Tag: Harry Potter

  • Emma Watson wanted to leave ‘Harry Potter’ franchise

    By IANS

    MUMBAI: Actress Emma Watson, who played the part of Hermione Granger in the ‘Harry Potter’ films, once considered leaving the franchise, reports Entertainment Weekly.Emma with her co-stars from the franchise appeared on ‘Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts’ special, where she opened up about going through a stressful time.Emma said, “I did find a diary entry that was kind of like. I could see that at times I was lonely.” Later in the special, she mentions, “The fame thing had finally hit home in a big way.”Director David Yates said that when he came on to direct the remaining Harry Potter films starting with 2007’s ‘Order of the Phoenix’, producer David Heyman and Warner Bros told him, “Emma is not sure she wants to come back to do another Potter.”Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the film franchise said, “People definitely forget what she took on and how gracefully she did it. Dan (Radcliffe) and Rupert (Grint), had each other. I had my cronies, whereas Emma was not only younger, she was by herself.”However, nobody had to convince her to stick with the franchise till the end as Emma said, “The fans genuinely wanted me to succeed and all genuinely have each other’s backs.”

  • Harry Potter 20th Anniv: Harry, Ron & Hermione reunite

    By Express News Service

    Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermoine Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley) sat down for Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.

    Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is scheduled to premiere on January 1, 2022, on HBO Max. In a run-up to the release, the streaming service released a first look picture from the reunion. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermoine Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley) are back in a room that looks similar to Gryffindor’s common room. 

    All three looked excited to be there and this reunion will be an emotional and nostalgic journey for Potterheads. The celebratory reunion is executive produced by Casey Patterson of Casey Patterson Entertainment and UK-based Pulse Films.

    The retrospective special will also include Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley), Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasly), Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), and Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), 

    Harry Potter is an eight installment movie series based on JK Rowling’s series of the same name. The first film, Philosopher’s Stone, released on April 12, 2002, and the first book on June 26, 1997.

  • Helen Mirren to host ‘Harry Potter’ competition series for WarnerMedia

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Veteran actor Helen Mirren is set to host a four-part ‘Harry Potter’ wizarding world competition series in celebration of the 20th anniversary of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’.

    As per Variety, the event, officially titled ‘Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses’, will put superfans of the beloved book and film series to the test as they use their knowledge to compete for the coveted House Cup.

    The special will feature hundreds of ‘Harry Potter’ trivia questions and include a few special guest appearances. Although a date for the event has yet to be announced, it will be simulcast on Cartoon Network’s ACME Night and TBS and will then be available to stream on HBO Max.

    “I knew someday I’d get a ‘Harry Potter’ role, and I’m so pleased to take part in the 20-year film celebration,” Mirren said in a statement.

    “The films inspired such enchantment and wonder for so many of us, and it will be such a treat to reignite that magic for the countless fans who continue to revel in this spellbinding world,” Mirren added.

    The special is set to film this month and will premiere later this year. ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ debuted in theatres on November 14, 2001.

    ‘Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses’ is being produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, in association with Warner Horizon and Robin Ashbrook and Yasmin Shackleton of the old school.

  • ‘Peaky Blinders’, ‘Harry Potter’ actress Helen McCrory dies of cancer at 52

    By Associated Press
    British actor Helen McCrory, who starred in the television show “Peaky Blinders” and the “Harry Potter” movies, has died, her husband said Friday. She was 52 and had been suffering from cancer.

    Her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, said McCrory died “peacefully at home” after a “heroic battle with cancer.”

    “She died as she lived. Fearlessly,” Lewis wrote on Twitter. “God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.”

    pic.twitter.com/gSx8ib9PY9
    — Damian Lewis (@lewis_damian) April 16, 2021

    McCrory was one of Britain’s most respected actors, making her mark by playing a succession of formidable and sometimes fearsome women.

    She played the matriarch of a crime family on ”Peaky Blinders” and the scheming Voldemort ally Narcissa Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” movies.

    Cillian Murphy, who plays the central role of gangland boss Tommy Shelby in “Peaky Blinders,” set in the early 20th-century English underworld, said he was “broken-hearted to lose such a dear friend.”

    “Helen was a beautiful, caring, funny, compassionate human being,” he said in a statement. “She was also a gifted actor — fearless and magnificent.

    “She elevated and made humane every scene, every character she played,” Murphy said. “It was a privilege to have worked with this brilliant woman, to have shared so many laughs over the years. I will dearly miss my pal. My love and thoughts are with Damian and her family.”

    McCrory also starred as a human rights lawyer dragged into international intrigue in the TV thriller “Fearless,” played lawyer Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in the 2006 movie “The Queen,” and had roles in Martin Scorsese’s film “Hugo” and the James Bond thriller “Skyfall.”

    Actor Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair in “The Queen,” said McCrory was “so funny, so passionate, so smart and one of the greatest actors of our time.”

    “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling tweeted that she was “devastated to learn of the death of Helen McCrory, an extraordinary actress and a wonderful woman who’s left us far too soon.”

    I’m devastated to learn of the death of Helen McCrory, an extraordinary actress and a wonderful woman who’s left us far too soon. My deepest condolences to her family, especially her husband and children. Simply heartbreaking news.
    — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 16, 2021

    Onstage, McCrory’s roles included the vengeful Greek heroine “Medea” at the National Theatre in 2014. At the same theater, she excelled as a woman caught between a dull husband and a feckless lover in Terence Rattigan’s “The Deep Blue Sea” in 2016.

    While many performers struggle to find meaty female roles in film and television, McCrory played a string of them.

    “Having said that, there are a lot of things I turn down,” she told The Associated Press in 2016, describing the sort of roles where “all your lines are ‘But what did you do at work?’ ‘That’s so clever, darling.′ ‘How did you do that?’ ‘And then what did you do?’”

    “Of course, there’s so much sexism within the profession,” McCrory said. “But I think you approach it in different ways, and my approach is just to forge forward.”

    Others remembered McCrory for her charity work, including on FeedNHS, a campaign to provide meals for frontline health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

    “Helen McCrory will be remembered not just for her remarkable stage and screen performances, but also for her selflessness and generosity,” comedian Matt Lucas tweeted. “She and Damian were the motor driving FeedNHS, working tirelessly during the pandemic to raise millions for others. What a tremendous loss.”

    McCrory and Lewis, star of the TV series “Homeland” and “Billions,” married in 2007 and had two children.

  • Actor Tom Felton shares throwback picture with Harry Potter co-stars

    By ANI
    WASHINGTON: ‘Harry Potter’ star Tom Felton took fans down the nostalgic lane by posting a time-turner-worthy photo of some of his cast-mates from the blockbuster Hollywood franchise.

    Felton took to his Instagram handle and shared a throwback photo, featuring him, Emma Watson, and Alfred Enoch sitting together around a table, seemingly doing some schoolwork during a break from shooting.

    He captioned the post as, “#tbt,” along with lion and snake emoji representing the characters’ Hogwarts houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin. He tagged both Watson and Enoch, in the post.

    #tbt pic.twitter.com/kGZEDleQL3
    — Tom Felton (@TomFelton) March 4, 2021

    Felton played Slytherin Draco Malfoy in the beloved series, while Watson and Enoch played Hermione Granger and Dean Thomas, respectively, who were both in Gryffindor with the titular Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe).

    As per People magazine, in December, last year, Felton watched ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’, for the first time in about 20 years and took fans along for the ride in an Instagram Live session. 

  • Warner Bros denies reports of Harry Potter series in development at HBO Max

    By Express News Service
    Warner Bros and HBO Max have denied reports of a Harry Potter series in early development at the streaming platform.

    Earlier, multiple media reports stated that a spin-off is in early development.

    However, Warner Bros have released a statement denying the reports. “There are no ‘Harry Potter’ series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” read the statement.

    The Harry Potter is one of the most popular movie franchises and book series. The seven-book series from J K Rowling sold over 500 million copies worldwide and the immense popularity of the potter-world led to the eight-film franchise, which grossed over $8 billion worldwide.

    Post the 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, two more films were released as a part of the Fantastic Beasts film series that stands as a prequel to the earlier Harry Potter films. The third of the five planned films in the Fantastic Beasts series is scheduled to be out by 2022.