Courtesy : The Leaky Cauldron.

Holidays wind to a close, Nimbus - 2003 around the corner
Did you get everything you wanted? In other words, did you get a ticket for Nimbus - 2003 (A Harry Potter symposium) for Christmas? Well, if "Santa" didn't come through for you, you can come through for yourself! Even if you haven't registered for Nimbus itself, yet, you can make your hotel reservation by following the link from the Nimbus - 2003 website. The symposium's block of rooms at the Swan is limited , so make sure you get your room at the low rate of $139 per night while they are[...]
 

^O^David Thewlis in Harry Potter 3? ^O^
The pop culture newsletter popbitch is reporting that David Thewlis has landed a starring role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The role was not specified but if the part is indeed "starring" he's probably been cast as either Professor Remus Lupin or Sirius Black. Keep in mind that this is purely rumor and speculation and it's highly possible he has not been cast at all.

Courtesy: HPANA

^O^An exclusive interview with Ron and Ginny... ^O^
I was lucky enough to get from Sorrel Lucent Editor-in-Chief of READING an exclusive interview with Ron and Ginny. This is what she told me about the interview: "I had hoped to speak to Ms. Rowling at the awards dinner. When I heard that she had asked Ron and Ginny to represent her, I asked to speak with them. Both Ms. Rowling and Professor Dumbledore gave permission and approved the questions and the final draft." And here it is an exclusive interview with Ginny and Ron as will be seen in the[...]
December 13, 2002 at 9:25 PM; TheSnitch.co.uk

Courtesy: The HPANA

^O^Granger to Speak at Nimbus - 2003 ^O^
Lecturer John Granger, that is. John Granger, author of the newly published The Hidden Key to Harry Potter, will be one of the featured speakers at Nimbus - 2003, the first international Harry Potter symposium, scheduled for July 17 - 20, 2003 at the Swan Hotel at Walt Disney World. Mr. Granger's book, based on his lectures of the same title, details the "Harry Potter" series in terms of the alchemy and mysticism that he believes form its foundation. His examination is thorough and often[...]
December 13, 2002 at 1:31 PM; The Leaky Cauldron

Courtesy: The HPANA

^O^PoA Casting News ^O^
Counting down is reporting that David Thewlis has landed a "starring" role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The site speculates that though the specific role is not mentioned, it will either be Remus Lupin or Sirius Black. Click the link for more. Keep in mind that as I said, this is speculation, rumor, and conjecture...nothing has been publicly confirmed, as of yet.
December 13, 2002 at 1:17 AM; iharrypotter.net

Courtesy: The HPANA

 

^O^Collector buys clues to book five for $45K ^O^
The unidentified American collector paid £28,680, that is US$45,314, for the card, handwritten by author J.K. Rowling as a charity fund-raiser. The money will be used by Book Aid to buy more than 18,500 books for schools in Africa. Whether the buyer chooses to keep the contents secret remains to be seen.
December 12, 2002 at 5:01 PM; The Hogwarts Wire

Courtesy: The HPANA

 

Leak: Ian McKellen to play Dumbledore
Sir Ian McKellen, who plays Gandalf in Lord Of The Rings films, is set to take over from the late Richard Harrisas Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter. The shock casting may put the actor up against himself in both fantasy adventure box office rivals. The news that Sir Ian is taking over the role of Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore from Harris, who died in October, has come as a bombshell to senior cast and crew members

Courtest: HPANA

News Roundup, Dec. 27: Ian McKellen To Play Dumbledore in 'Harry Potter'
Give that wizard a wand! Ian McKellen, currently starring as the great wizard Gandalf the White in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, will reportedly don the robes, wear the long, white beard and revisit his wise, ole wizardry ways--this time as Professor Dumbledore in the next Harry Potter installment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
 

 

Dumbledore rumors

There are various rumors about today that WB wants to use old footage of Richard Harris to manipulate his appearance in PoA, a la Nancy Marchand's posthumous appearance in The Sopranos. We're working on confirmation and are fairly sure this is complete and total bunk, but I want to state for the record anyway that it would be a horrible, horrible, terrible beyond compare, idea. It was offensive and ridiculous in The Sopranos - faking an actor's appearance in Harry Potter would be inexcusable. Anyway, we'd all be shocked if there is even a kernel of truth in these reports, but you never know.

Added - thanks Adam, for taking the time to type up the article from The Sun which is spreading this around - the disgusting headline ("Dumbledore to Rise from Dead") says it all:

"Harry Potter movie star Richard Harris is set to return as headmaster Dumbledore from beyond the grave. Producers of the third Harry Potter film hope to use unseen footage of Harris, who died of cancer in october. Computer wizardry will then map his face over shots of Harry Robinson - his stand in for the first two films. One insider said: "Many hours of footage are currently being scanned to see if the process is viable." The Potter cast start filming the new movie (POA), early next year. Robinson 72, is tipped to eventually take over the role of dumbledore."