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Is There A Harry Potter Reunion On The Way? Here’s What Tom Felton Says

It is too early to say who might be available to participate in a reunion, but the cast is huge. And regardless of who shows up, with eleven years of memories together, they’ll likely have plenty to talk about. Of course, if a virtual reunion doesn’t work out this year, there’s an even bigger anniversary coming up in 2021. Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, so it is a huge milestone for the film franchise. Hopefully by then, the pandemic will be less of a threat and an in-person reunion will be feasible.

‘Hogwarts Legacy’: Watch new trailer for the open-world ‘Harry Potter’ game

  • The trailer for “Hogwarts Legacy” is out, and promises magic and danger in the most expansive “Harry Potter” video game yet.
  • “Hogwarts Legacy” launches in 2021 on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
  • “Hogwarts Legacy gives players control over their own experience with RPG gameplay unlike anything else in the Wizarding World, which will continue to build fan appeal in the Portkey Games label,” said David Haddad, president of Warner Bros Games.
  • The game’s website reads: “Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart.”
  • Players will get to decide which path their character takes, whether that is saving the world or succumbing to dark magic, as they make allies, fight enemies, and encounter a range of magical creatures.
  • Watch the full trailer below.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Read more:

A magical 5-storey ‘Harry Potter’-inspired ‘Exploratorium’ is opening in London where you can create your own working magic wand

Why ‘RIP JK Rowling’ is trending, even though the author is still alive

27 details you might have missed in the ‘Harry Potter’ movies

‘Chernobyl’ and ‘Harry Potter’ actor Paul Ritter dies at 54

LONDON – Versatile British actor Paul Ritter, whose roles ranged from a hapless suburban patriarch in sitcom “Friday Night Dinner” to a Soviet engineer who helps cause a nuclear disaster in “Chernobyl,” has died, his agent said Tuesday. He was 54 and had been suffering from a brain tumor.

A familiar face to British television viewers and theatregoers, Ritter played Martin Goodman, the eccentric father of a London Jewish family, in the acerbic but warm Channel 4 sitcom “Friday Night Dinner.”

He also played ill-fated nuclear engineer Anatoly Dyatlov in the Emmy-winning HBO drama “Chernobyl;” the wizard Eldred Worple in “Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince;” and a devious political operative in the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace.”

Those who worked with Ritter in his most famous roles rated him highly. Robert Popper, the creator of “Friday Night Dinner,” said Ritter “was a lovely, wonderful human being. Kind, funny, super caring and the greatest actor I ever worked with.”

“Chernobyl” screenwriter Craig Mazin said on Twitter that Ritter was “one of the most gentle, gracious and brilliant people I’ve ever known, much less worked with. We lost him today, and far too soon. I wish his family and loved ones peace and comfort as they mourn the passing of this beautiful man.”

Ritter was a compelling stage actor, a frequent and memorable cast member in productions at Britain’s National Theatre, including “All My Sons,” “Coram Boy” and “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time.” He also appeared in “Art” at London’s Old Vic and on a West End stage as Prime Minister John Major, performing opposite Helen Mirren’s Queen Elizabeth II in the royal drama “The Audience.”

The actor was nominated for a Tony Award in 2009 for his performance in Alan Ayckbourn’s farce “The Norman Conquests” on Broadway.

Actor Russell Tovey said Ritter was “one of the nicest and best actors you’ll ever meet.”

13 little-known facts about Severus Snape that ‘Harry Potter’ fans probably don’t know

  • Severus Snape is one of the most divisive characters in the entire Harry Potter” series.
  • He was a double agent, so many character details were kept a secret, and little is known about his life outside of Hogwarts.
  • However, it is known that his mother was a witch and his father was a Muggle, which led to the moniker “The Half-Blood Prince.”
  • Snape’s first and last names also have significant meanings for the character. 
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Severus Snape is one of the most highly-debated characters in the “Harry Potter” franchise.

On one hand, he was a vindictive bully. But on the other, he was living a secret double life as both a Death Eater and a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Prior to using her platform to spread transphobic messages, the series’ controversial author J.K. Rowling was known to use Twitter, interviews, and the official Wizarding World website to expand the “Harry Potter” canon beyond the seven books. 

With both the original series and this supplemental information in mind, here are 13 little-known facts about Snape that even die-hard fans may have missed or forgotten:

Warning: This slideshow contains spoilers for the “Harry Potter” book and film series. 

RISING falls to lockdown, but promises to return

“It was just a thrilling night … but unfortunately we’re in the position we’re in Victoria right now, so we are pausing the festival in line with the lockdown.”

From Friday, his team will start to work out what to do with the remaining three days of the festival after June 3, and whether some shows can be rescheduled for those dates – depending on the nature of the remaining restrictions if the city is out of lockdown. The festival’s more than 100,000 ticket buyers will be contacted if they are affected.

RISING will also work to see if the festival might be extended beyond its planned June 6 closing date, for some events at least. One highlight, Patricia Piccinini’s otherworldly sculpture installation at Flinders St Station, has already been extended to the end of August.

“We are determined to be able for these great works that we have invested so deeply in with the artists of Melbourne, for them to see the light of day,” Obarzanek said. “I have no doubt that we will – but I just can’t tell you how and which way that’s going to happen in the next few days.”

Financially, the festival is structured to take “pretty much exclusively” the box office risk, he said, and contracts with artists will be honoured in good faith.

Victim in truck-driver kidnapping, ransom scheme had ties to Memphis, records show

Memphis, Tenn. — The FBI is seeking the public’s help in finding victims in a cross-country kidnapping and ransom scheme and at least one of the victims involved disappeared from Memphis, according to a lawsuit in the Western District of Tennessee Western District court.

According to the court documents, truck driver Brian Summerson kidnapped women under the direction of Pierre Washington, owner of God Got Me LLC..

The records state that the 35-year-old Summerson kidnapped women, often physically assaulting them in the process, and took them across state lines to work for Washington as prostitutes.

The courts said that, if the women refused to work as prostitutes, Summerson would hold them for ransom.

On January 28, 2020, officials said that Summerson kidnapped a woman in Georgia and took her to South Carolina. While in South Carolina, records show that Summerson contacted a person in Memphis to make a ransom demand for the victim.

The FBI said that when meeting potential victims Summerson would tell women his name is Von or Vaughn.

If you have any information concerning this case, or if you believe you are a victim or may have been affected by these alleged crimes, please provide your contact information via email to truckervictims@fbi.gov so that an investigator can contact you.

Hogwarts Legacy designer quits Avalanche following public backlash

Matthew Handrahan

Editor-in-Chief

Friday 5th March 2021

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Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Hogwarts Legacy lead designer Troy Leavitt has quit Avalanche Software, following a backlash over the content of his personal YouTube channel.

Speaking on Twitter, Leavitt announced his decision to leave Avalanche, and said he has “nothing but good things to say about the game, the dev team, and WB Games.”

Leavitt emphasised the decision as his own, adding that he “felt absolutely secure in my position… I’m in excellent spirits and very pleased with my relationship with WB and Avalanche.”

However, Leavitt promised to clarify his reasons in a new video, which will be published on his YouTube channel in the near future.

Leavitt’s YouTube channel is at the root of the issue. As Kotaku pointed out, his videos contained many controversial opinions, including defences of public figures accused of sexual misconduct, and qualified support of the fundamentally misogynist GameGate movement.

These positions were compounded by Leavitt’s proximity to the Harry Potter IP, the creator of which, J K Rowling, has been widely criticised for her statements about the trans community.

In a recent op-ed, Brendan Sinclair explored the link between Leavitt’s views and those of Rowling, and the nature of “cancel culture” — you can read it here.

Hogwarts Legacy will reportedly add transgender characters, following J.K. Rowling controversy

The next Harry Potter video game, Hogwarts Legacy, will reportedly add the ability for players to create transgender heroes, following controversy stemming from comments made by series creator J.K. Rowling.

In the past year, Rowling has been criticised for making several comments perceived to be transphobic on her Twitter account, which caused many Harry Potter movie actors, including leads Emma Watson and Eddie Redmayne, to publicly voice their support for the transgender community.

According to a Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources at Warner Bros.’ Avalanche studio, some members of the game’s development have since fought to make the game as inclusive as possible, in response to the author’s comments.

As a result, when players start up the game they will reportedly be able to create a character that has a masculine or feminine voice regardless of body type, while the choice of “witch” or “wizard” will determine the dorm their character is placed in.

Some members of the Avalanche team have also been pushing for a transgender character to be added to the game’s cast, according to Bloomberg.

Hogwarts Legacy will reportedly add transgender characters, following J.K. Rowling controversy
Hogwarts Legacy will reportedly add transgender characters, following J.K. Rowling controversy.

“There was resistance from management at first, the people familiar with the project said, but currently the character customization is included in the game,” it said.

Concern around Hogwarts Legacy increased last month when it emerged that the game’s lead designer, Troy Leavitt, had run a reactionary YouTube channel that published videos criticising feminism and social justice.

As noted by journalist Liam Robertson, Leavitt’s content included a video calling the #MeToo movement a “moral panic” and another downplaying sexual harassment allegations made against former Pixar CCO John Lasseter.

Leavitt also expressed support for Gamergate, the movement which fostered harassment of women and minorities in the games industry.

One of the internet’s largest independently-owned video game forums, Resetera, has banned Hogwarts Legacy threads, due to what it calls “bigoted” comments made by the game’s lead designer and Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling.

Signed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book is up for auction in Cornwall

A Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book signed by eight of the main Harry Potter actors is up for auction in Cornwall this week.

The paperback copy of the third book of the Harry Potter saga written by J. K. Rowling, will be auctioned by David Lay, based in Penzance, in their online-only Books and Collector’s Sale on April 22.

It was signed by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore from the third movie), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge), and Martin Bayfield (young Rubeus Hagrid and Robbie Coltrane’s body and stunt double).

It is estimated to be worth between £500 and £800.

You can stay up to date on the top news and events near you with CornwallLive’s FREE newsletters – enter your email address at the top of the page.

The ad reads: “J. K. ROWLING. ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. Signed by some of the cast of the film, including, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane, Robert Hardy, and Martin Bayfield. Toning to pages and water damage to Michael Gambon’s inscription.

Signed Harry Potter book up for auction in Cornwall
(Image: Cornwall Live)

“Provenance; Gifted to the mascot of Martin Bayfields (body double to Robbie Coltrane’s Hagrid) testimonial match.”

You can find more details here.

Some Harry Potter books are worth hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds.

Earlier this month, it was reported that a primary school teacher who lost her life to breast cancer 16 years ago left her daughters a ‘lovely legacy’ in the form of a Harry Potter novel worth tens of thousands of pounds.

She had bought the first edition hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at a school fete at Ravenstone County Primary School, near Coalville, for about £1 in 2003, LeicestershireLive reports.

Thanks to the amazing success of the JK Rowling books, the 1997 novel is now expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000.

Woman who claimed to be Harry Potter charged with death of judge after hit-and-run

A US woman who claimed she was Harry Potter has been charged with “vehicular homicide” after she allegedly killed a judge and injured a six-year-old boy after swerving her car onto a pavement.

According to court records, witnesses claimed Nastasia Snape, 23, had been driving erratically through Boca Raton, a town in Florida’s Palm Beach, before mounting the pavement and fatally hitting 75-year-old federal judge Sandra Feuerstein.

As she drove back onto the road again, reports say she then hit the boy on a pedestrian crossing, seriously injuring him.

Police say Snape then fled into neighbouring Delray Beach, where she crashed her car.

A Delray police officer said Snape appeared to be having convulsions, but was able to get out of the car and in an ambulance where she began “screaming and fighting with medics while yelling she was Harry Potter”.

She is now in custody.

In the Harry Potter novels, there is a character named Snape.

Judge Feuerstein was appointed to the federal bench by President George W Bush after 16 years as a New York state judge.

In a statement, Eugene Corcoran, the Eastern Court District’s executive, said Judge Feuerstein’s “eccentric style and warm personality lit up the courtroom”, adding: “She will be missed by her colleagues and litigants alike.”

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