[NOTD] News Of The Day - 14/07/2007

POSTED: 11:58 am PDT July 12, 2007

UPDATED: 12:36 pm PDT July 12, 2007

In the theater sat a wide range of fans that represented a cross section of Bakersfield culture. Old and young fans attended the film, including book lovers, and all the members of local band Aural Attack.

"I love the movies. I just can't get through the books," claimed one fan caught in the mystery of what would happen to Harry Potter in the latest episode.

Harry Potter's life has become one big nightmare that's portrayed with dark glimpses of Harry's tormentor, Voldemort.

For Potter and company, completely gone are the days of holidays at Hogwarts. There's no more colorful and glittering themes of dcor, no more bright rooms filled with innocent youthful Christmas cheer and Halloween goodness.

Both Hogwarts and Harry Potter films, for that matter, have become stormy in color, theme and dialogue.

In fact, most of the color within "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is shone through the bright pink clothing layers of Ministry Official Dolores Umbridge. Her lot in life, at least during this film, is to manipulate and take over Hogwarts as well as the minds of its students.

Source: KERO TV, Bakersfield

Imelda Staunton's portrayal is as magical as the movie. There's really a strange 1950s style wardrobe and deadpan acting, as if she stepped out of an episode of "Leave it to Beaver" into a nightmarish gray castle.

Along with the Weasely brother's constant magic tricks, the character of Umbridge is comic relief. Her dapper cotton candy persona provides a repulsive bright spot throughout the dark film.

Fans definitely will hate her, but love that Harry Potter and friends have someone to be so angry about besides Voldemort.

The rest of the film is filled with shadows. Even Hermione appears as shades of her former self in past films, transitioning into an adult worry wart—excuse the Hogwarts pun.

No matter how strange Harry Potter films get, you can't ignore that fans adore the Harry Potter books and movies.

The film is yet another in the series that is a coming of age Harry Potter film. It's filled with glimpses of young adults grappling with the demons of authority, acceptance, and temptation. Moviegoers who want to see hot sparks between characters will only see the occasional flicker.

Hermione and Ron Weasley glanced at one another so often through the film that expectations build for them to have an on-screen kiss. In the end film-goers get Harry Potter's rather comical and unbelievable kiss with another Hogwarts student. Only book readers can possibly understand Harry Potter's inward dilemma there. Other moviegoers will simply see a stumbling, bumbling first-time make-out session.

Yet, the real teases of the film weren't about failed movie romance.

In all of the movie's darkness lies a grandeur that could have been explored further: the Ministry and its many catacombs were a strangely magical urban scene. Yet, there was only a glimpse.

Dolores Umbridge's office has a mystique where a bit more cinematic exploration could have alleviated many curiosities into her lavish life.

Even Harry Potter's nightmares were mere glimpses into his inner turmoil. Most of his moments were angry, bitter and contained a biting dialogue that stabbed at the unfairness of being who he simply is: Harry Potter, a boy transitioning to a man with dark secrets that he doesn't completely understand.

Though, angry, dark, stormy and containing rapid-fire dialogue, the triumph of the film really is in characters like Harry Potter made believable through popular books.

Sure, there were beautiful dark sets and animation, and a wardrobe fit for the sloppy kind of academy most private school kids probably dream of attending. Yet movie magic is made when seeing the continuation of the on-screen realization and adaptation of the most popular characters ever imagined.

Throughout the canny construction of 'Brand Potter' - books, films, video games, and now even stamps - one figure has been ever present, like a shadow glimpsed in the cloisters of Hogwarts school. < = =text/> Little has masterminded Rowling's career, from the moment he spotted the potential of her first manuscript to this week's publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which guarantees him yet another jackpot. Amazon, the online retailer, has already sold a record 1.8 million advance copies. Rowling's publisher, Bloomsbury, held a ballot for the launch at the Natural History Museum, which drew applications from 90,000 children. The first 500 names out of the hat will hear Rowling read from the new book at midnight - webcast live around the world - while a further 1,200 will receive signed copies. Simultaneously, 279 branches of Waterstone's will open their doors, and there will be numerous other launch parties at independent bookshops up and down the country. This week the Royal Mail is issuing a commemorative set of Harry Potter stamps. Little, a 65-year-old grandfather, has been content to remain behind the scenes, rarely speaking in public and seldom photographed. But when he first signed up Rowling, he reportedly struck a deal under his usual terms: 15 per cent of gross earnings for the UK market and 20 per cent for merchandising rights, for film, for the US market and for translation deals. With the author's fortune now standing at more than 540m, Little's return has to be estimated as at least 50m. 'He was the luckiest agent ever - when something like that falls in your lap it is luck, but he made the most of it,' said Ed Victor, a leading literary agent. 'He has run the brand admirably. He had to build up an organisation to defend and promote and advance his author's rights and it's all been done very tastefully. He's a charming and affable fellow, but made of steel underneath.' The son of a coroner who served as a First World War fighter pilot, Little grew up in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, and gained five O-levels at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield, only to leave during the sixth form to join his uncle's textile business in 1958. The fledgling entrepreneur had impressed his headteacher, EJ Baggaley, who wrote: 'My impression is that he is well suited for a business career - sales management, for instance.' He spent most of the Sixties and Seventies in the shipping industry in Hong Kong before returning to London to set up a recruitment consultancy called City Boys. His switch to the literary world happened by accident in 1979. A schoolfriend and fellow Hong Kong trader, Philip Nicholson, had written a thriller and was seeking representation. Little agreed to take him on and the book, Man on Fire, was published under the pseudonym AJ Quinnell. It went on to sell 7.5 million copies worldwide and become a Hollywood film. In his only press interview, in 2003, Little recalled: 'The literary agency was really a hobby which started through an accident. I was helping an old friend in his writing career. I had been running as a full-time business for about six years when Harry Potter arrived.' The agency, run in 'cramped' and 'near-Dickensian' offices in Fulham, south-west London, was cash-strapped until touched by Potter's magic wand. Literary folklore has it that Rowling, then a penniless 29-year-old single mother, walked into a public library in Edinburgh, looked up a list of literary agents and settled on the name Christopher Little because it sounded like a character from a children's book. Bryony Evens, his office manager at the time, has said that it went straight into the reject basket because 'Christopher felt that children's books did not make money'. But its unusual black binding caught her eye, prompting her to read the synopsis and show it to Little. He recalled: 'I wrote back to JK Rowling within four days of receiving the manuscript. I thought there was something really special there, although we could never have guessed what would happen to it.' He managed to sell it to Bloomsbury for 2,500, but later reaped huge rewards from international rights and has won a reputation as a brilliant deal-maker who puts Rowling first. According to those who know him, the 6ft 3in Little, divorced with two sons, is unchanged by his wealth and a breed apart from the flamboyant agents and literati who frequent West End restaurants. But he reportedly spent 250,000 on his 60th birthday party at the Chelsea Physic Garden and has admitted: 'I do love sailing, but I rent the boats when I want them - it does save a lot of hassle.' Ian Chapman, chief executive of Simon & Schuster and a friend of Little for 20 years, said: 'He's very Yorkshire, very northern, very honest and ... still the same simple fellow he's always been.' The Deathly Hallows: a sneak preview In a trailer for the forthcoming ITV documentary, A Year in the Life... J K Rowling, the camera lingers long enough on a printed manuscript of the novel, dated 23 October 2006, to make the opening visible to the eagle eyed. It reads: 'Chapter One. The Dark Lord Ascending. The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few yards apart in the narrow, moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands pointing at each other's chests: then, recognising each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and set off, side by side, in the same direction. "News?", asked the taller of the two.

"The best," replied Snape.'

Source: The Guardian, UK

Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic

Garage Bands Take Harry to Heart

Release Date: July 14th, 2007

This weekend, film music legend John Williams made his annual pilgrimage to the Hollywood Bowl, to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a live concert celebrating "John Williams: Maestro of the Movies". But while the title indicates that Williams is the focus of the concert (and he certainly was, for the thousands of fans in attendance), the first half of the concert was dedicated to the Golden Age of film scoring, with many of Williams' favorite pieces performed live.

Beginning with "The Star-Spangled Banner", the concert immediately went into Miklos Rozsa's "March of the Charioteers" from Ben-Hur and then Erich Wolfgang Korngold's The Adventures of Robin Hood. The performance of the Rozsa piece was a little slower than it should have been performed, giving it a more laid-back, passive pace when it should have been tight and engaging. The Robin Hood piece, though, was a real pleasure to hear performed live. Williams then introduced the love scene from Vertigo, composed by Bernard Herrmann - whom Williams had played piano for on "The Twilight Zone" back in the late 1950s. The piece was quite good, and always lovely to hear - even though it seems to make an appearance at most of Williams' concerts in the past few years.

Another piece that is a staple of Williams' concert repertoire is Now, Voyager, by Max Steiner. The violin solo was performed effortlessly and exquisitely by Bing Wang, who has made frequent appearances with Williams at his concerts in Los Angeles. The last segment before the intermission was a tribute to the films of David Lean - particularly, suites from Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, both composed by Maurice Jarre. They were performed to video montages that were made possible by Williams' agent Mike Gorfaine working out a deal with Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures, and edited together by Susie Dangle of WGBH/Boston. Musically the suites were well compiled, and flowed relatively nicely, with only a few awkward transitions. They matched the imagery relatively well, but spoilers beware - the ending of Dr. Zhivago was shown! Yikes!

After intermission, it was an all-Williams concert, with almost no surprises. After playing the "March" and "Love Theme" from Superman, Williams brought three exceptionally talented soloists on stage: Alan Estes (vibes), Mike Valerio (bass) and Dan Higgins (sax) to perform music from Catch Me If You Can. All three had performed on the original soundtrack, and watching them perform music from this jazzy score was truly the highlight of the evening.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is now in theaters, and that means that it's time for Williams to play the same pieces he's been playing for the past few years: "Chamber of Secrets" is a mlange of dark cues from the second Harry Potter film, "Aunt Marge's Waltz" is the playful piece from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and "Harry's Wondrous World" is the big suite that he plays from the first film. All three pieces were played to picture (which included footage from Goblet of Fire, which Williams didn't score), once again compiled by Susie Dangle.

The concert ended with the concert version of "The Throne Room and End Titles" from Star Wars, much to the delight of the fans - a number of whom whipped out their toy lightsabers to conduct along with Williams. For encores, Williams graced the crowd with four pieces: "The Imperial March" from The Empire Strikes Back, "Sayuri's Theme" from Memoirs of a Geisha, "Flying" from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and of course, "The Raiders March" from Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's a fittingly appropriate way to end the evening, since Williams' next film will be the fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, and next summer he will undoubtedly grace us with a new suite of music from that score.

In all, it was a fun and enjoyable evening, but nothing new was performed that hadn't really been performed before. Williams was a total professional on stage, and while his age might be slowing the performances down a smidge, they're hardly slowing down his enthusiasm and love of sharing music with the masses. I'm still holding out hope for a live performance of "The Asteroid Chase" from The Empire Strikes Back or "The Map Room" from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I will have to wait yet another year to see.

Source: Soundtack.net

Harry Potter Reality TV Show

(AP) LOS ANGELES Harry Potter remains a box-office charmer.

The Warner Bros. fantasy sequel "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" conjured up a $77.4 million debut to lead the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That raised the movie's total domestic gross to $140 million since opening Wednesday.

"Order of the Phoenix" also has taken in an additional $190.3 million in 44 other countries where it began rolling out Wednesday.

"Transformers," the DreamWorks-Paramount sci-fi tale that was the previous weekend's No. 1 movie, slipped to second place with $36 million, lifting its total to $223 million.

The weekend's other new wide release, grisly horror story "Captivity" from Lionsgate and After Dark Films, opened out of the top 10 with $1.55 million, coming in at No. 12. The movie stars Elisha Cuthbert as a model who is abducted and tortured.

"Order of the Phoenix" expanded overall business for Hollywood. The top 12 movies took in $171.1 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was No. 1 with $62.3 million.

The fifth chapter in the movie series based on J.K. Rowling's novels about the teen wizard, "Order of the Phoenix" has Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) leading a secret society of students to prepare for the coming showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort.

The previous four "Harry Potter" flicks all had bigger first weekends, ranging from $88.4 million to $102.7 million, but those all debuted Friday. "Order of the Phoenix" was the first to get a jump on the weekend with a Wednesday opening.

"We're in the middle of summer, and we just said why not, because kids are out of school," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros. "It certainly turned out to be the right decision."

"Order of the Phoenix" did more business in five days than each of the first three "Harry Potter" movies did in their first full week, and it nearly matched the $146 million first week total of the fourth film, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," Fellman said.

Warner Bros. counts on the "Harry Potter" frenzy to persist with the publication next Saturday of the final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

"People are going to have Potter mania happening again when the book comes out," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "They'll be walking book in hand into the movie theater."

In limited release, Focus Features' film biography "Talk to Me" opened strongly with $390,754 in 33 theaters. The film stars Don Cheadle as an ex-con who becomes an outspoken social commentator on the radio in the 1960s.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," $77.4 million.

2. "Transformers," $36 million.

3. "Ratatouille," $18 million.

4. "Live Free or Die Hard," $10.9 million.

5. "License to Wed," $7.4 million.

6. "1408," $5.01 million.

7. "Evan Almighty," $5 million.

8. "Knocked Up," $3.7 million.

9. "Sicko," $2.65 million.

10. "Ocean's Thirteen," $1.9 million.

Source: CBS News

By DAVE MCNARY