Harry Potter Star Has Swine Flu as New Strain Emerges

Plus, celebrities get engaged, movies get planned

(NEWSER) - Rupert Grint survived swine flu to play Harry Potter’s sidekick another day, but he didn’t think he would, reports AFP. “It was quite scary when I first found out I had swine flu,” he says. “I thought: ‘Am I going to die?’ But it was just like any other flu really.” Elsewhere:

• Jenna Fischer, aka Pam from The Office, is engaged, Us reports. Fischer, who has been married once before, has been dating writer Lee Kirk since January 2008.

Novartis defies WHO calls to give free doses to poor

(NEWSER) - Swiss pharma giant Novartis is defying the World Health Organization by refusing to donate swine flu vaccines to the world's poor, despite the designation of H1N1 as the first pandemic in 40 years, reports the Financial Times. Last week the WHO's director general called on drug companies to show "solidarity" with low-income victims, but Novartis is telling the poor to pay up. More»

Deathly Hallows Part 2 collects $475.6M globally in massive opening weekend

(NEWSER) - Harry Potter went out with a true bang: The final installment in the wizarding saga, the Deathly Hallows Part 2, notched almost half a billion dollars internationally, with an opening weekend take of $475.6 million. That shattered the previous record, Harry Potter and the Half -Blood Prince, which the Hollywood Reporter notes pulled in a not-so-paltry $394 million. On the domestic front, Deathly Hallows Part 2 pushed The Dark Knight out of the way by more than $10 million, with $168.6 million . More»

Cast burbles on last day in latest Warner Bros. film

(NEWSER) - Now it can be shown: The last day of filming of the last Harry Potter movie was not so magical. It was rather heartbreaking. Cast mates applauded one another, and burbled, and recalled their amazing time together and expressed grief that it was over. "How do I put into words such an incredible experience?" asks Emma Watson on a just-released Warner Brothers film of the Big Wrap. "I feel so blessed that I was chosen. I was given the chance to experience all this and have this be part of my life. We were the chosen ones. We were very lucky." More»

Quidditch gets swapped for bleak tone in penultimate film

(NEWSER) - The penultimate Harry Potter movie hits theaters today, and while reviews for Deathly Hallows: Part I range all the way from "best Potter movie ever" to "worst Potter movie ever," most critics are positive about it and are looking forward to next summer's grand finale. The movie currently has a 77% rating at Rotten Tomatoes .

• The Potter movies have gotten progressively darker, and this one is no exception, writes Brandon Fibbs at the Colorado Springs Gazette . "The mischievous and playful whimsy that defined the series in the beginning is now almost completely absent," he writes. "Deathly Hallows lacks almost all perceptible warmth, hope, and fun. And that is precisely what makes it great."