“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” is due out Nov. 16.
Harry Potter
Wizardfest to take ‘Harry Potter’ hijinks on the road
Are you one of the many wizards and witches still waiting for your owl to arrive with your letter from Hogwarts? Well, if you are, then we have some great news for you because it looks like Hogwarts may be coming to venue near you. On Thursday (Sept. 6), it was announced that Wizardfest, a Harry Potter pop-up party, will be hitting the touring circuit during the months of September, October, and November.
The tour will kick off on Sept. 19 at the Majestic Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin and conclude almost two months later on Nov. 9 at Skully’s in Columbus, Ohio.
According to a press statement from the event’s organizers, the evening will consist of Harry Potter-themed trivia; magicians; music; dancing; cosplay; and drink specials which will include Fire Whisky, Polyjuice Potion, Unicorn Blood (for the naughty), and of course the most iconic HP beverage, Butterbeer.
For those who want to dress up like their favorite Harry Potter character (Luna Lovegood anyone?), there will be a costume contest where winners can earn cash and prizes. But if that wasn’t enough to make you run through the wall at Platform 9 ¾ in King’s Cross, then maybe the special Quidditch Pong Tournament will. Winners of the pong tournament will also qualify for cash and prizes.
“Wizardfest started as an idea in 2016 where we thought about transforming venues into castles with decorations, light shows, themed cocktails and incorporating all things magic into a dance party,” explains the roving party’s co-founder John Damiano.
“We all love the Harry Potter universe and incorporating that aspect was so much fun. Before we knew it we had sold out parties across the country. There is something for everyone… whether you like to dance, you’re into magic, or just love Harry Potter.”
For more information and tickets to the event, which we’re sure will rival the Yule Ball, head on over to Wizardfest’s website here. If you’re already making plans to get on your broom and head on over to your local party, you better get your tickets soon; tickets for the New York, Chicago, and Dallas stops went Evanesco last year.
The full list of Wizardfest tour dates can be seen below.
WIZARDFEST UNITED STATES TOUR STOPS:
Sept. 19 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
Sept. 20 – St. Louis, MO – Ready Room
Sept. 21 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
Sept. 22 – Columbia, MO – Blue Note
Sept. 23 – Nashville, TN – Exit / In
Sept. 25 – Birmingham, AL – Zydeco
Sept. 27 – Minneapolis, MN – Cabooze
Sept. 28 – St. Cloud, MN – Red Carpet Nightclub
Sept. 29 – Chicago, IL – Joe’s Bar
Sept. 30 – Ann Arbor, MI – blind pig
Oct. 1 – Buffalo, NY – EXPO Market
Oct. 2 – Rochester, NY – Montage Music Hall
Oct. 3 – Syracuse, NY – Wescott Theater
Oct. 4 – Saratoga County, NY – Upstate Concert Hall
Oct. 5 – Amityville, NY – Revolution Bar & Music Hall
Oct. 6 – Reading, PA – Reverb
Oct. 7 – Garwood, NJ – Crossroads
Oct. 10 – San Antonio, TX – The Rock Box
Oct. 11 – Corpus Christi, TX – Brewsters Street Ice House
Oct. 12 – Dallas, TX – Trees
Oct. 13 – Houston, TX – Scout Bar
Oct. 14 – New Orleans, LA – The Willow
Oct. 17 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
Oct. 18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Jergels
Oct. 19 – Stanhope, NJ – Stanhope House
Oct. 20 – New York City, NY – NYC Harry Potter Dance Party Cruise!
Oct. 23 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theater
Oct. 24 – Morgantown, WV – Mainstage Morgantown
Oct. 25 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Oct. 26 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
Oct. 27 – Richmond, VA – The Canal Club
Oct. 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of the Living Arts
Oct. 31 – Washington, DC – Union Stage
Nov. 2 – Pontiac, MI – Crofoot
Nov. 3 – Akron, OH – Musica
Nov. 4 – Indianapolis, IN – Old NAtional Centre
Nov. 6 – Bloomington, IN – Bluebird
Nov. 7 – Memphis, TN – Miglewood
Nov. 8 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
Nov. 9 – Columbus, OH – Skully’s
First trailer for ‘Fantastic Beasts’ sequel drops
Are your wands ready? Well, if you don’t have one, you better head on over to Ollivanders Shop and get one because we’re about to go against a great darkness. On Tuesday (March 13), the first official trailer for the upcoming sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them unleashed (yes, like Newt’s pets) online. Check out the almost two-minute clip above which finally introduces Potterheads to Jude Law’s young Albus Dumbledore.
The sequel will reunite Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), Katherine Waterston (Tina Goldstein), Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski), Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone), and Johnny Depp (Gellert Grindelwald) and welcome new addition to the cast including Zoë Kravitz (Leta Lestrange), Callum Turner (Theseus Scamander), and Claudia Kim (an unidentified Maledictus).
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set to be released on Nov. 16.
Watch the Dark Lord Get Funky in “Uptown Funk” Parody
What’s a Dark Lord to do after he has been defeated for like the millionth time?
Simple, make a radio-worthy parody of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.”
The video features it all: the sorting hat, Death Eaters playing the sax, Filch and his cat, the Daily Prophet, a funk band called The Tom Riddles, and Voldemort wearing hair curlers.
Come on guys, can things get any better than that? Probably not.
Watch the video below.
New ‘Harry Potter’ Spin-Off Story About The Singing Sorceress
It must feel like Christmas to Harry Potter fans because the franchise’s mastermind, J.K. Rowling, has released another mini-companion story to the hit book franchise.
This time, instead of concentrating on our beloved characters like last time, this story or biography, rather, concentrates on a character that Rowling said was always in the background of the story, but never played a big role in the story.
The character’s name is Celestina Warbeck or as she is known in the Wizarding World, “The Singing Sorceress.” In her blog post about the new “story,” Rowling admits the Celestina was one of her favorite “off-stage” characters and when she was thinking about her appearance, she modeled her after popular Welsh singer, Shirley Bassey.
The new story concentrates on Warbeck’s background including the fact that she attended Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor. The background also unveils that her father was a wizard working in the Muggle Liaison Office while her mother was, what else, a muggle. Her parents met when her mother had been attacked by a Lethifold when it disguised itself as a stage curtain.
The biography also reveals how Warbeck’s mother reluctantly allowed her daughter to attend Hogwarts after it was discovered there weren’t any wizarding stage school in the Wizarding World. Her other was persistent one, though. She tried to get Hogwarts to create a choir, a theater club and dancing classes to showcase her daughter’s talents.
But, Rowling does somehow make a connection between Warbeck and our favorite characters. In the biography, Rowling writes how due to her popularity tickets are often sold on the black market at elevated prices which is why Molly Weasley has not been able to see her favorite singer live.
The full biography for Celestina Warbeck is currently up on Pottermore, but for those of us who can’t quite remember our passwords (and username for that matter), the TODAY Show has it posted on their website.
Now, how long until Rowling graces us with another Harry Potter spin-off mini story?
J.K. Rowling Trolls ‘Harry Potter’ Fans with New Short Story
UPDATE: You can actually head on over to the TODAY Show’s website here and read the full story.
Enjoy!
With all the press and hype surrounding the opening of the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios Orlando, leave it to creator J.K. Rowling to release a new, albeit short (1,500 words) story.
Insert the screams if Potterheads everywhere or the continuous screams.
The story, which is told from the perspective of gossip column maven Rita Skeeter, reveals how Dumbledore’s Army had reunited at the 2014 Quidditch World Cup. Of course, Harry is there and so are his brother-in-law/best friend, Ron Weasley and his wife/Harry’s other best friend, Heromione Granger.
In the “column” they seem to describe how each character has changed, physically, from the fresh-faced kids we all grew up with to these adults with real responsibilities. Harry is getting silver streaks in his hair and has a cut oh his cheek, most likely from his job as an Auror. Ron’s own ginger mop seems to be thinning and they reveal that his sister aka Harry’s wife, Ginny, went on to become a journalist while Heromione went on to work for the Magical Law Enforcement. Not such a hard leap when you remember this was the girl who was more afraid of being expelled than dying.
This short story was a longtime coming and even some fans of the franchise had begun to joke that Rowling would probably release a new Harry Potter book later this month on her (and Harry’s) birthday, July 31. Guess the joke was on them.
Of course the Quidditch World Cup joke was not waste on anyone since today marks one of the final games for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which has now been going on for the past month.
Why should there not be a Quidditch World Cup, after all?
If you haven’t been able to read the story yet, we’ll be on the look out for a/an legal/illegal way to read the story since not everyone is fortunate enough to remember their Pottermore account. We’ll blame that on a memory charm.
Fun. Debut New Song on ‘Jimmy Fallon’
Not much has been heard from fun. in several months, since their performance at the NCAA March Madness, to be exact, where frontman Nate Ruess revealed they were working on some new material.
Since then, there has been radio silence from the band that a year ago were on a major tour and a continuous staple on top 20 radio. The only known thing was that guitarist, Jack Antonoff had formed a band (not a “side project,” because he hates that term) named Bleachers.
After months of quiet, it was quite a surprise, to say the least, to see the band not only appear on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show last night, which was somewhat live from Universal Studios Orlando’s preview of the expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Hogsmeade), but that they came armed with a new song.
The new track is titled “Harsh Light” and awesomely was filmed in front of Universal’s Rip Ride Rockit, but other than that, no other information was given about it. Maybe the follow-up to Some Nights is on the horizon. Or maybe it’s just something to tide fans over.
Check out the live debut of the new song.
http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/fun-harsh-light/2792484
Universal Studios Unveils Big Harry Potter News
The Harry Potter franchise might have officially ended back in 2011 with the final films being made, but that doesn’t mean Potterheads were any less excited when they found out last year there would be an expansion at Orlando’s Universal Studios. The expansion would bring the world of Diagon Alley to life just like they has with Hogwarts.
Tomorrow beginning at 10:30 a.m., the amusement park will be holding a live webcast that will help fans dive deeper into the new addition which is scheduled to open in Summer 2014. Promotion teasers for it can be seen below.
Attendees will now get the opportunity to become Hogwarts students and travel between ‘London’/Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade/Hogwarts aboard the Hogwarts Express (and a park to park ticket).
The new area will feature shops, a restaurant and an innovative, marquee attraction based on Gringotts bank – all directly inspired by the books and films. Just like when they made The Wizarding World, the creative team behind the new attractions worked closely with Warner Bros. and the production design team that worked on the films.
“I’m so pleased that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has proved so popular to date, and I’m sure that the attention to detail in creating the new Diagon Alley area will make this an even better experience,” said J.K. Rowling about the addition to the already impressive Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
“We are continuing the journey and adding an entirely new level of adventure,” said Tom Williams, Chairman of Universal Parks & Resorts. “And we are bringing the same drive, commitment, enthusiasm and innovation to this project as we did to the first.”
To watch the sneak peek straight from the people at Universal Studios with special guests James Phelps, Evanna Lynch and Matthew Lewis, head over here and we hope to see you at Hogwarts.
‘Harry Potter’ to Hit the Stage in 2015
Stop what you are doing because Harry Potter is coming back!
Yes children or adult or whomever you are, the boy wizard is coming back, but before you think this has anything to do with another book which author J.K. Rowling has been mum about or that film based on one of Harry’s Hogwarts textbooks, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it really doesn’t.
Yesterday, Rowling revealed that Harry Potter will be hitting the stage in London. The premise of the story is to “explore the previously untold story of Harry’s early years as an orphan and outcast,” while living in the muggle world with aunt, uncle and cousin.
While Rowling was the one to unveil the upcoming plans, she also confirmed that she would not be writing the script for the play. Instead, she will be co-producing the show alongside veteran producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender. As for the lucky person who will be bringing the wizarding world to real life in words, that person or persons have yet to be chosen.
When addressing why she had chosen Friedman and Callender to co-producer the stage adaptation, she said she had received many stage pitches concerning the magical world of Harry Potter, but Friedman and Callender’s imagination of it “was the only one that really made sense to me, and which had the sensitivity, intensity and intimacy I thought appropriate for bringing Harry’s story to the stage. After a year in gestation, it is very exciting to see this project moving onto the next phrase,” the Daily Mail had reported.
The play is expected to premiere at London’s West End within the next two years, but no exact or estimated date has been given yet.
Now you can start all those “the boy who lived” jokes if you want.
J.K Rowling to Screenwrite New Wizard World-Inspired Film
Cue all the screams from the Harry Potter fans when they first found out that Warner Brothers and the mastermind behind the hit franchise, J.K. Rowling announced earlier today that they would be working with each other on a Wizarding World-inspired film.
Now before anyone calls this a sequel or prequel to the hit franchise, keep in mind, that it is in fact none of the above. The film which will be titled, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be an “extension of the wizarding world” according to Rowling.
The titled, for those non-hardcore Potterheads, is one of the titled from Harry’s textbooks used while he attended Hogwarts written by the fictional author, Newt Scamander. Scamander is often mentioned throughout the franchise and quirky Luna Lovegood went onto marry his grandson, Rolf, in the original series. This film will be Rowling’s first ever screen play and is expected to launch a new series of films.
While you breathe into a brown paper bag, you can read the rest of the statement below on behalf of the author and the studio behind it all.
“It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood. As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros. Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway. I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”
Talk Music To Me 