In a statement, Big Talk, the producers of Friday Night Dinner, said: “He was a brilliant, kind and talented man much loved by everyone who was lucky enough to know and work with him, and Paul will forever be part of both the Big Talk and Friday Night Dinner families.
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Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint Shares Honest Thoughts On The Rumored HBO Max Show
The main series of Harry Potter films may have concluded nearly a decade ago, but the Wizarding World franchise is still growing. On the big screen, it’s continuing through the Fantastic Beasts series, which is set to release its third installment in 2022. Now, it would appear that the franchise may be headed to the small screen as well, as it’s been reported that a Harry Potter TV series is currently in early development at HBO Max. While the show is not officially confirmed at this point, it hasn’t stopped fans from sharing their thoughts and, now, franchise vet Rupert Grint has weighed in on the rumored project.
[PHOTO] Harry Potter turns 40 amid quarantine and controversy
For Melissa Richmond, her dorm room feels brightened by “Harry Potter” decor and a stack of the new illustrated editions on the standard-issue bureau, a colorful addition to the room.
The Weinberg junior has been an avid Potterhead since she was in fourth grade, just before “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” came out. The relatable characters and vivid descriptions made the world come to life before her eyes, and she immersed herself in it, she said.
The “Harry Potter” franchise has even made quarantine more bearable for Richmond, as rewatching the movies has provided comfort during a difficult time.
“(I’ve been) watching the movies almost nonstop, not even in a way where I sit down and watch them but if I am going to have something on in the background, it will be the movies. I’ll fall asleep to them if I need background noise,” she said. “It’s been one of my favorite things to do, just to be able to watch something where you sort of know everything that’s going to happen in such an unprecedented time.”
For many fans of “Harry Potter,” the books provide comfort while whisking readers away to another world full of magic, centaurs and spells. Communication sophomore Natalie Rarick has been engrossed by the Wizarding World since she started reading the books in elementary school. She credits the books for her love of storytelling and career goal of creating children’s media for the stage and screen.
“Something I love about ‘Harry Potter’ is how it matures with its audience and it becomes more complex and dark and deep as it progresses, which I don’t think many children’s books do,” Rarick said. “It taught me the importance of and how to develop a world that is creative and beautiful and expansive, but also deals with important issues in our world and is not afraid to shy away from the darkness and complexity around us.”
But as the protagonist, Harry Potter, celebrates his 40th birthday on July 31, the creator of the series finds herself mired in controversy. While the books deal with topics such as prejudice and ethnicity in the books, with Death Eaters viewing pure-bloods as the superior group and Muggles and Muggle-borns as less than deserving of being wizards, author J.K. Rowling has expressed transphobic beliefs multiple times. Earlier this summer, she retweeted an article about menstruation and questioned the phrase “people who menstruate,” implying that all women menstruate and everyone who menstruates is a woman.
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
In December, Rowling also posted in support of Maya Forstater, who lost her job due to transphobic tweets, including one that stated “men cannot change into women.”
Hundreds of “Harry Potter” fans replied, angry that a beloved author would invalidate the existence of members of the transgender community. Richmond was disappointed by Rowling’s tweets, especially after admiring her for many years.
“It’s something that’s so ingrained into people’s lives where it’s so horribly upsetting for such a large group of people, especially for the transgender community who have been using Harry Potter as a form of comfort for so many years,” Richmond said. “It’s hard to wrap your head around how to continue to love this story in these books and movies while not loving the person who created them.”
Given today’s “cancel culture,” Rarick questioned if future generations will read “Harry Potter,” or abandon it due to Rowling’s tweets.
Despite the recent controversy, the books have remained popular. Melissa Thorkilsen, the co-manager and children’s book buyer at Elm Street Books in New Canaan, Conn., noticed that not many people bought the books when she started working there nine years ago. However, there has been a resurgence of popularity in recent years, which she attributes to parents and siblings passing down their enthusiasm for the series, as well as the detailed descriptions, memorable characters and witty prose.
“There’s now a whole new generation of kids who’s getting hooked on it. I think that the movies have helped with that, and I think she’s just such a household name,” Thorkilsen said. “I don’t think that the enthusiasm has dwindled.”
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Twitter: @haley_fuller_
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Can ‘Harry Potter’ live new lives with J.K. Rowling looming large?
The Hollywood Reporter (THR) posted an article on Jan. 25 with sources confirming that WarnerMedia executives had conversed with potential writers about a potential “Harry Potter” spinoff television series.
The series would be within the same universe as the original eight films and would be exclusive to the online streaming service HBO Max, which is run by WarnerMedia.
Despite reports from sources, representatives from Warner Bros. and HBO Max issued a statement to THR that no series is set for development. As of yet, there are no writers or cast members attached to the project that may or may not exist.
But if such a show were to move forward, one thing is certain: author J.K. Rowling would have to be involved.
Fans of the Potterverse were outraged at the prospect of the famed writer making any more money off of the franchise after Rowling began posting transphobic rhetoric in tweets and blog posts.
Veteran fans of the original novels and films took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.
You ruined Harry Potter for me and you’re apparently the author. Thanks for nothing, I can’t even touch the books now.
— Elliot REALLY REALLY Really REALLY wants a hug (@AuthenticIdiot) February 7, 2021
Others separated their love for the fandom versus their disdain for its creator.
Our position is: We still like Harry Potter, okay? 20 years of fandom will do that.
We don’t like JK Rowling anymore. We hope she’ll see how hurtful and wrong her transphobia is.
No new money for #JKR: Fantastic Beasts, Cormoran Strike, Ickabog, and merchandise are all ? here. pic.twitter.com/AjdqgzPWRd
— Wizarding News™ ⚡ Harry Potter minus JKR (@HPANA) January 28, 2021
The hugely negative reaction in the Harry Potter fandom to JK Rowling’s transphobia is absolutely about buyers’ remorse, yes.#JKR preached about acceptance and tolerance in the HP books and then shat all over it. As a result, we feel hoodwinked and are pissed at her.
— Wizarding News™ ⚡ Harry Potter minus JKR (@HPANA) February 4, 2021
Okay see, there’s a difference between still being a Harry Potter fan/keeping your fandom mementos while also denouncing JK Rowling,
and this, which is ACTIVELY giving her MORE money and not showing her any real consequences for her repeatedly HARMFUL transphobia.
I’m tired. https://t.co/BcAR1DIbfe
— steph ? (@queermurphys) January 25, 2021
All in all, many were disappointed. American comic book writer Magdalene Visaggio was one of those most vocal.
stop giving JK Rowling money.
— Magdalene Visaggio (@MagsVisaggs) January 25, 2021
The controversy against the author began on Dec. 19, 2019 when Rowling defended tax expert Maya Forstater in a tweet with the hashtag, “I Stand With Maya.”
Forstater was laid off due to a string of tweets in opposition to the Gender Recognition Act in the United Kingdom. The act allows residents to legally change their gender. It did not infringe on the creation of single or separate sex spaces, which the government addressed a year prior to Rowling and Forstater’s criticisms.
In an employment tribunal on Dec. 18, 2019, Employment Judge James Taylor ruled that Forstater’s departure was not discriminatory.
Nevertheless, Rowling kept on with her support of Forstater, arguing that Forstater was wrongfully removed from her job.
“Dress however you please,” she said. “Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?”
Dress however you please.
Call yourself whatever you like.
Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you.
Live your best life in peace and security.
But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 19, 2019
Seven months later, Rowling outraged fans and critics alike in another online rant about gender.
Rowling cited an opinions column from social enterprise site Devex on June 6 of last year.
The article discussed the heightened vulnerabilities that people who menstruate face during the pandemic due to potential risk of infection. Rowling criticized not the content of the article, but the word choice for people who menstruate, which would include nonbinary individuals.
“‘People who menstruate,’” she wrote. “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Rowling later backtracked due to the severe controversy of her first tweet.
“I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives,” she said. “It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Four days later, she released a blog post to her website that reached nearly 4,000 words. In it, she referenced her tweet defending Forstater and doubled down on the biological basis of gender.
“I’ve read all the arguments about femaleness not residing in the sexed body, and the assertions that biological women don’t have common experiences, and I find them, too, deeply misogynistic and regressive,” she said.
Most recently, Rowling released her new novel “Troubled Blood.” Rowling, under the pen name Robert Galbraith, wrote about a cross-dressing serial killer, which many have criticized as playing into the stereotpye that transgender people are violent.
Part of a series, “Trouble Blood” was the fifth Rowling novel to follow the noir dealings of detective Cormoran Strike. And it was not the only book of its series to have transphobic elements.
Fans and critics have seen Rowling lean into the same tropes in the series’ second novel, “The Silkworm,” which features a transgender woman who attempts to stab the main protagonist. The protagonist then goes on to antagonize the woman about her transness, as a 2019 Vice article explains.
Several beloved actors involved in the film series spoke out against Rowling shortly after she made waves in June of last year.
In fact, the original three musketeers – or Harry, Hermione and Ron – have all contested her claims against the transgender community.
Rupert Grint, known for his portrayal of Ron Weasley, distanced himself from Rowling’s remarks in a BBC News interview. BBC News published his statement on June 12. It read, “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.”
Emma Watson posted tweets in response to the author on June 10.
“Trans people are who they say are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” she said.
Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) June 10, 2020
And even the boy with the lightning bolt scar spoke against Rowling.
Daniel Radcliffe spoke through a heartfelt message posted as a blog from The Trevor Project. The message written by and signed by Radcliffe was posted on June 8.
“Transgender women are women,” he said. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo [Rowling] or I.”
If HBO Max ever does push forward with a new chapter of the “Harry Potter” franchise, the streaming service is sure to face an uneasy audience.
How Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban’s Time Travel Works
Though this was a loop of events that were always going to happen, there are still rules to follow. As Hermione explains to Harry in the book, Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) warned her that horrific things could happen if one time travelled irresponsibly. Like, say, killing oneself in either the past or the present, which is sort of referenced in the film during Dumbledore’s own warning to Hermione. His instructions were merely that she and Harry couldn’t be seen by anyone, which also warrants a tip of the Sorting Hat to one Dr. Emmett L. Brown and his views on time travel; but also muddies the waters as to whether or not the young wizards could ever really change anything.
As long as Harry and Hermione have accomplished their goals, and make it back to their starting position by the time they left, without running into their past selves, the timeline will presumably remain undamaged. Which, in turn, closes the predestination loop, and lets everyone return for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
As JK Rowling makes her stance on trans issues clear, Harry Potter fans are speaking out against her
It is probable that you wouldn’t know the names Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint if you didn’t first know the name JK Rowling. The former child stars, who owe their careers to the Harry Potter creator, recently spoke out against a blog post published by the author on 10 June that many have decried as transphobic. In the 3,600-word post, which she shared on Twitter with the words “TERF wars”, Rowling lists five reasons why she is “deeply concerned” about “trans activism”.
Some see it as hypocritical that those who owe so much to Rowling would condemn her so publicly, but these actors aren’t alone. They represent an entire generation of people who broadly support trans rights – a 2019 survey by a Washington polling group found 68 per cent of young Americans have become more supportive of transgender rights in the past five years – many of whom owe much of their world view to Rowling, but no longer feel able to stand by the author.
I first wrote about this phenomenon in this magazine in February 2018, under the headline “JK Rowling created an army of liberals – now they are turning against her”. At the time, Rowling was being criticised after the director of her film franchise Fantastic Beasts revealed that the character Albus Dumbledore would not be “explicitly” gay in the latest instalment of the series, despite Rowling first revealing the sexuality of the Hogwarts headmaster in 2007. Many felt (and I agreed) that Rowling had used the announcement to score political points but was too cowardly to commit to it within any of her Harry Potter books, films or plays. The fans I spoke to at the time said Rowling’s work had taught them about standing up for the oppressed – they no longer felt the author herself embodied these values.
Today Rowling has made her stance on trans issues clear. While explaining her opposition to the trans rights movement, she outlines her support for a woman who was described by a judge at an employment tribunal as holding views “not worthy of respect in a democratic society”. Publications have already debunked some of the claims made in Rowling’s post, with Insider noting that a study she cited to claim social contagion drives gender dysphoria has been revised and labelled “flawed” by other researchers. In the blog post, Rowling also reveals that she is a survivor of domestic violence “out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces”. But trans charity Mermaids warns against “associating trans identities with male abusers”.
In response to the blog post, an entire generation of young people are turning against the author who defined their childhoods. An artist who tweeted an offer to cover up Harry Potter tattoos gained 3,600 retweets and 16,000 likes in just three days, while Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe wrote a post for LGBTQ non-profit The Trevor Project. (Radcliffe penned his post before Rowling’s essay, but after the author sent a series of tweets many activists denounced as transphobic.) “Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote. “Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.” Watson and Grint expressed similar sentiments.
Many fans consider Rowling’s statements a complete betrayal of her own books. “The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance,” Rowling herself said in 2006. They are an anti-racism allegory: one 2014 study from the University of Greenwich found that children who read Potter passages about prejudice showed more positive attitudes towards immigrants.
Trans Harry Potter fans have been particularly affected by her post. On 10 June, LGBTQ online publication PinkNews ran an interview with a fan who now feels Rowling has, “aligned herself with a dangerous ideology… She wrote a series that taught an entire generation about unconditional love, acceptance and fighting supremacy,” the fan, Jackson Bird, said. “Maybe she should try reading the books again?”
Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint owe their fortunes to the Potter franchise, and many others continue to make money from Rowling’s work today. The Fantastic Beasts lead actor Eddie Redmayne told reporters he disagrees with Rowling’s comments, adding, “Trans women are women, trans men are men and nonbinary identities are valid.” It may surprise you to learn there’s also such a thing as “Harry Potter influencers” – online stars who make money collecting Potter merchandise, talking about the books and wearing costumes. One British influencer, Cherry Wallis, who has half a million YouTube subscribers, responded to Rowling’s comments by writing that Harry Potter “shaped and defined who I am as a human being” and spoke of “disappointment” with the author.
Many Harry Potter fans are simply divorcing the art from the artist – an approach Radcliffe encouraged. “To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished…” he wrote, “if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you… then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that.”
Personally, while I’ve always loved Harry Potter, I don’t feel I owe my politics to Rowling. I learned more from little-known bloggers and YouTubers who spoke out about their very real experiences of discrimination than I did from tales of house elves and werewolves. It’s likely I’ll read Harry Potter again, though I will avoid financially supporting Rowling’s new endeavours (be they movies or tacky Primark tie-in ranges). I am not betrayed by Rowling, merely disgusted. Her views are not an insult to fans: they are an insult to anyone who believes in treating others with dignity and respect.
‘Harry Potter’ actor Evanna Lynch announces memoir
Actor Evanna Lynch, best known for portraying the role of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter film series, is coming out with a memoir on September 14.
The 29-year-old actor-activist took to Instagram to share the announcement on Sunday.
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Lynch said she had been meaning to write a book for quite some time and the year gone by allowed her the “silence and stillness to unravel the story” she wanted to tell.
Published by Headline Books, the memoir chronicles her struggle with an eating disorder, recovery and commitment to her dreams.
“In one way, this book is a memoir about my struggle with an eating disorder. However, it’s not really a book about thinness and eating; it’s about rebuilding yourself after, literally recovering yourself. At its essence, it’s about the ongoing negotiation between the voices of our fears and our creativity and all the crazy, interesting, wild things that happen when you keep committing to your dreams,” Lynch wrote in the caption.
The Irish actor also said she is grateful to her team who empowered her to share “my light and darkness alike in this story”.
The cover and title of the book are still in development, she added.
LEGO Announces Impressive Diagon Alley Building Set from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – LaughingPlace.com
Six years ago, the theme park world was forever changed by the addition of the new Diagon Alley area to Universal Studios Florida– an expansion of its sister park Universal’s Islands of Adventure’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Now fans will have the opportunity to bring home this famous location inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series of children’s books in an all-new form.
Today LEGO announced the impressive Harry Potter Diagon Alley building set, which will allow fans to re-create the “most magical shopping street in the world” when it releases tomorrow.
What’s happening:
- LEGO has announced the Harry Potter Diagon Alley building set, which contains 5,544 pieces and retails for $399.99. It was designed with the help of the Weasley brother twins.
- The set includes 14 LEGO minifigures: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley, Molly Weasley, Garrick Ollivander, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, Lucius Malfoy, Rubeus Hagrid, Florean Fortescue, and the Daily Prophet photographer.
- The modular shops represented in Diagon Alley include Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Scribbulus Writing Implements, Quality Quidditch Supplies, the Daily Prophet, Florian Fortesque’s Ice Cream Parlour, Flourish and Blotts Bookseller, and Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.
What they’re saying:
LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley will become available tomorrow, September 1 at LEGO.com and LEGO Stores globally.
BJP terms Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the RSS ‘laughable’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday termed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s statement attacking the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as “laughable”. The party also refuted Mr. Gandhi’s claim that the Congress had at no point during the Emergency attempted to capture India’s institutional framework.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, said that it would take Mr. Gandhi a long time to understand the RSS, the Hindutva organisation and ideological mothership of the ruling BJP.
Mr. Gandhi had, in a video conversation with Kaushik Basu, former chief economic advisor of India and Professor at the Cornell University, U.S., termed the Emergency imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi a “mistake”. He had added that the Emergency was fundamentally different from the current scenario as the Congress had at no point attempted to capture the country’s institutional framework, as the RSS was attempting to do now.
Mr. Javadekar, in response to Mr. Gandhi’s further charge that the RSS was comparable as a Hindutva counterpart to radical Islamists in Pakistan said that the RSS’ role was to effect good changes in people and inspire patriotism in them.
“Lakhs of people, including MPs and MLAs, were arrested during that time while institutions were denied any freedom. Now for him to say that they did not target institutions is laughable,” Mr. Javadekar said.
Responding to a question, Mr. Javadekar also rejected allegations that the income tax raids on the premises of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actor Taapsee Pannu were linked to their comments, which are seen at times critical of the BJP.
“This is too much,” he said to the question and added, “Probe agencies undertake investigations based on credible information and the matter later goes to courts as well.”
The Income Tax Department on Wednesday raided premises linked to the filmmakers, including Mr. Kashyap, who launched the now-dissolved production house Phantom Films; Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibhashish Sarkar; and Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu, officials said.
Actor Alex Weisman returns to TV after random subway attack
A Broadway actor who almost lost his sight in a brutal random attack at a Manhattan subway station is celebrating his recovery — by returning to the spotlight.
After undergoing successful eye surgery, Alex Weisman, 33, hit the small screen Tuesday appearing in NBC’s medical drama “New Amsterdam,” just under five months after the injury.
The role, coincidentally, involved a medical trauma of its own: Weisman played a Superman character in Times Square who gets hit by a bus.
“I was filming a story about healthcare workers in the midst of the pandemic,” Weisman told The Post. “I got to celebrate people who work in hospitals, which was fitting.”
Weisman, who was also an original cast member of Broadway’s “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child,” has kept a positive outlook since being sucker punched by a stranger last November.
The suspect behind the battering at the 103rd Street station on the Upper West Side was never found, Weisman said. But he refuses to dwell on that dark day: “That person has nothing to do with my life.”
Weisman acknowledged that, as an actor, his face is his livelihood. In the days following the attack he felt worried he might never work in the business again.
But doctors at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai worked swiftly to repair the damage.
“They were quick and efficient,” he said. “They understood the nuance of my situation and that I needed my face to work in the theater.”
One of them, retina surgeon Dr. Gareth Lema, told The Post that the patient’s injury was severe. However, he added that he was fortunate because the retinal tear had not detached from the center of his vision.
“We decided on a minimally invasive procedure where we basically lasered the retina and walled off the part that was detached,” said the expert.
The redness was kept to a minimum allowing Weisman to submit his audition tape for “New Amsterdam” just two weeks after the shocking assault, which occurred when the man approached him out of the blue.
“My agent sent me the audition and was like, ‘No pressure,’ but I knew it was important to get on camera and see what I looked like,” recalled the actor, whose previous film roles include appearances in 2018’s “An Acceptable Loss” and 2020’s “Black Box.”
“I sent it over with an apology, saying, ‘I’m so sorry if I look terrible, let me know.’
“And they were like: ‘Shut up. It’s fine. You’re great.’”
After nailing the audition, filming took place over three-and-a-half weeks in January when, on his days off, he’d visit the real hospital for constant check-ups on his eye.
“I have a tiny blind spot, some floaters and some glare when looking at screens,” he said. “But I count myself lucky.”
Now that his career is up and running again, he’s keen to secure more roles both on TV and Broadway — and he’s not alone in that excitement. The theater world is set to at least partially re-open after Labor Day in September 2021 after going dark in March 2020.
“I’m hopeful,” Weisman said. “Since the age of 7, I don’t think I have gone for two weeks without seeing a play or being in one.
As for riding the subway, the attack hasn’t put him off one iota — despite a rise in the number of random assaults taking place in New York.
“I’m not going to let one bad day make me afraid of the train for the rest of my life.”