Vampire author gaining on Rowling's popularity
Daily Telegraph (UK) Nov 28, 08 9:39 AM CST
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Have we finally found the next JK Rowling? Even Brits are starting to admit Twilight creator Stephenie Meyer is coming close, the Daily Telegraph reports. The 34-year-old Mormon author of a series of swoon-worthy novels about teen vampires has a similar “out of nowhere” story, and her book and movie sales are starting to give Harry, if not a run for his money, at least cause for concern.
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Atheist author will write children's book to wean kids from magic
Daily Telegraph (UK) Oct 25, 08 9:30 AM CDT
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Evengelical atheist Richard Dawkins will take on Harry Potter in his next book, the Daily Telegraph reports. The God Delusion author is working on a book aimed at teaching children not to put their faith in "anti-scientific" fairytales. The professor plans to examine what effect raising children on stories of witches and wizards has on rationality later in life.
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GLOSSIES
Top earner JK Rowling made $300 million off Potter franchise in past year
Forbes Oct 4, 08 2:43 AM CDT
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So you think people don't read books anymore? Tell that to JK Rowling, No. 1 on Forbes ' list of top-earning authors. The woman behind the Harry Potter juggernaut raked in $300 million in the past year, thanks in part to the movies based on her books—which have sold 375 million copies worldwide. The prolific James Patterson came in second, with $50 million.
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Bollywood flick OK'd in court
Associated Press Sep 23, 08 1:18 PM CDT
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No one is going to confuse Hari Puttar for Harry Potter, an Indian court ruled today, dismissing a Warner Bros. lawsuit against the upcoming Bollywood flick Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors. The court said Potter fans wouldn’t confuse Puttar , a Home Alone- like tale devoid of wizards, with their beloved franchise.
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It's a trick of the light
Nature Sep 23, 08 4:24 AM CDT
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Harry Potter's invisibility cloak might be a real stretch, but scientists are now closer to making hidden portals like the one in an apparently solid wall that Harry uses to reach the train to Hogwarts, Nature reports. Objects made with so-called metamaterials—electrical devices that react oddly to light—can appear bigger than they are and appear to fill an entire doorway, say scientists in Shanghai. "It is a bit like magic—terrific fun," said a physicist.
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Admires Brown's efforts to fight child poverty
Guardian (UK) Sep 20, 08 9:00 AM CDT
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Beleaguered British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has at least one big fan: JK Rowling gave a whopping $1.8 million to the Labour party at its annual meeting today, the Guardian reports. The Harry Potter author, who is estimated to be worth a little over $1 billion, said she gave in light of Brown's record on tackling child poverty; Rowling was a struggling single mom when she wrote the first of her best-sellers.
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Two days in New York was all it took
New York Daily News Sep 11, 08 9:06 AM CDT
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Just two previews into his bare-all Broadway debut, and naked photos of Daniel Radcliffe —best known to the world for playing a certain boy wizard —have already leaked online, the New York Daily News reports. Radcliffe managed to play the role for five months in London without a single naughty image surfacing. “It's very, very bad behavior,” said the star. “Whoever did it is a creep.”
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Judge rules publishing Potter encyclopedia would cause creator 'irreparable harm'
BBC Sep 8, 08 3:03 PM CDT
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A fan-written "Harry Potter lexicon" will not be published, a federal judge in New York ruled today, finding for author JK Rowling that the reference guide was an infringement of copyright. The ruling held that the book would cause Rowling irreparable harm as a writer, the BBC reports. The Potter creator had characterized the unpublished work as “wholesale theft.”
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Irked by delayed film release, faithful fire off petitions, death threats
Wall Street Journal Sep 8, 08 10:47 AM CDT
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Warner Brothers’ postponement of the release of the sixth Harry Potter film enraged some diehard “Potterheads,” inspiring a wave of angry emails, picketing, and mocking YouTube clips directed at the studio, the Wall Street Journal reports. When president Alan Horn decided to push the picture from November to next summer, “what he was doing was screwing up the world,” said a 51-year-old fan.
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Bollywood producers deny Hari Puttar cribs steals from wizarding juggernaut
Times (UK) Aug 26, 08 5:03 PM CDT
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The newest Harry Potter adventure doesn’t see the young hero once again battle Voldemort—instead, the Times of London reports, it’s Hollywood vs. Bollywood. Warner Bros. is suing the Indian producer of Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors , alleging it too closely resembles JK Rowling’s wizard tales. The Indian version features a child who must save the world from a crime boss.
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MTV Aug 15, 08 5:33 AM CDT
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Harry Potter won't be working movie magic in November. In a surprise move, Warner Bros. has pushed back the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to July of 2009, MTV reports. The studio says the move isn't because of any problems with the film. It simply needs a summer blockbuster for next year, and the writers' strike put a crimp in other scripts.
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Trailer for Half-Blood Prince makes its online debut
MTV Jul 30, 08 9:47 PM CDT
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Harry Potter fans seem captivated by the new movie trailer that focuses heavily on a young Voldemort, MTV reports. The trailer for Half-Blood Prince will be in theaters Friday, but it's already made its online debut to generally positive reviews along the lines of "dark and creepy." The trailer mostly steers clear of Potter and his pals and focuses instead on Tom Riddle (played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin), the boy who would grow up to be Harry's nemesis.
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Emma Watson replaces Keira Knightley in perfume campaign
Daily Mail (UK) Jun 16, 08 11:02 AM CDT
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Harry Potter star Emma Watson has inked a $6 million deal to replace actress Keira Knightley as the new face of Chanel's perfume Coco Mademoiselle, the Daily Mail reports. The 18-year-old actress, who already makes $4 million a movie to play the precocious Hermione, "has been excitedly telling friends that she is going to be taking over from Keira."
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