HP 3rd at Orange audience awards February 28, 2002
[ ananova ]
Lord Of The Rings won more than twice as many votes as its nearest rival to take the Orange Audience Award.
It received nearly 34,000 votes.
Bridget Jones's Diary polled 15,602 to come second, with Harry Potter coming third with just over 13,000.
No wins at British Bafta Awards February 24, 2002
[ ananova ]
Lord Of The Rings has won five honours at the Orange British Academy Film Awards - including best film.
But Harry Potter won nothing despite landing eight nominations at the British version of the Oscars.
Judi Dench took her eighth title, winning the best actress prize for her performance in Iris.
She beat Nicole Kidman, who attended the event in a revealing black velvet dress, as well as Sissy Spacek and Renee Zellweger to the award.
Russell Crowe triumphed in the best actor category, beating Lord Of The Rings' star Sir Ian McKellen to the prize.
He played a schizophrenic maths genius, John Nash, in the acclaimed film A Beautiful Mind and his co-star Jennifer Connelly took the best supporting actor prize.
Lord Of The Rings also won a best director prize for Peter Jackson and the Orange audience award, which is voted for by cinemagoers.
It completed its haul with technical prizes, special effects and make-up.
Moulin Rouge, which like Lord Of The Rings was up for 13 awards, landed three prizes. They were for Jim Broadbent's best supporting actor performance, best sound and best music.
Broadbent is up for an Oscar next month as best supporting actor for his role in Iris.
Gosford Park, made by US director Robert Altman but financed from the UK, was named outstanding British film of the year. It also took the prize for best costume design.
The full list of winners can be seen on the official Baftas website www.bafta.org.
Ananova is part of the Orange group of companies which is owned by France Telecom.
2nd highest grossing film February 24, 2002
[ ananova ]
Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone is now the second biggest film of all time.
It took over the number two slot from Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace at the weekend.
Titanic remains the highest-grossing film ever.
The Harry Potter film, which was made by Warner Brothers, has now made £649million since it was first released in November, reports www.screendaily.co.uk.
Warner Brothers president Alan Horn said: "This is a remarkable achievement.
"We're extremely proud that audiences around the globe have embraced Harry Potter so enthusiastically, and we thank all of the fans for their passion and support."
The DVD of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is to be released in the UK on May 11.
This is two weeks before the US release.
It will be a special two-disc collector's edition.
Disc One will feature the film in either full screen or widescreen format.
Disc Two is expected to include extra features including a virtual tour of Hogwarts, a Quidditch game, profiles of the resident ghosts and deleted footage.
It will also feature interviews with Director Chris Columbus and Producer David Heyman plus footage from the second film Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets
The Chamber Of Secrets will hit UK cinemas in November.
The DVD of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is available to pre-order from Ananova's ecommerce partner HMV in normal and widescreen formats.
Study of witchcraft in universitry February 16, 2002
[ ananova ]
Harry Potter's popularity has led Adelaide University to launch a course in sorcery, witchcraft and shamanism.
Students will study seances, exorcisms, healings, ritual magic and African witchdoctors from March 20.
Only two people have enrolled for the 12-week course so far, but the university says there have been dozens of inquiries.
The course is being offered through their Centre for Professional and Continuing Education at a cost of AUS$495 (about £180), reports The Advertiser.
There are no course pre-requisites and lectures will be conducted by anthropologist and recently retired Adelaide University lecturer Dr Kingsley Garbett.
Programme administrator Megan O'Brien said: "The popularity of recent movies like Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings has generated interest in mystical and surreal worlds.
"This course offers participants an opportunity to explore the origins of spiritual beliefs from an anthropological perspective that will further heighten their interest in this area."
Dr Garbett says the course will study real-life spirit mediums, witches and related matters rather than mythical creatures.
The popularity of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings stories will be addressed in the latter part of the course.
Potter banned from Gulf schools February 16, 2002
[ ananova ]
The Harry Potter series and George Orwell's Animal Farm are among 26 books that have been banned from schools in the United Arab Emirates.
The Ministry of Education banned the books because they contain "written or illustrated material that contradicts Islamic and Arab values," reports the Al-Hayat newspaper.
The paper said the banned books contain pictures of alcoholic drinks, pigs and other "indecent images".
It also says it insults Arabs and Muslims and had false historical references, such as using the word Israel instead of Palestine, either in maps or in written texts.
The ministry warned private schools to abide by its decision and required them to present a list of books to be taught to students.
HP first edition sells for £10,000 February 13, 2002
[ ananova ]
A first edition of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone has been bought at auction in London for just under £10,000.
It was bought by a private collector for nearly four times the expected price.
A first privately printed edition of Beatrix Potter's The Tale Of Peter Rabbit, from 1901, went for £5060.
A 1954 first edition of the James Bond novel Live And Let Die fetched £3910, reports the Daily Record.
[ Martyn brought up some rumors of either Harry and Hermione or Harry and Ginny going steady in the fifth book. What do you think?
May DVD release February 2, 2002
[ dark mark ] reports:
Previous reports that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone will be out in May are looking ever more likely as more disc rumours trickle out.
Nothing is confirmed but then nothing is a surprise, either: currently it is expected that the release will be a two-disc set with director's commentary.
But then you don't need a second disc for a commentary so the presumption is we'll see some deleted scenes.
BBC Text have seen the VHS; the film looks good even on the small screen.
The second disc may also include some interactive features, as several rumors have said that there will only be some fifteen minutes of deleted scenes, and that would certainly not be enough to need a second disc. Also, don't forget, an official announcement from WB is expected tomorrow - so watch out for some updates here.
Potter challenges "most borrowed" February 2, 2002
[ ananova ] reports:
JK Rowling has soared up the lending league to mount a challenge to Catherine Cookson's dominance of the library world.
Her Harry Potter book Goblet Of Fire has become the third most loaned title.
Cookson has retained her position as the UK's most borrowed author,
A year earlier Rowling's highest entry was way down at 77 in the top 100 most borrowed book list, compiled by Public Lending Right.
Cookson's The Thursday Friend and The Blind Years were the most frequently loaned titles, the list reveals.
She also takes the fourth, fifth and sixth spots.
The actual number of loans is not released by PLR - which distributes payments to authors based on the number of loans - it is believed that Rowling's top book poses a threat to Cookson's dominance.
Rowling's other books are also highly ranked with Chamber Of Secrets at eight, Philosopher's Stone at 13 and Prisoner of Azkaban at 17.
But the most loaned author continues to be Cookson, as she has been since PRL began compiling the list in 1987.
While individual Rowling titles are well loaned, she has not actually made it on to the top 20 of most loaned authors, or even the most loaned children's authors.
New Month! ... yay? February 2, 2002
[ Site Related ]
Ok, a new month, and all new updates. I'm still trying to get some more peopl to sign up for the newsletter and you can still sign up for our quidditch
team at the [ January ] page.
This site is NOT affiliated with J.K. Rowling, Mary Grand Pre, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, or any other Official Harry Potter company. It is purely a fan site.
Harry Potter's popularity has led Adelaide University to launch a course in sorcery, witchcraft and shamanism.
The Harry Potter series and George Orwell's Animal Farm are among 26 books that have been banned from schools in the United Arab Emirates.
JK Rowling has soared up the lending league to mount a challenge to Catherine Cookson's dominance of the library world.
