The Port Key: Secret Ninth Movie, Casual Vacancy on TV, and more!

+ For the expansion of Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter, rumor has it that the cast members have reunited to film a secret ninth film for the park. The movie will be new clips playing during the Hogwarts Express ride. The attraction is planned to journey theme park guests from Universal Studios to Island of Adventures.

+ A real invisibility cloak has been developed to help soldiers in the battlefield.

+ BBC America has plans to adapt JK Rowling's latest book The Casual Vacancy into a series for their network.

+ Warwick Davis opened a Harry Potter store located at Kings Cross Station. Where else? Near Platform 9 3/4.

+ Daniel Radcliffe's latest film Kill Your Darlings has released its first official images. Radcliffe plays poet Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friendship with Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster).

+ Emma Watson's latest movie The Perks of Being Wallflower was released earlier this year, and her character Sam was voted one of MTV's top characters for the year. 

Picking Up The Casual Vacancy

The Casual Vacancy was released yesterday on September 27th, 2012. Today I had the time and energy (in bed with the flu this whole week) to run out and pick up my reserved copy. Upon walking into Barnes and Noble there was a massive display of Rowling's new book. (pictured below)

And, just a stone's throw away was a table's worth dedicated to the boy who starred in one of the biggest movie and book franchises in history....

Me with my very own copy, just standing casually outside the store...like too cool for school, ya'll. There wasn't a line of any sorts, but I was definitely excited enough for a line of Rowling fans. This is the very first book by the queen I actually bought at the counter!...Yes, exciting indeed.

For so many fans of Rowling, millions of readers lived through the experience of waiting in line for every Potter book, it was a part of their childhood, or parents read to their children the series. I, on the other hand, simply wasn't that involved after the third book was released. After a several year hiatus, I'm back reading the series and is still currently pre-occupied in starting with Goblet of Fire....

It's hard for me not to think that while so many had gone five years without a new novel from Rowling, I have one more to add to the phenomenon of a lifetime with the rest of the Potter series I'm reading.

One Day Until The Casual Vacancy

In case you've been locked away in Azkaban over the summer, and perhaps don't know the big news: Tomorrow is September 27th, 2012 and The Casual Vacancy will finally hit bookstore shelves.

As of now, word and rumor has it Rowling's newest novel has fans running to release and that it has topped 1 million pre-order sales. And, this next book is no Harry Potter children's literature. Us fans have been warned the new venture for Rowling has racy material containing drug addiction, sex, and class warfare.

It's been five years since JK Rowling last published a little nugget of a book called The Deathly Hallows. As the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter series it only sold 15 million copies in 24 hours, and culminated into a two-part film for the official franchise....so this time around, there's no pressure right?

“....You don’t have sex near unicorns. It’s an ironclad rule. It’s tacky.”
- JK Rowling click to tweet! 

If you don't know the story of The Casual Vacancy, when a forty-something-year-old Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in a little town called Pagford and leaves a vacant spot  on the parish council, the idyll appearance of the town is revealed, the whole town is at war with each other: parents with their teenagers, wives with their husbands, teachers and their students. In comparison to The Order of the Phoenix or Half-Blood Prince total page count, The Casual Vacancy hits a light 512 pages long.

Personally, I have book four through seven to catch up on with the Harry Potter series so The Casual Vacancy will be a nice addition to read as I go through the rest of the series in a leisurely manner. I pre-ordered my copy a few weeks ago but I won't expect the official arrival of the book until October 3rd. Even with a threat to perform the Unforgivable curse for a faster delivery, the warehouse shipping rules simply couldn't be swayed.  Hopefully, my owl will survive the long journey....

So Casual Vacancy hopefuls and JK Rowling maniacs: have you pre-ordered your copy? Are you stopping by a local bookshop to pick it up in person?

JK Rowling Signing Event, Rupert Grint makes smaller movies, The Port Key

Flashback:
Nicknamed as Evil in Pink, Imelda Staunton played the love-to-hate (or just hate, depending on what kind of fan you are!) Dolores Umbridge. In an interview with USA Today Imelda Staunton remembers exclaiming "Hopefully!" when her daughter told her they are all going to hate you.

Once upon a time when fans wanted to learn Parseltongue, we could go to Warner Bros. translator. However, gone are the days of the website - it now redirects to the Wizard Collection dvd set. If you can't find any Parseltongue lessons in your city, there is a close alternative: Parselmouth.com.

Current News:

- Quite possibly the biggest news of the week, Scholastic has announced a Harry Potter book club starting in October, with JK Rowling standing firmly behind it. The webcast to kick off the event is October 11th, 2012 12pm eastern time, and JK Rowling will be participating to answer questions.

- Also, JK Rowling is beginning - what is to be expected - the first of many signing events for her book, The Casual Vacancy. Her first stop is the London's Southbank Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on September 27th. Tickets can be purchased tomorrow at 3pm. JK Rowling will be answering questions, followed by a book signing. Let the prayers begin she comes to a city near you and me!

- Rupert Grint is happy to be making smaller movies after Harry Potter reports sfluxe. “On smaller films, you’re all in it together. It’s weird how actors are put on a pedestal – we’re part of the crew like anyone else and everyone has their job to do on a film set.”

- Who can forget the magical train journey we took with Harry, Hermione and Ron through the years? America By Rail has featured our favorite train, the Hogwarts Express, in their selections of Famous Trains in Pop Fiction.

- This week we celebrated two huge birthdays of icons in the wizarding world: author JK Rowling and Harry Potter! Share your birthday wishes for the birthday girl and boy! And, you can catch all the birthday celebration posts at our facebook page as well.

- First Post shares nine year olds thoughts on why Harry Potter is so magical.

- Producer David Heyman cringes at early films visual effect in an interview with Wired saying, "I look at some of the first film [made in 2001] and want to cringe. Then I look at later films and I’m really proud of them.”

J.K. Rowling Reveals New Cover for Post-Potter Adult Book

 ‘The Casual Vacancy’ by J.K. Rowling is set to be released September 27th worldwide. There are early rumors swirling that Casual Vacancy is predicted to smash Harry Potter sales records. Definitely something to be anxious over on the release day!

When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? 

What are your thoughts on the cover?
Who has pre-ordered, who is going to midnight release?

JK Rowling New Book Receives Title

Huge news in the Post Potter world! JK Rowling has announced the title of her new book, the release date, and a brief summary.

The Casual Vacancy.

Released September 27th, 2012

As well as a revamped website for our queen, the summary for her new book has also been released.

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

I never stood in line for any of the Harry Potter books, so I missed out on some amazing release dates. I know where I will be - at my local bookstore on midnight for The Casual Vacancy. Let the countdown begin to September 27th!

What are your initial thoughts?

Will you pre-ordering or standing in line for the new book?

J.K. Rowling Announces New Post-Potter Book

Announced in Late February, Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling announced that she has a new book prime for release. AND: It's geared towards adults. Since J.K. Rowling has dropped helpful and unhelpful tips that her next book may or may not be Harry Potter based, lets give some a healthy speculation to what her new book is about:
Earthly drama? When I think of literature, I think of contemporary or historical timelines - Austen, Dickens, romance, family, political issues. If Rowling has a dramatic novel up her sleeve, there is a slight chance it will be based in the modern world. No Hogwarts, broomsticks or goblins. Would she go down the road of Rhett and Scarlett and unhatch a literary couple that would swoon the world over?

Or, perhaps a thriller? Mob families, murders, and disappearances, oh my! Perhaps Rowling took mystery and suspense and re-invented the wheel. Maybe a whole new world of private detectives and 'unsolvable' crimes is waiting for us underneath the cover sleeve?

More fantasy to take flight: It won't necessarily have to concern broomsticks, goblins or hippogriff. Like her or hate her, Stephanie Meyers work captivated millions of readers with her take on werewolves and vampires. Who or what else could Rowling toy with? We would have never thought of hippogriff or dementors hadn't it been for her. Is there are more adult Hogwarts-like world (not XXX styled, please!) waiting for us? Could Rowling had penned an encyclopedia for us adults?

Another series? A personal hope of mine is that it will be...mostly because for 2/3 of the HP journey, I was blind to its charm. To relive an experience like HP - standing in line for the next book is just a personal wish of mine sunk to the bottom of my dream bowl. I doubt Rowling will pluck it from its place but I can hope, right? A series or not, I'll be the first in line (no online pre-ordering for me, I don't think) at my local B&N since I missed out with the rest of HP books.

And, EXPECTATIONS: Harry Potter was a once in a lifetime series with billions of devotees and dollars wrapped into it. Pffft, there's no pressure for Rowling!! At least, from me, there isn't. I know as a beta-tester for Pottermore, Rowling and her team have come under some pretty severe fire from fans because of its delayed opening. Will you or other fans write Rowling off when the next book comes out and it doesn't satiate expectations?

Personally, no matter the style of the next book, I hope "reality" doesn't crush down on Rowling too much, and all of us fans can adapt to the next chapter in her imagination.