Sci-Fi Storm

With the buzz about Harry Potter likely to begin to die down after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 next month (at least after the subsequent Blu-ray/DVD release), and J.K. Rowling promising Daniel Radcliffe that no more stories about Harry would be published, what is the writer to do? Well, for the past week the new buzz has been around the word Pottermore, which was hinted at through a form of online scavenger hunt that led to the Pottermore web site, which promised more info today.

Well, the wait is over, and J.K. herself announced via video what it is about (which you can see below). The simple description on the web site says, “Pottermore is an exciting new website from J.K. Rowling that can be enjoyed alongside the Harry Potter books. You can explore the stories like never before and discover exclusive new writing from the author. It is FREE to join and use, and is designed to be safe for people of all ages.”

From her own description, it sounds like it is going to be a Harry Potter-themed social networking site, which will include ways to interact with the story itself by placing you in it, and will include things like the Sorting Hat and wand selections for each person, and even additional content. J.K. also says she will be participating as well. In addition, an exclusive Harry Potter store which will include digital audio books and ebooks will be attached.

Pottermore does not open publicly until October, but you can submit your email now (Ed: it doesn’t appear to be working at press time) and be notified when full registrations open sometime in July, and word is that a just a lucky few (if a million or so is a few…) might get early access and help the site before it publicly launches.
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Just a quick recap of any remotely genre related awards gained at last night’s Oscar festivities, beyond the periodic Hugh Jackman/Wolverine references: Inception was the big genre winner, taking Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing; Queen Amidala – or more accurately, Natalie Portman – took home the Best Actress award for her role in Black Swan; Toy Story 3 won Best Animated Feature, as well as Randy Newman taking the Best Original Music, for the TS3 song, “We Belong Together” (and gave on of the best acceptance speeches of the night); Alice In Wonderland won for Art Direction and Costume Design; and Wolfman won for Makeup (it didn’t have much competition). Tron: Legacy went home with nothing, having only had one nomination in Sound Editing – inexplicably not nominated for at least Visual Effects. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 also received none, but was the subject of an interesting musical montage thanks to AutoTune…

Side note: Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans may have heard a familiar voice. Tom Kane, who narrates the beginning of each episode, was the announcer.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 will finally hit the streets in Blu-ray and DVD on April 15th, and you can pre-order from [aml] now (and support us too)! There will be a [sfs=1103]3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack[/sfs], plus regular [sfs=1105]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1106]DVD[/sfs] releases. Still haven’t started your Harry Potter disc set? You can catch up fast for one price for all 7 movies in a [sfs=967]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=968]DVD[/sfs] gift sets.

So while on vacation we went to the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter – for me this was the second time, the first being during exclusive access at the Syfy Digital Press Tour. This time it would be with the family, during normal hours – and I’m told a dessert buffet, open bar and all the butterbeer you can drink is not the typical experience… 😉 We also checked out the rest of the Islands Of Adventure, which none of us had seen before. It was also unusually cold there, with temps 20-25 degrees below normal – makes for a convincing winter scene in Hogsmeade, but not so great for water rides…
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Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) recently spoke with Reuters about both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Regarding the slow pace of the first part, Radcliffe said, “In (Harry Potter) seven … people keep talking about ‘Oh it’s an action movie’ (but) … this is so sedate compared to what the next one is going to be like. The next film, because you’ve had all the plot set up already, you can just kind of enjoy the insanity of all the action.”

When asked about Rupert Grint describing Part 2 as a “war movie”, Radcliffe retorted, “They’ve all stolen my line! My pitch (for Deathly Hallows 1 and 2) was that it’s a road movie that turns into a heist movie that turns into a war film. I was saying it to Rupert and Emma (Watson) the other day. Damn it! The last movie is going to be really, really fast-paced and a load of action in it and it is like a war film. If we had done this book in one film, the stuff that would have got cut is most of this film. For me that is the most interesting part of the story, because it’s where the characters develop and change.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 will be released on July 15th, 2011.

See the whole interview here.

Here is a little mini-review from my first viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 – I’d like to see it again before doing a full review.
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In a quick followup to our previous article about Daniel Radcliffe saying he did not want to see more Harry Potter, Radcliffe told MTV News at the NYC premiere for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 he received a text from J.K. Rowling that told him that she would not make any more Harry Potter films, “as a reward”. I’ll note that this does not say that she won’t write any more Harry Potter books, and certainly does not preclude more stories in the Wizarding World…

It seems that Daniel Radcliffe may not have been pleased to hear that author J.K. Rowling could write more Harry Potter books (she mentioned the possibility on Oprah last month). “Oh God, she promised me categorically that there wouldn’t be another book involving Harry,” he said in an interview with Sky News. “I think 10 years is a long time to spend with one character.” I suppose it would depend on what stories she wanted to tell, though….obviously if its going back to a younger Harry, he probably wouldn’t be in the movie – if a movie were to even be made.

To wrap up the Syfy Digital Press Tour, we got access to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter area at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park. I’ve been following this place eagerly since opening, with a family trip planned in a couple months – but a “preview” without having to deal with the huge crowds? That would be just amazing…
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If you were hoping to see a complete 3D Harry Potter film – you’re going to wait longer. Warner Bros. announced today that when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 is released on November 19th, it will only be in 2D – because the 3D conversion will not be completed in time and still meet the “highest standards of quality”. No word about a later release, or what will happen with Part 2.