Warner Brothers has announced that a new trailer for the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” movie will be released on satellite on Thursday, April 16th, 9:00 pm (EDT)/6:00 pm (PDT).

Coordinates for feed are as follows:

Thursday, April 16, 2009
9:00 PM – 9:15 PM EDT (6:00 PM 6:15 PM PDT)
Galaxy 3C, Transponder 21, C-Band Analog
Downlink Frequency: 4120 H

We can’t wait to see the trailer and hear what you have to say about it!

(yes we are still alive)

Warner Brothers has released  a press release to officially announce the premiere of the international tour of  Harry Potter: the Exhibition.  It will be opening in Chicago on April 30th, 2009 at the Museum of Science and Industry:

“We are proud to present this unique exhibition, which captures the magic of Harry Potter and will give fans of all ages a front row seat to some of the most iconic artifacts and scenic elements from the beloved films,” said Brad Globe, President, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “We are pleased to debut this very special exhibit in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry.”

“Since 2000, when we began production on the adaptation of the first of Jo Rowling’s remarkable books, we have had the great privilege of working with some of the most talented artists and craftsman in the world,” said David Heyman, the producer of the Harry Potter films. “We are delighted that fans will finally have the opportunity to see, in person, some of their favorite props and costumes. We are looking forward to audiences enjoying the care, creativity and attention to detail involved in their making, just as we do each and every day on set.”

Tickets are on sale now at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s website.

(Thanks to HPANA for the “Breaking” Tip!)

UPDATE: Here is a link to the video from the announcement in Chicago. (HT: Questionswork)

The newest Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Trailer is now online! You can view it here.

Take a look and tell us what you think!!

It has been almost 6 months coming, but Judge Robert Patterson finally handed down the verdict in the JK Rowling/WB vs. Steve Vander Ark/RDR lawsuit. And the winner is…..JK Rowling. In this week’s episode, we discussed the decision, the reactions of both sides, what this means for the Harry Potter fandom as well as the future of copyright law.

We also officially announced the rules for our Beedle the Bard YouTube Contest. Please make sure to enter, we want to be able to give out the books to some worthy winners!

Finally, take a look at the Wall Street Journal Article (page 1, baby!) that mentions our Hitler Half Blood Prince Delay video. The article only portrays us as only *slightly* crazy…:)

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com. Download a free audiobook of your choice today at http://audiblepodcast.com/hp.

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments, thoughts, and suggestions!!

You can listen to the episode using the player below, or download directly as an mp3.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

After almost six months of deliberation, the verdict is finally in.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge ruled Monday in favor of “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling in her copyright infringement lawsuit against a fan and Web site operator who was set to publish a Potter encyclopedia.

U.S. District Judge Robert P. Patterson said Rowling had proven that Steven Vander Ark’s “Harry Potter Lexicon” would cause her irreparable harm as a writer. He permanently blocked publication of the reference guide and awarded Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. $6,750 in statutory damages.

There is not a lot of information about the verdict yet, but we will keep you posted as it comes in.

Now that we have the verdict and it has come back in Jo’s favor, this beckons us to ask- will Jo now have the heart to finish writing her Encyclopedia? Do the Potter fans now have a new book to look forward to?

UPDATE: while reading the opinion, I came across this tidbit:

To date, Warner Bros. has release five Harry Potter films, with the sixth scheduled for a worldwide release in November 2008.

I don’t know about you; I consider this to be a court order that Movie 6 must come out in November! Either that, or this was written a while ago.

Digg This!
Many of you have asked us our opinions on the Half Blood Prince delay. We haven’t been able to emotionally pull ourselves together enough to address this issue but we have been scouring the net for some more famous reactions to the news. We were fortunate enough to find this footage in the archives of the German Museum. We think it sums up how many fans feel pretty well:

Please feel free to share and favorite this video.

*The above video was created by us. It should not be misconstrued as mocking the horrific tragedies that befell millions under Hitler’s regime.

Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Brothers has issued a statement as a response to fans who expressed dismay about the postponement of the Half Blood Prince movie to July 2009. The press release reads as follows:

Many of you have written to me to express your disappointment in our moving Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to Summer 2009.

Please be assured that we share your love for Harry Potter and would certainly never do anything to hurt any of the films. Over the past 10 years, we have nurtured and protected each film, and the integrity of the books upon which they are based, to the best of our ability.

The decision to move Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was not taken lightly, and was never intended to upset our Harry Potter fans. We know you have built this series into what it is, and we thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm and support.

If I may offer a silver lining: there would have been a two-year gap between Half-Blood Prince and the much-anticipated first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which opens in November 2010.

So although we have to wait a little longer for Half-Blood Prince, the wait from that film until Deathly Hallows will be less than 18 months. I am sorry to have disappointed you now, but if you hold on a little longer, I believe it will be worth the wait.
Alan Horn
President, Chief Operating Officer
Warner Bros.

Fans continue to be dismayed by the actions of WB as well as the excuses given for the delay of the much anticipated movie. What are your thoughts?

Digg This Story

The Los Angeles Times is reporting about the fan reaction to the news that the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Movie will be delayed by eight months. They interviewed WB President and Chief Operating Officer, David Horn about the situation and he elaborated on the press release from yesterday. He quashed rumors that the delay is due to production difficulties:

“There is no production delay or production consideration. . . . It feels like we have an opportunity in the summer,” Horn said.

He added that he had seen the film, which is in the final production stages, and that it would “absolutely have been ready” by November. He characterized the shift as a proactive business move, not a retreat. “The question we asked is, what is best for this movie.”

He then continued to explain the following:

Warner currently is riding high with “The Dark Knight,” the Batman film that also stars Bale. The grim super-hero movie has taken in $452 million in the U.S. since its July 18 release, making it the second-highest grossing film ever.

To some degree, that success motivated Warner to shift “Half-Blood Prince,” Horn said. The film will now hit theaters the same midsummer weekend that “Dark Knight” was released this year. Horn said the young, core Potter audience would be out of school and give the film a longer theatrical life.

Horn finished the interview by letting everyone know that “We would never do anything to hurt one of the movies or the series. We love our fans.” And money.

According to marketwatch.com website, Warner Brothers has announced this afternoon that they are moving the release of “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” to July 17, 2009.

Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Brothers said this about the move:

“Our reasons for shifting ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment. Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers’ strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films–changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of. We agreed the best strategy was to move ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer.”

We will get you more info as it comes in. This is big news that will sure to disappoint many Potter fans.

UPDATE: One good thing to come out of this: I received this email from the HPEF, the minds behind Harry Potter conventions such as Prophecy, Portus and the upcoming, Azkatraz 2009:

We are in touch with movie theaters within walking distance of the Parc55, the official Azkatraz hotel, and we will definitely be having HBP viewing parties from Friday on.

The IMAX near the hotel – it’s about 3 or 4 blocks away – will not know if they will have the film in IMAX or on regular-sized screens until February or March, but we have reserved an entire theater for the showing at 00:00:01 on July 17, 2009! We are also working to schedule at least one additional showing over the weekend, and perhaps one on Tuesday as well, depending on attendee interest.

Tickets will be available when our registration system goes live in the beginning of next month, and we will have more info about cosplaying, music, and other movie-showing events at Azkatraz shortly.

Be sure to keep checking our website (http://www.hp2009.org) for all the latest updates!!

NICE!

(Hat Tip: AG, friend of DL)

This is exciting news!

    BALTIMORE, April 25 /PRNewswire/ — Becker Group, in partnership with
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, today announced it will bring worldwide
audiences “Harry Potter: The Exhibition,” a state-of-the-art exhibition
highlighting artifacts from the Warner Bros. films based on J.K. Rowling’s
beloved book series. The 10,000 square foot experience will premiere in
Spring 2009 in a major market, and will appear in ten or more cities around
the world throughout a five-year span.

“Harry Potter: The Exhibition” will include elaborate displays of
authentic costumes, props and artifacts from popular environments featured
in the films such as those from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
including the Gryffindor common room and Hagrid’s hut. During its run, the
exhibit will also be updated to include artifacts from the final
installments of the Harry Potter film series. The exhibition will be
displayed in major cultural and entertainment venues, museums and
institutions, and will be supported by a multimedia promotional effort and
advance ticket sales worldwide. Tour information, updates and ticket
availability will be posted at http://www.harrypotterexhibition.com as details
become available, or for more information, call 866-231-8328.

Well the hopes of a full settlement were apparently too much to ask for. Darn. The WSJ law blog tells us that when the courts reconvened today, the attorneys informed Judge Patterson that they had reached a settlement only on the false advertising and deceptive trade practices claims. This means only that neither J.K Rowling’s name nor her quote endorsing the online version of the Harry Potter Lexicon will appear on the cover of the book version of the Lexicon….if it is published. Also, Anthony Falzone, who’s representing RDR in the case, told the court that both parties hope to “paper a settlement” on the trademark infringement and unfair competition claims.

The crux of the courtcase; which is Copyright Infringement is still unfortunately on the table and has not been settled on.

So the case moved on…

David Hammer, the lead attorney for RDR, seemed to be most interested in establishing the point that the more creative a work is — a “fantasy” being perhaps the most creative genre of the novel — the more there’s a need for a reference guide to illuminate, for the reader, the unique (and non-existent) world the author has created. Sorensen testified that, historically, lexicons and reference works similar to Vander Ark’s have been helpful for readers seeking to gain a better understanding of such works as J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and C.S. Lewis’s “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Lexicons like Vander Ark’s, testified Sorensen, can educate a reader on etymologies, mythical references, geography (real and imagined) and the vernacular and slang used by the author. She also said that reference guides written by the authors themselves aren’t necessarily the final word on their own texts, since authors can assume too much knowledge on the part of the reader.

In her cross, Cendali returned to the plaintiffs’ legal motif in the case: The H.P. Lexicon takes too much, and does too little. Cendali pressed Sorensen on the point that the Lexicon contains little interpretive analysis. Sorensen conceded as much, but said that analysis isn’t the only value a reference guide like Vander Ark’s can provide a reader.

It should also be noted that JK Rowling and Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc. put out an official statement regarding the case:

“A fan’s affectionate enthusiasm should not obscure acts of plagiarism. The publishers knew what they were doing. The problem remains that the Lexicon takes an enormous amount of Ms. Rowling’s work and adds virtually no original commentary of its own. As we’ve said in court, it takes too much and adds too little. Authors have a duty to prevent the exploitation of their works by people who contribute nothing original, creative or interpretive.”

If you are starting to feel lost in all of this legal jargon and want the laymen’s/Harry Potter fan’s version of the events, feel free to listen to our latest podcast episode, “Harry Potter Goes to Court.” We discussed the case so far, as well as the impact that it has had on the Harry Potter Fandom.