Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were joined by Harry Potter author JK Rowling and others at the Odeon Leicester Square in London, England today for the WORLD PREMIERE of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. Here are a few photos from the red carpet arrivals that took place in the UK just hours ago:

And so … the end begins. With this first Harry Potter premiere the clock begins counting down to the film’s worldwide release of part 1 of the ABSOLUTE end of the Harry Potter film franchise. The end is nigh, y’all … for real. But, before we get down to crying over the end of Harry Potter, let’s turn our attention to the red carpet. Hands down, Emma Watson is a VISION of beauty in these photos. I can’t even get over how stunning she looks. The guys, well, they look pretty swank in their suits … that’s for sure. Helena Bonham Carter looks her ususal crazy mess but WTF? is going on with Lisa Marie Presley and her hubby Michael Lockwood. I mean … really? OY! The whole lookin’ kooky for kookiness sake is just so lame. Much props to the Harry Potter crew for wearing the bright red poppies on the red carpet in honor of Remembrance Day in the UK. All in all, it looks like a pretty great movie premiere … I can’t wait ’til they bring the party here to the US.

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

Harry Potter author JK Rowling appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday (for the first and, very likely, the last time ever) to give a little interview to Oprah Winfrey and she teased that she *may* be willing to write new Harry Potter books sometime in the future. Now before y’all get too excited, JK was very clear to say that she didn’t think she’d write the books but said that she *could* write more books … and *may* do so someday:

It is the news all muggles have been waiting for. J.K. Rowling has revealed there may be more Harry Potter books to come after she talked about the ‘bereavement’ she felt completing the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The author said though she couldn’t cope with the overwhelming success of the books, she will miss being ‘consumed’ by the wizardry world and has the future of the characters already mapped out in her head. She said: ‘I could definitely write an eighth, ninth and tenth. I’m not going to say I won’t. I don’t think I will. I feel I am done, but you never know.’ In her first ever interview with US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, the author opened up about the emotional 17-year journey spent writing the Potter books and how – without the death of her mother – they may never have existed. She said: ‘The end was huge, like a bereavement. Although I knew it was coming – we all know the people we love are mortal, we know it’s going to end – you can’t prepare yourself for it. I was in a slight state of shock. Initially I was elated, but then there came a point I cried and I have only ever cried once before in my life – and that was when my mother died. It was uncontrollable and I’m not a big crier. I never told my mother about it, I would have done – I know she would have liked it. But I regret it hugely. The books wouldn’t be what they are if she hadn’t died. Her death is on virtually every other page of the Harry Potter books. If she hadn’t died I don’t think it’s too strong to say there wouldn’t be Harry Potter.’ She revealed how the phenomenon reached such great heights that she was even approached by pop legend Michael Jackson, who wanted to write a musical version of the Harry Potter books – but she turned him down. In the hour-long interview which was broadcast in the US [Friday], she talked openly about how she was ‘hanging by a thread’ due to the success of the books as she struggled to cope with her fame. She said: ‘At the time I felt a need to deny how great the pressure was because that was my way of coping. It happened so fast for me and it shouldn’t have happened. This was a children’s book. I went from utter obscurity. It was like being a Beatle. At that point I kept saying to people ‘Yes I’m coping’. The truth was, there were times when I was barely hanging by a thread’ … Asked if she planned to continue writing, Rowing said: ‘Oh god yes. I literally can’t stop. I have to write for my own mental health. I have to do it.’ But she insisted that she felt no pressure to top the success of her Harry Potter series with her next book. ‘I really mean that,’ she said. ‘It was amazing. It was also insane at times and there are parts of that insanity that I’ll be quite glad to leave behind.’

While it sounds like JK has not ruled out the possibility of writing another Harry Potter book, my guess is that she prolly will not do so … at least, not for a long time. Actually, it seems more likely to me that she may write the books … and then lock them away for publication many years in the future or, perhaps, after her death? Of course, this is just wild speculation on my part but I can see how any new Harry Potter books might be saved for release in the distant future. To be honest, I’m terribly curious to read new stories from JK Rowling. She is an amazing wordsmith and a very descriptive writer … I can’t wait to read more stories from her. She may never match the success she enjoyed with the Harry Potter books but my guess is her days as a hugely successful author are not over … not by a long shot.

[Source]

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and others were joined by author J.K. Rowling at the London premiere of the newest Harry Potter film The Half-Blood Prince at Leicester Square last night. Despite the buckets of rain that fell all night long, hundreds of fans came out to catch a glimpse or score an autograph of their fave Harry Potter stars as they walked the red carpet last night. Here are a few pics from the arrivals last night along with some info from the event:

If Potions Professor Horace Slughorn had mixed a brew to conjure up torrential rain, the weather could not have been worse for the premiere of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” Dedicated fans braved thunder, lightning and Biblical downpours in London’s Leicester Square to catch a glimpse of the film’s stars arriving at the opening of the sixth film in the wildly popular “Harry Potter” franchise. While dreadful weather has become an unfortunate tradition at Potter premieres (it rained during the 2007 premiere of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”), the latest installment holds something new for fans. “The Half-Blood Prince” offers up an uncommonly large helping of humor as Harry, Hermione and Ron enter their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. “I think this film’s funnier,” said star Daniel Radcliffe who plays the titular young hero. “There are a couple of moments which I laughed out loud at.” Hormones are also running high inside the castle walls, with romances blossoming between some of the formerly chaste characters. But, says director David Yates, for all the romance and humor, the film still has a very dark side. “It is a bit bipolar,” Yates told CNN. “On the one hand, there’s all this snogging and romance and on the other hand people are getting killed and bridges are being blown up.” “The humor is there to kind of leaven the intensity of what happens later on in the movie,” he added. If the latest Harry Potter installment treads more adult terrain, it’s not just because the three lead actors — who started as unknown children — have grown up. The three have amassed huge fortunes and international recognition off the back of the films. Daniel Radcliffe wowed Broadway by going nude in “Equus,” Emma Watson has become the face of Burberry and Rupert Grint recently hit the headlines with a dose of swine flu. A dark storyline runs through the core of “The Half-Blood Prince”: The ascendancy of the malevolent Lord Voldemort threatens the wizarding world, while tragic events provide some genuinely scary moments and spell the end of childhood for Harry and the others. “I think it’s aimed at a slightly older audience,” says Emma Watson, 19, who plays bookish heroine Hermione Granger in the franchise. “I think the films have grown up with the audience” … Fans have had to wait an extra eight months for the latest installment after Warner Bros (which, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner) delayed the release of the movie after the success of “The Dark Knight” to spread out its blockbusters. It is estimated the film cost $250 million to make. The last film, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” came out in 2007 and took $938 million at the box office worldwide. The five films have so far made $4.5 billion in worldwide box office, making it the most successful movie franchise in history. The Harry Potter franchise is based on the best-selling series of books by British writer J.K Rowling. The first film, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” directed by Chris Columbus, was released in 2001.

OMG RELEASE THIS MOVIE ALREADY!!! We still have about a week left to wait for the film to hit theaters and I’m already freakin’ out about it. The Harry Potter story gets seriously serious in Half-Blood Prince and I can’t wait to see it on the big screen. Even tho those Londoners had to get soaked to the bone at last night’s premiere, I envy that they’ve been able to see the film already. I can’t even wait any more … Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens in theaters on July 15. Are y’all as excited as I am?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

OUCH! In a new interview with USA Today, Stephen King was asked about his thoughts on the writing talents of J.K. Rowling (who created the amazing Harry Potter series of books) and Stephenie Meyer (who created the Twilight Saga that is all the rage with the tweens these days) and he had some very nice things to say about Rowling. When he gave his opinion of Meyer, well, I think it’s best if I just let him speak for himself:

Stephen King’s opinion may drive a stake through the heart of “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer. In an interview with USA Weekend, the bestselling author compared Meyer with J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. According to Stephen, “Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people… The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.” Meeooww! While Stephen may not be a fan of Stephenie’s writing, he understands the appeal of the series. “People are attracted by the stories, by the pace, and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because it’s not overtly sexual.” He further explains, “A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like, the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet.”

To be fair, King also states that author Dean Koontz is “sometimes … just awful” and that author James Patterson “is a terrible writer” … so it’s not just Stephenie Meyer that he is not too fond of. To be completely honest, I see his point. Having read the entire Twilight Saga, I also do not feel that Meyer is a particularly good writer … even tho she is able to capture the imagination of millions. Rowling, on the other hand, is an absolute master storyteller and is, IMHO, a brilliant author. They’re just very different … and both very entertaining writers. I have always respected Stephen King for his brutal honesty … he may not always have the most popular thing to say but, at least you know he’s being honest. If I can interject my own opinion on Stephen King‘s writing … over all, I’m a fan. I’ve enjoyed way more books of his than I’ve not enjoyed — but there have been those books of his that are absolutely terrible. They can’t all be gems … and to each their own. I’m sure some Meyer fans are bound to give King flak for his comments but I ain’t mad at him. He’s merely giving his opinion … which may resonate with some and clash with others.

[Source]

Today is Harry Potter author JK Rowling‘s birthday and in celebration it has been announced that her previously unavailable handwritten tome of short fairytales (written by Rowling after she penned the 7th and final Harry Potter book) will be published for sale to regular folk like us. The original handwritten copies of the book were given away to personal friends of Rowling and the 7th was sold at auction for almost $4 million bucks to Amazon.com … and now, the book will be published in a special edition version (for $100) and a standard paperback edition (for $8) — the Collector’s Edition will be sold exclusively on Amazon.com:

Wizard news, Harry Potter fans: A book of fairy tales written and illustrated by J.K. Rowling is to be published for charity. A British charity said Thursday it hopes to raise $8 million through sales of “The Tales of Beedle the Bard.” Rowling co-founded The Children’s High Level Group charity, which supports institutionalized children. She has signed over her royalties. The book is a collection of five wizarding tales referred to in Rowling’s Potter saga. It was initially produced in an edition of seven handwritten copies. Six were given away by Rowling as gifts, and one was bought by retailer Amazon at an auction in December for almost $4 million. Rowling said the new edition would include her illustrations and introduction, the stories themselves and commentaries ostensibly by Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, “which appear by generous permission of the Hogwarts Headmasters’ Archive.” The book will be published Dec. 4 by Bloomsbury in Britain and Scholastic in the United States. Amazon also plans a leather-bound collectors’ edition priced at $100 … She has described “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” as a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, calling it her goodbye to a world she lived in for 17 years.

Hot damn! This is great news! I was hoping that Tales of Beedle the Bard would be published one day despite the fact that we were told that the book would never be published (henceforth making the sole auctioned copy of the book so valuable). It makes sense that Amazon will be the exclusive seller of the Collector’s Edition since they ponied up the $4 million bucks for the auctioned copy of the book. I already placed my pre-order for both the Collector’s Edition (which you can pre-order HERE) and the standard edition (which you can pre-order HERE). This is absolutely amazing news for Potter fans. It may be JK‘s birthday but I feel like we all have cause to celebrate today :)

[Source, Source]