Latest news with #JKRowing
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
HBO's ‘Harry Potter' Reveals First Costumed Photo; Casts Neville and Dudley
HBO has started production on its Harry Potter TV series and added to its cast — plus released the first photo of young Dominic McLaughlin in costume as Harry Potter. The show has begun filming at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, U.K. More from The Hollywood Reporter Natasha Henstridge, Joshua Close Join Josh Hartnett in Netflix Newfoundland Series (Exclusive) Emmys: HBO and Max Score Most Nominations, Apple Takes a Big Bite 'The Last of Us' Season 2 Just Scored a Bunch of Emmy Nominations In addition, the production announced a few more castmembers playing key roles: Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch and Anton Lesser as Garrick Ollivander. And here's the photo of McLaughlin as Harry: HBO's plan is to adapt each of J.K. Rowling's global best-selling novels into a season of television. The project has previously announced actors for nearly all of the key characters in Rowling's first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Emmy winner John Lithgow (Conclave) takes on the critical role of Hogwarts' wise and warm Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (Ozark) has the role of stern Transfiguration Professor Minerva McGonagall. Paapa Essiedu (Black Mirror) will take on the role of the sneering Potions Professor Severus Snape. Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) will play the lumbering Hogwarts gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. The core kids' cast feature McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. The cast also includes Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley, Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley and Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge. In addition, stage actor Luke Thallon will play Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse (Harry & Paul) has been cast as the curmudgeonly caretaker Argus Filch. Francesca Gardiner is showrunner and executive producer, and Mark Mylod is the director of multiple episodes and executive producer. The series is executive produced by Rowling, Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding" 'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive) Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miriam Margolyes weighs in on JK Rowling: ‘I think her opinion is too harsh'
Miriam Margolyes, known for her role as Professor Pomona Sprout in the Harry Potter films, has criticised author , describing her views as 'too harsh.' Speaking on a recent episode of the A Gay Old Time podcast, the out, proud lesbian said she disagreed with Rowling and called for more gentleness on all sides of the debate. The actress told host Nigel May: 'I think her opinion is too harsh.' 'If you can make people happy, do it' – Miriam Margolyes She also expressed discomfort with the 'fury' shown by parts of the trans community towards Rowling, encouraging kindness and understanding instead. Margolyes emphasised her support for transgender people: 'I really just feel supportive about this tiny group of people who are trans, and if they want me to use pronouns, I think it's the right thing to do. If you can make people happy, do it.' Rowling has long made headlines for her views on gender, drawing criticism from public figures such as Stephen Fry and actor Pedro Pascal. Fry recently called Rowling a 'lost cause,' while Pascal said: 'Bullies make me fucking sick.' Can't say I feel very shut down, but keep at it, Pedro. God loves a trier. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 28, 2025 Other Harry Potter cast members, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, have also publicly supported the trans community in light of Rowling's comments. The row was reignited in April when Rowling took to X (formerly Twitter) to describe the UK Supreme Court's ruling on the legal definition of 'sex' as 'TERF VE Day.' Since then, Rowling has continued to make controversial remarks, including praising BBC News presenter Martine Croxall after she swapped the phrase 'pregnant people' for 'women' during a live broadcast. The author's most recent comment on gender ideology, posted on X, reads: 'Gender identity ideology is an unfalsifiable, quasi-religious belief system.' Gender identity ideology is an unfalsifiable, quasi-religious belief system that demands absurdities of its adherents. Thus we see perfectly intelligent people pretending they're not sure which sex they are, in the belief that this makes them virtuous. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 16, 2025 The conversation around transgender rights is currently at the heart of political debate, most recently following this weeks update to the UK's Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance. The new guidance instructs schools to treat trans identities as a topic of 'significant debate' and advises educators not to teach that all people have a gender identity. The post Miriam Margolyes weighs in on JK Rowling: 'I think her opinion is too harsh' appeared first on Attitude.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why the Harry Potter TV cast won't need to leave the set, even for school
Harry Potter is being reimagined for a second time, introducing a new generation of actors to the magical world that will take over their lives for the next ten years. The young cast, particularly Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout, will spend a significant portion of their time on set for HBO's TV adaptation of JK Rowling's books. As a result, they will be unable to go to school during that time, but Warner Bros. has found a solution. To avoid the child stars missing out on their important education, Warner Bros. has built a bespoke school that will ensure they don't fall behind with their studies while the series is in production. Filming has just begun on the show, just in time for the summer holidays, but there will come a point where the young actors will need to return to their studies — here is how it will work. According to the BBC, the Three Rivers District Council has given Warner Bros Studios Leavesden permission to use portacabin structures as a school facility. The film studios have permission to use this for the next decade. The specially designed classrooms will be able to hold up to 600 pupils at any one time, which will come in useful when large crowd scenes with hundreds of extras are due to be filmed. However, it has been reported that the school facility will be used primarily for 150 students on a normal filming day. When they're not reciting magical incantations in Hogwarts, the actors will be in classrooms with lessons operating on weekdays between 5:30AM and 8:30PM. Lessons will also be fit around their filming schedule, which is expected to include night shoots, reshoots and location filming. The planning approval has come in for a "significant new TV series which will base itself at the studio for the next 8–10 years", and while the document does not specifically mention the Harry Potter TV series, it is understood that this is what it is used for. In the proposal it was added that the school infrastructure will be used for a maximum of ten years. Per local paper The Comet, the planning document states: "This facility will play a vital role in supporting young performers and allow production activities to take place seamlessly on site without disruption to the filming schedule and the associated cost impacts that could occur as a result of pupils having to leave site." The HBO series is expected to be a more accurate adaptation of Rowling's books, and it is expected to adapt all seven books. Given that the school facility is approved for a 10-year period, it is likely that the TV show will be made over the next decade. The Harry Potter TV series is expected to be released in 2027.
Free Malaysia Today
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
You're a TV star, Harry: Potter series to debut in 2027
The 'Harry Potter' TV series is envisaged as 'a decade-long series' and will feature a new cast from the films. (Warner Bros pic) NEW YORK : Filming has begun on a Harry Potter TV series that will debut in 2027, bringing the Hollywood hit to the small screen for the first time. Adapted from the wildly popular books, which have also yielded blockbuster films and stage shows, the latest outing for the boy who lived is being filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Britain, the studio said Monday. While no exact release date has been confirmed, the show will be available on the HBO Max streaming platform. The franchise sees the eponymous Potter plucked from non-magical obscurity and thrust into a wizarding world in which he and his close friends Ron and Hermione battle against the forces of darkness. With the mega-selling books' author JK Rowling among its executive producers, the show is envisaged as 'a decade-long series' featuring a new cast from the films. Potter will be played by Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton will star as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout will take on the role of Ron Weasley. Established stars will appear alongside them, with John Lithgow playing headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. Rowling has faced accusations of transphobia in recent years for placing an emphasis on biological sex over gender identity in comments about trans women. She denies the accusation.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Harry Potter fans divided over first image of Nick Frost's Hagrid
Production is officially underway on HBO's forthcoming Harry Potter series and the studio has released a first-look image of actor Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, which has caused some debate among fans. The 53-year-old will play the friendly groundskeeper alongside newcomer Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, who was also pictured in costume this week while filming at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden. Fans were left divided over Frost's transformation, with some declaring they were 'loving' the actor in the iconic role, while others said his costume looked like 'cosplaying'. 'I'm so sorry this already looks like a parody show,' one person wrote on X/Twitter. 'Who exactly asked for this?' another fan questioned. Referring to the original Hagrid actor, Robbie Coltrane, another said: 'Love Nick Frost, but no chance of out-Hagrid-ing Hagrid.' The TV adaptation of the famous franchise, which is expected to debut in 2027, confirmed by HBO Max in 2023, aims to be a 'faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer JK Rowling'. The series is expected to run for a decade, with each season based on one of the seven Rowling books. The books follow the story of 11-year-old Harry Potter as he learns of his acceptance to Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, and his attempts to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid in HBO'sforthcoming Harry Potter series (HBO) In May last year, HBO announced that after nearly 30,000 auditions for the three lead roles, McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout had been cast as Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Casting for most of the leading characters has been announced in the last few months. Paapa Essiedu is playing potions professor Severus Snape, Janet McTeer is acting as deputy Hogwarts headmistress and Gryffindor House head Minerva McGonagall, and Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. The actors have faced criticism from some fans calling for a boycott of the series due to Rowling's views on transgender people which many consider transphobic. However, Frost, known for Shaun of the Dead, made clear in an interview that his opinions 'don't align in any way, shape or form' with those of the franchise creator. Last month, Rowling, 59, delivered her early verdict on the series in a post on X. 'I read the first two episodes of the forthcoming HBO Harry Potter series and they are SO, SO, SO GOOD!' the author said. In response, a user asked the author: 'So you are not doing the writing for this show?' to which, the author clarified: 'No, but I've worked closely with the extremely talented writers.' Rubeus Hagrid was previously played by Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane in the Harry Potter franchise, who died from multiple organ failure in 2022, aged 72, after starring in all eight films as the beloved half-giant.
