Harry & Ginny

New Wizard of the Month at JKRowling.com

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 19:27:00 +0000

Harry Potter(1980 - )

The Boy Who Lived, only known survivor of the Avada Kedavra curse and conqueror of Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Riddle. Harry Potter joined the reshuffled Auror Department under Kingsley Shacklebolt at age 17, rising to become Head of said department in 2007.

Happy Birthday Hermione!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:56:00 +0000

JK Rowling's official website has been updated to wish everyone's favorite witch Hermione Granger a Happy Birthday!

Fic Recommendation - This Means War by Jeconais

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:17:00 +0000

Our fanfiction recommendation is a hilariously funny fic by the name of This Means War by Jeconais. The synopsis goes: When the Weasley Boys interfere in Ginny's relationship with Dean, they make the biggest mistake of their lives. The witch decides that revenge is in order, and her first point of call is a new boyfriend - Harry.

I can't say enough good things about this fic. It is a definite read. It is obviously Harry/Ginny so for you shippers out there this one's for you. Also it is rather short only 10 or so chapters so it is a fast read. It is based upon the premise of Wizarding email which I find hilariously funny. It can be located on Jeconais's author page here and it is also posted at PhoenixSong if you want to check it out there as well. Good luck and happy reading!

On a side note if you have read Anya's Naked Quidditch Match, which can be found at here, it is very similar in that it is also written in email format and it is so funny it will have you laughing all day. Check this one out also!

Half-Blood Prince filming begins today!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:43:00 +0000

As Dan Radcliffe revealed in this interview with MTV, filming for Half-Blood Prince begins today! Stay with us in the coming months as we bring you the latest set reports and other filming news.

Half-Blood Prince will be in theaters November 21st, 2008.

Broadbent confirmed to play Horace Slughorn

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:33:00 +0000

In an upcoming exclusive interview for Dark Horizons, actor Jim Broadbent confirms not only that he has been cast as Horace Slughorn in the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," but also talked a little about his role in the fourth "Indiana Jones" as well. Here's an excerpt from the interview which took place last week at the Toronto Film Festival:

Question: You must have a comfortable life which is hard to give up unless something comes up you want to do.

Broadbent: Yeah I had basically three months in Lincolnshire in the summer and suddenly now I'm back on the rollercoaster again and I've got to finish off Indiana Jones next month and I've got a bit on Young Victoria and it's all been sort of stacking up and then I'm doing Harry Potter.

Question: Who are you?

Broadbent: Who am I? He's called Horace Slughorn. He's a retired teacher ofmagic who's drawn back out of retirement because he's got some secrets they need in the battle against the Deatheaters and he's quite star struck as a teacher and he's drawn back into the fold because he likes to notch up celebrity students, and he's drawn back by Harry.

Question: Is he a comic character?

Broadbent: He is quite a comic character, yes. I haven't started yet. I've had endless costume fittings and makeup and ...

Question: What kind of costumes?

Broadbent: Tweedy sort of things with a bit of padding. He's an older man, I'm aging up again.

Question: Have you read the book?

Broadbent: Yep, yep, yep. I haven't read them all but I've read mine.

Question: And who are you in Indiana Jones?

Broadbent: I'm Indiana's academic colleague at Yale. I'm his friend and colleague - there's a couple of my scenes to go.

Question: What will you do next?

Broadbent: After that? Harry Potter goes 'til May. And that's enough to begin with. I've got something of my own I'm hoping to get going and I'm not talking about ...."

Source: Dark Horizons

Harry Potter Top Grossing Motion Picture Franchise

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:27:00 +0000

Warner Brothers has announced this evening that the Harry Potter series is the largest-grossing film franchise to date globally, surpassing Star Wars and and James Bond. Totaling $4.47 billion in ticket sales (with two films left to go, WB points out), several high-ups at Warner Brothers are quoted in the press release:

In making the announcement, Alan Horn [President & Chief Operating Officer] said, “It would be an understatement to say we are proud of the success of the Harry Potter films. We also want to congratulate all of the extraordinary actors, filmmakers and artists who have shared this remarkable cinematic journey with us.”

Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, said, “It is a thrill to see the Harry Potter franchise reach this unparalleled mark, and, with two movies yet to come, it is amazing to think what heights the franchise could reach by the end of the decade.

Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, Warner Bros. Pictures President of International Distribution, added, “This worldwide box office record once again proves that the appeal of the Harry Potter movies knows no border, no age limit, and no language barrier. Each of the five films has captured the hearts and sparked the imagination of audiences everywhere.”

Of note, Variety has published an article comparing the Potter film franchise to the other big ones:

Bond, which dates back to 1962, has generated $4.44 billion worldwide and the "Star Wars" pics have pulled down $4.23 billion since the first release in 1977. None of the tallies account for inflation or rising ticket prices.

And domestically the "Star Wars" franchise still far outpaces the boy wizard. All told, the "Star Wars" pics have grossed $2.18 billion, while the "Harry Potter" franchise has grossed $1.41 billion. But then there are still two more "Potters" to go.

And all three have generated millions upon millions in downstream ancillary coin for their studios, once homevideo and TV revenue are added into the tallies.

Press release from Warner Brothers below

Press Release: WARNER BROS. PICTURES’ HARRY POTTER FILMS COMBINE TOBECOME THE BIGGEST FILM FRANCHISE IN HISTORY

Harry Potter Film Franchise Surpasses James Bond and Star Wars, With Two Films Yet to Come

BURBANK, CA, September 10, 2007 – With the success of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ Harry Potter films have now become, worldwide, the top-grossing motion picture franchise in history. The announcement was made today by Barry Meyer, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer and Alan Horn, President & Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros.

The combined worldwide box office gross for the five Harry Potter films to date is in excess of $4.47 billion, surpassing the box office totals of all 22 James Bond films and the six “Star Wars” movies.

This impressive record comes even as “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is still going strong in theatres around the globe, and with two more highly anticipated Harry Potter films—“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”—still in the offing.

In addition to holding the franchise box office record, all five of the Harry Potter films have the distinction of being among the 20 top-grossing box office hits of all time.

In making the announcement, Alan Horn said, “It would be an understatement to say we are proud of the success of the Harry Potter films. We also want to congratulate all of the extraordinary actors, filmmakers and artists who have shared this remarkable cinematic journey with us.”

Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, said, “It is a thrill to see the Harry Potter franchise reach this unparalleled mark, and, with two movies yet to come, it is amazing to think what heights the franchise could reach by the end of the decade.

Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, Warner Bros. Pictures President of International Distribution, added, “This worldwide box office record once again proves that the appeal of the Harry Potter movies knows no border, no age limit, and no language barrier. Each of the five films has captured the hearts and sparked the imagination of audiences everywhere.”

The next Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” will open on November 21, 2008. The seventh and final film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” is planned for a 2010 release.

Source: Mugglenet

Daniel discusses 'HBP' & 'Deathly Hallows' movies

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:22:00 +0000

In two new interviews with Daniel Radcliffe, Dan discusses upcoming filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which starts shooting on Monday, September 17 and the soon to be released December Boys.

Dan talks about Rupert's kissing scenes in Half-Blood Prince:
I'm going to be on set pointing at him every time. It's going to be funny. And I'm looking forward to [the seventh movie] when he has to kiss Emma [Watson]!

Dan on condensing book 7 for a movie:

"It's going to be a hell of a challenge for the writer. There's other bits [in other books] you can cut, but I don't see anything in Deathly Hallows you can cut. [Author] Jo [Rowling] always talks about the chapter she had written in her head before anything, when Harry's going to face Voldemort, and I'm really looking forward to doing that. It should be powerful - if I don't screw it up. Of course, I'm saying all this hoping it won't be cut. I don't think it can be, it's so vital."

You can also see video of Dan answering a question in which he talks about what JKR told him about his character in the last book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

In another interview Dan talks about the Horace Slughorn character in the sixth movie, while not mentioning who will be portraying the character and says:

"Most of the time he's gonna be very funny. But then you will really see the dark side of him.
I don't know if I can say. I don't know if it's been announced, and I don't want to spoil any of our surprises."

Fic Recommendation - "Taking Control" by Fake A Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:11:00 +0000

Our fic for this week is "Taking Control" by Fake A Smile. This is a work in progress but it is so fabulous that I have to recommend it. I normally don't like to start or recommend WIP but this one is a really thriller and the author is very dedicated to the fic and you can also be added to his yahoo groups page for information about updates. He is not just going to leave this fic unfinished.

"Taking Control" covers Harry's summer at the Dursleys after Sirius's death in the 5th book and also into his 6th year. The 6 & 7th books will be irrelevant in this fic. It follows its own path. What I love most about this fic is that Harry grows so much in this story and trains really hard for the upcoming battle with Voldemort. He realizes Dumbledore and the Order are not training him themselves so he trains and learns magic in secret. It also has a Harry/Ginny romance thrown in the story but it is gradual, not immediate like in some fics. It has some arguments between the trio so they are not the best of friends in this fic but the reasons for the arguments are valid and in my opinion it is just Harry standing up for himself and his beliefs while he doesn't do that in cannon.

It is definitely worth a read as it has Harry magically stronger and more developed than in cannon and he is training and fighting in battles with Death Eaters right under the Order's nose. It is funny watching Dumbledore be stuck in a corner. The fic can be found at SIYE here. I highly recommend you stop by and take a look!

OOTP Nominated for SCREAM Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:19:00 +0000

The fifth Harry Potter movie has received numerous nominations for this year's Scream awards, honoring the newest and hottest in horror, sci-fi, fantasy and comic genres.

Order of the Phoenix is nominated under the following categories: the ultimate scream, best fantasy movie, fantasy hero (Daniel Radcliffe), most vile villain (Ralph Fiennes), best sequel, and best f/x. Beginning tomorrow, you can vote online until October 19th. The awards will be aired on Spike TV on October 23rd.

In other "Phoenix" news, the movie has become the highest grossing IMAX 3D live-action film release ever.

Dan on his upcoming movies and 'Equus'

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:53:00 +0000

Earlier today, Daniel Radcliffe made an appearance on NBC's TODAY show. In this interview, Dan discusses his new movie December Boys and that filming for Half-Blood Prince will begin in "two weeks time." He also says that Equus coming to Broadway is a definite possibility and if it does come to the US next spring, he will reprise his role. You can watch this interview here.

September Wizard of the Month

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:44:00 +0000

Albus Dumbledore
1881 - 1996

Brilliant and often controversial headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore is most famous for his 1945 defeat of Grindelwald and his steadfast championing of Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Dumbledore's self-proclaimed proudest achievement, however, was featuring on a Famous Wizards Chocolate Frog Card.

Source: JKRowling

Results of Dealthy Hallows Poll

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:12:00 +0000

What did you like best about Deathly Hallows Poll Results! It seems we have a clear cut winner with the reunion of Harry/Ginny receiving 65% of the vote!

Harry and Ginny reunite! - WINNER!!!
13 votes (65%)

Harry Lived
9 votes (45%)

Ron and Hermione kissed!
5 votes (25%)

Snape Died
2 votes (10%)

List of Deleted Scenes for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:01:00 +0000

The British Board of Film Classification updated their website today with a list of some deleted scenes that are to be included on the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD.

Running a total of 10m 10s, the scenes listed under the title of "DELETED DRAMATIC CLIPS" are as follows:

00:02:31:17 "TRELAWNY EATING"
00:00:13:08 "NEVILLE SPEAKS UP FOR HARRY"
00:00:26:02 "STEADY CAM AROUND"
00:02:46:18 "UMBRIDGE QUESTIONS TRELAWNY"
00:00:17:21 "MALFOY, CRABBE AND GOYLE BULLY A STUDENT"
00:00:21:06 "FILTCH BLOWS ON UMBRIDGE'S HAIR"
00:01:47:14 "HARRY HERMIONE AND UMBRIDGE - EXTENDED"
00:00:37:22 "HARRY ENTERS"
00:01:07:23 "HARRY AND RON PACKING"

As reported earlier, the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD is widely rumored (although not yet officially confirmed) to be released around the November 12 time frame. On a related note, one of many purported covers of the boxes to the DVD is now online, this one from the movie informer, although we are unable to obtain any source or information about this website, so again, please keep this in the rumor category for now as well.

UPDATE: Warner Home Video Brazil confirmed for them that the release date in Brazil will be November 14th and that the DVD will have more than one hour of unknown extras, counting to embroidery frames and the making of the film.

Source: HPANA

Fic Recommendation - The Refiner's Fire & The Time of Destiny by Abraxan

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:47:00 +0000

Its fic recommendation time and I am about to recommend one of my all time favorite fanfictions. This is a classic that you will read over and over again, as I have done. It's called The Refiner's Fire & The Time of Destiny by Abraxan. It can be found here at SIYE on the author's page along with several post-Hogwarts additions called A Fox's Tale, A Very Harry Christmas, Beginnings, Hedwig's Tale, & On Second Thoughts. Though I would recommend reading the main story first otherwise these will not make sense. His fanfiction and author updates can also be found on his website here.

The Refiner's Fire is a sixth year fic that pics up with Harry's life at the Dursleys after the events of 5th year and the death of Sirius. He matures greatly in this chapter of his life and of course we have Voldemort trying to murder Harry every step of the way. His sixth year of Hogwarts is full of exciting adventures at every turn with a little H/G and R/H romance thrown in the mix.

Its sequel The Time of Destiny is really about Harry coming into his own and working with Dumbledore to finish and end the war. This fic covers both the summer before Harry's seventh year, and his entire last year at school. It is a great story about Harry coming into his own with the help of his friends and growing magically into a rival to Voldemort. Plus it includes two fantastic epilogues that really tie up the loose ends of the story.

I really hope you all stop by and read these fics. They are excellently done by a fabulous author that is now currently completing his own book. Please comment and let me know how you like them. Happy Reading! :)

'Order of the Phoenix' wins 'Teen Choice' award

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:39:00 +0000

Teen People magazine's Teen Choice 2007 awards show earlier tonight in the U.S. and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix won the award for Choice Summer Movie - Drama/Action Adventure.

The movie was up against Fantastic 4: Rise of The Silver Surfer, Live Free or Die Hard, Transformers, and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Source: Fox News

Harry Potter... The Musical

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:28:00 +0000

EXCLUSIVE HOGWARTS TO HIT WEST END WITH WIZARD SHOW
By Sean Hamilton

Boy wizard Harry Potter is taking to the stage in a musical based on the smash-hit books.
Casting agents have been told to start looking for a young lad to play Potter in an all-singing, all-dancing version of J.K. Rowling's magic at Hogwarts. Producers are already working on script ideas and hope to bring the musical to London's West End next year.

They are looking for a big-name composer to write the music. A theatre insider said: "The musical has the potential to be huge. You are already off to a head start with the most popular book of recent times. Eveyone loves the characters and the mythical world Rowling has invented.

"The difficulty is condensing the seven books into a manageable show. They are exploring various ideas. One possibility is to tell the whole story. Another is to just take a single plot.
"The plan is for spectacular flying scenes, live Quidditch and big showdowns with Voldemort." Daniel Radcliffe, 18, starred in the Potter films.

J.K. ROWLING is expected to write a special Harry Potter book in aid of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day in 2009. She did spin-off books for Comic Relief in 2001, which raised £22million

Source: Sunday Mirror

Happy Birthday Rupert Grint!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:54:00 +0000

Today is the day we celebrate the birthday of Rupert Grint, the actor who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films. Please join us in wishing Rupert a very Happy 19th Birthday!

Wizard Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:54:00 +0000

Hey all bloggers! If you have yet to do it be sure to check out WizardRock.org for some great wizarding music. They list all the current popular wizarding music so that fans like us who just can't get enough of reading about Harry Potter can now listen to it all the time! The lyrics are great and all about what goes on in the wizarding world and Hogwarts. Check out some of my favorites below:

Harry and the Potters
The Whomping Willows
Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

Most of the bands sell merchandise and CD's and are also listed on MySpace.

Half-Blood Prince filiming underway!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:59:00 +0000

Villagers back Potter filming plan
By Benjamin Parkes

The producers of the Harry Potter movies met with the residents of Lacock on Wednesday night to negotiate with the locals.

Scenes from the first two Harry Potter blockbusters were filmed in the village and in the cloisters at Lacock Abbey.

In the most recent film, Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix, the cloisters courtyard is enhanced using computer animation and featured as a courtyard in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

But the filming crews want to return to Lacock with many of the main characters to capture a series of spooky night scenes for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the protagonist Potter, is set to be involved in the local filming.
Around 40 residents attended the meeting and all but one voted in favour of the filming taking place.

The movie-making teams now have permission to return for four days in October and film scenes between 5pm and 5am. High Street and Church Street will be closed and the bus stop outside the George Inn looks set to be relocated for the duration.

In return for the inconvenience, Warner Brothers has promised a sum of £30,000 to be paid to the village, which will be split between the Abbey owners National Trust, and Lacock Parish Council. Additionally, each resident will receive a sum of £200 to ease the inconvenience and there will be a secure parking service for locals.

National Trust property manager Graham Heard attended the meeting and called for a minute's silence before business got underway to mark the death of Lacock postmaster Michael Hands on Sunday. Nearby in Neston, filming for the BBC's new period drama Lark Rise to Candleford, starring Dawn French and Julia Sawalha has been hampered by the inclement weather.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: "No-one has been able to get down on to the set and we have had to change all the schedules. "The floods put us back somewhat and the weather has been terrible throughout the summer. "Then we were delayed further when foot and mouth disease broke out and we put a halt on filming again. "Things are improving and we hope to get going soon."

Source: Wiltshire Times

JKR to Read from "Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows" in New York, Will Sign Books and Answer Questions about Harry Potter Series

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:37:00 +0000

J.K. Rowling would be undertaking an Open Book Tour this fall in the United States, making three appearances for school children only at schools in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York City. She will also be appearing at Carnegie Hall in New York on Friday, October 19 at 7pm, and as a reminder, tickets for this stop are available to the public via a special sweepstakes which will close in one week on August 31.

Scholastic has now updated with information that Jo will be reading from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the event in NYC, and "will answer questions about the entire series. Following the reading and Q & A, Ms. Rowling will be signing books for audience members. In order to make sure that she is able to sign a book for everybody, she will only sign one book per person. Each person will receive a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but, if an audience member chooses to bring a favorite copy of any book in the series, Ms. Rowling will sign that instead." If you wish to attend what is sure to be a wonderful event, you still have time, and you may enter this contest (ONE ENTRY PER PERSON ONLY) by printing out the entry form, here and submitting your entry by mail to Scholastic, attn: J.K. Rowling and the Open Book Tour Sweepstakes 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. One thousand pairs of tickets will be given away to this event, and for more information and rules, click here. Good luck everyone!

Source: Leaky Cauldron

Last Day to Vote in Deathly Hallows Poll!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:31:00 +0000

Check out the Deathly Hallows Fan Poll to your right and vote for your favorite moment of the book! Is is that Harry lived despite all the odds, Snape finally met his doom, Ron and Hermoine's surprise kiss in the heat of battle, or that our favorite couple Harry and Ginny reunite and live happily ever after!

New Video Clip of Dan at OOTP LA Premiere

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:56:00 +0000

During the Los Angeles premiere for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, SnitchSeeker taped an interview Dan Radcliffe gave with a television station on the red carpet in which the actor gives an eerily accurate guess for the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows less than two weeks before the book's release.

There is a transcript of the interview below.

Quote:

Dan Radcliffe: (On the kissing scene with Katie Leung) … bigger deal than it possibly was. You know, it was fine. In many ways it was like any other scene.

Channel 18: You’re 17 years old. You’re going to play a 16-year-old in the next one?

Dan Radcliffe: Sixteen in the next movie, yeah.

Channel 18: Do you think it’s harder to believe?

Dan Radcliffe: (shakes head no) If you think about, for instance, Brokeback Mountain … at the beginning of it the character’s younger than Heath Ledger and at the end of it he’s older. So, you know, actors play younger roles than their age all the time.

Channel 18: J.K. Rowling has her ending for Harry Potter, what would you like to see happen to Harry?

Dan Radcliffe: I have no idea. You know, I think Harry will live. I didn’t always think that. I think he’ll live. I think maybe Snape will be the hero.

Source: SnitchSeeker

Dan Radcliffe to do 'December Boys' publicity in U.S., UK & Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:26:00 +0000

Daniel Radcliffe from the Harry Potter series will be doing publicity in the U.S., UK and Australia for his upcoming movie December Boys in the coming weeks and a list of scheduled events and interviews has appeared online.

Dan will be a guest on the Live with Regis & Kelly, Rachel Ray Show, the Tonight with Jay Leno show and the Jimmy Kimmel Live show in the U.S., to name a few. You can keep up-to-date with his appearances on shows in the States by going here as the lists of guest appearances are updated weekly.

There will be two premieres for the movie, September 9th in Melbourne at the Rivoli Cinemas in Camberwell and on September 11th at Hoyts, the Entertainment Quarter. Additional interviews with Dan and Australian media we appear shortly thereafter.

You can go here and here for the complete lists on the publicity tour for December Boys which includes media screening information.

The movie opens in the U.S. on September 14 in limited release, and nationwide on September 28. Additional release dates will be announced shortly.

Source: DanRadcliffe

Happy birthday to Percy Weasley

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:31:00 +0000

Rankin on JK's new novel: "This is a joke that got out of hand"

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:03:00 +0000

Recently, we let you know that crime writer and neighbor of JK Rowling, Ian Rankin, speculated that JK was "writing her Edinburgh detective novel" in city cafes. In a new interview today with Mr. Rankin, he now states that: "This is a joke that got out of hand."

There were 600 people in the audience, and only one person didn't laugh.

Meanwhile Emma Schlesinger, speaking for Rowling's literary agent, Christopher Little called the rumours were "unfounded" and that: JK Rowling is taking a well-earned break following the English language publication of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows and there are no firm plans as yet as to what her next book may be.

Since the original quote of Mr. Rankin has spread like wildfire over the web let us hope that this new information will put this matter to rest.

Source: HPANA