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Harry Potter

crime

Harry Potter Actor Murdered in London Top

"Rob Knox, 18, was stabbed after he got caught up in a fight outside a bar in southwest London early Saturday, London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Knox plays Ravenclaw student Marcus Belby in the upcoming film 'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince,' the sixth installment of the popular series set for release in November." [AP] Very sad news video after the jump. More »

Muggle Law Harry Potter authoress JK Rowling keeps suing people! Her latest bit of litigiousness was a dispute about a long-lens photograph of her son, which she wanted banned from any further publication. The suit was originally dismissed, but she just won on an appeal. Next up: those filthy mudbloods.

Harry Potter Author Sorry She Made Muggle Cry "'I never ever once wanted to stop Mr. Vander Ark from doing his own guide — never ever,' she said as she took the stand for the second time in the three-day trial, as the last rebuttal witness. 'Do your book, but please, change it so it does not take as much of my work.'" [Times]

Good Lad Rupert Grint, in my estimation the real dreamboat of the Harry Potter movies, says he won't move to Los Angeles because of all the mental girls there. Well, two in particular. On bedraggled cocaine enthusiast Lindsay Lohan: "I met Lindsay last summer and she talked about herself a lot. She said she was going to win an Oscar before she turns 25. I just kept thinking, 'But you can't act'." Hah! On wan puddle of Alfredo sauce Paris HIlton: "I haven't met Paris and don't want to either. She and Lindsay are the type of girls you need to stay away from." Hah again! Mrs. Weasley would be so proud. [Showbiz Spy]

Harry Potter Lexicographer Sobs, Times Pokes Fun "The librarian, Steven Jan Vander Ark, had the mild-mannered demeanor of Ron Weasley, and the intelligence, charm — and haircut — of Harry Potter. Even his name sounds like that of a character in one of the books, if preceded by 'Lord' or 'Master.'" You should talk, Anemona Hartocollis! [Times]

j.k. rowling

Harry Potter And The Supernatural Courtroom

How does J.K. Rowling do this to people? The beloved author convinced an American court to hear her complaints of factual errors about an imaginary world, in a proposed encyclopedia of her Harry Potter series. Then, testifying in New York yesterday, she somehow got her attorney to apologize for uttering the words "Lord Voldemort" in court, since the Potter character is "he who must not be named," you see. "Forgive me for speaking the name," said the attorney, Dale Cendali. More »

the theatre

The Sorcerer's Stones

Alohomora! Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe's naked bits, on stage in Peter Shaffer's Equus ( a great play for youngsters), will be coming to you in September! Broadway previews begin on the 5th. There will only be twenty-two weeks of the ten minute nude scene, so there's probably some math to be done there about something or other. Oh and there's also something about this being one of the best plays of the 20th century blah blah. I'm sorry I can't really think right now. [People] (Please also give this a better headline.)

open caption

"So How'd You Do It?" "Well, I Used My Thumb and Index Finger Like This."

["Gossip Girl" stars Jessica Szohr and Blake Lively on the New York set yesterday; image via INF. And yes, I know I am a dork.] More »

nerd alert

This Is What Happens When Kids Are Encouraged To Read

College students at 65 separate institutions are actively play Quidditch, the fictional game J. K. Rowling invented for the fictional character Harry Potter. As one Middlebury student says in this clip from CBS News, "when you put this broom between your legs, you really are flying." Ok, dude. Excelsior! If Harry Potter is the only thing that can save publishing, then maybe the industry deserves to die.

books

Don't Try to Cash in On JK Rowling's Hard Work, OK?

The British author of the Harry Potter series will appear in court in an attempt to stop American publisher RDR books from publishing an "encyclopedia" of the literary wizard-world she created for Harry Potter. We agree, that is obnoxious of them, especially since she was planning on creating a similar guide herself. [Times Online]

things we actually like

The Deserving Winners Of The YouTube Awards

This year's YouTube awards were better allotted than the Oscars, with one winner that actually made me cry. As with feature films, they're better than the biggest box office hits. Apparently the trick to finding good YouTube clips is to wait a year. Five particularly worthy clips are below. More »

tilda swinton

Tilda Hates Children

Oh dear. Tilda Swinton, that actress we adore, has now got one notch against her. Well, let's say a half a notch, because her argument is sound. She recently said in an interview that she does not like the Harry Potter movies and would never appear in one because she's "loath to say anything good about going to boarding school." Hmm. We (or at least I) love Harry Potter, but similarly are not sure how we feel about boarding school. Plus she's probably got some long intellectual theory (or painful childhood experience) all about it, so yes, just a half point from Swinton house. [Showbiz Spy]

The internets are abuzz over Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling's revelation that Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore had a bad case of teh gays, and that his early love affair with golden boy turned dark wizard Grindelwald was his "great tragedy." "I don't disbelieve her—I just don't buy that Dumbledore, as written from Day One, was always conceived as a gay character," writes a nerd textualist. "Children who love the Harry Potter series character Dumbledore now may be less inclined to oppose homosexuality, or see it as an important moral issue," right wing loons fear. The sentiment around these parts is more along the lines of: "It's the time and the season for beardom."

gryffinwhore

Do We Want To Live In A World Where J. K. Rowling Has Wardrobe Malfunctions?

Oh noooo. Harry Potter author and revered nice person jillionaire J. K. Rowling's dress slid down during a reading, revealing a chaste white brassiere and the best Brit-cougar cleave this side of Helen Mirren, but we feel terrible—terrible!—for pointing this out. Also for opening the door to what are sure to be the worst puns ever made.

"A YouGov poll has found that almost 10% of Britons aspire to being an author, followed by sports personality, pilot, astronaut and event organiser on the list of most coveted jobs. More women than men yearn to write, while those aged between 35 and 50, and those over 50 were most likely to dream about getting published." Thank you very much, J.K. Rowling. Now instead of the traditional habits of soccer violence and videotaping couples screwing in cars that we've come to expect from the British, we can look forward to a deluge of sub-standard Harry Potter rehashes. [Guardian]

"The ambiguous ending of the last Harry Potter book has forced bookie William Hill to pay out on thousands of bets on the fate of the boy wizard." [Guardian]

forgeries

"Harry Potter And Leopard-Walk-Up-to-Dragon"

The streets of Beijing are paved not with gold, or even yuan, but with a flood of fake Harry Potter books:

No one can say with any certainty what the full tally is, but there are easily a dozen unauthorized Harry Potter titles on the market here already, and that is counting only bound versions that are sold on street corners and can even be found in school libraries. Still more versions exist online.

More »

We'll keep saying it until you listen: You should be reading "Achewood" every day. Also, this would be a much better series than Harry Potter. [Achewood]