Harry Potter 3 'to have new director' May 28, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Chris Columbus has reportedly told Warner Brothers he doesn't want to direct any more Potter films after the second one.

According to www.variety.com, Alfonso Cuaron has been sent a copy of the script for Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban.

The trade paper claims he has been talking to the film's producers about his ideas for the film.

The second Harry Potter film, Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets, is due to be released in the UK in November.

About A Boy star could have been HP May 28, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

About A Boy's Nicholas Hoult has revealed he auditioned for the role of Harry Potter.

Hoult says he tried out for the lead role in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, but he didn't get it.

He plays Marcus opposite Hugh Grant in About A Boy.

"I think the boy they chose was actually quite good," he tells www.suntimes.com.

"But I prefer Lord Of The Rings to Harry. I saw Rings three times."

Coltrane enjoys working on Potter film May 26, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Robbie Coltrane says working on the second Harry Potter film has been like going back to school.

Coltrane will reprise his role as Reubus Hagrid in Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets which is due to be released in the UK later in the year.

He says he's enjoyed working with the film's young actors again.

"It's been like going back to school. My wife was giving me the 'Well, have a good time, it'll be so nice to see your little friends again.'

"You know, like my mother used to," he tells www.canoe.ca.

Book 5 won't be out until 2003 May 23, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Harry Potter fans will have to wait until next year for the new book, it has been confirmed.

Publisher Bloomsbury had hoped the fifth instalment of the children's series would be out this autumn.

But it has confirmed JK Rowling will not complete Harry Potter And The Order Of Phoenix until 2003.

Bloomsbury has denied reports the author is suffering from writer's block.

The Harry Potter series is estimated to account for around half Bloomsbury's sales and profits for the past three years, reports the London Evening Standard.

Harry Potter makes UK video history May 13, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has become the most successful UK video and DVD release of all time.

Warner Home Video say more than 1.25 million copies were sold on Saturday, its first day of its release.

The previous record was held by the film Titanic, which achieved 1.1 million sales in 1997.

Neil McEwan, managing director of Warner Home Video said: "We are delighted that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has officially become the fastest selling video ever in UK history, ahead of the current record holder Titanic.

"The demand for this video has been unprecedented and the results have exceeded all our expectations."

The company shipped five million copies of the hit film to stores across Britain after anticipating a massive demand when it went on sale at midnight on Friday.

Tens of thousands of fans have already ordered their copy of the hit film over the internet, with online retailer Amazon.co.uk taking a record 36,000 pre-orders.

Harry Potter Author Misses Deadline May 6, 2002 [ People.com ] reports:

Attention, J.K. Rowling: Your fans are waiting. And waiting. After quickly turning out four Harry Potter books -- one per year since July 2000 -- the usually prolific author is months late in wrapping up her fifth entry into the sensational series, reports The New York Times. How late? It apparently will not be ready for its scheduled July 2002 publication.

The only word about the book, to be called "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," says The Times, is that its American publisher, Scholastic, has told its stockholders (as well as hungry young readers) that it expects to publish it some time before June 2003. This means it will come well after this fall's movie premiere of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," the sequel to the last year's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

"Clearly we understand that her readers are eagerly waiting for it but you can't hurry the creative juices, and we understand that," Scholastic spokeswoman Judy Corman told The Times. "She is writing. She is working hard on the book. We will be happy when we get it." The Times reports that once Rowling, 36, turns in her manuscript, it will be another four or five months before the finished books hit stores. As The Times also notes, the phenomenal success of Harry Potter (Scholastic alone has sold 67 million copies of the first four novels, and that doesn't include international editions) has changed the life of the Scottish writer, who was a single mom on public assistance while she was writing the first Harry Potter book and is now one of Britain's most wealthy people.

Last Dec. 26, after a record-setting $90 million opening weekend of the first "Harry Potter" movie (that record was only broken this weekend, with the $114 million opening of "Spider-Man"), Rowling married Dr. Neil Murray, an anesthesiologist, but their honeymoon was brief. They both needed to get back to work.

Zoe Wanamaker would 'have loved' to be in Harry Potter 2 May 1, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Zoe Wanamaker has denied reports saying she didn't want to be in the new Harry Potter film.

Wanamaker played Madam Hooch in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, but will not be in the new film.

She spoke out against the amount of money some of the actors were paid.

Now Wanamaker says she would happily have reprised her role in Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets.

"I would have loved to do it again," she tells the Daily Express. "But they didn't ask me."

HP nominated for sci-fi awards May 1, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone and the Lord Of The Rings have been nominated for sci-fi awards.

Harry Potter received nine nominations from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

The Fellowship Of The Ring got eight.

Both films are nominated in the Best Fantasy Film category along with Monsters Inc, The Mummy Returns, Shrek and Spy Kids.

Robbie Coltrane and Ian McKellen are both nominated in the Best Supporting Actor categories.

The winners will be announced in June.

>

Fans await Harry Potter on video May 1, 2002 [ ananova ] reports:

Harry Potter mania is gripping the nation once again as fans eagerly await the release of the movie on video and DVD.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is on course to break records when it is released on May 11.

Stores have already taken thousands of pre-orders and been swamped by callers wanting to know when they can get their hands on the video and DVD.

Experts predict it could be the biggest selling video ever released in this country, beating even the hugely popular Titanic.

HMV is planning to open its flagship Oxford Street store at midnight on May 11 to cope with the demand.

A spokesman said: "We have been receiving an awful lot of enquiries from customers all around the UK from people trying to find out when it's coming out."

Tesco, which is taking orders online, received a record 2,800 calls last week from people wanting to bag their copy of the film, and pre-orders are outstripping sales of current best-seller What Women Want by 200 to 1.

The supermarket chain is putting the film on sale from midnight at its 24-hour stores on the day of release.

Meanwhile fans are already preparing for the release of the fifth book in the boy wizard saga, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is not out until the summer but bookshops have been inundated with requests from people eager to be the first to own a copy.

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