According to CBC, an Indian community is being sued by the author and movie makers of the Harry Potter series for recreating the Hogwarts castle and Hogwarts Express. A representative has said that they had no idea they had to seek permission to make the canvas and papier mâché replicas, for use in a festival.

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, her publisher Bloomsbury and Warner Brothers, makers of the Potter movies, are suing a community group in India for recreating the school for wizards.

An elaborate Hogwarts castle made from canvas and papier mâché has been created in the eastern city of Kolkata for the upcoming Durga Puja festival, a significant Hindu religious festival.

The community group that created the replica is in a quandary after being summoned to a Delhi high court in a copyright infringement suit seeking two million rupees ($50,140 Cdn) for permission to show the castle.

Earth Times is reporting that a Czech publisher has been fined, given a suspended sentence and banned from working in publishing for two years after producing pirate copies of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Prague -A Czech court Wednesday gave the head of a Czech publishing house that pirated a Harry Potter book a one-year suspended sentence and a 200,000-koruny fine (10,254 dollars), CTK news agency reported. The court also banned Vlastimil Svoboda from working in publishing for two years.

Publisher Ottovo Nakladatelstvi was accused of printing and distributing a batch of 10,000 pirated copies of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the number four in the Potter book series.

Another Czech publisher, Albatros, had been licensed to print Czech translations of the popular books by British author JK Rowling.

The pirated run was only accidentally discovered by Albatros employees in 2004, two years after the book first hit Czech bookstores.

Video Business is reporting that the Order of the Phoenix DVD will include two downloadable digital files, enabling the buyer to put the movie on their PC or portable device.

Jim Wuthrich, Warner senior VP of digital distribution, unveiled the development at Tuesday’s DVD Forum conference here, as he discussed the studio’s plans to meet what it sees as a growing consumer demand for digital content.

“You can buy the DVD and have the option of the digital copy,” said Wuthrich. “This future-proofs the format for consumers.”

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has been nominated for the Hollywood Movie of the Year Award. The Hollywood Movie Awards Gala Ceremony will be held on October 22 in Los Angeles, California.

To cast your vote, click here.

GMTV has posted a list of winners from this years Pride of Britain awards. Jo Rowling received a Special Recognition award from none other than Emma Watson.

Twelve years ago, a woman sitting in Edinburgh coffee shop could be seen scribbling in a notebook, creating the life of a schoolboy wizard. Since the success of Harry Potter, Jo has inspired a new generation of avid readers, and she has encouraged a whole host of wannabe writers to put pen to paper. But despite a full-time writing schedule, Jo is also President of the charity One Parent Families, the patron of The Multiple Sclerosis Society and co-founder of the Children's High Level Group, helping young people in care.

You can see photographs of them both below:

Jo 1
Jo 2
Emma 1
Emma 2

From The Herald:

Celia Fernie's initial impression was that the woman identifying herself as Mrs Murray was a "very nice lady" with a loving family - someone who would make a good home for one of her greyhounds.

It was only when she asked for a £30 donation to Greyhound Rescue Fife, which the 61-year-old runs with her husband, Jimmy, near Kirkcaldy, that she realised she had been dealing with the world's most famous children's author.

At the bottom of a cheque for £1000 was the signature millions of Harry Potter fans would die for. "When I looked at the cheque I couldn't believe it. The first thing I noticed was the amount she had made it out for," Mrs Fernie said yesterday.

"Then I spotted her name and realised who it was. I just said Oh, I didn't recognise you,' and she just smiled politely. She was a lovely woman - the whole family were very nice."

You can see the Harry Potter page at Celia's Greyhound Rescue (Fife) (click on the link to the left, 5 down, marked 'Harry Potter Page').

Rumour is, the nephew of Ralph Fiennes, the actor who plays Lord Voldemort, is set to pay the young Tom Riddle in the Half-Blood Prince. The director, David Yates has said that he's found someone to play the young Riddle, but won't say who:

'I've found a really interesting kid to play Riddle. I can't tell you who it is yet — it's early days.'

For the full article, click here.

Variety has an interview with David Heyman in which he talks about the relationships between the younger and older members of cast, notably Dan Radcliffe and Gary Oldman. He also goes on to say what lies ahead for him after the last two films.

But David Heyman, who's produced the five "Potter" films to date and expects to finish the series by 2010, is quite aware of the budding talent populating the franchise -- and he doesn't just mean Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. He's just as proud of Sean Biggerstaff, Tom Felton and Devon Murray.

"The smallest part is treated with the same attention and care as the lead roles," he says. "Not just in the casting, but also the directing."

But Heyman is reluctant to don the mantle of starmaker, insisting that the "Potter" series is not about minting new talent. "If they become that," Heyman says, "it's because of their commitment and curiosity to develop their craft. We've given them the platform, but they're here because they're good."

JKRowling.com has been updated wishing Professor McGonagall a Happy Birthday!

Another set of signed Harry Potter books has been put up for auction by the National Braille Press, raising money for Hands On! Books for Blind Children. The auction will finish on October 25th.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is currently the sixth highest grossing film of all time, earning $933.9million. The top five includes Titanic, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Carribean and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The top 100 can be seen here.

There is a new Wizard of the Month over at JKRowling.com. If you haven't read Deathly Hallows yet and managed to avoid any information about it, don't read the text below. For those of you who do want to know, highlight the text:

-->Harry Potter
(1980 - )


The Boy Who Lived, only known survivor of the Avada Kedavra curse and conqueror of Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Riddle. Harry Potter joined the reshuffled Auror Department under Kingsley Shacklebolt at age 17, rising to become Head of said department in 2007.<--

From BBC:

A rare set of Harry Potter books which were kept under lock and key in a police station have sold for almost £20,000 in an internet auction.

The books were signed by the author JK Rowling and are so valuable that they are being kept in an Aberdeenshire police HQ.

They have been auctioned off on eBay in aid of local charity Books Abroad which supplies books to children worldwide.

Bidding ended at midnight on Saturday and the books were sold for £18,200.

Dan Radcliffe has spoken about his future plans, his education and where he thinks he'll be in 19 years time. He talks about his desire to appear in a musical and even become a writer and director.

One route is mapped out in the final Potter book's epilogue, set 19 years into the future. Harry at 37 is married to Ginny Weasley, working at the Ministry of Magic and sending off their two children to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He's happy, domestic and no longer bothered by his scar.

Where will Radcliffe himself be at that same age, 19 years from now?

“I don't know; it's impossible to say,” he said.

“Hopefully, I'll still be acting” in 2026, he said. “I'll be writing and maybe along the way or further than that, I'd like to direct something. But this is all very hypothetical, so I don't know; I couldn't possibly say.”

Would he be married with two kids?

“Maybe. I don't know. It depends on who I meet.”

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix dominated ITV's first National Movie Awards at London's Royal Festival Hall,after winning three gongs. The fifth film in the Potter series won best family movie, while its star Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the boy wizard, won best male performance. Radcliffe, who was greeted by screaming fans on the red carpet, said winning the award was "totally unexpected". Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the movie, scooped best female actress.

The full story can be seen at the BBC.

Voices From Krypton have new audio interviews online:

David Heyman
David Heyman is the producer who first recognized the potential in J.K. Rowling's initial Harry Potter novel, and he is the one who has had a primary role in guiding the series to the screen. In this interview  he discusses the return of Order of the Phoenix director David Yates on film number six, The Half-Blood Prince, revealing what he feels Yates will bring that is different to this production.

Stuart Craig
Production designer Stuart Craig has worked on every Harry Potter film, doing his part in bringing J.K. Rowling's world to life. The following interview, which was conducted during production of Order of the Phoenix, is broken down into four parts.

Emma Watson's official website has been updated with information about two extra cast members for 'Ballet Shoes':

"Many of you may not know that Emma has little identical twin sisters,and a little brother (Toby) aged four; these are the children of herfather, who has remarried since he and Emma's mother divorced in 1995.When Emma was filming Ballet Shoesthe director was looking for a little girl to play the part of theyoung Pauline when she is first introduced into the film aged two; wecan now exclusively reveal that Emma's twin sisters Nina and Lucy (whowere three just last Monday!) were cast and have acted in this role andwill therefore appear in the BBC production of Ballet Shoes which will air in the UK at Christmas time!"

MTV Movies Blog has a new interview with Dan Radcliffe, in which he talks about the filming of the Cave scenes.

“I’m really looking forward to filming the cave and all the stuff in there with the lake and the Inferi,” Radcliffe enthused. “Me and [Michael] Gambon in a row boat for a few days. It’s gonna be amazing.”

Dan also said that they will be filming in a real set:

“I thought it was all gonna be largely visual effects, but they have built the cave,” he revealed, confirming that the shoot will be all practical. “So it’s gonna be very interesting to film.”

Voices From Krypton have an audio interview with David Yates, the director of the sixth Harry Potter movie, the Half-Blood Prince.

With the resounding global success of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix behind him, director David Yates is already at work on the sixth film in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In this exclusive interview, he discusses the appeal of the new project, what made him move from one film to the next and how he hopes to differentiate his two efforts in the Harry Potter universe.

Katie Leung, who plays Cho Chang in the Harry Potter movies has been nominated as the most stylish Scotswoman of 2007. Scotland on Sunday has the full report.

But if she wants to follow in the footsteps of model Lauren Tempany and jazz singer Nikki King (the 2005 and 2006 winners), Leung will have to outshine a list of formidable competitors. They include Ugly Betty star Ashley Jensen and actress Laura Fraser as well as Hannah McGill, director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and artist Gay Grossart.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Glasgow on October 26. Scotland on Sunday has been given an exclusive preview of the nominations and can also reveal that the shortlist was selected by a panel headed by the Australian supermodel Elle McPherson.

French publishers, Gallimard, have released the front cover for the French version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. You can see the cover for yourself here.

Jim Broadbent has confirmed that he wil be playing the role of Horace Slughorn in the upcoming movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

In an interview with Dark Horizons, the 58 year old actor had this to say:

Yeah I had basically three months in Lincolnshire in the summer and suddenly now I'm back on the rollercoaster again and I've got to finish off Indiana Jones next month and I've got a bit on Young Victoria and it's all been sort of stacking up and then I'm doing Harry Potter.

Question: Who are you?

Who am I? He's called Horace Slughorn. He's a retired teacher of magic who's drawn back out of retirement because he's got some secrets they need in the battle against the Deatheaters and he's quite star struck as a teacher and he's drawn back into the fold because he likes to notch up celebrity students, and he's drawn back by Harry.

Emma Watson has updated her official website with some new pictures from her upcoming movie Ballet Shoes. It has also been confirmed that the filming of it is now over and the filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is set to start next week.

Recently, Emma Watson has been included in People Magazne's 'Best Dressed' list of 2007. Such females as Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Biel, Beyonce and so on were included. You can read more about it at this link.

A new interview with Daniel Radcliffe has appeared online. He talks about the character of Horace Slughorn and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie. You can find it here.
The dark side, of course, is displayed most prominently in what’s sure to be a vital part of the film – Slughorn’s memory of giving young Tom Riddle information on creating horcruxes. Harry is ultimately able to retrieve the memory in a moment of great sadness, when he pleads with a sobbing Horace to erase the damage he’s done and honor Lily Potter. It’s moments like these, said Radcliffe, that make “the tragedy [of Slughorn] outweigh the comedy.”