[NOTD] News Of The Day - 23/07/2007

Life's magic as Daniel Radcliffe turns 18

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe gains access to a reported 20 million pounds ($40 million) fortune when he turns 18 on Monday, but he insists the money won't cast a spell on him.

To the disappointment of gossip columnists around the world, the young actor says he has no plans to fritter his cash away on fast cars, drink and celebrity parties.

"I don't plan to be one of those people who, as soon as they turn 18, suddenly buy themselves a massive sports car collection or something similar," he told an Australian interviewer earlier this month. "I don't think I'll be particularly extravagant.

"The things I like buying are things that cost about 10 pounds -- books and CDs and DVDs."

At 18, Radcliffe will be able to gamble in a casino, buy a drink in a pub or see the horror film "Hostel: Part II", currently six places below his number one movie on the UK box office chart.

Details of how he'll mark his landmark birthday are under wraps. His agent and publicist had no comment on his plans.

"I'll definitely have some sort of party," he said in an interview. "Hopefully none of you will be reading about it."

Radcliffe's earnings from the first five Potter films have been held in a trust fund which he has not been able to touch.

Despite his growing fame and riches, the actor says he is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

Continued...

"People are always looking to say 'kid star goes off the rails,'" he told reporters last month. "But I try very hard not to go that way because it would be too easy for them."

His latest outing as the boy wizard in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is breaking records on both sides of the Atlantic and he will reprise the role in the last two films.

There is life beyond Potter, however.

The Londoner has filmed a TV movie called "My Boy Jack", about author Rudyard Kipling and his son, due for release later this year. He will also appear in "December Boys", an Australian film about four boys who escape an orphanage.

Earlier this year, he made his stage debut playing a tortured teenager in Peter Shaffer's "Equus".

Meanwhile, he is braced for even closer media scrutiny now that he's legally an adult: "I just think I'm going to be more sort of fair game," he told Reuters.

Source: Reuters

BREAKING NEWS: Fire At 'Harry Potter' Hotel

A hotel used in the Harry Potter films is on fire today, just months before a 100 million refurbishment was due to be completed.

More than 40 firefighters rushed to the blaze at the Midland Grand Hotel above St Pancras station.

The blaze prompted the evacuation of the British Library next door and nearby Camden Town Hall.

No-one is believed to have been hurt but eight fire engines rushed to the scene after reports of a fire just before midday.

The hotel has been abandoned since it was refused a fire certificate in 1980.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "We were called at 11.59am today to reports of a fire at a hotel on Euston Road at St Pancras.

"We have sent eight fire crews to deal with the blaze."

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed the fire was at the Midland Grand Hotel, and added: "We were called around midday and are in attendance with the Fire Brigade.

"No-one was hurt but The British Library and Camden Town Hall were evacuated."

No trains are going in and out of St Pancras railway station and Euston Road has also been shut following the blaze.

The hotel - which is costing around 100 million to refurbish - was due to reopen in 2009. It is a 133-year-old building.

Irving Brown, who was visiting the British Library when the blaze began, said it was evacuated at about 12.30pm and he smelt smoke in the air, although he did not see any.

Canadian-born Mr Brown,, who lives in Chingford, Essex, said: "At first people on the east side of the building were told to evacuate, which is the science and social science part, so I sat there on the west side.

"They then said that everyone should evacuate, but no-one should go out of the Midland Road exit.

"I smelt smoke, but I couldn't see any."

Source: Life Style Extra, UK

Indian police seize pirated Harry Potter covers

BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - Indian police have seized hundreds of pirated covers of the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, a police official said on Monday.

Cash tills around the world have been ringing as the eagerly awaited last installment of J.K. Rowling's boy wizard series looks set to become the fastest selling book ever.

Police said one man was arrested after officers raided a printing press, a storage depot and a private home in India's southern technology hub of Bangalore.

They also found around 4,000 covers of books, including by Rowling and Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie, in the raids on Sunday.

"The covers look like originals," said Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore police Alok Kumar. "They were being transported to Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkota."

Police suspect some of the covers and pirated books were to be sent to neighboring Sri Lanka as well.

In India, many bookstores have reported customers snapping up "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" over the weekend, and media reports said publisher Bloomsbury and Indian distributor Penguin Books had begun an anti-piracy drive to coincide with its launch.

Pirated books by popular authors are often sold openly on the streets and in bookstores in India.

The Bangalore police estimate the value of the seized books and covers to be around to 4 million rupees ($99,000).

"Depending on concrete information, we will organize similar raids," Kumar added.

($1=40.30 rupees)

Source: Reuters

Harry Potter fans love the ending but won't share it

The first adult that Megan Sheppard knew who was into the Harry Potter books was her grandmother, Gwendolyn Rains, a fan almost from Day One.

By the time the fifth book in the series came out, Rains had drawn Sheppard into the young wizard's saga. And so, just after midnight Saturday, Sheppard, 25, bought a copy of the seventh and final installment at a Ventura bookstore, took it home, read until 4:30 a.m., slept for about three hours, then tore through the rest of the 784 pages.

This time, she couldn't share it with her grandmother. Rains died in February, at age 78.

"I'm going to have to make a visit to her grave to talk to her and tell her how it ended," said Sheppard, who lives in Camarillo.

That's how important the conclusion of Harry Potter's story is; Rains knew the release date for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," and she wanted to live long enough to read it, Sheppard said.

The book sold at a record-breaking pace Saturday — 8.3 million copies sold in the United States during the first 24 hours of release, according to Scholastic, the book's U.S. publisher.

To keep from learning the ending ahead of time, Harry Potter devotees put themselves on an information blackout of sorts. Sheppard said she was afraid to read anything online about the book, or even watch a segment on the morning television news, in case a spoiler slipped through.

For the millions who have yet to finish the book, the blackout continues. This story, though, is safe to read. There won't be a word about what happens to Harry Potter.

"The ending is perfect," is all that Sheppard would say. "J.K. Rowling is just brilliant. I don't think that she could have ended it any better. ... I don't think anybody will dislike the ending."

Sheppard said she's already gotten calls from two friends who have never cracked a Harry Potter book in their lives. Both wanted to know how the story ends. Sheppard told them, but she made her husband, who plans to read the book as well, leave the room first so he wouldn't overhear.

Danielle Magallanes of Oxnard will have to keep her head in the sand a bit longer until her 10-year-old son finishes with the book and passes it along to her.

"The whole family reads them, but everybody knows not to talk about it until everyone is finished," she said.

Reading the books together has been "a real bonding thing" for Magallanes and her son, Jude. "It's the first thing we've really been able to bond over like that," she said.

Celeste Cole, 11, was more than halfway through the book by Sunday morning. She, too, bought it after midnight Saturday and read until she fell asleep about 5 a.m.

She was ready to dive back in Sunday, but first, the family was going to see "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the movie version of the fifth book in the series.

"I was 6 when I first started reading Harry Potter," she said. "Once you start reading, you really want to know what happens next and what happens in his life."

Source: Ventura County Star, CA

Rowling to work her magic on Greek hero Orpheus?
Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 (EST)
Now that the final Harry Potter book is out, publishing firm Canongate is hoping to get its hands on author JK Rowling, and persuade her to tell the tale of legendary Greek hero Orpheus.

London, July 23 (ANI): Now that the final Harry Potter book is out, publishing firm Canongate is hoping to get its hands on author JK Rowling, and persuade her to tell the tale of legendary Greek hero Orpheus. Rowling, who studied Greek and Roman mythology at Exeter University in the 1980s, has already expressed a wish to cover the classics, and now Canongate wants to make her wish come true. If Rowling does agree, then it will also be a coup for the Edinburgh-based publishers, who will be able to boast of having her amongst its ranks of celebrity writers who have contributed to its best-selling Myths series. Orpheus is best known for attempting to rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld. A literary insider revealed to the Scotsman that now that the final Potter book had been released, the news could be made public. "She has expressed an interest in updating the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, but the whole thing is being kept under wraps so not to overshadow the launch of the final Harry Potter book," the insider said. "From the outset, the idea was to approach top-class writers from all over the world and invite them to retell any myth in any way they chose. "In turn, their myths would be published all over the world. Already a wonderful array of writers have come on board, as have 24 superb international publishers," the insider added. Katherine Rushton, publishing reporter with literary journal The Bookseller, believes that writing Orpheus' tale would be a great move on Rowling's part. "People will go out and buy whatever JK chooses to write next, but updating Greek myths could be an inspired choice," she said. "Mythology would provide that world of magic and fantasy that her readers have grown to love in the Harry Potter series. It would be fascinating to see how she interpreted classical myths and legends," she added. Dr Jon Hesk, an expert in Greek literature at St Andrews University, feels that the author is also the ideal person to reintroduce the classics to today's generation. "The magical element of classical mythology really seems to have made a big impression on JK Rowling, and Harry Potter is a hero in the Greek tradition. Because of her knowledge of classics, Rowling is ideally placed to re-examine the mythology of Orpheus," he said. "It would undoubtedly help introduce Greek mythology to a new, younger readership," he added. Hesk also thinks that Orpheus is the right choice for Rowling, for it has 'something that chimes with Harry Potter'. "At the core of Orpheus is a tragic love story which is both classic and timeless. It is a lurid story with romance and horrible bloody death, and that is why it still fascinates people today," he said. "One of the reasons why JK Rowling might be interested in it is that there is a magical supernatural element as well. "Orpheus was destined to face great challenges and mighty adversaries while developing his power, and that is something that chimes with the character of Harry Potter," he added.

The final Potter book 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' went on sale on July 21, and practically flew off the shelves, selling 8.3 million copies in the US in its first 24 hours. (ANI)

Source: SAWF News

Wow....That is a lot of news 😆 Anyways, thx for sharing 😉 😊

Wow....That is a lot of news 😆 Anyways, thx for sharing 😉 😊

^^^Yeah 😆 😆HP always gets new news every single

day 😉Thx....we all appreciate all ur hard work 👏

👏 👏