For its generation, The Mysterious Benedict Society is a sort of hybrid of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, with dashes of The Famous Five, Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events thrown in for good measure. It’s a slightly fantastical children’s adventure series, but written with a wry point of entry that makes it good fun for adult audiences too.
The show’s literary source, Hale says, reflects the enduring power of books in an era where entertainment is more completely defined by streaming television, particularly for younger audiences. Hale’s childhood pre-dated the publication of the Mysterious Benedict Society books in the 2000s, so “for me, growing up,” he says, “The Lord of the Rings series was huge and The Chronicles of Narnia was really big, really big.”
Tony Hale as Mr Curtain in The Mysterious Benedict Society.Credit:Disney+
Hale says The Mysterious Benedict Society also unexpectedly spoke to events in 2020 in the run-up to the global pandemic. “One of the big reasons that drew me to it, especially when the pandemic hit, is that the show starts out when an emergency is happening, [referred to as] a global crisis,” he says. “And my character gathers these four kids to find the source and these kids don’t have magical powers, their super power is their intellect, their creativity and their empathy.”
Unlike many of their literary contemporaries, the younger characters of The Mysterious Benedict Society are not super-powered. They are a group of children whose differences are their strengths, gathered by a mysterious benefactor, Mr Benedict, played by Hale. (Hale also plays Benedict’s twin brother, the villainous Mr Curtain.)
Harry Potter is coming to HBO Max — just not the way many fans expected. The rumored Harry Potter TV show is now a reality, but it’ll be in the form of an unscripted quiz show and retrospective special that will stream on HBO Max and air on Cartoon Network and TBS later this year.
Harry Potter is one of the crown jewels of IP owned by WarnerMedia, though through various contractual quirks, you have to head over to Peacock to watch the Harry Potter movies in order. Industry insiders have long predicted that WarnerMedia would bolster HBO Max with Harry Potter spinoffs, and fans hoped to see series set within that universe — like a Marauders prequel.
Instead, they’re getting a quiz show. Cue the sad trombone.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Warner is putting on a Wizarding World five-night event on HBO Max, Cartoon Network and TBS sometime later this year.
An untitled quiz competition will feature Potterheads answering trivia questions, with special guests making appearances. Casting is taking place now on WizardingWorld.com.
“For fans who have always wanted to discover what it might be like to take the O.W.L. exams, this is as close as they are going to get!,” Warner Bros. executive Tom Scheim said.
An online play-along component will let viewers at home participate. The four one-hour quiz specials will be followed by a film retrospective.
This is definitely not the Harry Potter TV show that Potterheads have been clamoring to see. That’s not to say a scripted series wont happen; according to The Hollywood Reporter, “broad ideas have been discussed” but “the conversations are still in the extremely early stages.” Warner Bros. previously denied that any Harry Potter series were in development.
So, we can still hold out hope for that Marauders prequel about young James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew solemnly swearing they are up to no good. Until then, dust off your Hogwarts robe, tap into your inner Hermione Granger and sharpen those trivia skills.
“Melbourne still has lots of wealth and entrepreneurs, especially in property, and there’s a lot of start-ups,” says Samuel, “but these people are interested in getting things done, not what school you went to. Business and politics and policy are far too tough these days to rely on the relevance of the schools.”
Terry Moran AC has had a vantage point from the peak of public service to witness school connections at work. He grew up in working-class Fitzroy and Reservoir in the 1950s and 60s and attended the Catholic school, Parade College. He recalls his family stories of job advertisements advising Catholics not to bother applying.
“You’re walking in the footsteps of people who did great things … I can’t explain it fully. It’s just in the ether; it’s in the walls.”
Academic, TV host, Wesley old boy and columnist Waleed Aly
He eventually headed the premier’s department in Victoria and then the prime minister’s department in Canberra.
Moran says social change since the 1960s, including the movements against the Vietnam War, and for civil liberties, feminism and multiculturalism, helped break down sectarian and school network barriers, diversifying Melbourne’s business and political life. In government, he says, the old school tie was finally “buried”, ironically, by Kennett.
Paul Ritter, who starred in 2009’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has passed away after battling a brain tumor.
The British actor, known for his role as wizard Eldred Worple in the Harry Potter film, died on Monday, April 5, his agent confirmed. “It is with great sadness we can confirm that Paul Ritter passed away last night,” Ritter’s rep said in a statement to NBC. “He died peacefully at home with his wife Polly and sons Frank and Noah by his side. He was 54 and had been suffering from a brain tumor.”
“Paul was an exceptionally talented actor playing an enormous variety of roles on stage and screen with extraordinary skill,” the message continued. “He was fiercely intelligent, kind and very funny. We will miss him greatly.”
In addition to his role in Harry Potter, Ritter’s credits also include the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Since 2011, Ritter starred as Martin Goodman in the TV series Friday Night Dinner.
If you sense magic in the air, there’s a very good reason. The cast of Harry Potterreunited virtually to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the franchise’s very first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, delighting fans around the globe.
The live event, which was hosted by Tom Felton,aka Hogwarts’ bully Draco Malfoy, via the platform Veeps, using the hashtag #19YearsLater to celebrate the film’s legacy.
Joining Tom was Daniel Radcliffe, who played the “boy who lived” himself; Rupert Grint, who starred as Ron; James and Oliver Phelps, who played Ron’s brothers Fred and George; Evanna Lynch, who portrayed Luna Lovegood; Mark Williams, who played Ron’s dad Arthur; Jason Isaacs, who portrayed Draco’s father and Deatheater Lucius; Bonnie Wright, who played Harry’s eventual wife and Ron’s sister Ginny; andHow to Get Away With Murderstar Alfred Enoch, who played Hogwarts’ golden boy Dean Thomas.
The cast reminisced about the fun times they had on set of the film franchise, which is one of the most successful of all time, and in 2016 expanded J.K. Rowling‘s magical universe with the spin-off film franchise Fantastic Beasts, starring Eddie Redmayne.
In March, a poll of 2,000 workers, conducted by employee review website Glassdoor, found more than half thought there should be a requirement for staff to have had a Covid vaccination before they go back to the office.
Sean Connery may be gone, but his favorite pistol lives on.
The late actor’s Walther P5 from his final James Bond flick highlights a treasure trove of Hollywood Blockbuster movie memorabilia up for auction next month.
Along with the $100,000 heater from Connery’s final 007 star turn in the 1983 flick “Never Say Never Again,” the Bond memorabilia includes the Walther P99 used by Pierce Brosnan in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), and a .38 Smith and Wesson carried by Brosnan in “Die Another Day.”
The cast resin scepter with steel core brandished by Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter in 2005’s “Goblet of Fire” is expected to fetch up to $10,000. Potter props also up for bid include one of Snape’s sticks ($6,000 – $8,000) and a Hogwart’s wax seal acceptance letter envelope from 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” ($8,000 – $10,000).
Sean Connery’s Walther P5 gun that will be up for auction.Julien’s Auctions/ MEGA
It will take more than a few fava beans to snap up the credentials of FBI trainee Starling, the heroine of the classic 1991 horror film “The Silence of the Lambs.” The scrappy Starling is tasked with picking the brain of the manipulative, incarcerated cannibal killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter in order to catch the sadistic serial slayer Buffalo Bill. Jodie Foster won her second Academy Award for her powerful portrayal. The badge and ID wallet is estimated to be worth $7,000.
For those who believe bad is good, there’s the three-piece pinstripe suit Al Pacino donned as coked-up drug lord Tony Montana in “Scarface,” which could score $80,000. And for those with a stomach for scary sci-fi, a full-size Xenomorph costume designed by the Academy Award-winning surrealist artist and sculptor H.R. Giger from the 1979 sci-fi classic “Alien” is up for grabs and valued at $60,000.
One of the Harry Potter wands up for auction that could go for $10,000.
Julien’s Auctions/MEGA
A wax seal Hogwarts acceptance letter could go for $10,000.
Julien’s Auctions/MEGA
This wand is one of more than 800 items to hit the auction scene in April.
Julien’s Auctions/MEGA
Daniel Radcliffe in “Goblet of Fire.”
AP
A scene from “Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince.”
“Long believed to have been lost and destroyed, this original translucent prototype (known as ‘Big Chap’) for the terrifying creature character was created for consideration by the film’s celebrated director Ridley Scott during the early stages of the film’s pre-production,” according to the auctioneer.
On the lighter side, Johnny Depp’s “Edward Scissorhands” gloves and Bill Murray’s “Space Jam” Air Jordan 2 trainers are also on the docket.
“Over 400 lots from the greatest box-office films and movie franchises of the past 50 years will star on the auction stage, many of which will be sold to the public for the first time,” touts the Beverly Hills-based Julien’s Auctions, which is staging the April 28-29 event.
Jodie Foster’s badge from “The Silence of the Lambs” has an estimated value of $7,000.
Julien’s Auctions/ MEGA
Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Darren Julien, president and CEO of the auction house, told The Post the auction “has something for everyone” — even the Zippo lighter used by “Die Hard” New York City Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) — and can be found on Julien’s Auctions.
LONDON: British film, television and stage actress Helen McCrory has died aged 52 from cancer, her husband and fellow actor Damian Lewis said on Thursday.
McCrory “died peacefully at home surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family”, Lewis wrote on Twitter, calling his late wife “beautiful and mighty”.
“We love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly,” the actor added, explaining she had died “after an heroic battle with cancer”.
McCrory was best known as a star of hit BBC crime drama “Peaky Blinders” and for the role of Narcissa Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” films, as the mother of the boy wizard’s school-aged rival.
She played Cherie Blair, the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, twice in both the “The Queen” (2006) and “The Special Relationship” (2010), and played fictional British interior minister Clair Dowar in the the James Bond film “Skyfall” (2012).
AFP
Born in Paddington in west London in 1968 to a Welsh mother and Scottish-born father, McCrory was the eldest of three children.
She attended school in southeast England and spent a year living in Italy before studying acting at London’s Drama Centre.
A lengthy acting career followed, which saw her play a multitude of roles on the small and big screen, as well as on stage.
McCrory and Lewis, who starred in the US TV series Homeland, married in 2007. The pair met performing in the Shakespeare play “Much Ado About Nothing” as comedic protagonists Beatrice and Benedick.
In 2011, she told the Independent newspaper she had eschewed celebrity but was honoured to have played such interesting roles.
An actor’s job, she said, was to “reassure the audience that life, as muddled and as wonderful as it is, is worth living”.
The Final Adieu
The year 2020 has been an unprecedented one. A global pandemic forced humanity into lockdown, bringing in its wake much uncertainty, fear and gloom.
2020 was also a year of loss as we lost many talented personalities from the world of showbiz across the world.
From Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s shocking suicide to Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor both succumbing to cancer and passing away within hours of each other, this year of the pandemic has snatched many icons.
It was also the year when the deadly novel coronavirus claimed the lives of singer SP Balasubramaniam, Bengali thespian Soumitra Chatterjee, and music composer Wajid Khan among others.
The world mourned collectively as international personalities including Kobe Bryant, Diego Maradona, Kirk Douglas and Sean Connery passed away.
Here is a look at all the influential figures we lost this year.
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan’s demise on April 29 left cinema fans – across India, Japan, US and other parts of the world – devastated. The ‘Maqbool’ and ‘The Namesake’ actor was 54 years of age at the time of his demise.
After announcing his neuroendocrine tumour diagnosis in March 2018, Khan sought treatment abroad and returned to India in February 2019. He died due to colon infection in Mumbai after a two-year-long battle.
Tributes poured in on social media for the character-actor who had established his presence internationally as well with some fine acting. Khan was known for bringing to life his roles in ‘Hindi Medium’, ‘Life In A Metro’, ‘Maqbool’, ‘Life Of Pi’, among others.
Rishi Kapoor
2020 started on a sad note for the Kapoors. In January, Ritu Nanda, the daughter of Raj Kapoor, and actor Rishi Kapoor’s sister, passed away after battling cancer for a long time. She was 71.
Three months after her demise, 67-year-old Rishi Kapoor succumbed to cancer on April 30. The actor had been diagnosed with cancer for the first time in 2018.A year of treatment followed in New York where his wife Neetu Singh kept him company. Many friends from the film industry including the Ambanis inquired after the actor’s health when they visited the US.
Kapoor, who shot to fame with his debut film ‘Bobby’ opposite Dimple Kapadia, went on to star in many romantic films for three decades till the ‘90s.
Sushant Singh Rajput
June 14 marked the death of popular Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. . The 34-year-old actor was found hanging in his Bandra apartment. His unnatural death resulted in a probe which had to be constituted following a legal complaint by his father.
Before the Narcotics Control Bureau’s arrest in procuring drugs for the late actor, girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty had confirmed to the police and the Central Bureau of Investigation – which was probing the case as well – that the two were planning to tie the knot in November this year.
The late actor had become a household name after his debut in Ekta Kapoor’s TV show, ‘Pavitra Rishta’, in 2009. In 2013, he made his big screen debut with ‘Kai Po Che!’. He was later seen in ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’, ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’, ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!’, ‘Drive’, ‘Kedarnath’, and ‘Chhichhore’. A month after his death, his last film ‘Dil Bechara’ made a digital debut on Disney+ Hotstar on July 24.
“The snap back to COVID-normal, if you like, that we’ve had previously – we’re not at that stage yet,” he said. “We’re moving by safe and steady increments with a view to continue to ease restrictions as we go along, as we run down these last few cases while bearing in mind that there may well be cases out in the community.”
Among the changes for Greater Melbourne announced on Wednesday were the lifting of hospitality capacity limits from 50 to 75 people indoors and office numbers from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, along with the reopening of gyms and seated service at nightclubs.
Tim Piper, Victorian head of the national employer association Australian Industry Group, said the piecemeal move out of lockdown left industries with a “sense of limbo with a lack of confidence on what is happening in the future”.
“Businesses and government are wallowing in a growing sea of debt and what I’m really worried about here is that with these continuing restrictions, the community loses confidence and businesses lose confidence to bounce back properly,” Mr Piper said.
