Latest news with #DanielRadcliffe
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
New Harry Potter TV series risks fan fury after they film classic scenes in bizarre location
The reaction of the all-British crew to the filming location said it all IT'S FROGWARTS New Harry Potter TV series risks fan fury after they film classic scenes in bizarre location SACRE bleu! Filming for the Harry Potter TV series has begun — in France. US media giant HBO has dispatched crew to the rocky Île de Sein off Brittany, seemingly forgetting the Britishness of the boy wizard adventures. Advertisement 5 The new Harry Potter series has begun filming at an island off the coast of France Credit: Getty 5 The new actors for the Harry Potter television series were unveiled this week, Dominic McLaughlin (centre) will take on the lead role of Daniel Radcliffe Credit: HBO 5 How Nick Frost will look like as Hagrid in the series The island is thought to be the setting for scenes in the Hut-on-the-Rock, a dilapidated holiday shack where Hagrid turns up to announce: 'You're a wizard, Harry.' In the books, the hut is on an island off Cornwall — rather than five miles off one of the westernmost points of France. But producers insisted on using it as they thought it a suitably windswept location. A TV insider said: 'This caused a certain amount of amusement among the British crew who all agreed that they could have easily got windswept in virtually any part of the British Isles. Advertisement READ MORE ON HARRY POTTER like magic JK Rowling breaks silence on new stars as Harry, Ron and Hermione are cast 'They've been slightly bewildered by the fact they've actually gone to France to make a show which is so British — particularly since it's the first place they've gone to and they're doing key scenes there. 'For fans it's likely to be a sign that with American producers running the show, it might not be as mindful of Harry Potter as a national treasure that shouldn't be tampered with.' A film crew of about 30 is said to be camped at Pointe du Raz on the west coast of Brittany and every day they travel backwards and forwards by boat to the island. On a rocky outcrop off Île de Sein is the supposedly haunted 19th century Tévennec lighthouse, which may end up being used as the Hut-on-the-Rock in the final edit. Advertisement The surprising choice of location comes after HBO this week announced that young Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin would be taking on the lead role previously played in the movies by Englishman Daniel Radcliffe. He will star alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, characters depicted in the films by Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) Official Trailer Between 2001 and 2011 they starred in eight movies, all made in the studio or on location in Britain. Bath, Oxford and London were among the cities where scenes were filmed, while more remote locations in Durham and the Scottish Highlands were also used. Advertisement Warner Bros has invested millions of pounds in rapidly expanding its studio at Leavesden, near Watford, to accommodate shooting of the TV adaptation of all seven on JK Rowling's books. The Sun exclusively revealed how the complex would include a new version of Harry Potter's childhood home on Privet Drive. Hagrid, Hogwarts' groundskeeper played by the late Robbie Coltrane in the movies, will be played by Nick Frost. Meanwhile, John Lithgow will be the wizard school's headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Paul Whitehouse will appear as its caretaker, Argus Filch. Advertisement The series is expected to drop next year — although it is not confirmed which service will take it. HBO declined to comment on the use of a French location. But Île de Sein does have a magical link — it was, legend has it, home to virgin druid princesses with the power to take on animal forms, just like Animagi in the Potter stories. 5 The hut-on-the-rock is an important location in Harry Potter lore Credit: Advertisement
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
New Harry Potter TV series risks fan fury after they film classic scenes in bizarre location
SACRE bleu! Filming for the Harry Potter TV series has begun — in France. US media giant HBO has dispatched crew to the rocky Île de Sein off Brittany, seemingly forgetting the Britishness of the boy wizard adventures. 5 The new Harry Potter series has begun filming at an island off the coast of France Credit: Getty 5 The new actors for the Harry Potter television series were unveiled this week, Dominic McLaughlin (centre) will take on the lead role of Daniel Radcliffe Credit: HBO 5 How Nick Frost will look like as Hagrid in the series The island is thought to be the setting for scenes in the Hut-on-the-Rock, a dilapidated holiday shack where Hagrid turns up to announce: 'You're a wizard, Harry.' In the books, the hut is on an island off Cornwall — rather than five miles off one of the westernmost points of France. But producers insisted on using it as they thought it a suitably windswept location. A TV insider said: 'This caused a certain amount of amusement among the British crew who all agreed that they could have easily got windswept in virtually any part of the British Isles. READ MORE ON HARRY POTTER 'They've been slightly bewildered by the fact they've actually gone to France to make a show which is so British — particularly since it's the first place they've gone to and they're doing key scenes there. 'For fans it's likely to be a sign that with American producers running the show, it might not be as mindful of A film crew of about 30 is said to be camped at Pointe du Raz on the west coast of Brittany and every day they travel backwards and forwards by boat to the island. On a rocky outcrop off Île de Sein is the supposedly haunted 19th century Tévennec lighthouse, which may end up being used as the Hut-on-the-Rock in the final edit. Most read in News TV The surprising choice of location comes after HBO this week announced that young Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin would be taking on the lead role previously played in the movies by Englishman Daniel Radcliffe. He will star alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, characters depicted in the films by Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) Official Trailer Between 2001 and 2011 they starred in eight movies, all made in the studio or on location in Britain. Bath, Oxford and London were among the cities where scenes were filmed, while more remote locations in Durham and the Scottish Highlands were also used. Warner Bros has invested millions of pounds in rapidly expanding its studio at Leavesden, near Watford, to accommodate shooting of the TV adaptation of all seven on JK Rowling's books. The Sun Hagrid, Hogwarts' groundskeeper played by the late Meanwhile, John Lithgow will be the wizard school's headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Paul Whitehouse will appear as its caretaker, Argus Filch. The series is expected to drop next year — although it is not confirmed which service will take it. HBO declined to comment on the use of a French location. But Île de Sein does have a magical link — it was, legend has it, home to virgin druid princesses with the power to take on animal forms, just like Animagi in the Potter stories. 5 The hut-on-the-rock is an important location in Harry Potter lore Credit: 5 The famous scene sees mentor Hagrid turns up to announce: 'You're a wizard, Harry' Credit: Alamy
Geek Tyrant
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe's New Comedy Series From the 30 ROCK Crew Ordered by NBC — GeekTyrant
NBC is officially all in on The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins , a new comedy series starring Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe. It seems like an unexpected pairing, but it sounds like it'll be a great show. The network has handed the project a full series order after announcing a pilot back in March. According to NBC's logline, the show follows 'a disgraced former football player (Morgan) on a mission to rehabilitate his image.' Radcliffe's role hasn't been detailed yet, but with his track record of offbeat and inspired choices ( Miracle Workers, Swiss Army Man, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story ), we're betting he'll bring something fun to the mix. Also joining the cast are Erika Alexander ( Living Single ), Bobby Moynihan ( SNL ), Precious Way, and Jalyn Hall. This marks a big 30 Rock reunion. Robert Carlock and Sam Means, the duo behind Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , are writing and executive producing. Tina Fey is also executive producing, alongside Eric Gurian from her Little Stranger banner, SNL vet Rhys Thomas (who's directing the pilot), and David Miner of 3 Arts. Universal Television is producing. Tracy Morgan, of course, played the iconic Tracy Jordan for all seven seasons of 30 Rock , even earning an Emmy nomination in 2009. As for Radcliffe, this isn't his first time working with this creative team. He previously appeared in Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend interactive special. Are you excited to see Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe team up for this new comedy?
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Who will play the new Voldemort? Hollywood actor predicted to star as iconic Harry Potter villain
One Hollywood actor has been tipped to play Voldemort in the upcoming HBO remake of JK Rowling's Harry Potter. With the cast edging closer to completion, Potterheads are waiting patiently to find out who will play the remaining characters - including Voldemort, the franchise's dark wizard. Ralph Fiennes was cast as the villain in the original eight movies. This time around however, a household name in the film industry is the bookies' favorite for the role. Paul Bettany comes in third in the predictions, followed by Ralph Fiennes in fourth, just in front of Benedict Cumberbatch. However, a return for any actor who featured in the original films seems increasingly unlikely given not a single one has yet been announced. While stars such as Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Dame Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman passed away since they starred in Potter, a very public feud between JK Rowling and the movie's three main stars made certain they would not be returning. Hopes of seeing Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint back at Hogwarts were all but crushed after the trio spoke out against the author over her views on trans rights in 2020. Rowling had stated her belief that women are defined by their biological sex and not their gender identity. The author later insisted she would never forgive the Harry Potter stars, with Rowling again taking aim at them just last month. Replying to a tweet asking: 'What actor/ actress instantly ruins a movie for you?', she wrote: 'Three guesses. Sorry, but that was irresistible.' But while cast members of the films have publicly criticized the books' author, HBO have backed her saying she has a 'right to express her personal views'. The announcement came after other members of the cast were revealed months earlier, with Paapa Essiedu in-line to play Severus Snape and John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Earlier this week, JK Rowling expressed her delight at the casting of her new Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Responding to a fan on X asking how she felt about the appointments, she said: 'All three wonderful. I couldn't be happier.' The three new leads are expected to start filming this summer after being chosen from more than 32,000 audition tapes from across the UK and Ireland. The new adaptation will be spread across seven seasons, equal to the number of books - although there were eight films with the final Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows split into two parts. The HBO TV show is said to be costing over $100million per episode - and the three child actors taking the lead roles have been tipped to land themselves even bigger fortunes than the original stars. Producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod praised the 'wonderful' talent of the three newcomers, when making Tuesday's casting announcement. They said: 'After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron. 'The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. 'We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.'
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
J.K. Rowling Is A Billionaire—Again
The Dark Arts of Cancel Culture have been no match for the magic of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. If there was any price to be paid for placing herself at the center of the debate over transgender rights, you wouldn't know it by looking at her pugnacious feed on X (formerly Twitter). There, Rowling posts several times a day in support of gender fundamentalism to her 14 million-plus followers, frequently trading barbs with commenters—even fracturing her relationship with Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint—while toasting her own personal successes. 'I love it when a plan comes together,' she wrote in mid-April, channeling The A-Team's Hannibal Smith, after the United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. The accompanying photo showed Rowling holding a cocktail and smoking a cigar aboard her superyacht, which is valued at $150 million. Bruising culture war aside, the 59-year-old's Rowling's business empire is now larger than ever. In the four years since she began posting about transgender rights in 2020, Forbes estimates Rowling has earned more than $80 million per year from the sales of her books and the vast litany of Potterverse brand extensions, including movies, TV shows, theme parks, video games, theater and merchandise. Even after factoring in high U.K. taxes and her extensive charity ventures, she has comfortably rejoined the billionaire ranks with a net worth of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes estimates. Rowling was previously a fixture on the Forbes billionaires list from 2004-2011—the height of Pottermania—until new reporting in 2012 uncovered $160 million in philanthropic giving. In the years since, she's built back her 10-figure fortune through multimillion-dollar revenue streams across every conceivable medium. West End Wizardry: The Harry Potter stage play has sold more than 11 million tickets and grossed over $1 billion since opening in London in 2016. And her momentum is not slowing any time soon, with a new HBO Max series adaptation of the Harry Potter books going into production this summer, expected to run for a decade beginning in late 2026 and mint a whole new generation of fans. Forbes estimates that Rowling could earn about $20 million per year for her involvement in the new series—one part of a wide-ranging deal with Warner Bros.—and she was 'very, very involved in the process selecting the writer and the director,' said HBO Max CEO Casey Bloys in November. One has to imagine she had the same input in casting the new pre-teen Harry, Hermoine and Ron, announced on Monday. When asked about Rowling's politics on an episode of The Town with Matt Belloni in April, Bloys said, 'She's entitled to those views. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter." In the nearly three decades since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone debuted in 1997, Rowling has shrewdly expanded the Potterverse, building it into a franchise that is likely to run as long as Harry's fictional British compatriots Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. According to Habo Studio, a consulting firm that ranks the strongest intellectual property brands in the U.S. by surveying thousands of consumers, Harry Potter is the sixth strongest brand in all of entertainment, and No. 1 among millennials. Warner Bros. saw the potential of Rowling's intellectual property very early, licensing the movie rights before the first book was even released, when Rowling was still a single mother living on welfare—'as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain without being homeless,' she told The London Times in a recent interview. By the time that first big screen adaptation came to theaters in late 2001, Rowling had published four Potter books and sold over 100 million copies, vaulting her from living off welfare checks to multi-millionaire celebrity status. Just two years later, Rowling's then-agent Chris Little told Forbes the Harry Potter series had sold 250 million copies, building Rowling's initial fortune. The film franchise would then go on to gross almost $7.7 billion at the global box office after its final installment in 2011, at the time the highest-grossing franchise in movie history. By then Rowling's contract with Warner Bros. had been renegotiated numerous times to include various provisions and protections, including participation in the films' profits, an executive producer credit on the final two movies and, most importantly, authority over 'non-author written sequels,' which meant that no further Harry Potter material could be developed without Rowling's approval. If there's one thing Rowling has been more fiercely protective of than her political beliefs, it is the rights to her signature characters. That contractual stipulation allowed Rowling to negotiate for screenwriting control over the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 2016 and its two sequels. The third installment, released in 2022, was the first to be stress tested by public backlash (including calls for boycotts) to Rowling's stance against transgender rights. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore grossed $400 million at the global box office against a budget of more than $250 million, and is considered an enormous flop. Riding High: A sixth Wizarding World attraction was revealed at Universal's Epic Universe when the theme park opened in May. Still, Rowling was far from cancelled. By that point, tickets for her Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play were selling steadily on Broadway, in London's West End and five other locations around the world—grossing more than $1 billion since its premiere in 2016, of which Rowling shares in the profits. HBO Max was also producing the fifth season of C.B. Strike, an adaptation of Rowling's adult detective novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. And in 2023 a new video game Hogwarts Legacy sold 24 million copies, the best-selling game of that year, grossing another $1 billion. Because of that momentum, Warner Bros. was eager to double down on Potter projects. When CEO David Zaslav was hired in 2022, he flew to Scotland to meet with Rowling to find a way to develop new wizarding world content. While Rowling held rights to prequels and spin-offs, Warner Bros. still controlled the material from the original seven novels, which is why the studio pursued a remake of the original series. Eventually the project secured Rowling's blessing in 2023. 'Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me,' Rowling said in a statement last April when the show was announced. Despite the obvious ubiquity of the Potterverse, analysts believe that Rowling's tight-fisted control and near-singular authorship over the Harry Potter world has protected it from the kind of overexposure and dilution that has plagued other popular intellectual property in recent years, such as Disney's Marvel and Star Wars universes. Everywhere the Potter brand goes, it finds eager customers. When Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park opened its first Wizarding World attraction in 2010, it saw a 36% jump in attendance and a 40% increase in revenue. Comcast's annual financial report called it 'transformative to the company,' and it has since implemented Harry Potter into its parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Tokyo and Beijing, all of which saw boosts in attendance as a result. Similarly, an hour north of London, a studio tour of the Warner Bros. lot branded 'the making of Harry Potter' reported over $300 million in revenue and $120 million in operating profit in 2023. "Nothing has ever given a 36% increase in attendance in parks, from Disney to Six Flag to whoever,' says Dennis Spiegel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services. "The Harry Potter licensing deal, in my opinion, is probably the greatest licensing arrangement that has been done in theme parks in the last 40 years." Universal licenses the property from Warner Bros., and by extension Rowling gets a percentage of every purchase in that portion of the park, everything from wands to scarfs to butterbeer. According to Forbes estimates, theme parks account for the second largest income stream for Rowling over the past decade. Of course, the largest portion of Rowling's empire continues to be her book sales. The Harry Potter series has sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, according to its U.S. publisher Scholastic, and has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for 843 weeks and counting. A hardcover edition of the script for Cursed Child—written by veteran playwright Jack Thorne but based on a story by Rowling, Thorne and director John Tiffany—sold more than four million copies in its first year of release in 2016, and a picture book Christmas at Hogwarts was the No. 1 holiday book overall in 2024. In addition, Rowling has published five Comoran Strike novels under the Galbraith pseudonym since 2013. Rowling never sold the rights to ebooks for her work, instead founding Pottermore Publishing in 2012, a business that took off during the pandemic and now pays her several million per year. A spokesperson from The Blair Partnership, Rowling's management team, declined to comment on her wealth but sent the following statement to Forbes: 'The global passion for Harry Potter continues to drive growth and innovation across the brand, supported by our incredible partners—from publishing and theme parks to consumer products, theatre, gaming, and television. With numerous exciting new projects in development globally, fans from every generation can look forward to even more meaningful ways to experience the magic of J.K. Rowling's beloved stories. We're thrilled about this next chapter in the franchise, including the 10th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the full-cast audiobooks from Pottermore and Audible featuring over 100 actors, and, of course, the highly anticipated HBO Max television series.' Based on her earnings and diverse revenue streams, Rowling's net worth could be considerably higher, were it not for her commitment to philanthropy. Forbes estimates she has donated more than $200 million in the past 20 years, primarily to three causes: Lumos, which has helped more than 280,000 abandoned children in orphanages in Romania, Haiti, Colombia and Ukraine; Volant, which supports victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence; and the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, which treats patients with neurological conditions such as MS, the disease that took her mother's life when Rowling was just 25. She has also been very vocal about maintaining her residency in Edinburgh, Scotland, and paying the country's highest income tax rate of 45%. In 2010, Rowling wrote that she wants her children to be 'citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.' She considered it a form of payback for how far she had come in her own life, adding, 'I am indebted to the British welfare state,' and that it is 'my notion of patriotism' to pay into the system for others. Still, Rowling doesn't shy away from her wealth in the public square of social media, where she deploys it as a trump card against those who would condemn her for her anti-trans statements. 'How do you sleep at night knowing you've lost a whole audience from buying your books,' wrote one X user in 2022. 'I read my most recent royalty cheques,' Rowling replied, 'and find the pain goes away pretty quickly.'
