With the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opening in the spring, here's my shortlist of other movie franchises screaming to be turned into cinematic pleasure gardensThis Sunday, fans of tediously impenetrable sport will get to enjoy their first glimpse of a magical new world. Yes, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Florida, which opens in the spring, will air its first televised commercial during the Super Bowl.From the trickle of online information that's been officially released so far, there's more to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter than just a startlingly dreadful name. Visitors will be able to buy fish and chips from the Three Broomsticks restaurant, bob around on the wicker-and-feather Flight of the Hippogriff ride and purchase something called U-No-Poo...

The nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards are being announced. Who will walk home with this year's Oscars? Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the pack with nine nominations eachActress in a supporting roleMo'Nique in PreciousVera Farmiga in Up in the Air Penélope Cruz in Nine Diane Kruger in Inglourious BasterdsMaggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy HeartActor in a supporting roleChristoph Waltz in Inglourious BasterdsChristopher Plummer in The Last StationMatt Damon in InvictusStanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones Woody Harrelson in The Messengers Actor in a leading roleMorgan Freeman in InvictusJeff Bridges in Crazy HeartGeorge Clooney in Up in the AirColin Firth in A Single ManJeremy Renner in The Hurt LockerActress in a leading roleMeryl Streep in Julie & Julia in It's Complicated Sandra Bullock in...

MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann: Jack Dee, Harry Potter, a fundraising dinner and on a beach with Danie Kruge. News in the Express is that “COMEDIAN Jack Dee has helped to raise £45,000 to keep up the search for Madeleine McCann.” What did the “COMEDIAN” do to raise the money – a sponsored laugh? He played auctioneer at an event to mark the 1,000 days since she disappeared in May 2007. Among the prizes were flights donated by Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson and signed Harry Potter books. Sounds good. Any other money raised? Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry welcomed 180 celebrities and supporters to the £150-a-head gala dinner in Kensington, west London, last week. That’s £27,000 more. Says the...

Tory Chic: The return of poshnessFrom The Guardian:'Over the last few years, in trendy parts of London, at music festivals, and among clothes-horse celebrities, Barbours have become so ubiquitous that there is even a half-mocking nickname for the look, referencing the London borough where it is commonest: "Hackney farmer". The boom is even affecting sensible old John Lewis: this year, national sales of Barbours there are up more than 80%.And the Barbour craze is only part of a much broader new appetite for products with posh associations. Brogues and Oxfords, the more clumpy and traditional-looking the better, have become the shoes of choice for many cool young men. Hunter wellies, once something for squelchy point-to-points, are now what Kate Moss and her fashion disciples wear to...

Thanks to a Cardiff Knitters meeting last night and lots of hot chocolate, I managed to stay focussed long enough to finish Handsome’s Gryffindor Gloves. He very proudly and happily wore them to school this morning. I just hope that the cheap acrylic yarn (remember, using yarn from my stash rather than buying new!) will keep his little hands warm enough. They certainly inspired him to fly on his broomstick most of the way to school, so I must have done something right! And while I was at the meeting, I got bored by knitting so I switched to crochet for a while and made this; You can see how small it is when you look at the size of the pins which I’m using to block it. (Blocking is the process by which you get lacey items to achieve the shape you want after you’ve made...

I thought I’d better write a post about my crafting, as I didn’t want people to worry that I’ve stopped now that Christmas is over! Only joking! I had a few days off after Christmas, but then got straight back in with the two pairs of slipper socks I made over New Year (well, a pair and a half as I gave one completed sock to GG for Christmas with an IOU for the second). After that, I started on something for me! Yay! I’ve been looking forward to making something for myself since the start of October, when I made my fingerless gloves and then jumped straight in to making Christmas presents. So, I’m making myself a jumper. I’ve only made one jumper for myself before, as I usually run out of patience before finishing it (I prefer more instant gratification...

The turkeys of 2009, and what we're looking forward to (and not) next yearXan BrooksJason SolomonsAndrew PulverChristian Bennett...

Christmas decorations, scooters and DVDs – they’re all here today, thanks to HotUKDeals! In case you weren’t aware, it’s Christmas time in a couple of weeks or so, the time of year when we all get together and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the time snooker legend Terry Griffiths bagged a century break after getting that life-changing root perm. Or something. For some reason, we like to jazz up our commemoration of that hair-related snooking feat by putting up lights and a decorated tree. In a move that may be entirely funded by Griffiths himself, you can 50 per cent off… lights, trees and decorations! Hooray – and that’s why Jimmy White’s stint in the jungle meant NOTHING. Next, we moved onwards from fiction to cold, hard fact and the world of intrepid explorer and...

Harry Potter is to get his kit off not once but twice in the next film – is he feeling the pressure from the Twilight hunks?If you had to pick one fault in the Harry Potter films, it would probably be their lack of sexual content. Sure, it's nice to see Harry and his chums lark about with Hagrid's pet hippogriff and all, but it goes without saying that the films would be much more popular if that aspect was balanced out with several gratuitous scenes of depraved wizard-on-wizard action.Luckily, your wishes are about to come true. David Yates, the director of the final two Harry Potter instalments, has been telling Spanish-language entertainment guide La Vibra about just how naked Harry Potter is going to be during the film, describing "a fascinating scene in which Harry and Ron are...

Tesco – handy for your value baked beans, its competitive MP3 marketplace but it sounds like the supermarket is ready to go into digital video. We may soon be seeing Tesco Virtual DVD. The plan is it utilise Microsoft’s Silverlight, the big M’s Flash taunter, and offer the typical features and content that can be found on DVD discs but designed to be viewed on a PC or Mac. Tesco has partnered with big hitters Warner Bros for the new launch and will offer those who buy the DVDs of either Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Hangover an accompanying Virtual DVD copy. Tesco’s category director for entertainment Rob Salter announced that “Tesco is excited to be the first retailer to launch this next-generation movie experience,” and “By partnering with Warner...

I don’t remember if this Magic Clock was in the Harry Potter books, but I remember it from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie. The scene was Harry waking up in the Weasley’s tree house, and Harry sees this odd clock with Ron and two of his brothers’ faces on the hands. They are pointing at the place where they are. It would appear that someone has designed a Weasley Whereabouts clock that actually works. It works with the magic of Twitter. All you need to do is tweet your location, and the supposed magical arrow will point to where you are. Assuming that you have put it on the face of the magic clock, of course. It reminds me of this sign I used to have on my dorm room door in my college years. It said: “Mark is”, and then an arrow would...

Started talking about this on MSN and seeing that Harry Potter films seem to come up in conversation far too often, I might as well copy it to here and link to it in the future. Saves the lazy me having to type it again. First one is good for being a happy/cheery kids movie. Magical really, especially with the introduction of the awesome John Williams score. Second one was ok, it’s always been my least favourite book, but the character of Myrtle was captured well enough for me to not dislike the film completely. Third one was too arty. Far too obvious it’s a different director and set and some of the parts, like Lupins changing into the werewolf after they leave the Shrieking Shack and Sirius attacking him felt cheap. Could have been the lighting. I did like how they did...

HARRY Potter was “Harry Pothead” in today’s Daily Mirror, wasted on weed and having his face drawn on by – gulp – a girl. Who knew? A girl. Only he wasn’t. At least that’s what he says. And he knows. For certain. He knows. His spokesman knows it too: “Daniel does smoke the occasional roll-up cigarette, but he was not doing anything more than this. We categorically deny the allegations regarding Daniel Radcliffe published in today’s Daily Mirror.” Daniel Radcliffe does not do drugs. He does not take substances that get him off his head. Harry Potter is partial to the odd tincture of rat’s arse and eye of magic dragon but he has never taken any powders nor smoked in his herbology class. Daniel Radcliffe is not a method actor. Equus was not an allegory about...

Warner Bros' lawyers have asked Ms Marmite Lover to rename a 'Harry Potter Dinner' at her Underground Restaurant. What alternative dishes can you suggest for 'Generic Wizard Night'?If you're planning any special Halloween parties or events this weekend, do be careful what you call them. I run an underground restaurant from my home every Saturday night with the help of my teenage daughter, and with much excitement we've been planning a Harry Potter themed evening for this coming Friday and Saturday, featuring butterbeer, pumpkin pasties and so on.I was a bit taken aback, last Friday, to receive a letter from Warner Bros' legal department asking me to cancel the event, which would, they say, amount to an "infringement of Warner's rights".On the upside, "Warner does not, of course, object to...

Warner Bros has banned a woman who runs a restaurant at her home in west London from hosting a Harry Potter Night to celebrate Hallowe'en.The owner of The Underground Restaurant, who uses the pseudonym Ms Marmite Lover, regularly holds themed evenings and for her latest event she had planned a menu of food and drink enjoyed by Harry Potter and his friends in the JK Rowling stories: from dandelion wine and pumpkin soup to Dumbledore's favourite sweets, such as mint humbugs. Guests were to be taken down Diagon Alley (the side of the house) before entering and would be met by a portrait of the "Fat Lady" to whom they would have to give a password.However, Warner Bros has written to her warning that it owns all things Harry Potter: the "name, stylised logo, the name of the characters, themes,...

Remote controls are boring. I haven’t a clue what half the buttons do on mine (then again I live next to a busy main road so I never have a steady enough signal on my TV to find out!). With the Wand Remote Control, you don’t even need to try and find out what the ‘-/- -’ button means because you canpreprogram 13 predefined gestures into and, and then control your TV by the simple act of flailing at it. … [visit site to read more] Change channels like Harry Potter with the Wand Remote Control is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com...

Have you ever thought it would be really cool to be able to wave a magic wand and make David Dickinson disappear? Or wished you could mute a long-winded politician with a simple flick of your wrist? Well, now you can with The Wand Remote Control from Firebox! The Wand is a nifty gizmo which uses gestures instead of the buttons you find on a traditional, clunky remote control. So, instead of the usual peer and press routine one goes through when wanting to change channel or adjust the volume, one of 13 simple hand gestures suffice. And even better, it’s capable of learning, so the combination of gestures you use are unique to your Wand – handy if an envious neighbour attempts to steal your moves. The Wand also works with a range of other infra-red devices, for example: your...

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol sold over half a million copies in first week of UK sales, making it the fastest-selling adult book of all timeIn pictures: The mystery of Dan BrownDan Brown has achieved record-breaking first week sales with The Lost Symbol, according to the official sales figures from Nielsen BookScan this afternoon.The novel, Brown's first since The Da Vinci Code, has sold well over 550,000 copies in the UK alone since it went on sale at one minute past midnight on Tuesday 15 September, making it the fastest-selling adult book of all time. So far it has earned Brown and his publishers, Random House, nearly £4.6m.The Lost Symbol, which has received mixed reviews, had already smashed first day sales records, selling well over 1m copies in the US, UK and Canada in its first...

Last week I had the good fortune to join in Firebox’s show-and-tell preview of their Christmas line. Apart from the fizzy vodka, which was rather nice, it was a real magic wand that remained in my mind as I left The Gallery on Charing Cross Road. The Kymera wand is the product of Chris Barnardo of The Wand Company. Although sporting a resemblance to something you will have seen thrashed about by Harry Potter, Gandalf and Paul Daniels it’s actually a universal remote. Instead of trying to work through clever touchscreens and myriad of buttons all you have to do is wave your magic wand to make the channels change.  Ta-daaaaaaaa! Flick the Kymera Magic Wand up or down in order to change the channel.  If you need the volume up or down you turn it in a clockwise...

PETER Andre is topless on the cover of OK! magazine, holding up his pair of children in the manner of his now former wife Katie Price advertising her Jordans, her books and her perfumes. Beneath Pete’s Marbella-warmed nipples is the headline: “KATIE STOP SENDING ME LOVE TEXTS.” So says Dignified Pete, the stoic face of what was once a marriage on a minor cable TV channel. Inside the magazine and Pete and his Jordanettes, Junior and Princess Tianminime, are eating watermelon with their fingers. Oddly, there is watermelon cut up on a plate before them, in chunks. Is this for mummy? Pete has some “explosive information he wants to share.” “Kate I texted me two weeks ago saying she is still in love with me. I’ve not been sending abusive texts. I haven’t responded – I will...

After a gang of young people in Bristol attacked a boy with snakes (yes, I’m afraid this is true), a friend opined that it was a copycat crime, based on the pernicious seeping effect of Harry Potter among the nation’s young. I could only concur. Surprising as it may seem, I have seen this sort of thing before. (Maybe it isn’t so surprising. As regular readers will know, Ms Baroque has led a rich and full life. Eventually you see most things.) It was like this. The story is long and depressing, actually. A child we know, a boy with an unusual name, had been getting in trouble at school. He had had a tendency to boil over ever since babyhood, and slightly underdeveloped social skills. He is a good friend of the family, and we spent a lot of time telling him, “Use...

On Harry Potter FACTSHe's the boy wizard that everybody's talking about. But what does a muggle you know about the one and only posh speccy do-gooder Harry Potter? Eh? EH?10. "What happened to Flashman Malfoy the caddish bully from Tom Brown's Schooldays Harry Potter after he was expelled in disgrace from Rugby School Hogwarts? What kind of man grew out of the foul-mouthed, swaggering, cowardly toady who roasted Hufflepuffs for fun but howled when we was beaten himself? Follow his adventures as he joins the British Army and fornicates his way to Afghanistan and back." I don't know about you, but I think JK Rowling could be onto a winner with this9. Little is known about the private lives of the teaching staff at Hogwarts. For example, headmaster Albus Dumbledore is only 35 years old. It's...

Despite the hysteria Harry Potter is a phenomenon I’ve very much watched from the sidelines. Having read the first two books I got bored and decided to leave it to the cinematic versions for me to continue the journey. It is widely viewed and my own opinion that the first three films were not a patch on the LOTR trilogy that came out at the same time. I found them enjoyable but ultimately a little bit dull. As a result I lost some interest in the series, watching the more recent films on DVD and not really paying too much attention to their content. This week and upon large amounts of persuasion I went off to see the latest in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Although unoriginal for me the latest adventure of HP has...

Pinknews.co.uk reports that six per cent of calls to Childline in 2007/8 were regarding their sexuality, three times the amount in 2002/3.Concerns included what friends and family would think.An NSPCC spokesman told PinkNews.co.uk: "Unfortunately, many children and young people use the word 'gay' as an insult. This makes it extremely difficult for a boy to be confident about his own sexuality, and it is therefore not surprising that sexuality is the sixth-largest reason for boys calling ChildLine."Let's hope that Ed Balls' recent comments will be followed by action.If you need someone to talk to and are a child or teenager, call 0800 1111 or visit the Childline website.Happily, morons who need celebrity magazines to tell them what to think may come one step closer to accepting...

The Sun reports an interview with Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who portrays Harry Potter in the film franchise, in which he gives his support to the Lib Dems – and dismisses Labour and the Tories: The actor – who battles soul-sucking Dementors as the boy wizard and is currently starring in Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince – said he supports Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg because the other parties offer nothing to young people. He said: “I rather like Nick Clegg. At the next election I will almost certainly vote Lib Dem. If all the people who liked them voted for them you could change politics overnight and we could have a proper three party system.” Asked about Gordon Brown he said: “Paul Merton said, and I agree with him, ‘it’s a tragedy...

Condensed Movies: Harry Potter – The Whole Nine Yards (including the one they haven't made yet)Seven films? Seven? JK Rowling is clearly doing it wrong and after two-and-a-half buttock-numbing hours in Cineworld Weymouth, is still in dire need of an editor. So, I have taken it upon myself to summarise Tom Brown's Schooldays the Harry Potter movies in the language of today's easily bored youth, taking out anything superfluous to the plot of this great saga. You know: everything.This edition restores Arnold Schwarzenegger to the role of Hagrid, and Roger Moore as Voldemort, as demanded by JK Rowling in original drafts of the screenplay.Spoiler warning: The car turns out to be a robot. Wait... wrong filmHarry Potter and the Order of the Philosophers Secret Goblet of Half-Blood Prince's...

Actor who plays Vincent Crabbe admits keeping plants in his mother's home after being stopped with his friendA Harry Potter actor was ordered to do unpaid community work today after admitting growing cannabis.Jamie Waylett, 20, who plays Vincent Crabbe in the films, admitted growing 10 plants at his mother's home.District judge Timothy Workman said the cannabis cultivation was on a small, but sophisticated scale. He ordered Waylett to undertake 120 hours of community service during a hearing at City of Westminster magistrates court.Waylett and his friend John Innis, 20, were stopped under the Terrorism Act in St John's Wood, north-west London, after the actor took a photograph of a police patrol as they drove past. Innis's black Audi was searched and police discovered a butterfly...

I am not a Harry Potter fan, so if you’re expecting a good or bad fanboyish rant about Harry Potter 6 you’re going to be sadly disappointed. On its merits this is a pretty good film, but its let down by some rambling in the storytelling and an often gratingly overblown script. I’ve always thought that film sequels (or serials) should be able to stand on their own two feet – the last Potter I can remember (the Prisoner of Azkaban) was a great example of when this works. Not only are the die-hards delighted with the nods to the books’ continuity, but they’re just nods – the film has a good beginning, middle and an end. Not so Half-Blood Prince. This is a film highly dependent on intimate knowledge of the films which have gone before and the subplots...

I don’t know if it’s just because I have read books 5 and 6 the least, and not recently either, but I thought that Half Blood Prince was the best Harry Potter film so far. Admittedly my judgement may be clouded by the fact that I was at an exclusive screening at the London Imax, and the first 15 minutes of the film (including the awesome London flythrough) were in eye popping 3D! Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the 6th film of the series, and things are rapidly drawing to a close. I’ll ignore the plot just in case there are people who have neither seen the film OR read the book – but suffice to say, a war is coming, and it’s not going to be pretty (hopefully it’ll be spectacular). In my opinion each of the Harry Potter films has been better...

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (12A) Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Helena Bonham Carter Running Time: 154 minutes Director: David Yates Before I start this review, I’d just like to say that there are going to be a few major spoilers in here if you haven’t read the book. The plot in a nutshell, is Harry returns to Hogwarts and finds himself working closely with Dumbledore to try and find a weakness of Voldemort’s. A new professor, Professor Slughorn, holds the key to a very important memory that Dumbledore asks Harry to retrieve from Slughorn. Malfoy has been given a very important task by the Dark Lord himself and if he fails, Voldemort will kill Malfoy and his family. Harry Potter and the...

Xan Brooks yearns for the day that school is out for Harry, forever...

PSST! Wanna see Emma Watson nipples and bosoms and cleavage? Emma Watson, who plays Harry Potter’s wand interest, craves anonymity. Emma Watson says: “I just want to keep it private for as long as I can. I probably sound like a paranoid nut, but I’m doing this because I want to be normal. I really want anonymity.” On the red carpet, Emma Watson goes through the motions for the Harry Potter marketing drive, as she must. And she shows us her knickers, accidentally. And then she shows us her bra and a hint of bosom. And then she went back to being anonymous. Why do they stare, Emma? Picture gallery - all in the best possible taste: Share and Enjoy:...

No matter how familiar we are with recorded performance, an element of confusion remains when viewing the deadThere was an affecting moment in a television preview theatre yesterday morning, as the husband of Wendy Richard watched her final performance – in A Pocketful of Rye, the first in ITV1's new set of Miss Marple stories. Although the drama is most notable for a powerful debut by Julia McKenzie in her assumption of the title role, there is also a strong undertow of poignancy for any follower of British showbusiness because the episode includes not only Richard's swan song but a typically maverick cameo by Ken Campbell, another actor who died soon after filming.The complex emotions of the family and friends of the two performers as they watch these closing roles can only be...

Revenue and cinema attendances increased in 2008, figures showThe British film industry has bucked the trend during the economic downturn with a year of steady growth in revenue and attendances at the cinema, figures show.In 2008 – the year of The Dark Knight, Mamma Mia! and Quantum of Solace – British films accounted for 15% of box office takings worldwide, banking $4.2bn (£2.6bn) – up nearly $1bn on the previous year.Attendances also rose steadily, adding weight to research by the UK Film Council on past recessions that suggested going to the movies was generally unaffected by the economic climate.The trend is expected to continue this year with the production of major UK/US productions, such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One. In the first half of 2009, £535m was...

ScoreKeeper over at AICN is running with the story that David Heyman answered a recent question on the subject of John Williams’ returning to the franchise’s final outing with: If we can make it work, and that’s a big if, for his schedule and ours, then yes. Williams, obviously a movie composing classic, would be a big-name composer for the final Potter flick.  But with so many lesser-known composers now creating magnificent scores, and the Potter franchise as established as it is, does it really need Williams back again?...

In the week of the 40th anniversary of the lunar landings, Jason Solomons catches up with British director Duncan Jones, currently achieving lift-off with Moon. The sci-fi thriller, starring Sam Rockwell opposite, um, Sam Rockwell, recently won the Michael Powell award for best new British feature at the Edinburgh film festival. Jones, the former Zowie Bowie, discusses how (and why) he achieved the industrial aesthetic of classic, early 70s sci-fi movies within Moon's £2.5m budget, playing with audience expectations of the genre, and how his film is unconsciously influenced by his famous father.Xan Brooks and Andrew Pulver then review the week's key releases: in addition to Moon, they run the rule over Burma VJ, an extraordinary portrait of an uprising in a closed society, and the...

In the UK we can all cheer up, because our money (above) is allegedly going further. Britain’s inflation rate dipped below the government’s 2% target for the first time in almost 2 years last month as cheaper food and soft drinks helped keep the cost of living in check, according to official figures released yesterday. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 2.2% in May to 1.8% in June. And the broader measure of inflation using the Retail Prices Index (RPI) recorded the sharpest drop in the cost of living since 1948. Prices were 1.6% lower last month than they were in June 2008. Reassuring that according to all these official measurements, prices are falling. However, in the real world as...

Some preparatory drawings. It can harder to caricature young people because life hasn’t left much of a mark on them yet, despite in these particular cases, quite a few adventures. Related Posts:Hazel Blears MP - sketchbook caricatureAlastair Darling in The Daily TelegraphElectrical power cartoonAfter the Duck House - cartoonReload, re-arm and...

HARRY Potter paramour Emma Watson says: “I just want to keep it private for as long as I can. I probably sound like a paranoid nut, but I’m doing this because I want to be normal. I really want anonymity.” This is demure Emma on the red carpet at the premiere of the new Harry Potter film. And those are her knickers trying to achieve anonymity. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince Premiere Pictures Image: egotastic Share and Enjoy:...

Despite its status as a sure-fire hit, the latest instalment has garnered lukewarm reviews in the UK and is dividing opinion among die-hard fansIt's already looking like it may rival Mamma Mia! for the title of all-time UK box office champ. But what do the critics so far think of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth instalment of JK Rowling's tales of witchcraft and wizardry? Well, they're not exactly bowled over, but few seem willing to condemn David Yates's second effort in the director's chair out of hand.Most seem of the opinion that Half-Blood Prince is a perfectly entertaining if somewhat workmanlike addition to the canon; that Yates is capable of some transcendent action sequences, and while the actors playing Harry and his pals are still not quite there - one wonders...