Warner Bros. has passed along two new high-res photos from the February edition of Empire Magazine. Back in December, we told you Empire would be attempting to preview Half-Blood Prince again, this time in their 2009 Must-See Movies feature.


- David Yates speaks with the Phelps twins
- David Yates watches as trio interact with Professor Slughorn

Here's a really cool find: MuggleNet reader Cami sent us a link to the website of Adam Brockbank, a conceptual artist for many films including the Potter series. Within his site you can find lots of concept art for Chamber of Secrets through Order of the Phoenix - everything from mopping house elves to beautiful views of Hogwarts.

To check it all out, visit his site right here, then click on Concept Art. From there, you can select any of the films he has worked on. Also be sure to visit the Storyboards area, where you can see some work from Sorcerer's Stone.

Thanks again to Cami for the tip!

Back in August, with your help, MuggleCast raised roughly $1,600 for Teddy Bears for Hope, a non-profit organization that provides brand new teddy bears to children around the world whose lives have been ravaged by tragedy.

Today, we wanted to share with you some photos that were passed along to us from the Covenant House in New Orleans, who received more than 40 teddy bears: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Additionally, 30 bears were sent on an Emergency Response Vehicle with the Syracuse Chapter of the American Red Cross. These will be distributed to children who lose their homes in fires. The pediatric ward of La Vega Hospital in the Dominican Republic received 30 bears and the Hudson County Child Advocacy Center in New Jersey received 50 bears.

Thanks again to everybody who helped make such a difference!

Universal Studios has just sent us two pictures from their Orlando theme park, where actor Tom Felton visited with his girlfriend today:

- Tom and his girlfriend ride the Dueling Dragons
- Tom standing in front of a sign teasing the upcoming Potter theme park

Warner Brothers and Universal Studios will be opening The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Orlando in 2010. In related news, MuggleNet reader Janice just passed along these photos of construction in the park last week: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Broadway.com recently conducted a very insightful interview with the Equus star, where he answers lots of questions posed to him by fans.

Of particular interest, Dan said he would definitely not be interested in doing a musical (unlike what some sites recently suggested). He also confirmed that filming for Deathly Hallows will start on February 15th, as earlier reports revealed.

You can check out the entire video interview right here. Thanks to Sierra for the tip!

Back in October we told you about a new feature that our awesome MuggleNet Fan Fiction team debuted: AudioFictions! Basically, they're audiobook versions of Harry Potter fan fiction stories.

Now, their first full AudioFiction is now available for your listening pleasure - it's an extended episode to include several stories. You can download and listen just like you would an episode of MuggleCast; by direct download or by subscribing in iTunes.

They sound great, and we highly recommend 'em for those days you've had enough of the MuggleCast nonsense (as if).

MuggleNet's Harry Potter top site list is working and ready for action. We, um, got a bit ahead of ourselves and all the bugs have (we're pretty sure) been fixed.

So if you're a webmaster, add your site and let us send you free traffic! Note to fans: it might take some time for the best sites to rise to the top, as it has just been re-released.

Emma Thompson, who played Professor Sybil Trelawney in Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, has spoken again about her decision not to return for the final film. The sequel to Thompson's Nanny McPhee movie was due to be shot at the same time as Deathly Hallows.

"I wasn't being rude at all," says Thompson, who adds that she loves Sybil. "It's so typical, where they take something very, very small and turn it into a big deal. I was never going to be in the next 'Harry Potter.' I sort of put that to bed."

Thanks to those who emailed!

Sad news - Jett Travolta, son of actor John Travolta, had a seizure when the family was vacationing in the Bahamas. He fell and hit his head on the bathtub. He was only 16 years old.

This is a tragic loss to the MuggleNet community as Jett was once a frequenter of the site. His family will be in our thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.

In November we told you about some new Potter-related merchandise that Hot Topic added to their store. Now, there appears to be a few more goodies for Potter fans.

They include this Gryffindor hockey tee, this Slytherin hockey tee, and this Slytherin bronze tee.

You can see all of the Potter items Hot Topic has to offer right here. Thanks to Arielle for the tip!

The first story of the new year is a fitting one - a look at several big movies coming in 2009 from Entertainment Weekly! Half-Blood Prince was one of the films included. With the piece, they have a new shot of Harry and Ginny going in for a kiss that we once saw in a behind the scenes video.

Imagine making out with your sister. Now imagine something less taboo, and you'll know what it was like for Daniel Radcliffe to mack on Bonnie Wright, who plays Harry Potter's future wife Ginny Weasley in the sixth installment of the magical series. ''Harry's got a real thing for her, and that is slightly odd, because when we met, I was 11 and she was 9, and she was only ever Ron's little sister,'' says Radcliffe, now 19. ''But that all changed, and here we are snogging.''

EW goes on to quote Dan Radcliffe as saying one of the hardest scenes to film was Dumbledore's funeral. But, seeing as that scene was cut from the movie, we figure Dan's referring to WB's alternate scene that pays tribute to the wise old man.

From the entire MuggleNet family, Happy New Year to you all! While 2008 was a pretty exciting year, 2009 will welcome the release of Half-Blood Prince, the opening of Harry Potter: the Exhibition, and who knows what other surprises (I'm holding out for a new line of Harry Potter yarn).

What are your hopes for 2009? Have any Potter-related New Years resolutions? Share 'em in the comments!

Warner Brothers has passed along some new high-res photos from the most recent CineLive magazine featuring Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

- Slughorn and young Tom Riddle
- Harry and Dumbledore on the rocks
- Ron Weasley
- Snape and McGonagall inspect opal necklace
- Harry and Ron peer around corner
- Ginny Weasley

Jason Issacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Potter films, has given a new interview to Ain't It Cool News where he discusses how he prepares for his roles in Potter:

And then HARRY POTTER, it's been such an enormous part of my life for years now, and almost everything else I do, I knock myself out to try and make things real--I research them, I over-research them. I steep myself in it and torture myself at night trying to make something interesting and believable and human. But then you suddenly get handed a wand and full-length velvet cape, and you're sharing scenes with some of the biggest and best scene stealers who have ever lived. You really have to hit the ground running. To give that much joy to so many people and to have such a laugh doing it feels like an embarrassment of riches.

Jason also notes that his character does not have a role in Half-Blood Prince and may only appear in a moving painting.

Broadway.com has published their annual Year End Wrap-Up, and the Potter and Equus lead takes their Star of the Year. The award was chosen by the site's readers:

Told of his big win, the charming young Harry Potter star said, “That’s really, really amazing! The Broadway community has been incredibly welcoming and this sort of sums it up, really. In a year when there have been some really big performances on Broadway, to have been nominated and win is really, really cool!”

In related news, a re-run from his August appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien airs tonight at 12:35 AM on NBC. Thanks to Ali for the tip!