was it? And is it darker from the other the two films?

Guillermo: It's absolutely fantastic. It's not only a beautiful Harry Potter film, it's an absolutely delight of a film period. Its just... Alfonso imagination for anyone who saw Little Princess, it's extremely rich and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is incredibly detailed, incredibly full of spectacle and intelligence. I mean I was blown away by it, I think it's going to be a huge success. I saw it London and it's simply fantastic.

LR: Would you have taken a project like Harry Potter?

Guillermo: They actually offered me Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban before Alfonso. Which is actually very good in terms of realizing the way Latino filmmakers are regarded. I was very sincere with what I said before. I love the Harry Potter universe, I love the books but I felt more passion towards doing Hellboy. It was a project that I had been involved so long and if I didn't do it now, I could never get to do it. I'm extremely happy that Alfonso took it and he did a fantastic productive job. I think it's one the best children's movies I have ever seen in my life.

New PoA calendars for 2005
Too early to think of the 2005 calendars? Not if you're an avid collector of all things Harry Potter. Here are some links Amazon.com has, and showing previews of it as well
Day to Day calendar
Movie Desk Calendar
Movie Wall calendar
Movie mini wall calendar

Filming GoF not to be mostly done in Scotland this time

SCOTLAND is to be relegated to a supporting role in the next Harry Potter blockbuster because it rains too much. The Highlands raked in an incredible 3-million-pounds-a-year from the Harry Potter blockbusters shot in Glencoe. But it is understood the glen will only be used for scenic shots for the fourth movie, The Goblet of Fire, with the bulk of filming taking place in a drier location. The weather was so bad that the crew renamed Hogwarts wizard school 'Sogwarts' as they shot the third movie, The Prisoner of Azkaban, in Glencoe last year. The film will be out in June. Moviemakers Warner Brothers may now move to Exmoor in Devon. Annual rainfall there is 600mm less than Glencoe. The massive Scottish set which includes Hagrid's Hut and Bridge to Nowhere will now only be used for scenic shots. Yesterday, a Warner Brothers source said: 'It's looking as if the plug is being pulled on Glencoe. It's just proving too costly and time - consuming to film crucial scenes when the weather turns nasty.

Chris Rankin interview
Chris Rankin gave an interview to HPANA to Geri. In it, he describes what it's like from growing up around the set and watching the HP kids grow, to personal experiences both on and off set.
"What was the general consensus on the film set about book 5?
I'd only done a little bit of work since that came out, since I'd finished the majority of my filming for Azkaban by May last year. I think a lot of people had laid off reading it until we'd finished filming because you don't want to get bogged down in the details really. The general consensus was that it's good, but there is quite a bit to get rid off if we're going to film it. I think there are a lot of producers walking around saying, "My God - 7 hours."
For the complete story, read here
Chris Rankin interview at HPANA

Robbie Coltrane at IGN
Robbie Coltrane recently gave an interview to IGN. It sounds as if our lovable Hagrid is having as much fun now as he did in the beginning. And he tells of what it's been like to work this last year on the Prisoners of Azkaban set.

"Q: On the first film, I remember you telling the press that Daniel [Radcliffe] changed your cell phone to Turkish. Have the pranks gotten a little more sophisticated?

COLTRANE: No, the jokes have got worse though. I think he's got a hankerin' to be a comedian. He keeps telling me jokes that, uh – he goes, "You're really gonna hate this one, OK?" And he tests me with them all, because I haven't seen him for a while. He gives me about 40 jokes, most of which were in the [mix] when I was about 10. But they don't know, because they've never heard them before. Some people say there only are 10 jokes."

For the full three page interview, Robbie Coltrane at IGN

Harry Potter brings learning knowledge to Belfast
YOUNG 'Muggles' from Belfast schools today took part in a magical Harry Potter extravaganza on the 19th of Febuary.
Around 180 primary schoolchildren attended a day of events centred around the boy wizard at Campbell College.
The day was due to include a falconry display, a magical science exhibition and themed tours of the Hogwarts style hallways and rooms at the east Belfast school.
A replica of the 'Flying Ford Anglia' from the Harry Potter series was also parked outside at 'Platform 9'.
The children were able to show off their Harry Potter knowledge during a quiz, with questions covering everything from 'Apparation' to 'Quidditch'.
Go to
Belfast Telegraph Digital for full details.

Thanks to TLC we have some new pictures of Harry Potter action figures from the Prisoner of Azkaban movie.
[1] - Lupin in werewolf transformation
[2] - Harry Potter (casting expecto patronum)
[3] - Dumbledore
[4] - Scary looking creature
[5] - Dementor
[6] - Lupin as werewolf

More figures at figures.com

The Ultimate Harry Potter fan appretiation contest
Wizarding World Press is having a contest through March 15th, 2004. They'll be giving away a trip for two on the premiere HP Fan Trips weekend tour. The winners will join actor Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley in the films) in Britain to watch "Prisoner of Azkaban" the weekend it opens and hear tales from behind-the-scenes afterward. Cash and book prizes are also to be awarded. Click Here for rules and regulations. You must live in either the United States or Canada to enter this. Good luck to all! :D Go Here for a print out of the Entry form, as this is a mail in contest.

**Now for those that don't, don't start getting on about how 'unfair' it is. I've read everything there is on this, and the people there tried Really hard to include the other countries, honestly. But as is they're shelling out MUCH money for this contest, which even sadly, must include lawyers fees. So please do not go from here, to their site complaining to them. First read what they've written on it.

Newer HP pics from PoA
If any of these are repeats, so sorry, I'm new here. ;) But these are some of the more recent ones
Hermione and Harry
Firebolt complete (I don't know if this one is up yet. I put it together for Akichioro)
Harry & Herm
Harry on the Knight Bus
Harry
Trio1
Trio2

HP cast to be signing in CA
James and Oliver Phelps, Devon Murray and Matthew Lewis will be attending the Celebrity Autograph Expo, March 13 in Santa Ana, and March 14 in Canoga Park. There is a charge for each autograph, and you can bring your own item to be signed or they'll also have pictures.

PoA running time?
It's been released by Amazon France that the official running time of Prisoners of Azkaban will be 135 minutes. With the previous two Harry Potter films coming in at 152 and 161 minutes. Thinking that's a little short seeing that the two previous books had fewer pages? Well, this was found, "Director Alfonso Cuaron allegedly said author JK Rowling's story lent itself to a tighter script than the first two films."

Harry Potter in Disney Magazine
Disney Adventures Magazine has the latest on PoA news! They share '10 secrets about PoA' as well as some new images. Click here for the images (as I do not wish to take up all the space here for them) 1 2 3 4

As for it's secrets? Here they are:
Secret #1: The doors to the Knight Bus will swing open for the first time in this movie. They created the bus by taking a British double decker bus, adding a level and painting it purple.

Secret #2: You won't see those drab school uniforms this time around-with a new director comes a new look for the movie's stars. They will wear everyday kid'ss clothes more often than their uniforms to show each character's personality.

Secret #3: You don't even have to see the dementors to be scared-according to the cast, just their cloaks were enough to make them run in the other direction! "I've seen some of the suits they wear and they frighten me!" Tom Felton says, "You wouldn't want to see one out and about- that's for sure!"

Secret #4: Quick-take count! There are 1,100 tea cups magically stacked in Professor Trelawney's classroom.

Secret #5: Watch for the Shrieking Shack- it really shakes, rattles, and rolls in this movie! The set was built on a windy hillside, so the moviemakers didn't need any special effects to make it move.

Secret #6: Much of the filming was done in Scotland, so the creators wanted to make sure a Highland cow (a special breed of cattle unique to Scotland) appeared in the movie. Look for one of the hairy animals with big horns in a Hogsmeade shopping window.

Secret #7: Between takes, Emma Watson likes to play with Alfonzo Cuaron's hair because it was so long. She even put it in pigtails! "I'm his unoffical hair-stylist," Emma says.

Secret #8: There was an entire team of people who'ss only job was to create wrappers for the thousands of candies in honeydukes.

Secret #9: Rupert Grint, whose character Ron spends a lot of time in Honeydukes revealed what he thought were the best candies in the shop: "They have really cool sweets, but I liked the jelly skeletons and jelly skull heads the best."

Secret #10: Cotton candy is called 'candy floss' in England. The magical floss in Honeydukes has strands of the sugary stuff that stretches through the store. During the Honeydukes scene in the movie, watch closley to see where the stuff begins.
Be sure to grab your March issue!

Exclusively from Sarah in Japan.

WB has opened an official shop in Japan.
They are displalying the real props in POA including,
Firebolt, sleeping bag, crystal orb and DADA textbook.
I went there again today to take some photos.
[1]
[2]

Picture Update:
[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

I was able to "read" pages 394 and 395 of DADA textbook, so here it is (read below).

TWENTY NINE

WEREWOLVES

Man to Beast - Werewolves and Immortality - The Mind of a Werewolf - Becoming a Werewolf - Damnation - Symptoms of Werewolfry - Relationship between Alpha and Beta Werewolves - Werewolf Features - How to Kill a Werewolf - Silver Bullet Myth

[Picture]

As popularly known, a werewolf is a person who is transformed voluntarily or involuntarily, into a wolf under the influence of full moon. The word werewolf is a contraction of the old-saxon word "wer" (which means `man`) and wolf-werwolf, manwolf. Another term lycanthrope, often used to describes werewolves, however, refers to someone who suffers from a mental disease of fantasizing being a wolf. This particular mental disorder is termed lycanthropy. Is easy to recognise a werewolf, his eyebrows are thick and they cover nose. Has a small tail and his nails are red and curved, he has hair under his tongue. The werewolf suffers when changing.

[header `WEREWOLVES` and page number 395]

There are several ways to become a werewolf, they include being given the power of shape shifting through sorcery, being cursed by someone who you have wronged in some way - called Lycacomia curse - being bitten by a werewolf and being born to a werewolf. In case the blood becames tained or cursed.

A person who becomes a werewolf against his will (birth, curse or bite) is not completely dammed until he tastes of human blood. Once he does, his soul is eternally damned and nothing my redeem him. Even without tasting of human blood. However, as long as the tain lays upon the immortal soul, he cannot enter Heaven and will remain chained to the mortal plane upon death.
In real werewolves a physical change to wolf (at will), or can be forced by certain cycles of the moon and certain sounds (such as howling).
Trough primarily a true wolf while in wolf form, There is some proof that the werewolf retains enough knowledge to assist his killing, recognitions of victims, evation of traps, have all been seen on werewolf cases.

Werewolves are immune from aging and from most physical diseases due to the constant regeneration of their physical tissue, they can, therefore, be virtually mortal. however, they can be killed by any wound that destroy the heart or the brain, or any form of death that causes brain or heart damage - such as hanging or other oxygen-deprivations methods.
When hunting for a werewolf it is important to remember that your biggest clues will come through your suspects personalities. Becoming a werewolf is not transparent, no matter how the victim tries to hide it. The tainted, sub human blood greatly alter the subjects own mind and personality, even physical appearence, therefore, look for symptoms in your human suspects that include increasing violence, increasing agression, unprovoked rages, insomnia, restlessness, and other bizarre behavior. Unfortunately over time these symptons can be brought under control, so do not rely on then exclusively.
Like real wolves, werewolves can live alone for many years, yet the instinct for a pack often leads them away from their secretive lifestyle, into revealing their nature to a priest or close associate, or converting another to werewolfry for companionship. This is when the otherwisecagery werewolf popens himself to dection! Werewolf packs cause immense destruction. A pack consists of one...