Sixth Sense director turned down HP July 27, 2002 [ darkmark ] reports:

M Night Shyamalan says he decided not to make the film because he had already begun working on his latest movie Signs, which stars Mel GIbson.

Shyamalan says directing the Harry Potter films would have been "too long a commitment."

New HP director July 22, 2002 [ darkmark ] reports:

Mexican-born director Alfonso Cuaron will direct the third movie in the Harry Potter series.

Work on the Warner Brothers film Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban will not begin until early next year.

It means the movie will not be released until 2004, leaving Harry Potter fans with no new film in 2003.

Cuaron is best known for his recent road trip movie, Y Tu Mama Tambien.

His other works include A Little Princess in 1995, and Great Expectations in 1998.

The Prisoner Of Azkaban reunites principal members of the cast from Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone and the upcoming sequel Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets.

A Warner Bros spokesman said: "We are certain that Alfonso's gifts as a director will sustain that commitment and continue to bring the adventure and fantasy of this wonderful series to life onscreen in even more compelling ways."

Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter films, said: "I've come to love all of the cast and crew on these movies and have completely immersed myself in this amazing and intricate story."

He added: "But, as I've made the decision to step into the role of producer for the third film, I am thrilled that we have found someone as talented and inspired as Alfonso to take over the reins as director."

Cuaron made his directing debut in Mexico in 1991 with Love In The Time Of Hysteria. David Heyman and Mark Radcliffe were named as two other producers for the third Harry Potter film

Next Big Thing July 16, 2002 [ darkmark ] reports:

The young wizard and his creator, J.K. Rowling, have set new standards for children's literature — both in the number of books sold and tickets bought for the movie they inspired. But now another British fantasy writer, a different voice, is showing signs of becoming the next big thing.

"My primary responsibility is to the story, which comes to me and says, 'tell me and do the best job you can,'" says Philip Pullman, author of the trilogy His Dark Materials.

The immensely popular books consist of lengthy tales about a pair of pre-teens named Lyra and Will, whose travels and adventures have them fighting monsters and befriending strange beasts like armored bears. It is more complicated than one might expect from children's novels.

"I think that probably his books are actually better than the Harry Potter series," says 10-year-old Christopher Perry. "Magic ... everything all in one. It was fantastic. Really, really good books. Very enjoyable."

Archbishop says church could learn from July 10, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

The Archbishop of York says the Church of England could learn from the appeal and wonder of Harry Potter.

In a sermon at York Minster, Dr David Hope said both Harry Potter and the Lord Of The Rings are more spiritual than much Church of England worship.

He said the Church too often lacked the imagination to generate the wonder and mystery that was so appealing in the popular books and films.

Instead, Dr Hope said, bodies such as the Synod spent too much time on issues such as what clothes to wear in church, a reference to whether clergy should dispense with formal robes during services.

"What is the Harry Potter mania saying to us? The midnight waiting for the latest book - the lengthy queues for the box office, both for Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings," said Dr Hope.

"And not only young people, but parents and grandparents as well. It is surely the invitation into a world of wonder and mystery - an invitation where we might just have expected the Church to have been at its most fascinating, not least with respect to our worship.

"And yet so many acts of worship are evacuated precisely of that experience which they might have been expected to provide, namely something of a glimpse of the beauty, the splendour, the glory of God - the invitation into a world of wonder and mystery."

The Daily Telegraph says in a sharp criticism of the inward-looking nature of much Church debate, Dr Hope, a long-term critic of bureaucracy, warned Synod members "to beware lest we fail to discern the signs of the times because we're too busy talking about whether we're wearing the right kind of clothes in church or not".

Court rules over HP in school books July 7, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

JK Rowling has failed to prevent Harry Potter appearing in German school books.

She had tried to get an injunction against a publisher which was using sketches and Potter-related texts.

The Muelheim publishing house told a court in Berlin the injunction would make lessons more boring.

Muelheim publisher Wilfried Stascheit said everybody in the publishing house breathed a sigh of relief following the court's verdict.

He claimed if Rowling and the giant Time Warner group, backers of the lawsuit, had won the rights to an injunction no more lessons on modern authors could be taught.

Fake Potter book takes China by storm July 6, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

A fake Harry Potter book portraying the young wizard as a fat, hairy dwarf is said to be taking China by storm.

Harry Potter and Leopard walk up to Dragon, is selling in Beijing street markets for about £1.

The book has Potter stripped of his magic powers as he battles the forces of evil in the shape of a dragon.

JK Rowling's name appears on the cover, but the book isn't written in the style readers know.

The Times reports Rowling's agency is investigating the book.

Characters from the real Potter books have been resurrected and new ones invented.

Neil Blair, of the Christopher Little Literary Agency which represents Ms Rowling, said: "As with all piracy matters throughout the world, we take this issue extremely seriously and are looking into the matter urgently."

The People's Publishing House, holder of the Chinese copyright, says the rogue writer had also used the names of its translators and editors as well as a photograph of JK Rowling.

The book begins: "Harry doesn't know how long it will take to wash the sticky cream cake off his face. For a civilised young man it is disgusting to have dirt on any part of his body. He lies in the high-quality china bathtub, keeps wiping his face, and thinks about Dali's face, which is as fat as the bottom of Aunt Penny."

Two years ago Chinese publication of the first three Potter books was brought forward to combat bootleggers.

Harry P study guide in planning July 2, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

An American publishing company is planning to release a study guide to Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone.

SparkNotes is publishing a "cheat sheet" for Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, as it is called in America.

They usually publish books about classic fiction such as Shakespeare or Dickens.

The books are boiled-down versions of the original that students can read as a supplement or substitute.

They will explain to those too lazy to read the originals that Professor Quirrell is spouting Machiavelli and Voldemort is right out of Nietzsche, reports www.nytimes.com.

New Month! Woohoo! July 1, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Ok, it's a new month! Yay! Be prepared for ... oh, what's this you say? More of the same thing?! That's crazy! More of the same high quality news, games, message boards, among others?! That--- that's just plain weird.

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