The Daily Prophet - Books - http://maxpages.com/hp1/The_Daily

6-21-01
6-21-01
Scholastic and Warner Bros. Pictures Celebrate Harry's Birthday With a Special Sneak Preview of Movie Photos From 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'

NEW YORK, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Scholastic and Warner Bros. Pictures will celebrate Harry Potter's birthday with the July 31 release of the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Movie Poster Book.

A special sneak preview of the highly anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures live action film, these 15 captivating images bring Harry's magical adventures to life. Each full color poster features a beloved character or thrilling scene, ready for display. Fans will get an inside look at Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, as well as the enchanting rooms inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Based on the first of J.K. Rowling's bestselling novels about Harry Potter, the live action family adventure film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" tells the story of a boy who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. He is summoned from his life as an unwanted child to become a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he meets several friends who become his closest allies and help him discover the truth about his parents' mysterious deaths at the hands of a powerful adversary. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" will be released in North America and in the U.K. on November 16.

There are currently 49 million copies of the Harry Potter books in print in the U.S., including four hardcover novels and the paperback editions of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." On July 8, 2000, Scholastic released J.K. Rowling's fourth title, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." With an unprecedented initial print run of 3.8 million, the book broke all industry records by selling nearly 3 million copies in its first week. According to Publishers Weekly, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is the fastest-selling book in history.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Film/1492/Duncan Henderson Production of a Chris Columbus film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Richard Griffiths, Richard Harris, Ian Hart, John Hurt, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters. Directed by Chris Columbus from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, the film is produced by David Heyman. Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan and Duncan Henderson are the executive producers. John Seale is the director of photography; Stuart Craig is the production designer; Richard Francis-Bruce is the editor; and Jon Williams is the composer. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company.

5-20-01
Harry Potter Game
Be Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, learning to master all things magical in a world filled with wizardry, fun, and danger. The adventure begins at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Attend lessons, learn and cast spells, explore Hogwarts and its grounds, and take flight to play Quidditch.

Interact with unforgettable characters such as Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Rubeus Hagrid. Overcome physical, mental, and magical challenges to defeat You-Know-Who. The term begins at Hogwarts this fall.

Available soon on PC/CD Rom, Playstation, Gameboy Advance, and Gameboy Color

Harry Potter and the Shrinks

NEW ORLEANS (May 8) - A roomful of psychiatrists analyzed Harry Potter and concluded the boy wizard is wonderful.
The orphaned hero of four best-selling children's novels makes mistakes but comes through in the end. He not only survived an abusive childhood in the home of hateful relatives, but came out with hope and the ability to love intact.
``He is adventuresome, tolerant of a lot of negativism directed his way, yet is not aggressive, arrogant or clinically depressed,'' said Dr. Leah J. Dickstein, a psychiatrist and former elementary school teacher.
Dickstein chaired a symposium Monday dedicated to Harry Potter - one of more than 1,000 sessions underway as part of the American Psychiatric Association's four-day annual meeting. This one looked at why Harry Potter is so wildly popular.
Panel members noted that not only are the Potter books - written by Scottish author J.K. Rowling - great fun, but they also can help both young readers and psychiatrists.
Dr. Elissa P. Benedek, a forensic and child psychiatrist, said she regularly asks patients and their parents what TV shows and videos they watch and what books they read.
``Now I ask if they read Harry Potter. Who do they like? Who do they not like? What are their favorite scenes?''
It helps establish rapport and gives her an idea of what the children think and feel, she said.
One thing is consistent, Benedek said. None of her young patients - not even those who idolize the rapper Eminem and quote his violent lyrics - identifies with the character of Harry's archenemy Voldemort, a dark wizard driven by his lust for power into a life of evil.
``And I see some pretty bad kids,'' Benedek said.
The books are ``not merely escapes but tools for children and adults to work through their daily struggles,'' said Dr. Daniel P. Dickstein, a pediatrician and resident in child psychology.
Almost everyone in the audience of about 100 psychiatrists, psychiatry students and their spouses said they'd read at least one of the Potter books. Three-quarters had read all four.
In an interview before the session, Dr. Earle Biassey of Fairfield, Conn., said he had only read bits of the books.
Biassey, who treats mainly adult patients, said he has worked with some children who've became obsessed with Harry Potter and take the books as proof that they don't have to obey adults.
``They think more in terms of how powerful they can be and get more control than anybody else,'' he said, adding one 10-year-old became so violent her parents called the police. ``She was ready to take on the police department.''
He said the girl has become less combative since Nancy Drew replaced Harry Potter in her bookshelves.
Afterward, Biassey said the discussion made him ``rethink a lot of things.'' He was most impressed by discussion of how parents can use the books to connect with their children and talk about ethics and values.
``It's grist for the mill. That's what I'm here for,'' he said.

5-04-01

Countdown: 196 days, 09 hours, 02 minutes, 25 seconds

Harry Potter Sales Pass 100 Million Milestone

LONDON - Harry Potter has cast a spell worldwide -- the tales of the teenage wizard have now sold 100 million copies.
The stories have topped bestseller lists around the world from Argentina to China and have been translated into 42 languages from Albanian to Zulu.
"Harry Potter books have entered the pages of history," author JK Rowling's agent Christopher Little said in a statement on Wednesday.
"This is an unprecedented publishing achievement anywhere in the world -- either for adult or children's books," the statement said. "To put this into perspective, imagine that every woman, woman and child in the UK had two Harry Potter books."
Just four days after the first page-turning Potter tale landed on his desk in 1995, Little signed up Rowling.
"Korea, Chile, Japan, Germany -- wherever you go it is number one. Maybe we are all the same underneath for it has the same reaction everywhere. It continues to amaze me," he told Reuters in a recent interview.
"Every time we publish a new Harry Potter book, the first one goes back up to the top of the bestseller list. A whole new raft of readers comes back. The momentum hasn't slowed," Little said.
Pottermania is certain to be refuelled by the release later this year of the first Potter film by Hollywood director Christopher Columbus.
The bespectacled Harry, a quaint boarding-school throwback in the cyber era of Playstation and Pokemon, has been hailed for singlehandedly teaching a whole new generation of children the joys of reading in an electronic age of short attention spans.
The publishing industry has above all been astonished by the universality of the books written by a single mother in an Edinburgh cafe in between school runs. But Rowling, now embarked on the fifth Harry Potter saga, still has come catching up to do.

Japanese Publisher Weaves Magic of Harry Potter

Yuko Matsuoka is an enterprising woman, but even she would admit her phenomenal success owes more than a little to the supernatural.
Just 2-1/2 years ago she was a conference interpreter -- highly accomplished, but hardly a household name.
Now she is celebrated as the translator and publisher of some of the best-selling children`s books Japan has ever known. For the full story: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010410/re/life_harrypotter_dc_1.html

4-6-01
Countdown: 224 days, 12 hours, 41 minutes 5 seconds

I know I haven't updated in a while, but I've been working on my speech and essay for a class. Anyway, I recieved this e-mail:

We're currently working on our first chocolate wizard
plaque - it will be completely edible and have the face of a
wizard. Black & white line art of wizards, dragons, etc., have
been difficult to locate. If you have any such artwork that we
could use, please send it to us.
If you haven't been to our web-site latley, there are some
new items, including chocolate covered pretzel wands. Please
stop by and take a peek.

Regards,
Toni
Toni's Edible Art

Visit our site here:
http://www.chocolatefrogs.bigstep.com/

Cool... I'm going to order a few.

My Spring Break is next week, and I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll try to be on to update, but If not, I'm sorry!

3-30-01
Countdown- 231 days, 06 hours, 14 minutes and 5 sconds

Other news-
'Ungodly' Harry Potter Books Burned
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The Rev. George Bender says he never thought a little book burning would get so much publicity.
But news reporters have not stopped calling his tiny Harvest Assembly of God Church in rural western Pennsylvania since word got out that church members held a ceremonial burning of "ungodly" videotapes, music CDs and books including some of Harry Potter's magical tales.
"We got a lot more attention than we were planning on. I've been getting calls all morning from all around the country," Bender told Reuters on Tuesday. "We were only out to make a little noise in the local community."
The Pentecostal church, located about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh, sponsored a book burning at the edge of its gravel parking lot on Sunday evening. Among the 30 church members and guests in attendance were teen-agers who led hymns including "Amazing Grace" and "Father of Creation."
Into the fire went 1970s albums by Joe Walsh and the rock group Foreigner; CDs by Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and AC/DC; and Walt Disney Co. videos of "Pinocchio" and "Hercules."
"It's the same old devil with a new face," explained Bender, 60, whose congregation has about 95 members.
Only a few Harry Potter books were among the trunk load of articles fed to the flames. But Bender said British author J.K. Rowling's "supernatural" novels hold special status because local schools distribute workbooks that feature the boy magician but will not allow church members to hand out Bibles.
"Harry Potter is a big flash point," the clergyman said.
The church modeled the book burning on a biblical passage from the New Testament's Book of Acts, which describes how former practitioners of magic burned their books in public.
"When they did this, they did it before all so it would provoke the question, 'What are you doing?"' said Bender, whose followers believe in faith healing and speaking in tongues.
The reason why? "There is one God and he has set his standards through the Commandments, and Jesus Christ is our lord and savior. Things that misrepresent or cause us to pull away from him, we should cleanse from our lives," he said.
Bender said the church had never held a book burning before but might try it again if doing so would "accomplish something positive toward expressing our love for God."
Meanwhile, publicity has not hurt. "We got some people mad at us. But it's good to have publicity. It's good," he said.

If they would read the freakin books, they would know that they aren't "Ungodly." I wonder if I can get a "I READ BANNED BOOKS" pin for my bookbag.

3-29-01
Countdown to the Harry Potter Movie:232 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes, and 35 seconds!

Other News-
J.K. Rowling to Miss Deadline for Next Book, Paper Says
London, March 29 (Bloomberg) -- J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter children's books, is unable to keep a promise to her publisher to write a fresh story every summer for seven years, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc told the newspaper that a new Potter book, provisionally entitled ``Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'' will probably appear in 2002, but that can't be guaranteed until Rowling delivers a manuscript.
The author has been too busy with a Harry Potter film, overseeing merchandise agreements and other activities to write the book, the Telegraph said.
Rowling's fourth book in the series, ``Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,'' sold 370,000 copies on its first day of U.K. publication last July. It also drove ``substantial'' extra sales of the first three books, which recount the adventures of an orphaned wizard, Bloomsbury said yesterday.
The new book is already No. 8 on Amazon.com's bestseller list, through pre-orders.
My comment? THIS FREAKING SUCKS.

Is the latest Harry Potter flap a case of plagiarism? Trespassing on intellectual property? Pure coincidence? Writer’s pride? You be the judge. Nancy Stouffer claims that J.K. Rowling, British author of the explosively popular Harry Potter books, lifted several names — like Muggles and Potter — and situations from Stouffer’s self-published books in the 1980s, and fobbed them off as her own.
FOR HER PART, Rowling says she has never heard of Nancy Stouffer’s books. But Stouffer presses on.
For the full story: http://www.msnbc.com/news/550498.asp?bt=msn&btu=http://go.msn.com/zzj/1/1.asp?target=http://msn.com

3-27-01 8:05 PM
Countdown to the Harry Potter Movie:234 days, 03 hours,51 minutes and.... 40 seconds!

Other news-
Potter Fans Flame Warners
Taking her cue from teen wizard Harry Potter, a 15-year-old British girl has triumphed over evil.
The bad guy in this instance isn't the sinister Lord Voldemort, however, it's Warner Brothers, the company that owns the film and merchandising rights to the Harry Potter series.
The studio, whose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone comes out in November, sued Claire Field last fall, claiming her Website, harrypotterguide.co.uk, was "likely to cause consumer confusion or dilution of intellectual property rights." The company gave the teenager one option: Shut down the site or go to court. Read the full story here:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/eo/20010324/en/potter_fans_flame_warners_1.html

My opinion? It's not hurting anyone. Leave the girl be.

3-23-2001 10:42 PM
Countdown to the Harry Potter Movie:238 days, 01 hours, 17 minutes and....15 seconds!

Other news-
I have found a web-site that sells Chocolate Frogs! The address is: http://www.chocolatefrogs.bigstep.com/ The only drawback is that they don't come with Wizard cards.
The fabulous J.K. Rowling has met Btitian's Queen Elizabeth. This is the second time that she has been invited to the palace, but the first time she Ms. Rowling had to cancel, due to the fact that her daughter became sick. You can read the full story at http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010322/re/people_potter_dc_4.html
Ms. Rowling has stated that she may go to the Harry Potter premire in diguse. ``Look out for the person in the purple turban -- that'll be me,'' she told fans in a special online chat set up for the charity Comic Relief

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