The Magic Continues for a New Generation of Potter Fans (and the old ones are happy too!)

After seven books and eight movies, you'd think that the world is content with how Harry Potter ended but with the release of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" and of course "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" (which just grossed P126.42 M in four days!) we know that Muggles just can't get enough of J.K. Rowling's wizarding world. 

Last Halloween I saw a number of folks dressed up as characters from Harry Potter, from kids who were not even born yet when the books came out. (Their parents probably put them up to it but I'm sure that they've come to love the movies as well) to adults who wanted to bring the magic to the work place. Indeed the magic which J.K. Rowling has created for what now seems like generations is surely far from over. 

The cuties clad in Gryffindor colors? Daughters of my former English (and Economics) High School teacher and I can say that Miss Gaye has those #ParentingGoals down right! 

We just saw "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" last week (movie review here) and I tell you it was indeed a reminiscent trip down memory lane as the movie 'read' so much like a "Harry Potter" book. It's on its second week in cinemas now! Make sure to see it!   

The lovely folks from Sky Cable's Digital Marketing went on a "Harry Potter" theme for their Halloween Party. Complete with "Undesirable No.1" posters! 

This little cutie is about to have his first birthday and guess what the theme is? :D

So no, I don't think we have seen the last of that Potter magic and if "Fantastic Beasts" were any indication I think we're still on for more! And as a Potter head I couldn't be happier. 

Indeed, Rowling has helped redefine literature and children's literature as we know it. Now, Harry Potter is a discussion which both adults and children can enjoy. 

Thank you to Miss Gaye and Chie for sharing your photos! 

As if we needed more evidence of Potter love, there is a Harry Potter themed cafe along Maginhawa Street, Nook Cafe. we've been meaning to visit but haven't yet, one of these days for sure! 

Movies: “FANTASTIC BEASTS” – BEFORE HARRY POTTER, THERE WAS NEWT SCAMANDER

In the summer of 1997, a book entitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by a then-unknown writer named J.K. Rowling, was first published. With the words, “You’re a wizard, Harry,” it ushered us into a magical realm that soon became known as the wizarding world. And our world would never be the same.

Through seven best-selling books and eight blockbuster films, millions of people around the globe have been captivated by the stories of Harry Potter and his friends as they came of age and took us all on thrilling, magical adventures. Favorite characters like Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore, and even He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named became instant contemporary icons, and words like Muggle, Quidditch, and Hogwarts were embedded in our cultural lexicon.

Now, almost two decades after the arrival of J.K. Rowling’s first history-making book, audiences will be transported back to the wizarding world in a new era of magic in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

Although “Fantastic Beasts” unfolds in an entirely different time and place, it has an organic connection to Harry Potter, as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was one of Harry’s textbooks at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. J.K. Rowling, who made her screenwriting debut on the film and also served as a producer, recalls that she initially brought the primer into being as a project for charity. “During the writing of that book,” she says, “I became interested in its ostensible author, Newt Scamander, and he took on quite a bit of life for me. So I was very enthusiastic when the studio came to me and said they wanted to make it into a movie because I already had the back story in my mind and it just so happened that they’d optioned the very thing I was most interested in. And I knew if it were to happen, I would have to write it because I know too much about Newt to let someone else do it.”

Set in 1926, the film’s story brings the self-proclaimed Magizoologist to life before he had written the textbook that would someday be required reading at his alma mater, Hogwarts. Coming to the end of a journey that took him to far-flung lands in search of magical creatures, Newt arrives in New York, where the escape of his precious beasts sweeps him into a chain of events that threatens to reveal the wizarding community, which hides in plain sight amongst the No-Majs.

Found within the tale are other, albeit more subtle, links to J.K. Rowling’s previous works. Producer David Heyman, who also produced all eight of the “Harry Potter” films, confirms that amidst the magic and fun, are concepts that have become hallmarks of her writing. “Many of the underlying themes of the Potter books are in evidence here: the virtue of tolerance in contrast to the dangers of intolerance and repression; being true to who you are; outsiders coming together and connecting… There is an emotional universality and relevance to those ideas that are utterly relatable to people across the globe. The beasts may be in the title, but it’s the humans who are the heart of the story.”

Regarding J.K. Rowling’s writings, director David Yates observes, “There is a grace and humanity in Jo’s characters…a celebration of being who you are without apology, and not overly trying to conform or hide your potential to be everything you can be. She cherishes individuality.”

“My heroes are always people who have the courage to say, ‘I see how it is, but it doesn’t have to be that way,’” Rowling asserts. “They are the ones willing to ask, ‘Why is it this way?’”

Rowling also appreciated that Steve Kloves, who had scripted the “Potter” films, came on board for “Fantastic Beasts” as a producer. “I wanted Steve involved because—having never written a screenplay before—I knew I would need some guidance,” she says. “Just having him there for advice was huge.”

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” opens nationwide November 17 in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX, and is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

© 2016 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved.

Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts Publishing Rights © JKR.

Movie News: COMIC-CON TRAILER OF “FANTASTIC BEASTS” EXPLORES NEW ERA OF MAGIC

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the official Comic-Con trailer of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” which may be viewed at http://youtu.be/-lgkBydarNY.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling.

            Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who helmed the last four “Harry Potter” blockbusters.

            “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident … were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

            “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” also stars Katherine Waterston as Tina; Tony Award winner Dan Fogler as Jacob; Alison Sudol as Tina’s sister, Queenie; Ezra Miller as Credence; two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton as Mary Lou; Oscar winner Jon Voight as Henry Shaw, Sr.; Ron Perlman as Gnarlack; Carmen Ejogo as Seraphina; Jenn Murray as Chastity; young newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty; and Colin Farrell as Percival Graves.

            The film marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, whose beloved “Harry Potter” books were adapted into the top-grossing film franchise of all time. Her script was inspired by the Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” written by her character Newt Scamander.

            Warner Bros. Pictures has slated “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” for a Philippine release in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX on November 17, 2016. 

Movie News: POTTERMORE UNVEILS NEW WRITING BY J.K. ROWLING ABOUT ILVERMORNY, NORTH AMERICAN SCHOOL OF MAGIC

Calling all Potterheads! 

in the second instalment of Magic in North America, setting the stage for the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Pottermore.com users can now be sorted into Ilvermorny houses

28 June, 2016 – ‘Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,’ the second instalment in a collection of new original writing by J.K. Rowling entitled Magic in North America, will be published today exclusively on pottermore.com. ‘Ilvermorny’ (Ill-ver-morn-ee’) provides a vivid and captivating backstory of the great North American school of magic, founded in the 17th century.

The new writing, and the short video that accompanies it (https://youtu.be/4DCHPvGhRZg), provide a rich background for the upcoming Warner Bros. feature film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which will be released 17 November, 2016 (in the Philippines). The film, which marks J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut, is an all-new adventure starring Eddie Redmayne as magizoologist Newt Scamander who arrives in New York in 1926.

The work of fiction begins in Ireland where an orphaned young girl who is a descendant of Hogwarts co-founder Salazar Slytherin, escapes her evil aunt and sets sail on the Mayflower. Landing in Massachusetts with little more than the clothes on her back and a stolen wand, she ventures out on her own, wandering in the wilderness until she encounters several mysterious creatures and discovers she is not the only magical person in the New World. But she will also have to overcome great challenges and face new dangers on her way to establishing what will become the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the peak of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts.

In addition to publishing the second instalment of Magic in North America today, Pottermore announced that, for the first time ever, users of the website will be able to be sorted into one of the four houses of Ilvermorny. The Ilvermorny Sorting Ceremony consists of questions and answers written by J.K. Rowling. The answers to the questions determine into which Ilvermorny house users will be sorted. The houses are named after the following creatures, which have been described as follows in the writing:

• Horned Serpent; a ‘great horned river serpent with a jewel set into its forehead’

• Pukwudgie; ‘a short, grey-faced, large-eared creature’

• Thunderbird; a creature that ‘can create storms as it flies’

• Wampus; ‘a magical, panther-like creature that is fast, strong and almost impossible to kill’

In March, Pottermore published ‘History of Magic in North America,’ the first instalment of Magic in North America. The writing, which was posted over four consecutive days, took readers into the history of North American witches and wizards.

# # #

About Pottermore

Pottermore, the digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment and news company from J.K. Rowling, is the global digital publisher of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. As the digital heart of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, pottermore.com is dedicated to unlocking the power of imagination. It offers news, features, and articles as well as new and previously unreleased writing by J.K. Rowling.

About J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into 79 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films. 

She has written three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in aid of Comic Relief; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in aid of her children’s charity, Lumos.

In 2012, J.K. Rowling’s digital entertainment and e-commerce company Pottermore was launched, where fans can enjoy her new writing and immerse themselves deeper in the wizarding world.

Her first novel for adult readers, The Casual Vacancy, was published in September 2012 and adapted for TV by the BBC in 2015. Her crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, were published in 2013 (The Cuckoo’s Calling), 2014 (The Silkworm) and 2015 (Career of Evil), and are to be adapted for a major new television series for BBC One, produced by Brontë Film and Television.

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, and sold in aid of her charity Lumos and university–wide financial aid at Harvard.

In addition to making her screenwriting debut with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, J.K. Rowling is currently collaborating on a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which will open in London’s West End in the summer of 2016. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne, based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany.

About Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates (the last four Harry Potter features).

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident…were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them also stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Ron Perlman, Carmen Ejogo, Jenn Murray, Faith Wood-Blagrove, and Colin Farrell.

The film marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, whose script was inspired by the Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, written by her character Newt Scamander.

The film reunites a number of people from the Harry Potter features, including producers David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.

Opening November 17 in the Philippines, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Movie News: Meet "Fantastic Beast's" Newt Scamander!

For its upcoming adventure “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Warner Bros. Pictures has just shared a new featurette titled “Newt Scamander: A New Hero for a New Era of Magic” which may be viewed at https://youtu.be/d_Z-lr_YUcE.

In this featurette, we learn more about Scamander and his personality. We also learn a bit about how the magical world operates in North America, specifically with regards to interactions between wizards and muggles (or as they’re called in America, “no-maj”).

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is an all-new adventure returning us to the wizarding world created by J.K. Rowling.

Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne stars in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander, under the direction of David Yates, who helmed the last four “Harry Potter” blockbusters.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” opens in 1926 as Newt Scamander has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident … were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” also stars Katherine Waterston (“Steve Jobs”) as Tina; Tony Award winner Dan Fogler (“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) as Jacob; Alison Sudol (“Transparent”) as Tina’s sister, Queenie; Ezra Miller (“Trainwreck”) as Credence; two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton (“In America”) as Mary Lou; Oscar winner Jon Voight (TV’s “Ray Donovan”) as Henry Shaw, Sr.; Ron Perlman (the “Hellboy” films) as Gnarlack; Carmen Ejogo (“Selma”) as Seraphina; Jenn Murray (“Brooklyn”) as Chastity; young newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty; and Colin Farrell (“True Detective”) as Percival Graves.

The film marks the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling, whose beloved “Harry Potter” books were adapted into the top-grossing film franchise of all time. Her script was inspired by the Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” written by her character Newt Scamander.

Warner Bros. Pictures has slated “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” for a Philippine release in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX on November 17, 2016.

Movie News: Neville Longbottom-MATTHEW LEWIS, NOW THE JEALOUS BOYFRIEND IN “ME BEFORE YOU”

Remember all those Before and Now Photos of the Harry Potter cast? How cute they were before and how gorgeous they all are now? One before and now photo stands out and that is of Neville Longbottom's Matthew Lewis who we first came to know as the shy and chubby Neville from the Harry Potter movies. Of course after eight movies, he has she'd the pounds and is now gracing the covers of magazines in the UK. 

We will get to see him on the big screen in New Line Cinema's “Me Before You” as Patrick, the one individual who is not exactly happy about the obvious camaraderie between his girlfriend, the caregiver Louisa (Emilia Clarke) and accident survivor Will (Sam Claflin).

Matthew Lewis says, “Patrick is Lou’s boyfriend of about seven years, and it’s comfortable, you know? He’s also a personal trainer and is obsessed with fitness. He’s set up his business and he’s won this local entrepreneur of the year award twice, and that’s just spurred him on to get fitter and fitter.

He adds, “Now he’s planning to do this Viking triathlon in Norway as his and Lou’s holiday together. In his mind, and probably hers at one point, they’re going to stay in this town for the rest of their lives, get married, get a house, have kids, and everything’s going to be okay.

“When Will comes into her life,” he continues, “suddenly her eyes are open to the possibilities and opportunities in the world outside of this town…and outside of Patrick.”

The Leeds-born actor began his career at the tender age of five with several TV roles, but a speculative trip to open auditions in his hometown six years later saw him secure the much-loved role of Neville Longbottom in the most successful film series of all time. His role as the hapless, endearing and eventually heroic Neville saw him build a massive worldwide fan base.

He made his West End theatre debut in Jonathan Lewis’ critically acclaimed “Our Boys” at the Duchess Theatre, alongside Laurence Fox and Arthur Darville, in 2012.

In 2014, Lewis joined the cast of BBC3’s award-winning “Bluestone 42,” a comedy-drama about a British bomb disposal detachment in Afghanistan in which Lewis played ammunition expert Gordon House, and returned for the show’s third series in March 2015. He can currently be seen in the role of Sgt. Drum Drummond on the BBC and Amazon’s crime drama “Ripper Street,” and as Sean Balmforth in Sally Wainwright’s BAFTA-winning series “Happy Valley.”

New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' “Me Before You” is based on the critically acclaimed, bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes.

The romantic drama stars Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) and Sam Claflin (“The Hunger Games” series), under the direction of Thea Sharrock, making her feature film directorial debut.

Oftentimes you find love where you least expect it. Sometimes it takes you where you never expected to go…

Louisa “Lou” Clark (Clarke) lives in a quaint town in the English countryside. With no clear direction in her life, the quirky and creative 26-year-old goes from one job to the next in order to help her tight-knit family make ends meet. Her normally cheery outlook is put to the test, however, when she faces her newest career challenge.

Taking a job at the local “castle,” she becomes caregiver and companion to Will Traynor (Claflin), a wealthy young banker who became wheelchair bound in an accident two years prior, and whose whole world changed dramatically in the blink of an eye. No longer the adventurous soul he once was, the now cynical Will has all but given up. That is until Lou determines to show him that life is worth living. Embarking together on a series of adventures, both Lou and Will get more than they bargained for, and find their lives—and hearts—changing in ways neither one could have imagined.

Thea Sharrock directs from a screenplay by Jojo Moyes and Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (“The Fault in Our Stars”), based on the book by Moyes.

I've read the book and I never imagined that the boy, formerly known as "Neville" will be playing the role of Patrick-and this is yet another reason to look forward to the film! 

“Me Before You” is a presentation of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM). Set for release across the Philippines on June 15, 2016, it will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

"Fantastic Beasts" has found it's Newt Scamander in Eddie Redmayne

Academy Award winning actor Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything) has bigger fish-err- Loch Ness monster to fry as he steps into the shoes of Newt Scamander, the wizarding world's most prominent magizoologist (Magizoology-the study of magical creatures) and author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them" the next movie from the Harry Potter universe. 

After much speculation, the talented actor will be playing Newt Scamander who after graduating from Hogwarts, joined the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation & Control of Magical Creatures. It is in his career and travels where he encountered and documented different magical creatures which led him to write the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them. The book is mentioned in passing in the first Harry Potter book; Harry Potter And The Sorcerrer's Stone. The events in Fantastic Beasts take place 70 years before the adventures of the boy who lived. 

Author J.K. Rowling is a first time screen writer in the project, she is joined by David Yates who directed the last four Potter films and will continue directing responsibilities in Fantastic Beasts. 

It would be interesting to note that the book on which the film is based comes out more as a textbook rather than your traditional fiction book, so making a movie out of that material should be something to look forward to. Although I've always been a Potterhead so it's no question I'll be watching out for this one :) Plus Eddie Redmayne has been a favorite ever since I saw him play Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything. 

You might want to brush up on Chizpurfle, Diricrawl, Erkling, Fwooper and other fantastic beasts by reading the book, you still have time, Warner Bros. has the movie set for a worldwide release in 3D and IMAX on November 18, 2016.