In the upcoming HBO Max’s reunion special “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts,” the cast got candid about their on-set crushes during filming.
Emma Watson admitted to “falling in love” with Tom Felton when they were younger. But for Radcliffe, he declared his crush on Helena Bonham Carter.
During the pair’s sit-down, the 32-year-old read a note he gave to the actress, 55, during filming.
“Dear HBC,” read Radcliffe, as quoted by Page Six on Wednesday. “It was a pleasure being your costar and coaster in the sense that I always ended up holding your coffee.”
The pair laughed about the pun and Carter urged the star to continue reading the note.
Daniel Radcliffe had a crush on his co-star Helena Bonham Carter. (Getty Images)
“I do love you,” he continued. “And I just wish I had been born 10 years earlier. I might [have had] a chance. Lots of love and thanks for being cool.”
During his confessional, Radcliffe also shared that some of his first girlfriends and kisses were through the film franchise.
“Every part of my life is connected to ‘[Harry] Potter,’” he explained. “My first kiss is connected to someone here. My first girlfriends were here. It all spirals out from the part of the set somewhere.”
While Radcliffe didn’t name any names, he did describe asking Watson, 31, for dating advice.
Actor Daniel Radcliffe (L) and actress Helena Bonham Carter attend the world premiere of ‘Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows’ at Odeon Leicester Square on November 11, 2010, in London, England. (Photo by Jon Furniss/WireImage)
“If she was texting a boy or I was texting a girl, I would be like, ‘She sent me this many kisses back. What do I do?’” he recalled. “This is a nightmare.
The special will become available for streaming on Jan. 1.
At age 11, Radcliffe achieved international stardom when he was cast as the lead in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in 2001, which was based on the beloved best-selling fantasy novel by British writer J.K. Rowling.
Not only did the film become a box-office sensation, but the eight-film series spanned Radcliffe’s late childhood — and set him up for life. The franchise ended its run in 2011 and skyrocketed the young actor’s net worth to nearly $100 million.
FORMER ‘Harry Potter’ STAR DANIEL RADCLIFFE EXPLAINS WHY HE WOULD BE OPEN TO DOING A PUNK BIOPIC
While ‘Harry Potter’ provided Daniel Radcliffe immense wealth, he isn’t interested in enchanting audiences on screen with the same magic formula. (AP, File)
Back in 2017, Radcliffe told Fox News his success on “Harry Potter” has motivated him over the years to show audiences what he’s capable of as an actor.
“I think I felt a lot of that pressure in the beginning,” Radcliffe said at the time. “I don’t know what the percentage is, but there’s a percentage of people who will absolutely be willing to see me as different characters. There’s a percentage of people, probably smallish, that already do. But there’s a percentage of people who will never see me as anything other than Harry Potter. And I’m not going to worry about that.
“I’m also very happy with that. I loved the part. And if that’s the way I will remain in some people’s minds until the end of time, then that’s fine… The fact that I’m able to do stuff that I’m proud of, if I just carry on and do the things that I want to make, hopefully, they will reach more and more people.”
Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.
The long-running Air Miles rewards system could be facing turbulence after the withdrawal of one of its only remaining national grocery chains from the program, say experts in the Canadian loyalty points industry.
In early June, Canadian grocer Empire Company Ltd. announced it would be switching loyalty programs to Scene+, best known for its acceptance at Canadian movie chain Cineplex. Empire owns Sobeys, in addition to Safeway, Foodland, some IGA stores in Canada, FreshCo, Needs, Thrifty Foods, Les Marches Tradition, Rachelle Bery and Lawtons Drugs.
The shift will occur between August 2022 and the first few months of 2023, with the Sobeys company taking one-third co-ownership of Scene+ alongside Cineplex and the Bank of Nova Scotia.
It’s a change to Canadian habits that could be difficult for Air Miles to recover from, according to industry watchers, after years of shoppers pulling out the familiar blue Air Miles cards at stores such as Safeway and Sobeys.
Ricky Zhang, founder of Prince of Travel, a website that tracks and compares travel reward systems, called the divorce of Sobeys from Air Miles a ‘major blow’ to the rewards program. (Submitted by Ricky Zhang)
“To call it even the final nail in the coffin could be a little dramatic, but it wouldn’t be too far off,” said Ricky Zhang, founder of Prince of Travel, a website that tracks and compares travel reward systems in Canada.
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“Losing the Sobeys and Safeway partnership is very much a major blow, and it’s only the latest in a series of major blows that they’ve suffered in recent years,” said Zhang. Those blows include losing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and Lowe’s hardware stores from the Air Miles network in 2021. As well, Staples Canada will no longer offer Air Miles as of July 2022.
If you love 20 bonus Air Miles with your BBQ sauce, you’ll be out of luck after March 2023 — Sobeys and Safeway will stop offering Air Miles across the country by then. (Anis Heydari/CBC)
According to Zhang, Air Miles have been one of the weaker options on the Canadian loyalty market in recent months, and these developments are not going to help things.
“Air Miles, last year, had tried to kind of rebrand itself and come out with a bit of a refreshed flight reward redemption system for people to use their Air Miles,” he said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The Cost of Living.
“It hasn’t seemed to deliver extra value compared to before. And so I do find the program is very much, unfortunately, in a bit of a stagnant state.”
Air Miles parent stock sinks by nearly half
It’s not just points watchers saying that Air Miles is in trouble without Sobeys. Markets reacted badly to the announcement.
After news broke that Sobeys and its other brands would be leaving Air Miles, the company stock price plummeted by more than 40 per cent.
While there have been significant fluctuations in many stock markets in the days following the Sobeys announcement, the Air Miles parent company stock, which is traded as LYLT on NASDAQ, has not risen and fallen with general trends in the days since. The stock fell after Sobeys and Safeway pulled out, and stayed where it was.
If you’re already an Air Miles collector, I think the future looks more dim than it looks bright.– Ricky Zhang, princeoftravel.com
According to stock filings and media releases from Air Miles parent company Loyalty Ventures, Sobeys represented about 10 per cent of the parent company’s earnings in 2021 (before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are taken into account).
Sobeys stores, along with Safeway and its other brands in Canada, accounted for more than $21 million Canadian in earnings for Air Miles’ parent company last year, according to calculations derived from annual financial statements.
Business isn’t just to sell data, but points themselves
Rewards systems such as Air Miles operate by selling points to retailers, which they hand out to customers as an incentive to shop. The reward company uses the money that comes in from selling those points to buy the rewards.
Cineplex and Scotiabank are bringing Sobeys on board for the Scene+ loyalty program, and promise more than just free movies for their customers once it’s rolled out at grocery outlets across the country by 2023. (CBC)
While Sobeys would not agree to an interview with The Cost of Living, it told The Canadian Press the grocery chain did not have to pay for its co-owner status in the Scene+ program because of “the opportunity” it brought to the table.
“They stand to take a greater share of the overall profit,” said Erin Murray, vice-president of marketing with Points, a technology company that works with dozens of reward companies around the world, including Air Miles, Aeroplan, IHG and Hilton Honors.
LISTEN | Hear from the rewards company first hand on Cost of Living.
According to Murray, when a company owns its own rewards program (or at least a significant portion of it), it can make sure that everything the program is doing matches the goals of the retailer instead of having to co-operate and negotiate with an external business.
Industry experts say Sobeys may be trying to take greater control of the experience its customers have with loyalty programs by moving away from Air Miles and into a program it co-owns. (Anis Heydari/CBC)
“They’re moving over with an ownership stake…. They’re making sure that however [loyalty program] members are being rewarded is completely aligned with what their overall objectives are,” said Murray.
Air Miles says the skies are clear
For its part, Air Miles has said its confident it can turn this into a “growth opportunity” and has pointed out in public statements that Metro grocery stores in Ontario will still accept the rewards card.
The company has said that customers can earn Air Miles from hundreds of stores that may not accept the card in person through an online shopping portal. It also said new deals are under development, but would not provide details to CBC Radio.
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In an interview, the company told Cost of Living that Sobeys departure could leave room for another grocery store or chain to join the program. However, with other major grocers such as Loblaw or Save-on-Foods offering their own, in-house point systems, it’s unclear what retailers would remain unhitched, so to speak.
“We’re having lots of great conversations with many brands that haven’t been able to engage with our models in the past,” said Rachel MacQueen, senior vice-president of marketing with Air Miles.
Air Miles still remain available on major credit cards, such as those from BMO and American Express.
“Our credit card partners enable you to earn miles everywhere you shop. So no matter what grocery store you shop with, when you pay with an Air Miles credit card, you’re going to get miles,” said MacQueen.
Air Miles did not have specifics about what new deals were in a ‘development pipeline’ to replace Sobeys. Ten per cent of its parent company’s revenue in 2021 was tied to the deal with Sobeys. (Air Miles)
The Air Miles executive also pointed out that the company offers a significant benefit to its member retailers — cross-promotion to new customers.
For example, someone who needs fuel for their car but also shops at an unrelated business that offers Air Miles may see a rewards offer for the Shell gas station without having gone to Shell.
“So collectors that aren’t currently shopping at Shell … Shell can now put offers out to customers that they don’t currently have with them. An incentive or a motivation to say, hey, come fuel up at Shell and get miles,” said MacQueen.
With ten million collectors, according to MacQueen, that potential is nothing to be sneezed at.
Should you switch to Scene+?
Regardless, Sobeys and its affiliated banners have indeed sneezed at said potential. Air Miles will not be awarded at Sobeys stores in Atlantic Canada by August 2022, with the rest of the country following suit by the end of March 2023.
The Scene+ program is coming to Sobeys and Safeway stores in Canada. (Anis Heydari/CBC)
Canadians who love their Air Miles won’t need to fear losing them at this point, as the reward system is not going anywhere.
As an alternative, the Scene+ program through Sobeys promises more rewards than just the movies, such as travel. In an emailed statement, Scene+ co-owner Scotiabank said that free groceries will eventually become an option as well.
But reward maximizers like Zhang point out that if you relied on grocery shopping to save points for a free dream vacation, you’ll need to rethink how you get your free stuff as it could take you much longer to get enough points without weekly supermarket trips.
If you don’t have enough miles for your dream trip, there are always dream appliances. (rewards.airmiles.ca)
“If you’re already an Air Miles collector, I think the future looks more dim than it looks bright,” said Zhang.
Those who chase the biggest bang for the reward buck say if you are a few thousand short miles of that trip to Hawaii, but you always got your miles at Sobeys, you may not be able to hit your goal on your original timeline.
If you want to leave on a jet plane, you’ll need to earn a lot more and quickly — by August if you are in Atlantic Canada.
Or you can always settle for a blender instead.
The Cost of Living airs every week on CBC Radio One, Sundays at 12:00 p.m. (12:30 NT). Click here to listen to this segment or download the Cost of Living podcast.
It is truly sobering when the realisation hits how twenty whole years have past since Harry Potter first premiered on the big screen. Despite the two decades since, the franchise feels like it has always been around – like a natural part of the geekosphere. It is also not very often for a franchise to continue to remain relevant for as long as the Wizarding World has (just look at Game of Thrones). Better still, the franchise continues to reveal new and incredible Harry Potter facts as it matures.
With the above in mind, it is fair to say modern geek culture would not be what it is today without Harry Potter – both the books and the films. Love or hate them, Harry Potter has played a massive role in the influence of many childhoods around the world. As such, and with recent 20th anniversary celebration of The Lord of the Rings trilogy on the mind; it makes perfect sense for us to produce and curate the same, but this time for Voldermort’s living horcrux.
#20 – “It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live”
One of the most striking and iconic scenes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was when Tom Marvolo Riddle rearranged the letters of his name to spell out “I Am Lord Voldemort”. The scene was so powerful that instead of cutting it from all the translated versions of the film, Voldemorts real name was slightly changed to make the anagram work. For example, in the Swedish version, his name is “Tom Gus Mervolo Dolder”, and in the French version, his name is “Tom Elvis Jedusor”. It is also a loving call back to the books and their many translations.
#19 – “Yer a wizard Harry”
When rewatching the Harry Potter films today, it is noticeable how well they are still able to withstand the ravages of time. One of the biggest reasons for the mostly graceful ageing process is the minimal reliance on computer-generated imagery (CGI), much like The Lord of the Rings franchise. An example of this would be the mail-carrying owls. A big part of the magic of the wizardry world was watching letters get delivered by owls. Instead of handling this with CGI, the production team spent months working with a trainer to train all the owls used in the film to actually deliver the letters seen on screen – including all the handwritten Hogwarts acceptance letters delivered to the Dursley house in the first film.
#18 – “The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution”
One of the most incredible Harry Potterfacts is how all of the outside shots of Hogwarts used throughout the series were created by filming a full-scale, room-sized, animatronic version of the beloved castle. As seen in the films, the model was incredibly detailed and is currently on display at the Warner Bros. studio lot in the United Kingdom.
17 – “There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them”
One of the more bizarre Harry Potterfacts to come out after the films were released, was how Russian state lawyers had once threatened to file a lawsuit against Warner Bros. These lawyers claimed Dobby’s appearance was created to mirror that of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. They wanted Warner Bros. to apologise and change Dobby’s appearance, as using the presidents image in such a way was discriminatory. Warner Bros. never changed Dobby, nor did they address the lawsuit publicly other than to point out the design of Dobby’s ears was based on a dog named Max who used to always run around on set and often sit under Dobby’s designer’s desk.
#16 – “Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes”
Many things were happening in the background while filming the Harry Potter movies. When filming originally started on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, most of the cast were ten-year-old children. Given how they had to grow up on screen, so too did they have to deal with growing pains: like losing teeth. In order to prevent a situation where, for example, Ron has a complete set of teeth in one scene and is missing one in the next, every kid in the cast had to get casts of their teeth made before shooting even began. An assuredly toothy Harry Potter fact.
#15 – “When in doubt, go to the library”
When director Alfonso Cuarón first came on board to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he assigned each of the three leads with an assignment. Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe were each asked to write an essay on their characters. In true form, each of their submissions perfectly mirrored their characters. Emma’s essay on Hermione ended up being a whopping 16 pages. Daniel submitted one single page on Harry, and Rupert forgot to do the assignment altogether, which he noted was “quite a Ron-ish thing to do”.
#14 – “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”
One of the more ambitious builds for the Harry Potter films was the Knight Bus. Since the bus had an elongated design, thus making it top-heavy, over 3600 extra kilograms had to be added to the bottom to keep the bus from tipping over while in motion. Making this Harry Potterfact even more interesting, is how although the scene of the bus travelling at high speed was filmed in the streets of North London; the “speed” effect was created by having the bus drive at average speed and all the cars around it just barely moving. Later during the editing phase, the footage was sped up, and the result was the adrenaline-pumping scene viewers now know and love.
13 – “Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself”
In the first two films, Richard Harris portrayed the beloved Albus Dumbledore before sadly passing away. In an interview with him before his passing, Richard revealed how he only accepted his role in Harry Potter after his eleven-year-old granddaughter, a massive fan of the books, threatened never to speak to her grandad again if he rejected the role.
#12 – “I solemnly swear I am up to no good”
One of Harry Potters most recognisable features, after his scar, is his signature glasses. Many do not realise how much work the prop department constantly put in to make Harry the wizard he was. Throughout the eight movies, Daniel Radcliffe went through over 160 pairs of glasses as well as 60 different wands.
#11 – “Honestly, am I the only person who’s ever bothered to read ‘Hogwarts: A History?”
A stand out moment in the Harry Potter films is the Yule Ball from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was one of the first times audiences got to see a different and more “carefree” version of Harry, Ron and Hermione; along with their teachers and classmates. It was a scene many could relate to and compare with their own experiences. Watching it again, one might notice how Harry is one of the only cast member to only be shown dancing from the waist up. It was later revealed how Daniel Radcliff could not make it to the dance classes between his filming schedule, and when the dance scene came, he kept stumbling over his feet. Producers decided to instead go for a close-up shot of his scenes in an attempt to hide his non-existent dance skills from the world.
#10 – “Mischief Managed!”
If putting together a list of 20 facts about The Lord of the Rings has taught anything, it is how sometimes actors like taking home a few forbidden “mementoes” from the sets they spend so much time on. Alan Rickman was no different. Jason Isaacs, the actor who played Lucius Malfoy fondly recalls how Alan, who played Professor Snape, was a master at pocketing props. A few of the items from the set, which found their way to Alan’s home, were Snape’s wand, cloak and a good few Gringotts coins. Quite a salacious Harry Potterfact, indeed.
#9 – “But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”
When casting for Harry Potter, Harry Melling was the perfect choice for Dudley Dursley. Dudley was rather chubby in the books, and for the first few films, Harry was exactly that. However, as Harry grew up, he started to lose a lot of the chubbiness that made him a perfect Dudley, so much so that recasting him was seriously considered. Ultimately, the filmmakers decided they would not be able to replace Harry, and instead, they put him in a fat suit for the final few films.
#8 – “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided”
One of the more memorable scenes from the series would be the kiss shared between the Horcrux version of Harry and Hermione. The scene was incredibly tough to film because of the close, sibling-like relationship between the main cast. Each time Emma and Daniel would go in for the kiss, Rupert would start laughing uncontrollably, which would set them off. Eventually, Rupert ended up being kicked off the set for the day so they could get the scene finished without breaking into giggles and laughter.
#7 – “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals”
By the time filming had commenced on the third Harry Potter film, Tom Felton, who played Malfoy, was the only member of the cast to have all of his cloaks pockets sewn shut. The reason behind his pockets essentially being removed was to get the actor to stop constantly sneaking sweets onto the set in his pockets. Tom has confirmed this Harry Potter fact as being 100% true and said he has no regrets about his sweet sneaking ways.
#6 – “Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go”
The Harry Potter movies were almost drastically different from the ones we have today. Originally the plan was for Warner Bros. to adapt the books into a series of animated films specifically aimed at young children. When the studio eventually decided to scrap the animation idea and instead go the live-action route, the first talks were to combine parts of all the books into one movie. The reasoning behind this was concerns over the child actors ageing too fast and no longer being able to portray their characters believably. It was only after a year of debate that the studio finally decided to take a chance and adapt each book as its own movie.
#5 – “Anyone can speak Troll. All you have to do is point and grunt”
Many of the props built for and used during the filming of the Harry Potter movies have found their forever home in the United Kingdom. All on the very same film lot that made them famous. The location, now known as the Harry Potter Studio Tour, is open to fans who want to get a behind the scenes look into the magical wizarding world. However, one piece of Harry Potter history is notably missing from this lot and can instead be found sitting in the garden of a One Direction member. Back in 2015, One Direction’s Liam Payne bought the Weasleys flying Ford Anglia, the exact one used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and its new home is in the garden of the singer’s £5.1 million mansion. Talk about an expensive Harry Potter fact.
#4 – “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are”
The brooms used throughout the series are props viewers never really gave much thought to. Most tend to think of them as regular prop brooms the kids would carry around, and then CGI would take care of the rest. In reality, the brooms were all crafted from aeroplane-grade titanium and in any scenes where the cast had to use the broom, it was mounted onto a motion-control base set up by a greenscreen.
#3 – “I mean, it’s sort of exciting, isn’t it, breaking the rules?”
While rewatching the Harry Potter films, eagle-eyed fans started to notice how J.K. Rowling had been hiding small, subtle clues about the future of the series within the earlier movies. A notable example of this would be the Deathly Hallows symbol, which can be seen on a shelf in Dumbledore’s office during the fourth movie. The fourth movie was released in 2005, two full years before the final Harry Potter book would be published, and readers would be introduced to the Deathly Hallows for the first time. Easily one of the best Easter egg Harry Potter facts on this list.
#2 – “Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure”
Many full-sized animatronics were built for the actors to interact with while filming, particularly in order to ensure a minimal use of CGI (as much as possible, anyway). Some of the more notable ones were the baby mandrakes, Hedwig, The Monster Book of Monsters, and Buckbeak. These animatronics were built so well and were so detailed that they were used in most of the close-up shots. Buckbeak, in particular, had eyes that would blink and follow the actors. He could even ruffle his feathers and bow.
#1 – “Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have”
Visual effects artists helped bring the wizardry world to life throughout the eight Harry Potter movies. From carefully crafting Voldemorts face with practical makeup, and then removing his nose digitally; through to giving life to fire-breathing dragons, they did it all. However, their biggest task would be a scene in Deathly Hallow when Harry is whisked away by the members of the Order of the Phoenix.
This scene saw George, Fred, Ron and Hermione all take Polyjuice Potion to transform themselves into Harry, but they could not just “be” Harry. For the visual effect to work, they needed to look like Harry while still having attributes of themselves that would shine through. This effect was accomplished by coating each actors face in UV paint and then having them stand and pull their faces many different ways while 29 cameras captured over 50,000 individual points of information. A 3D mesh cloud of their faces was then created, which could then be used to pull off the transformation.
After growing up alongside the cast of Harry Potter, it felt like a homecoming to watch the 20th anniversary reunion and return to a world has captivated so many childhood years. Using the 20th anniversary as an excuse to re-watch all the Harry Potter films also meant getting to relive countless childhood memories once thought to be forgotten, but instead simply laying in wait to be unbound once more.
Did you enjoy this list of Harry Potter facts? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below.
As far back as she can remember, Arielle has loved comics, tabletop games and staying indoors. Although she might be terrible at history, she can tell you exactly how Wanda Maximoff and Sabrina Spellman are linked. Ultimately, she works to fund her Stephen King addiction and can pretty much always be found somewhere online.
Most people considering buying Hogwarts Legacy probably know deep down that they shouldn’t.
The upcoming action role playing video game has already garnered significant criticism, and it isn’t due out until December. It is set in the Wizarding World universe, which is based on the Harry Potter series and Fantastic Beasts films – both of which are the intellectual property (IP) of our mediocre national hero, JK Rowling. It has also been accused of antisemitism. And its lead developer has defended sexual harassment.
Some of its would-be players will blame ‘cancel culture’ or ‘purity politics’ for the guilt they’re grappling with. Some will cry: “Let people enjoy things.” But maybe they should let people hate things which make a mockery of them.
Hogwarts Legacy is being developed by Avalanche Software and is published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. Now that Rowling has taken the place of Katie Hopkins as the country’s most public reactionary, it’s curious that Warner Bros would make the decision to use her IP as the basis for anything (a move that is likely to make her considerable profit).
Warner Bros is clearly aware of Rowling’s record: it even felt the need to specify in an FAQ that “JK Rowling is not directly involved in the game”.
This is hardly reassuring. The same may be said of the vague statement made by Warner Bros about “inclusive culture” and the “responsibility to foster empathy and advocate understanding of all communities and all people”.
Warner Bros did not specify which events it was referring to and made no mention of Rowling by name. But its statement came after a highly publicised string of tweets (which I do not recommend reading if you’re affected by transmisogyny) by Rowling in 2020 that were widely condemned as being transphobic (an allegation which she denied) and recycled heavily debunked TERF rhetoric.
The media giant made no actual commitments towards any particular marginalised community. Nor did it say it would take any measures to avoid repeating Rowling’s own mistakes in the representation of marginalised people.
Warner Bros’ decision to press ahead with the game is even more curious given the behaviour of Hogwarts Legacy’s (now retired) senior producer Troy Leavitt in his videos on YouTube.
Leavitt has claimed that Warner Bros is aware of his channel and his views, and that his eventual departure from the company was unrelated to any pressure from the business.
Warner Bros has not publicly responded to this. Why not? What happened to the “responsibility to foster empathy and advocate understanding of all communities and all people”? Emphasis on the ‘bros’ in Warner Bros, I guess. (openDemocracy has asked Warner Bros whether any disciplinary action was taken against Leavitt, or whether Leavitt’s claims about the company are true, but has yet to receive a response.)
In response to the revelations about Leavitt, video game forum ResetEra decided to ban all discussions of the game. The move was a first for the site, whose admins said in a statement that: “This is a uniquely awful situation where both the creator of the IP and a senior producer on the game have unrepentant bigoted views.”
Antisemitic tropes
This is before we examine the content of the game – which, based on the previews we’ve had, looks horrendous.
Hogwarts Legacy, set in the same Wizarding World universe as the Harry Potter series, takes its antisemitic tropes to another level. The villains are hooked-nosed, beady-eyed goblin bankers, a well-known antisemitic depiction of Jewish people that dates back to medieval Europe and was capitalised on by the Nazis.
As Stacey Hanley puts it, caricatures of Jewish people “typically depict them as money-grubbing, secretive, manipulative, and the true keepers of power in the world”. In the Wizarding World universe, goblins are coin minters and metalsmiths, playing on this centuries-old trope of the “money-grubbing” Jew.
One of the lead villains in Hogwarts Legacy is a goblin named Ranrok. According to writer Mick Abrahamson, “his only spoken line is about kidnapping the main playable character, a 15-year-old child who learned late that they have magical powers… One of the most horrific antisemitic tropes used to villainize Jews is Blood Libel, or the accusation that Jews kidnapped and murdered non-Jews.” Gross.
Aside from the use of antisemitic tropes in her Wizarding World universe, JK Rowling has repeatedly and publicly made demeaning comments about trans women and opposed trans equality, including publicly opposing reform to the Gender Recognition Act to decrease the time it takes for trans* people to receive a gender recognition certificate. She has even written an alarmingly transmisogynistic novel (Troubled Blood) in which a cis man dresses as a woman in order to murder (cis) women.
The trope of trans women as femicidal men, dressing as women to murder (cis) women, is dangerous. It has been used to deny trans women access to resources and services and it increases policing, invasiveness and violence towards trans women. So much for Rowling’s claims to believing in trans rights and care about our safety. These are not just upsetting comments – they have real-world implications. They were even used by an anti-LGBT politician to block consideration in the US Senate of the Equality Act, a civil rights bill to protect people from discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”. Rowling is obsessed with trans women.
Nicole Kidman being wowed by the movies haven’t enticed you back into a theater yet, then a summer movie season packed with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Elvis, Thor and a heap of dinosaurs should do the trick.
Let’s not even go into 2020’s COVID-19 closures or last year’s dip back into normalcy. With adults and many kids vaxxed and the box office ready to roll, studios are releasing a stacked slate of films between now and Labor Day guaranteed to keep everyone entertained, starting next weekend with the Marvel superhero sequel “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”
Whether you’ve been waiting two years for the “Top Gun” sequel or your kids are ready to watch Pixar films on a big screen again, Hollywood is hooking everybody up. Plus, streaming services like Netflix and Apple TV+ are also debuting at-home options for those who enjoy watching new flicks on their couch.
Here are the 10 movies you absolutely, positively must see this summer:
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (May 27)
Stars: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Glen Powell
Director: Joseph Kosinski
The skinny: Three decades after the original 1986 classic, test pilot Maverick (Cruise) trains a new crop of Top Gun graduates (including Powell and Monica Barbaro) for a dangerous mission. However, Maverick also revisits a past tragedy when one of the aviators is Rooster (Teller), the son of Maverick’s late best friend and wingman Goose.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Top Gun’:New flyboy Glen Powell talks that Oscar ‘insanity’ and Tom Cruise
‘Jurassic World Dominion’ (June 10)
Stars: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill
Director: Colin Trevorrow
The skinny: “Jurassic Park” characters past and present, from Pratt’s recent hero Owen Grady to Neill’s scientist Alan Grant, converge in a new adventure set four years after the destructive last film in 2018, in which humans try to keep their spot on the food chain co-existing in the same world with dinosaurs, including the deadly new Atrociraptor.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Jurassic Park: Dominion’:Bryce Dallas Howard shows off ‘crazy sick’ bruises from stunt work
‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ (June 17)
Stars: Cooper Raiff, Dakota Johnson, Leslie Mann
Director: Cooper Raiff
The skinny: The heartfelt coming-of-age drama took the same Sundance Film Festival audience award this year as Oscar best-picture winner “CODA” did last year. “Cha Cha” centers on a 22-year-old bar mitzvah party-starter (Raiff) who forms a strong connection to an older woman (Johnson) with a teenage daughter on the autism spectrum.
Where to watch: Apple TV+
Sundance Film Festival:Dakota Johnson’s ‘Cha Cha,’ horror film ‘Nanny’ win top prizes
‘Lightyear’ (June 17)
Stars: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi
Director: Angus MacLane
The skinny: The Pixar animated sci-fi adventure acts as an origin story for Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Evans), the hero who inspired the plastic “Toy Story” icon. The square-jawed space ranger tries to get back to Earth after being stranded on an alien planet with his commander (Uzo Aduba) and leads a motley crew of wannabe heroes against the evil Zurg (Josh Brolin).
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Lightyear’:New trailer for ‘Toy Story’ spinoff arrives with Buzz’s hilarious robot cat
‘Elvis’ (June 24)
Stars: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge
Director: Baz Luhrmann
The skinny: The stylish music drama digs into the influential life and hip-shaking music of Elvis Presley (Butler), including his rise to superstardom under the management of the enigmatic Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks) as well as the important relationship between the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and his wife Priscilla (DeJonge).
Where to watch: In theaters
First ‘Elvis’ trailer:Austin Butler explodes to life as Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s new movie
‘Marcel the Shell With Shoes On’ (June 24)
Stars: Jenny Slate, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann
Director: Dean Fleischer-Camp
The skinny: The 1-inch-tall, sneaker-wearing shell star of Slate and Fleischer-Camp’s animated short film and children’s book now hits the big screen in an adorable comedy. The soft-spoken Marcel (voiced by Slate) decides he wants to find his family and, with the help of a documentary filmmaker, becomes a social-media sensation.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Marcel the Shell’:Jenny Slate finding herself after motherhood ‘really caught me by surprise’
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (July 8)
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman
Director: Taika Waititi
The skinny: After saving the universe, Marvel’s resident thunder god just wants to find inner peace, man. But when vengeful villain Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) appears on the cosmic scene, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Thompson) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Portman), who now wields the magical hammer Mjolnir.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’:Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman flex in new trailer
‘The Gray Man’ (July 15)
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas
Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
The skinny: Based on the 2009 Mark Greaney novel, the “Avengers” filmmakers’ international action thriller stars Gosling as a CIA operative with a bounty on his head after accidentally uncovering dark agency secrets. Evans plays his psychopathic ex-colleague leading the global manhunt.
Where to watch: In theaters (and on Netflix July 22)
‘Nope’ (July 22)
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun
Director: Jordan Peele
The skinny: Following “Get Out” and “Us,” Peele’s back to scare us all again with a new film starring Kaluuya and Palmer as horse trainers living in a California gulch who make a strange and unsettling discovery, plus witness some seriously bad news coming out of the sky.
Where to watch: In theaters
Scary movies:From ‘Halloween Ends’ to ‘Nope,’ here’s every horror movie you need to see in 2022
‘Bullet Train’ (July 29)
Stars: Brad Pitt, Zazie Beetz, Sandra Bullock
Director: David Leitch
The skinny: Pitt headlines the ensemble action comedy as an assassin hired to retrieve a mysterious briefcase from a high-speed train going from Tokyo to Kyoto but becomes embroiled in violent high jinks with a bunch of other colorful killers (including Beetz, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bad Bunny) onboard.
Where to watch: In theaters
‘Bullet Train’:Andrew Koji eagerly awaits an invite to Brad Pitt’s house
Mr. Cruise came of age in Hollywood in the shadow of movie stars like Mr. Schwarzenegger and Mr. Stallone, where the name above the title meant everything. Show up to see Mr. Schwarzenegger play a cyborg assassin? Sure. How about a cop forced to play with kindergartners? Absolutely. What about a twin separated at birth from an unlikely Danny DeVito? Why not? In those days, the genre didn’t matter. Moviegoers showed up for the actors.
That is not the case today.
“We don’t create movie stars anymore,” said Mr. Godfrey, adding that studios have been pulling back on marketing and publicity commitments for years. “As a result, there are less and less meaningful names who will help open a movie.”
Mr. Robbins agreed that it was much more difficult today to become a global star in the vein of Mr. Cruise, not because of the studios’ commitments but rather the state of the industry.
“It’s Batman. It’s Spiderman. It’s very different,” he said in an interview from Cannes. “And it’s not just because a lot of these characters are hidden by a mask and tights and a cape. It’s a very different type of filmmaking. And the world is different because of streaming, and all of the other content, the fight for attention is just much more fierce than ever before. Thirty-six years ago when Top Gun came out, there was no streaming, there was no cellphone. There was no internet. We went to the theater to be entertained. There’s just so much choice now.”
The entertainment world has undergone seismic change. But Mr. Cruise’s success also owes a debt to his tirelessness. Will Smith, in his 2021 memoir, affectionately called Mr. Cruise a “cyborg” when it came to his endurance on the promotional circuit. Reminiscing about his own efforts to reach the pinnacle of stardom, Mr. Smith said that whenever he’d land in a country to hype a new movie, he would ask the local executives for Mr. Cruise’s promotional schedule, which often included four-and-a-half-hour stretches on a red carpet. “And I vowed to do two hours more than whatever he did in every country,” Mr. Smith wrote.
Mr. Smith wasn’t the only one to notice. Studio executives have come to rely on Mr. Cruise’s commitment to promotion as his superpower.
“He’s one of a dying breed that will literally work the world and treat the world as though each region is massively important. Because it is,” said Chris Aronson, paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “So many others roll their eyes. ‘I don’t want to do that.’ With Tom, it’s always built in. It’s a massive undertaking. But it pays off. It’s why he has legions of fans around the world.”
Some would argue that the age of the movie star died when the Marvel Cinematic Universe took over pop culture and movies based on known intellectual property seemed to be the only way to get large numbers of people into theatres. Mr. Cruise has not been immune to these changes.
In the past decade, Mr. Cruise starred in original titles like American Made, Oblivion, and Edge of Tomorrow— all movies that played up his action bona fides. None were hits. His reboot of The Mummy, which was supposed to jump start Universal Pictures’ monster movie series, was a disappointment for the studio, generating only $80 million in domestic receipts. The series never took off.
But while not taking part in any superhero franchises, Mr. Cruise has managed to capitalize on intellectual property that he’s already successfully exploited. Roles like the homicide investigator Jack Reacher, and the secret agent Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible, have performed well at the box office. He’s hoping to pull that off again with Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think there is so much choice in the world right now with the amount of content that is produced that every movie has turned into a bull’s-eye movie,” said David Ellison, chief executive of Skydance, the producer of Top Gun: Maverick and a number of other films with Mr. Cruise. “The opportunity to have something work and be anything less than A-plus is simply not the marketplace that we’re living in.”
Glen Powell, one of Mr. Cruise’s co-stars in Top Gun: Maverick, cites him as one of the reasons he pursued acting. Mr. Cruise is also the reason Mr. Powell is in the film. Mr. Powell initially tried out for the role of Rooster, the tough guy son of Maverick’s former wingman Goose — a part that went to Miles Teller. Disappointed when he was offered the role of the cocksure daredevil Hangman instead, Mr. Powell only took the part after Mr. Cruise gave him some advice: Don’t pick the best parts, pick the best movies and make the parts the best you can.
“I will never forget that moment,” Mr. Powell said in an interview. “He asked me, ‘What kind of career do you want?’ And I’m like, ‘You man, I’m trying to be you.’”
As such, he’s studied Mr. Cruise’s career and is trying to emulate it. He’s shied away from the superhero genre, so far, and has some theories on what makes Mr. Cruise unique.
“He is the guy that’s not trying to occupy the I.P. He’s trying to tell a compelling story that just ends up becoming the I.P. because it’s so good,” Mr. Powell said. He sees a substantive difference there — the difference between going to the movies to see Tom Cruise, the movie star, or going to see other I.P. Or, as Mr. Powell puts it: “There’s a difference between stepping into fandom rather than creating your own fandom.”
He knows he’s learned from the master. “Even if I pick up a little of what Tom taught me,” he said, “I’m going to be way more prepared than any other actor out there.”
He might. Or he might be learning from an outdated playbook.
There is a moment in Top Gun: Maverick where Ed Harris, playing Maverick’s superior, tells him, “The end is inevitable. Your kind is headed to extinction.”
And Mr. Cruise, still holding on to that brash self-confidence that made him a movie star four decades ago, grins at him and replies, “Maybe so, sir. But not today.”
There are plenty of people in the movie industry who hope he’s right.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday watched Bollywood movie Samrat Prithviraj and said, “We are now looking at history from India’s perspective”.
He also described the movie, starring Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chhillar in lead roles, as “world class”.
“It is a fact-based movie and rightly sends out the message the country needs today. We used to read our history written by others. Now, we are looking at history from India’s perspective,” Bhagwat, who watched the movie along with other top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders, said.
Chandraprakash Dwivedi, the movie’s director, works closely with the Sangh-affiliate Sanskar Bharti. The movie has earned Rs 10.70 crore on the opening day, the film’s producers announced Saturday. In a statement, Dwivedi said the film’s day one collection proves that viewers have connected with the story of courage and sacrifice.
“The Samrat believed that India is for Indians and fought till his last breathe to keep India free from invaders. Our goal was to tell his story to as many Indians as possible and with audiences calling our tribute a ‘must watch visual spectacle’ already, we are hoping that we entertain our countrymen to the fullest in the days to come,” he added.
BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have already made the movie tax-free.
The film also stars Sanjay Dutt and Sonu Sood in pivotal roles. A Yash Raj Films production, the movie has been released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
A film adaptation of the arcade Sega classic Streets of Rage is in development, according to a new report.
Deadline claims that dj2 Entertainment, the company behind the Sonic film series, is working on the project.
A spec script for the project was written by Derek Kolstad, the man behind the John Wick franchise, it’s claimed.
Sega has yet to confirm the project, but following the record-breaking success of the Sonic the Hedgehog film adaptation, it’s likely that Sega will want to continue to capitalise on bringing its classic titles to the big screen.
VGC’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie review called it a much better film than the original and said there’s a pleasant surprise to be found in the chemistry between its new characters, which include Tails and Knuckles.
Following the success of Sonic, it’s likely that video game movie adaptations will increase in prominence at the box office.
