The Making of the Potterverse (32 page)

J.K. Rowling, who serves as the patron of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Scotland, donated money toward the construction of a $4 million MS research facility. “It is an extremely exciting step forward in the ongoing battle to try to unlock the mysteries of multiple sclerosis,” she enthused to IBNLive.

To benefit charity, Daniel Radcliffe paid nearly $50,000 for a handwritten history of Sirius Black’s family tree, which was penned by J.K. Rowling. The charity was for Book Aid International, which provides books to schools in Africa.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
became the fifth highest grossing global movie of all time.

C
BBC
Newsround
reported that due to her pregnancy, Helen McCrory would
not
be playing Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. In her place would be Helena Bonham Carter.

J.K. Rowling wins the Book of the Year at the British Book Awards for
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
(Anthony Harvey/PA/CP Photo)

In a poll within
The Book Magazine
, J.K. Rowling was named greatest British writer.

Author Tom Morris turned to J.K. Rowling’s fictional world for lessons on leadership in his book,
If Harry Potter Ran General Electric
.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were announced as starring in a Harry Potter “scene” written especially for Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday gala.

Warner Brothers announced that
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
would be reaching theaters on July 13, 2007.

Interviewed for Reuter’s press agency, J.K. Rowling hinted at her feelings writing the final Harry Potter novel. “I am feeling sad as it is the last one,” she said. “But so far, so good.”

BBC
News reported news about characters dying in the seventh Harry novel. “One character got a reprieve,” J.K. Rowling said on the
Richard and Judy Show
, “but I have to say two die that I didn’t intend to die.” The media and the Internet exploded with conjecture that Harry would be one of the two who would perish.

Thanks to her efforts for MS research, J.K. Rowling was given an honorary degree from Aberdeen University. “I am extremely honored and thrilled — it’s very exciting,” the author said.

Goblet of Fire
took home two trophies from the 2006 Home Entertainment Awards in Las Vegas in the categories of Best Sell-Through Title and Best DVD Extras.

Sixth Sense
and
Lady in the Water
director M. Night Shyamalan expressed potential interest in directing the final Harry Potter film. “I want to see a serious emotional conflict,” Night offered to the
Scotsman
, “like if Ron goes to the wrong side. Power has such a double-edged sword. I want the audience to feel that for a moment.”

Astrologer Dr. Mark Hammergren, based at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, who discovered asteroid 43844, decided to name it after J.K. Rowling.

If the Harry from year four and the Harry from year seven were ever to meet, the results might be the punk rock band Harry and the Potters, made up of brothers Joe (he’s Harry year four) and Paul (Harry year seven) DeGeorge. The duo are joined by drummer Ernie Kim, and all three wear black-rimmed glasses, gray V-neck sweaters and ties. Their music can be checked out on their Web site at www.eskimolabs.com/hp. The Portland, Oregon, brothers’ band debuted their punk rock band at restaurant and bookstore performances. Accompanying them was the message that “reading rocks!”

Harry fans bid $1,000 a ticket to hear J.K. Rowling do a reading when she came to America to read alongside Stephen King and John Irving in a bid to raise money for two charities — The Haven Foundation, which funds artists who are unable to perform due to a disability or illness, and Doctors Without Borders, an organization that brings emergency aid to people affected by conflict or natural disasters. “For me,” Rowling explained, “this was a unique opportunity to raise money for two great, important causes, read to American fans for the first time in six years and get to meet and read alongside Stephen King and John Irving.” At the same time, she offered her feelings about what life will be like post-Harry. “I will go through a mourning period, then I will have to think of something else to write.”

J.K. Rowling is flanked by authors John Irving and Stephen King at a press conference for a reading they would be doing together. At the press conference, both King and Irving begged Rowling not to kill Harry in the final book. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)

Other casting news for
Order of the Phoenix
: Natalie Tena as Nymphadora Tonks, Kathryn Hunter as Mrs. Figg and Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood. Also announced as composer was director David Yates’ frequent collaborator, Nicholas Hooper.

During a press conference while she was in New York, J.K. Rowling offered the following about book seven: “I think some people will love it, and some people will loathe it. I’m well into writing it now. To an extent, the pressure’s off, because this is the last book, so I feel quite liberated. It’s fun in a way that it hasn’t been before, because I’m finally doing my resolution. There’s still a lot to find out and expand on, and I will probably leave some loose ends, but there won’t be a book eight. I’ve plotted the series out and I’d run out of plot if I pushed it past there.”

Katie Leung, who plays Cho Chang in both
Goblet of Fire
and
Order of the Phoenix
, was cast to play a Chinese warrior in the film
Mulan
(not related to the Disney animated film of the same name).

In the wake of the British terrorist threat, no carry-on luggage was allowed, and U.S. airport security attempted to stop J.K. Rowling from carrying her mostly handwritten manuscript for book seven — and the only copy of it — on board with her. Rowling simply refused to part with it and in the end they elected to allow her to hold on to it. “I don’t know what I would have done if they hadn’t,” she mused. “Sailed home, probably.”

As the
Evening Standard
reported, Rupert Grint admitted he was having a hard time preparing for his driver’s test. When asked how things were going, he said, “Not that well. I’ve had a few more [lessons], so I suppose I’m pretty much ready for my next test.”

Celebrity Spider reported that in an online poll, Lord Voldemort was deemed the top villain among children, ahead of such luminaries as Sauron from
The Lord of the Rings
, Mrs. Coulter from
His Dark Materials
, Superman’s arch-enemy Lex Luthor and Batman’s foe, the Joker.

J.K. Rowling dismissed claims that she was almost finished with book seven. “I haven’t written 750 pages of book seven,” she said, “and if I had, I’d be very worried, as I’m not close to finishing it yet.”

Fans were delighted to discover that a few shots from
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
were being released online, particularly one shot in which Harry, on the ground, is trying to ward off Dementors.

In a
Newsweek
interview, Emma Watson sang the praises of
Order of the Phoenix
director David Yates. “David won’t settle for anything that looks like acting,” she laughs. “What keeps coming up a lot is his search for truth in the characters and the performances. He really wants it to be real. The fourth film was sort of about all the tasks, fighting dragons and all of that. This film is about Harry fighting his inner demons more than dragons. It’s about the emotional journey. So I think David is the perfect director for that.”