[Borrowed from WDW Untangled, our sister site]

It’s been known to be coming, but it was never official, until today: Universal Studios Orlando have finally announced the expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, to be built over at the Universal Studios Florida park, with a connection to the existing section via the Hogwarts Express!

Being dubbed “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley” (with the existing section being redubbed “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade”, the new section will recreate the Diagon Alley and from the movies, as well as part of London, which would likely serve as the gateway. The big attraction will be a ride based on Gringott’s Bank, likely some form of coaster reminiscent of the travel system to the vaults as seen in the final movie.

How they’ll resolve that some elements of Diagon Alley – notably Ollivander’s Wand Shop, were transposed to Hogsmeade for the park, remains to be seen – but they could easily do with expanding it, and perhaps put in something else in the original location. No details on how the Hogwarts Express will handle the transportation backstage between the parks, although some sort of virtual component is expected. Also remaining to be seen is how they handle park tickets, since visiting both parks in one day requires their equivalent of a Park Hopper ticket.

Here is the full release:
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It seems that J.K. Rowling wishes she spent more time on a couple of her Harry Potter novels – and she may do something about it.

Currently doing publicity for her first adult-aimed novel The Casual Vacancy (released tomorrow), she spoke with BBC arts editor Will Gompertz, and mentioned the desire to re-work a couple of the books, saying she didn’t spend enough time on them.

“There were a couple of the Potters and I definitely knew that they needed another year,” she said. “I had to write on the run and there were times when it was really tough. And I read them, and I think ‘Oh God, maybe I’ll go back and do a director’s cut’, I don’t know. But you know what, I’m proud I was writing under the conditions under which I was writing, no one will ever know how tough it was at times.”
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Syfy has just announced that it will air the mini-series Treasure Island, which aired in the UK earlier this year, as a one-night-only special event.

Presenting a fresh, new spin on the classic tale, Treasure Island, featuring an all-star cast led by Eddie Izzard (Oceans 12, and just yesterday announced to star in The Munsters), Elijah Wood (The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit) and Donald Sutherland (Pride and Prejudice among many, many other roles_. Robert Louis Stevenson’s swashbuckling adventure story about fantastical treasure, youthful courage and murderous greed will premiere Saturday, May 5 from 7-11PM (ET/PT) on Syfy.
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Forget the Oscars – the 2012 Saturn Award nominees were announced today by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, and the complete, long list of nominees are below. Hugo and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 each received 10 nominations to lead in the movie nominations, while AMC’s Breaking Bad led the TV categories with six nominations, one ahead of Fox’s American Horror Story.
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J.K. Rowling will finally write another book – but not only will it not be part of her massively successful Harry Potter franchise – it won’t even be a kids book.

It was announced today that the writer as signed a new deal with publisher Little, Brown, who will publish her next book, for an adult audience, in both the U.S. and U.K. The Harry Potter books were published by Bloomsbury in the U.K. and Scholastic in the U.S.

Details about the book are being kept secret, but Rowling’s statement only mentions that it “will be very different to the Harry Potter series.” We don’t know if she’ll still draw on the fantasy genre, or if it will be something more mainstream, but it will be interesting if she can at least recapture the “magic” of her previous efforts in a whole new direction.

Seems like casting rumors have run rampant lately about various movies. First up, the David Yates-led Doctor Who movie that Steven Moffat insists isn’t happening? Well, apparently Daniel Radcliffe had been associated with the role – which was an absolute surprise to him, and he seemed taken aback that anyone but Matt Smith would be playing the role:
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Well, it wasn’t the greatest news for genre features this year, despite a lot of hopes…if you followed the nominations (or my tweets), you know that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 got the snub for Best Picture despite the 10-film field (the closest to a genre film was Hugo), while the Academy again shows they don’t know how to deal with motion-capture performances and ignored Andy Serkis yet again for his work in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. But what did garner nominations?
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The science fiction and fantasy genre seems to have taken a hit in the latest Golden Globe nominations. It don’t see anything in the Motion Picture awards at all aside from the animated features, which is very surprising given the major buzz about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Harry Potter could still see an Oscar nod as the field is larger there, but it could mean it is a longshot at winning.

On the TV side, however, there were a few genre hits, notably Game Of Thrones receiving nods for “Best Television Series – Drama” and a “Best Supporting Actor” for Peter Dinklage, while American Horror Story also received one for “Best Television Series – Drama” and “Best Supporting Actress” for Jessica Lange.

SF-friendly show The Big Bang Theory saw a single nod for Johnny Galecki for “Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical”.

The complete nomination list is available at Deadline.

Apple has compiled it’s annual “Rewind” list, which lists the top downloads on it’s iTunes service, and in the U.S. it was a British SF show that beat all comers. Doctor Who topped the list of TV Season downloads, joined by True Blood and The Walking Dead among the genre in the top 10. The Walking Dead had the top-selling single episode, “What Lies Ahead”, with Terra Nova‘s “Instinct” at 6th and Smallville‘s “Finale, Parts 1 and 2″ at 10th.

In movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 was named “Best Blockbuster”, while Source Code was 7th among movie downloads.

Universal Parks & Resorts confirmed in a press conference today the hot rumor for the past week: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will come to Hollywood – specifically the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Very little details was given, such as how they’d fit it in the park (and it WILL be part of the park, not a separate park) – but it would definitely include Hogwart’s castle and the Forbidden Journey ride.

Also confirmed but with even less detail given is that the existing WWOHP section at Islands of Adventure in Orlando will be expanded, as long rumored – but that’s it. Some rumors state that they will somehow connect to space becoming available in the Universal Studios park (fueled by the recent announcement that the long-standing Jaws attraction is closing) – but they are fairly far apart with lots of support buildings and access roads in between. More likely is that it will take over more of the Lost Continent area.

Update: Hypable has a live blog of the announcement.