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Geek Tyrant
17 minutes ago
- Geek Tyrant
Audible's New HARRY POTTER Audiobooks Reveal Star-Studded Cast With Hugh Laurie, Matthew Macfadyen, Riz Ahmed and More — GeekTyrant
Get ready to return to the wizarding world in a whole new way. Audible is breathing new life into Harry Potter with an ambitious full-cast audio production of all seven books, and the first installment, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , drops this November. Audible and J.K. Rowling's Pottermore Publishing just announced the major cast and rollout plan for Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions , which promises a completely immersive experience, complete with original music, high-end sound design, and real-world audio capture. The audiobook series will debut amid the ongoing production of HBO's own Harry Potter live-action TV adaptation in the U.K. The casting for Audible's audio editions wrapped earlier this year, with over 2,000 hours already recorded. And the cast they've assembled is nothing short of magical. Hugh Laurie ( House ) steps into the legendary role of Albus Dumbledore. Matthew Macfadyen ( Succession ) gives voice to the Dark Lord himself, Voldemort. Riz Ahmed ( Sound of Metal ) brings complexity to Professor Snape, while Michelle Gomez ( Doctor Who ) takes on the role of Professor McGonagall. The entire series is narrated by Cush Jumbo ( The Good Fight ), whose voice will guide listeners through all seven audiobooks. As for the young trio, the early books will be voiced by newcomers Frankie Treadaway (Harry), Max Lester (Ron), and Arabella Stanton (Hermione). Interestingly, Stanton is also portraying Hermione in HBO's series. For books four through seven, Jaxon Knopf, Rhys Mulligan, and Nina Barker-Francis will take over as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The release schedule kicks off with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on November 4, 2025, followed by monthly releases through May 2026: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – December 16, 2025 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – January 13, 2026 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – February 10, 2026 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – March 10, 2026 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – April 14, 2026 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – May 12, 2026 In a statement, Hugh Laurie shared his excitement, saying: 'I'm honored to have been trusted with the keys to Albus Dumbledore, and thrilled to be able to take him around the track of this beautiful incarnation by Pottermore and Audible. 'I'm also deeply conscious of previous drivers Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, Jude Law and the iconic narrations by Jim Dale and my colleague Sir Stephen Fry.' He added: 'Just below the horizon, but headed our way, is the rough beast John Lithgow, his hour come round at last. This is great company, and it's a privilege to be among their number.' The original single-voice audiobooks, featuring Stephen Fry and Jim Dale, are still available on Audible and have racked up a massive 1.8 billion global listening hours since their 2015 launch. But this new version is on a different level. According to Audible's Chief Content Officer Rachel Ghiazza: 'Magic is coming alive as these brilliant actors lift iconic characters off the page and into our ears. Hearing these spellbinding performances in our state-of-the-art studios has been nothing short of extraordinary. 'We're overjoyed to share that fans of all ages can now mark their fall calendars for a truly breathtaking experience with Audible and Pottermore Publishing — one that promises to reignite the magic for longtime fans and captivate a whole new generation of listeners.' Neil Blair, chairman of Pottermore Publishing, echoed that enthusiasm: 'We're thrilled to be partnering with Audible to reimagine the Harry Potter stories through this groundbreaking full-cast audio experience. 'J.K. Rowling's rich, immersive world is perfectly suited to this next evolution in audiobook storytelling. We can't wait for a new generation of children around the world to discover the stories in this exciting new way.' Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions will join Audible's growing library of original productions, including 1984 , Pride & Prejudice , and Sam Mendes' adaptations of Oliver Twist , David Copperfield , and Bleak House . For longtime fans or those discovering the Wizarding World for the first time, this is shaping up to be one of the most exciting Harry Potter projects in years.
CNN
34 minutes ago
- CNN
Inside the home of Pauline Karpidas, the art-world ‘grande dame' who could be the last of her kind
Behind the elegant but unassuming entryway to an apartment near London's Hyde Park, one of Europe's most prominent collectors has amassed a remarkable trove of Surrealist and postwar art in a home bursting with color and eclectic design. Now in her 80s, Pauline Karpidas is selling nearly all of the art and custom furniture housed in her dwelling, where major contemporary artists and other cultural figures have socialized among works by René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Yves Tanguy, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. As a patron, she's been an influential and connecting force in the art world for decades, yet Karpidas has remained a private figure who rarely speaks to press. But her upcoming sale, expected to fetch some £60 million, ($79.6 million), will be the most expensive collection from a single owner ever offered by Sotheby's in Europe. 'I cannot think of a more comprehensive place, outside of any major museum collection, really, to study and to look and to be encircled with so many core masterpieces from the surrealist movement and beyond,' said Oliver Barker, the chairman of Sotheby's Europe, in a phone call from London. Karpidas' Warhol works feature Marilyn Monre (left) and the artist Man Ray (right). In the living room salon hang paintings by Pablo Picasso, René Magritte, Francis Picabia, Leonora Carrington and Yves Tanguy, among others. Out of the sale's 250 artworks and design pieces the top lot is a later Magritte painting 'La Statue volante,' estimated to sell for £9-12 million ($12-$16 million). Other highlights include two Warhol works inspired by the painter Edvard Munch; a Dalí pencil drawing of his wife, Gala; a Hans Bellmer painting made just before the artist was imprisoned in France during World War II; a formative, mystical Dorothea Tanning painting of her dog; and the collector's bed, made of sculptural copper twigs and leaves, by Claude Lalanne. The sale will take place on September 17 and 18, and the works will also go on view in London earlier in the month, providing a rare glimpse at many artworks that have been off the market for decades and will soon be scattered into private hands. The landmark auction comes just two years after Sotheby's sold off the contents of Karpidas summer home in Hydra, Greece, which became a summer hotspot for artists through her Hydra workshops. In that sale, which more than doubled its high estimate, works by Georg Baselitz, Marlene Dumas and Kiki Smith earned a combined €35.6 million ($37.6 million). 'She's a real diva, in the most positive sense of this word,' said the Swiss artist Urs Fischer in a video call. 'She's also a bit of a mystery to me, despite knowing her for a long time.' Fischer met Karpidas more than two decades ago when he was in his twenties, participated in one of her Hydra gatherings in the mid-2000s, and has regularly attended art-world parties with her. Fischer noted her 'larger-than-life' presence: She's often in striking hats, cigarette in hand, and has the tendency toward telling grand stories and scrawling, multi-page handwritten letters, he said. 'When I think of any memory of her, she's always at the center of a place — she's not the person on the periphery,' he recalled. 'A mirror of her' Karpidas, originally from Manchester, was introduced to art collecting through her late husband, Constantine Karpidas, known as 'Dinos,' whose own eye was fixed on 19th-century art including Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet. Then by meeting the art dealer Alexander Iolas, Karpidas found her own path. Iolas, nearly retired by that point, had been a formidable dealer of major 20th-century artists, particularly Surrealists, and his approach was the 'blueprint' for international mega-galleries such as Gagosian and Hauser & Wirth today, according to Barker. But with Karpidas' financial means and determination, he worked with her to build a singular collection of 20th-century art. Pauline with Constantinos Karpidas, known as Dino, who introduced her to art collecting when they married. Karpidas is part of the lineage of 'grande dames,' Barker said — the affluent 20th-century women who built social networks across the most prominent artists, fashion houses and designers of the time — and she may be the last of her kind, he noted. She was close friends with Andy Warhol and frequented his parties at The Factory, she was dressed by Yves Saint Laurent, and her homes were the efforts of prominent interior designers Francis Sultana and Jacques Grange. She's been compared to the late, great female patrons Peggy Guggenheim and Dominique de Menil, both of whom she knew. But though her counterparts' collections have become important cultural institutions, through Sotheby's, the bulk of Karpidas' collection will be disseminated across the art market. In her London residence, Fischer said, 'the whole space became one artwork. Every fragment of that apartment has its own little story.' While he's been in many homes of affluent collectors over the years, Karpidas' apartment stands out for how personal and exuberant it is. 'In some way, it's probably a mirror of her interest and her psyche,' he said. 'It's not just like a wealthy person's home. It's like a firework.' Barker explained that Karpidas' acquisitions have not only been the result of her financial means, but her judicious timing, too. She was well-positioned in 1979 for the record-breaking sale of the collector and artist William Copley's personal collection, netting a 1929 painting by the French Surrealist Yves Tanguy, which will be resold in September. Many works owned by Karpidas have been passed down through famous hands, such as Surrealism founder André Breton, poet Paul Éluard, gallerist Julian Levy, and the family of Pablo Picasso. 'She was not only there at the right time, but she was choosing the right works,' Barker said. Important patrons have often become subjects themselves, and the same is true of Karpidas. In 2023, Fischer depicted her in an ephemeral piece, with a lifespan of a single gallery show. On the floor of LGDR (now Lévy Gorvy Dayan) in New York, he cast a sculpture of the collector gazing at a reproduction of the 2nd-century 'Three Graces,' an iconic Ancient Greek statue symbolizing beauty and harmony in art and society, which Karpidas purchased in 1989 before selling it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In Fischer's version, he rendered the three female nudes, as well as Karpidas, as life-size wax candles. All white except her dark oversized jewelry, the wax effigy of Karpidas looked to the sculpture she'd purchased decades before, all of the figures' wicks' aflame. Eventually, like many of Fischers' works, they all melted down, the fire winking out.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Madonna's New Album Doubles Her Career No. 1s Total
It's been more than half a decade since Madonna last released a new album, and as fans wait for her teased Confessions on a Dance Floor 2, which the singer has been hinting at for months, she's finding ways to keep her following engaged. Her latest set, Veronica Electronica, is a remix project built around the songs from Ray of Light, one of her most acclaimed albums. The project is clearly aimed at only the most die-hard Madonna superfans, and thankfully there are enough of those, so the remix effort becomes a quick win as it debuts. Madonna Scores Her Second No. 1 Dance Album Veronica Electronica opens at No. 1 on the Official Dance Albums chart this week. The singer manages a somewhat surprising achievement, as the project marks Madonna's second leader on the tally, which ranks the bestselling dance-only collections in the United Kingdom. The new release also becomes her third top 10 and fifth overall win on the genre-specific ranking. Two Decades Since Her First Dance Albums Leader Madonna first ruled the Official Dance Albums chart in 2005 with Confessions on a Dance Floor. That blockbuster opened in first place and went on to spend 13 weeks at the summit, powered by singles like 'Hung Up' and 'Sorry.' Almost exactly two decade later, she's back in charge with another dance-focused effort. Top 10 Debuts Across Multiple Rankings Beyond its triumph on the dance chart, Veronica Electronica starts inside the top 10 on four other U.K. tallies. It launches at No. 3 on both the Official Album Downloads and the Official Vinyl Albums charts simultaneously. The set also kicks off at No. 5 on both the Official Albums Sales list and the Official Physical Albums ranking as the remixed set becomes a fast top five win on multiple tallies. Madonna's Milestone New Album On the main Official Albums chart, Veronica Electronica opens at No. 23. While it doesn't break into the highest tier on that competitive ranking, its arrival still helps the superstar reach a special milestone, as it's Madonna's thirtieth career placement on the tally.
