A new article on Vogue's website, which takes a look at upcoming work from Jenny Packham, has revealed that said designer is working on dresses for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

"At the moment we're designing some dresses for the next Harry Potter film - it's not always easy as we have to remember that they're for people playing children, so we have to be swayed by the costume directors rather than our fashion taste, but it's really exciting to be involved."

No word yet on what the dresses are for (possibly the wedding?) but we'll let you know if we hear more! Thanks to Maggie for the tip.

Warner Brothers has released four new posters from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince through movie website Cinematical! Check them out below:

- Ron and Greyback
- Harry and Draco
- Hermione and Slughorn
- Dumbledore and Snape

Thanks to Rosetta for the tip!

In a new interview, Harry Potter director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves discuss the Half-Blood Prince movie.

Kloves, the adapter of all but one Potter novel (Phoenix), writes first drafts that tend "to be both wishful and practical" in his desire to retain Rowling's details and plot twists. "Wishful in the sense that I want to get the entire book on the page and practical in the sense that I know the wishful side of me is insane."

Prince presented challenges because of "a series of memories that inform the past and the present." While Yates "enjoyed the flashbacks enormously as separate incidents, he didn't feel they were satisfying within the whole. In other words, they diluted the dramatic experience from his point of view and he felt we needed to concentrate exclusively on those memories that informed one particular thread of the story - the story I was, by and large, telling."

Thanks to everyone who emailed.

On Thursday April 30th at 9:30am CDT, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL will open its doors to Harry Potter: The Exhibition for the public!

Our website was one of few to get a preview Wednesday afternoon of the exhibit, followed by a roundtable discussion with its creators. I was on location and have compiled this report of events and sights to behold within.

Over 3,000 man-hours have been put into the setup and transfer of all original artifacts from the Harry Potter films, straight from the studios at Leavesden. The exhibition will remain in Chicago until the end of September where it will then move on to another, as-of-yet kept secret location somewhere on the globe. The exhibit was created by Exhibitgroup/Giltspur in association with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and is a definite must-see for all Harry Potter fans.

If you check out the exhibit, we hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

AOL has released another preview of their Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince set visit. This time, they focus on '5 Fun Facts" they learned while on set. A sample:

4. Radcliffe isn't exactly Homer Simpson when it comes to bacon.
During the scene we watched filmed, Harry and Ron discuss a forthcoming Quidditch match over breakfast in the Hogwarts dining hall; and take after take we watch them nibble on seemingly fresh plates of bacon and eggs. Sounds like a food lover's dream, right? Wrong. Radcliffe was so sick and tired of bacon, he took to feeding a 10-year-old extra who couldn't get enough of it. "I've been turning around and shoving all my bacon onto his plate just to amuse myself," Radcliffe laughs. "He seems to be having a good time." Mmmm?

Read their four other facts right here!

In a red carpet interview at the Tribeca Film Festival, John Hurt, the actor who played Ollivander in Sorcerer's Stone said he will be back to reprise the role of the famous wandmaker in Deathly Hallows.

"It was great doing it the first time, and it's quite like revisiting Quentin Crisp, except not quite 33 years in between!"

"It's a very crucial part of the last [book], if you think about the implications of it."

Thanks to Ashley and James for sending this in!

USA Today has an inside look at Harry Potter: The Exhibition in Chicago, including a great new video walkthrough. The article describes the many featured props and costumes in the tour:

Harry Potter: The Exhibition takes visitors from the Hogwarts Express train platform through the Gryffindor common room, classrooms, the Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's hut. The tour is populated with creatures from the seven novels by J.K. Rowling and six Potter movies: life-sized centaurs, Buckbeak the hippogriff, dementors, thestrals and Dobby the house elf.

Read the whole article here.

Make sure to check out the video tour about half way down the page!

The same site that released an interview with Dan Radcliffe earlier today has now posted their interview with Emma Watson. In it, Emma speaks all about Half-Blood Prince, including whether or not fans will find this to be a faithful adaptation:

I hope so. I think we've stuck as close as we possibly can without making a ten-hour movie. We've never had that complaint before, and I personally am such a big fan of the books. I've read them each of them three or four times so I think that's a really good focus for us.

Thanks to Natalie and koenvdvoort for the tip!

In a recent interview with Wizard Universe, Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe talks about the “paranoia” that is present in the upcoming Half-Blood Prince film. He also discusses his relationship with fellow HP actors, Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy).

You can read the whole interview here.

Wizard Universe will have interviews with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint later this week. We’ll keep you updated!

Thanks to Brandon for the tip!

The soundtrack for the upcoming Half-Blood Prince video game is now available on Amazon for purchase. You can view the entire tracklist as well as preview all the songs at the site. The album, composed by James Hannigan, consists of 29 songs running for 57 minutes and includes "Race Ginny," "Slughorn," and "Friendship Theme."

In other gaming news, at last week's EA preview week in NYC the lead designer for the game discussed new features of the game, including a free-roaming Hogwarts and new choices of difficulty. A trailer for the game can also be seen at the end of the video.

The Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game will be released on June 30th, 2009.

Thanks to Joaquin and Jeremy from HPANA for the soundtrack.

Just in case you weren’t able to make it to the United Kingdom this year for the worldwide release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, HP Fan Trips has brought the UK to you to create a very authentic School of Wizardry experience at affordable prices starting at $799.

Chris Rankin, the actor portraying Percy Weasley, will be your host at the Farewell Banquet. Award-winning storyteller, Amy Douglas, and top-ranked guide, Heather Davies, will be coming to Chicago this year to create a magical place for Harry Potter fans. Click here for more information and to make a reservation!

The Western Telegraph has a new article online looking at filming on Freshwater West beach for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Crews are presently building Shell Cottage for filming that will begin in mid-May:

The set for the Shell Cottage scene, which features in Chapter 25 of the novel, will see J K Rowling's much loved characters come to life at one of Pembrokeshire's popular coastal destinations.

It is thought that filming for the world famous Harry Potter movies and the new Robin Hood epic will provide a significant boost for tourism in Pembrokeshire this year.

Check out the article for two photos from the set as well.

UPDATE: There was a problem with the link to the first report - it actually went to the second report. Both links are both now working: Report 1 | Report 2.

As we all know, the grand opening of Harry Potter: the Exhibition in Chicago is quickly approaching. MuggleNet staff member Eric will be visiting the exhibit in a couple days to provide fans with a full report, but today we have two great first looks from fans who are members of the museum and received a sneak peek.

MuggleNet reader Heather filed a lengthy walk through of the exhibit for us and describes all of the great details that have gone into this project:

Rounding the corner, a group of portraits used as part of the set on the films greets you - literally, greets you. Some sigh and smile, while others partake in whatever activity they're painted doing (my favorite was the portrait of lovers on a swing in a cemetery), and some are as silent as ones in the muggle world. The Fat Lady tries to impress you with her vocal talents as you pass through her archway into the Gryffindor Common Room.

We also have this report from MuggleNet reader Selena, who describes the exhibit as a "must" for any Harry Potter fan. She also provides details about what exactly you'll get to see.

Thanks again to both girls for the reports! For more information on the exhibit, including how to obtain tickets, click here.

Last weekend, the actor who plays Neville Longbottom in the Potter films spoke with fans at Collectormania. MuggleNet reader 'emmielovegood' was at the meet and greet and recorded video of his discussion.

In it, Matt goes intro great detail about his work with the Potter series. He talks about the theme park, working with the cast, working with green screens, working with JK Rowling, and also notes that he can't reveal where the Deathly Hallows split is but loves Part 1.

See the video in two parts on YouTube: right here and right here! Thanks again to 'emmielovegood' for the video.

The Museum of Science and Industry's website, where Harry Potter: the Exhibition will be making its grand premiere in just under a week, has been updated with a few photos from the exhibit.

You can see the pics and read more info at this link. They depict some areas of the exhibit modeled after Hagrid's Hut, the Gryffindor commonroom, and a Quidditch viewing stand.

MuggleNet staff member Eric will be attending a special preview of the exhibit the night before it opens, and he'll be filing a report on our site soon after. Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the news!

First, I just want to say THANK YOU for all your congratulations and kind words of support! I echo your sentiments about how fast the past 10 years have gone. I'm 22 now - can you believe it? We're both graduating from Notre Dame in three weeks! As promised, here are some pics and videos from our engagement last week.

Here's what happened: I told Gaby I "pulled strings" and she was going to get to do a contest at center court during a time out at the Chicago Bulls/Philadelphia 76ers game. She was blindfolded, spun around, and told she had to "find" Benny the Bull in 30 seconds. The crowd cheered and booed to help her out as she blindly made her way around the court in front of 22,000 people.

But she didn't find Benny... !

Here are two videos:

Video one (2:24) - taken by one of our friends, up in the press box (I was able to get passes so our friends/family could watch!)

Video two (2:34) - from the scoreboard. High quality, but there's no sound for part of it so watch Video 1 first.

And a few pictures:

Gaby searching (Isn't she cute? ...sorry.)
Almost there...
"O...M...G..."
Yes!

Snitch Seeker reported earlier today a few dates for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Since then, we checked in with WB and they have confirmed that these are legit but tentative for now.


- July 6th: Japan (we presume Tokyo)
- July 7th: London
- July 8th: New York City

In years past, the trio and a couple other lead roles have been at both the US/UK premieres and a small group attend the Japan premiere. It could be different this time seeing as the premieres are three days in a row instead of a week apart.

We'll let you know more information as soon as we have it, which probably won't be for at least a month or two.

Back in December 2007, British television station ITV aired a great documentary looking at JK Rowling's life and the Potter phenomenon.

Those of us in the United States weren't able to see it, but now ABC has announced that they'll be airing the documentary on July 16th! That's just one day after the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

You can see a couple video previews for the documentary here and here. We'll be sure to remind you about it again in July - it's definitely worth checking out!

MTV has posted four video interviews with Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson where the actors talk about the Half-Blood Prince movie.

MTV also talked to producer David Heyman who said that "the most difficult choice was to edit out some of the flashbacks in the memories that Harry explores. Each film has to exist on its own terms, and alas, within these memories, they're really significant and actually in the whole body of the series play a very significant part, but within the film they are detours in a way, going into a story about Voldemort, who doesn't really appear in this film."

(Thanks to those who wrote in.)

An interview with David Yates on the Leavesden Studios set back in January 2008 has now emerged.

The Half-Blood Prince director previously said the sixth film is about "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll." He ammended that comment, saying that "it's actually about sex, potions and rock 'n' roll... It's a wonderfully fun, slightly rebellious, quite naughty stage of teenage life. When you're kind of discovering the opposite sex. In the previous film, it was about the first kiss. This film is a bit more sexualized than that. We don't see sex, but it's kind of in there. And the relationships are a bit more complicated and romantic and convoluted. So we're pushing into new emotional and kind of physical territory for Harry Potter, so it's quite playful and fun."

The director also spoke about how the actors have changed since OOTP. "Emma has become much more confident. I mean, she was confident before, but her acting is becoming more effortless. Dan's been off and done Equus and some television things, a television film, and he's grown a lot more confident and matured a wee bit. And they're all getting a wee bit older, and the material allows them to take a few more turns, again. They're getting better, as they should be as they get older, you know, so it's encouraging and enjoyable."

Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) made an appearance on an RTE radio show where she talked about being a "child actor," her part in the films, and how she felt when she got the role in the Potter movies. It's an interesting interview, so click here to listen.

(Thanks to Lucy for the tip.)

Rupert Grint's upcoming film, Cherrybomb, is set to be screened at France's Cannes International Film Festival which begins on May 13th. Grint's film will be shown in the Riviera theatre at 9:30 PM on May 14th.

Unfortunately, the Ron Weasley actor isn't scheduled to appear at the Festival.

(Thanks, UHP!)

A new interview with Daniel Radcliffe and producer David Heyman has been publised in Empire Magazine.

Dan talks about how refreshing Deathly Hallows part one is because it's always set in different places, and not just at Hogwarts. He also said, "I think for me, what's intimidating is going to be the walk at the end to meet Voldemort in the forest. That's going to be really tough, but I can't wait."

Heyman added what will probably be a relief for fans who want the films to be completely true to the books, "I think there'll be less edited from this film than films past because we have the freedom of making two films and I think it's going to be fantastic."

Scans are also online, thanks to our friends at DanRadcliffe.com: Dan & David 1 | Dan & David 2 | Dan & David 3 | Dan & David 4 | Trio 1 | Trio 2

Thanks again to DanRadcliffe.com, Jason, and Lucas.

Back in December, I gave you a sneak peek of my visit to the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince set. Now it's time for another small look!

We all know Potter fans love to read and watch Quidditch matches. Since it was absent during Order of the Phoenix, fans are more excited than ever to see it again on the big screen. That is why my new set report teaser looks at what we can expect this time around!

Read the preview right here! Come July, look for my full Half-Blood Prince set report complete with video interviews and much more.

Warner Brothers has just passed along two high-res photos from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Both of them are from Entertainment Weekly's Summer '09 Movie Preview which we showed you scans of last week.

- Harry and Dumbledore speaking in his office
- Harry and Dumbledore atop the Astronomy Tower

Filming of the new Robin Hood movie is currently underway at the Freshwater West beach in the UK's Pembrokeshire National Park. From May 11-15, filming of the "shell cottage" scene in Deathly Hallows will also take place at the beach.

The Park has assured local residents that disruption from the films will be minimal and that it would be helpful for the economy, attracting tourism:

"We recognise that the filming will inevitably cause some disruption in the area as well as great public interest. The beach itself and the coast path will however remain open to the public throughout this period and we are working with the film company and all the other organisations involved to ensure that the public's right of access to the path and the beach are respected during this time."

Thanks to everyone who emailed.

As we reported yesterday, crews for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows have been filming several scenes in London. Last night we saw lots of pictures from the very late night shoots, and this evening has brought even more photo's from filming that just occurred hours ago.

There are currently photos available right here on Oclumencia. Thanks also to Snitch Seeker!

As WENN.com reports: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint bring the West End to a standstill as they film scenes for the last movie in the wizard franchise Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows at Piccadilly Circus and the Trocadero Centre in the middle of the night. It appeared the late evenings had taken a toll on the cast, as all three were seen yawning and nodding off in between takes

We'll update with more photos when they come in!

UPDATE 3: MrPaparazzi.com has video of the filming which you can see at this link and Sky Showbiz has video as well. Thanks Scar Potter!

UPDATE 2: Celebuzz has a gallery of 92 photos online from last night's filming. You can see them all right here!

Five new photos from the Deathly Hallows set have emerged online:

Hermione running (after Bill and Fleur's wedding) to the Muggle cafe
Harry, Ron, and Hermione fleeing the wedding 1
Harry, Ron, and Hermione fleeing the wedding 2
Ron in a suit
The trio walking

UPDATE: Here are four more from the same filming, courtesy Voici.fr:
Dan waiting for another take
Emma having her hair adjusted
Emma keeping warm in between takes
Hermione and Ron

Thanks to Ivana and Scooby for the tip! If you're in London and want to check out filming (they film late at night for the next couple days from 11 PM onward, reportedly in the Piccadilly Circus area), please send your photos to tips at staff dot mugglenet dot com. Thanks!

The latest issue of Empire Magazine, set to be released on April 23, will contain interviews with actor Daniel Radcliffe and movie producer David Heyman, as part of its Harry Potter feature.

Empire released a preview in which the pair discuss the splitting of the final film. Whilst no mention was made as to where the split will occur, David Heyman gives us an insight into how this point was selected.

"We've played around with a couple of places and ultimately settled on a place that we think is very exciting, and I think quite bold, in that it's not necessarily where one might expect. You want to give a sense of completion, on one hand, but a sense that there's another piece, more to come. We tried one and then Steve (Kloves, screenwriter) came up with the idea to try it another way and when we tried that, it felt just right."

Daniel Radcliffe added that the split is "at a very tense cliff-hanger". He also speaks briefly about filming the epilogue, saying, "I am nervous about that because if it's good I'll be really, really pleased; if it's not good and that's what people are left with, that would be awful. If it's a choice between having me, Rupert and Emma looking a bit stupid and it being slightly comical or having other actors play us, I would go for other actors every time. So, we'll see."

Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint were in the Picadilly area of London this evening to film a few scenes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Thanks to FadeYouthBlog.com, we have a few pics from filming!

- Dan having a photo taken
- Rupert standing by
- Emma standing by
- Dan standing by
- Emma receiving some makeup
- Dan and Rupert: 1, 2, 3
- Rupert and Emma: 1, 2

If any of you are in the London area and plan on checking out the filming, please send in pics to tips at staff dot mugglenet dot com! Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the tip.

A few weeks ago, one of MuggleNet's Editorial areas, The Burrow, hosted an essay contest asking, "How can magical stories help young people grow spiritually or build character?"

You can now see the top three winners right here!

The winners received copies of N.D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards and its sequel, Dandelion Fire. Congratulations to them, and thank you to Random House and N.D. Wilson for working with us on this contest.

The actress who plays Hermione Granger recently spoke with Interview Magazine. In it, she briefly touched upon her filming schedule for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

BLASBERG: Not only that, it’s probably tiring being Hermione. I was on the set with you, and those are long, long days. What time are you there every morning?

WATSON: At the moment, we’re there at about 6:30 a.m., which means I’m picked up at about 5:45 a.m. We’re filming both the seventh and eighth movies at once, and I’m trying to do all of my scenes now and through the summer so I’ll be available for university come September—though it already looks like I’ll be working on Christmas and March breaks.

BLASBERG: In these next two films, are most of your scenes with Dan and Rupert?

WATSON: Yes. In the last book, they’ve left Hogwarts, and they’re traveling around together. It feels right that it started with the three of us and it’s ending with the three of us. It’s about our friendship.

Thanks to Tonya for the tip!

As we reported last week, it seems that the date for the Half-Blood Prince video game has been moved from July 14 to June 30.

Electronic Arts has e-mailed to let us know that official word on a launch date will come sometime in the middle of May. We will of course keep you posted as more information becomes available!

Finally we have a few more photos from the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Oclumencia scored some great pics of stars Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and some crew members in front of a tent. We all know what these scenes are for!

Check them out right here.

The original preparatory Prisoner of Azkaban sketches drawn by artist Cliff Wright will be up for sale at the 14th annual Glasgow Art Fair. The first drawing featuring Harry and Hermione on Buckbeak the Hippogriff will be up for sale at £13,000. The second sketch features "The Grim - a dog-like omen of doom." It will be put up for auction at about £11,000. These were used as the basis of the UK cover, which you can see the standalone image at his website.

Illustrator Cliff Wright said of his Hippogriff drawing: "The image is one of a series of 10 which were sent to the publisher Bloomsbury as rough ideas for character development and composition. The designs were also passed on to JK Rowling for her approval and any comments passed back to me. Thus, for example, the Hippogriff was based on a design that was sent through to me from Jo."

Warner Brothers released these a couple days ago, but with all the news lately we wanted to save 'em for the weekend. 17 beautiful high res images from the new trailer:

- Younger Dumbledore peering in at Young Tom
- Hogwarts students pointing their wands to the sky
- Ron whining about girls
- Quidditch fans
- Harry holding the locket
- Harry looking out a Tube window
- Just Harry
- Just Harry 2
- Bellatrix running along a Great Hall table
- Bellatrix casting the dark mark in the Astronomy Tower
- Young Tom Riddle surrounded by smoke
- Young Tom Riddle not surrounded by smoke
- Snape in the Astronomy Tower
- Professor Slughorn
- Harry and Hermione
- Draco looking at a feather
- Dumbledore surrounded by fire

Reuters recently released a new article about how expected video game sales this summer should help a struggling industry. Included in the list of games expected to boost sales is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but the game may be available sooner than expected.

"In June, Electronics Arts will release the 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' game to coincide with the film of the same name by Warner Bros Pictures."

Amazon.com now lists the title to be released on June 30. It was originally scheduled for July 14. We're working with EA to confirm this change. Thanks to Leaky!

In a follow-up to our story about the new Entertainment Weekly Half-Blood Prince feature, this news poster has received his copy of the magazine and has scanned the article. It includes a new photo of Harry and Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower.

See the article and new photo right here!

In a news article taking a look at the new Half-Blood Prince trailer, MTV revealed that they'll be showing "an extended look at the film with commentary from producer David Heyman".

The extended look will appear next week during the summer preview. We'll let you know exactly when it airs (whether on TV or online)!

Entertainment Weekly's latest issue (which should be arriving in most mailboxes today) has a lengthy new look at Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In this particular quote, Steve Kloves talks about how this film may be different without a new Potter books in the works:

And because we all know this, Prince raises an unprecedented question about the biggest film franchise in history: Will moviegoers still be wild about Harry? ''I'm not going to lie to you,'' says Oscar-nominated screenwriter Steve Kloves, returning to his role as official franchise scribe after taking the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, off. ''I do have some concern that because the books are over, the anticipation for the movies won't be the same.''

Read much much more right here!

The latest episode of our Harry Potter podcast is finally here, and it's all about the brand new Half-Blood Prince trailer that WB released just a few hours ago! Andrew, Matt, Mikey, and Micah hosted a really fun show as over 1,100 people listened live and participated. Laura called in for a couple minutes too.

To download for free, we recommend subscribing through iTunes. Just CLICK HERE and then press "Subscribe" to the right of our album art. (Already subscribed? Refresh your feed!) No iPod or MP3 player needed! You can also visit the MuggleCast website to listen right within your browser, or to download the MP3 file to your desktop. Special thanks to Ustream and moderators Nick, Stephanie, and AndrewFP!

(DIGG this story!)

NEW POSTERS: As promised, Yahoo has released new Half-Blood Prince posters as well! Thanks BlogHogwarts.com!

It's here! Warner Brothers has officially released the final trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Coming in at 2 minutes and 20 seconds, here is plenty of new footage available: Katie Bell being tortured, the Sectumsempra battle, Draco on the Astronomy Tower, as well as Snape uttering the cold words, "It's over." Download links:

WINDOWS HD: Small | Medium | Large

WINDOWS STANDARD: Large | Medium | Small

FLASH: Small | Large

QUICKTIME HD (best version to watch): Large | Medium | Small

QUICKTIME STANDARD: Large | Kinda Large | Medium | Small

IPOD: Click Here

Reminder: MuggleCast LIVE right here on Ustream tonight at 10 PM EST to discuss the trailer!

Taking a break from all the trailer news, MTV Movies Blog today reported that the Epilogue for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be filmed and that the current cast will be used.

"'We will shoot it,' producer David Heyman confirmed for MTV News. Rowling wrote a flash-forward ending to 'The Deathly Hallows' that shows where the characters end up as they grow older. Heyman also indicated that the original Hogwarts actors would be filling those roles for the sequence, rather than being replaced by older lookalikes."

UPDATE 2: E! Online hasn't taken the trailer down just yet, as it turns out. It still exists on this page of their site... for now. High Resolution version will still be released tonight at 9 PM EST!

UPDATE: The trailer has been taken down and will be available tonight at 9 PM EST.

The final trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has leaked online a few hours early.

There is plenty of new footage available, including Katie Bell being tortured, the Sectumsempra battle, Draco on the Astronomy Tower, as well as Snape uttering the cold words, "It's over."

With the final trailer for Half-Blood Prince set to debut hours from now, Warner Bros. has passed along a brand-new photo as a preview of tonight. In it you can see Hermione, Luna and Neville cheering on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Be sure to check back here throughout the day for complete coverage of the trailer, including its 9 p.m. ET release and a LIVE MuggleCast on UStream at 10 p.m. ET to recap and discuss.

USA Today has released a new article on the upcoming Potter film, including a bit of news concerning tomorrow's trailer. It will in fact be the final trailer and hit theaters on May 1 in front of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Director David Yates had this to say:

"Once you're hooked into these stories, it's really difficult to let go. The audience has grown up with these characters. I think that gives them a very special relationship. I can't think of any other movie franchise that has had that. They started out at 10 or 11, and now they're 18 and 19."

You can also check out a few new pictures in the paper's Half-Blood Prince photo gallery.

Thanks to Snitch Seeker!

The actress who plays Hermione Granger in the Potter films turns 19 today. Emma has updated her site noting that her birthday has "snuck up" on her and looks forward to celebrating tonight with a family dinner.

She also mentioned that no official decision has been made on her choice for university and filming for Deathly Hallows is keeping her busy.

Happy Birthday Emma, from everyone here at MuggleNet!

The Associated Press has a new article online with a quote from Warner Brothers Head of Distribution Dan Fellman. He explains why they moved the date of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from July 17th to July 15th:

That gives the movie a head-start on the weekend during what's shaping up as a highly competitive summer season for Hollywood, which has major franchise films opening virtually every week.

"Every day the kids are out of school in summer is just like an extra Saturday," Fellman said.

MuggleNet visitors have voted, and it's time now to announce the winners of our Fantastic Beasts contest. First, we'd like to thank our fantastic sponsors: Alivans, Master Wandmakers for all your wizarding shopping needs, and Magical Tours for all your journeys to where Harry Potter was born!

Now, here are the winners (you can see all the entries right here):
1st Place) Graphorn, created by Jaci S.
2nd Place) Feras Doloras (pictured above), created by Andrew M.
3rd Place) Garden Gnome, created by Ivonne L.
4th Place) The Will O the Wisp, created by Rowland C.

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to EVERYONE who entered this contest! We all loved checking out the creativity you all put forth.

UPDATE: Confirmed by Warner Brothers: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been moved two days forward to July 15th.

You may all remember that they did this same thing with Order of the Phoenix in 2007, so it may not come as a surprise.

UPDATE: The two new covers can be seen here and here. They will be released on July 31st!

The Bookseller is reporting that Bloomsbury, the UK publisher of the Potter series, is set to re-release Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages:

The relaunched titles will again raise funds for the charity with 1.15 pounds from each 4.99 pound title sold going to Comic Relief.

The print run for the new version has yet to be confirmed. A spokesman for Bloomsbury said: “There are always new Harry Potter readers coming to the series each year who will be looking for other exciting things to read.”

If new covers are released for the books we'll be sure to bring them to you.

It has been a while since we've released a new episode of our Harry Potter podcast (sorry!), but now that we have a trailer coming this Thursday, it's time for another go!

MuggleCast will be LIVE on Ustream this Thursday starting at 10 PM EST to talk about the new trailer (just an hour after the release). Music on the stream will start at 9:45 PM. We'll also discuss some recent Potter stories and play a couple games. See you then!

UPDATE: The trailer will be available on MuggleNet this Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. Info on a LIVE MuggleCast coming shortly!

As we reported last week, the British Board of Film Classification listed a fifth trailer for the upcoming Potter film on their website, which was rated 12A (PG-13) and totaled 2 minutes and 20 seconds. We speculated a new trailer could be on the way given that no trailer to date matched the time length listed above.

Well today, Warner Bros. has announced that a new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released this Thursday, April 16 between 9:00 and 9:15 p.m. EDT.

Thanks to Lindsay for sending this in!

Potterish has received two more images from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

- Ginny dining in the Great Hall
- Harry and Katie Bell

Thanks to Potterish and Daniel for the tip!

An unbelievable array of magical creatures have found ways to enter our latest contest, which we first told you about last week.

The creativity shown by our truly awesome readers is incredible! We would like to include all of them in the voting, but our discerning staff has had to narrow the field to the top 25 finalists. Now it’s your turn to help us find the four best entries. Voting closings at 11:59 PM EST on April 14th.

Just GO HERE to view the line-up of unusual suspects and cast your vote. Please also visit our sponsors: get set for all your magical adventures with wizarding supplies from Alivan’s, and our friends at Magical Tours have extended their summer tour sign-up deadlines to take advantage of some of the best airfares in years! Check out the website, and send them an e-mail to ask about some great discounts just for our readers!

A new photo has surfaced from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, depicting the lead character playing with the piano while Slughorn sits in the background.

Has Harry picked up some piano skills in his sixth year that we were unaware of?

Thanks to Scar Potter for the photo.

Note: We'll have video and pictures of the event up soon!

We take a break from our normal Potter programming for a special announcement within the MuggleNet family.

At tonight's Chicago Bulls/Philadelphia 76ers game, 22-year-old MuggleNet founder Emerson Spartz proposed to his girlfriend Gaby Montero while she participated in a contest on the court that ended with a kneeling boyfriend and a surprise engagement ring. We can only assume that with over 21,000 people in attendance at the United Center she had no choice but to accept.

In all seriousness, from everyone here at MuggleNet, congratulations to Emerson and Gaby!

Earlier this year, we told you about a Half-Blood Prince trailer that was released on Japanese television following a showing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. You can now view a sharper version of the trailer right here, without the voice-over and subtitles.

Additionally, filming for Deathly Hallows is reportedly underway today at a cooling tower in the English Midlands. The blog entry mentions that actor Dan Radcliffe took time to visit with the blogger's daughter. Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were also present.

Thanks to Snitch Seeker and Brianna for the tips!

A new review was published yesterday for the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game soundtrack.

"James Hannigan’s music for the latest Harry Potter video game, perhaps originally planned to launch when the latest film was to be released, manages to maintain a delightful bridge between the finest music for that series and the general sound world that has been maintained by subsequent composers in the film series itself."

Remember you can preview the complete soundtrack online right here.

Typically an early sign of a new trailer coming, the British Board of Film Classification today listed "Trailer 5" on their Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince page.

The trailer is rated 12A, England's equivalent to PG13, and the length is 2 minutes and 20 seconds. We do not know for sure if this means a new trailer is on the way (none of the trailers we've seen have this same length), but it's certainly a good sign.

As always, we'll keep you updated! Thanks to Scott for the tip.

The actor who plays Vincent Crabbe in the Potter films was arrested Thursday when police pulled Jamie and his friend to the side of the road. They were found to be in possession of cannabis. Police proceeded to search Jamie's home, where they found cannabis plants and machines to cultivate the substance.

The BBC reports that Jamie was freed on bail and has a court date in July. We'll continue to update you with more on this story as it develops. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with the news.

Fans may remember that she has played a big role in raising for Multiple Sclerosis research, and today we've learned that Jo has stepped down as patron of MS Society Scotland. This, after she revealed she cannot "in good conscience, continue to be the public face of a charity that is changing beyond recognition from the one with which I have been so proud to be associated."

You can read a longer statement from Jo, as well as a response from MS Society Scotland, at this link.

Rupert has been hard at work on his upcoming film Cherrybomb, and the first trailer for the film has been released. You can see it right here thanks to our friends at RupertGrint.net.

Please note that the trailer does include some mature topics that may be inappropriate for minors.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Universal Studios has hired SnowMasters, a company specializing in "fake snow-making machines and offers everything from blowing snow to ground blankets to faux icicles," for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.

Early concept art depicted Hogsmeade covered in snow. Will we see other cool winter-esque effects around the village?

GMTV presenter Ben Shepard has revealed that he's been working on a Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince behind-the-scenes documentary. It will be on ITV later this year. He also confirmed that he has a small cameo in the sixth film:

Shepherd said: "I was lucky enough to get a part in one of the scenes. I'm a wizarding parent in a joke shop.

"I've done documentaries for the last three films and got to know everybody really well, and they finally said: 'Come on and give it a go'."

We'll let you know when the documentary will be airing in the UK.

UPDATE: You can now see part one of this interview here and the final part here.

Earlier tonight, the actor who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, was interviewed on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

Amongst other things, Jason Isaacs tells the story of how he learned his character would not be appearing in Half-Blood Prince and explains his interest in the Potter franchise.

The full interview will be posted here shortly. In the meantime why not check out all of the latest movie news in our movie section.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Jamie Campbell Bower, most recently known for his role in Sweeney Todd, is in final negotiations to play Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Please note that this is strictly a rumor for now, and no representatives are talking yet. Some fans may note that Jamie was recently cast as Caius in the second Twilight film New Moon. As always, we'll keep you updated!

Our friends at HP Fan Trips have an exciting new journey for fans to participate in:

HP Fan Trips™ is pleased to announce the limited availability of tickets for a steam train journey in the carriages used for the "Hogwarts Express" in the filming of the Harry Potter movies.

These tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The cost is $145 US (approx. 79 GBP) per ticket.

If you're interested in more information, click here!

WBShop, the official Harry Potter store, is planning to sell a Harry Potter towel, and they want your views! Don't have regrets - make sure the towel you like is on the market by filling out this survey.

UPDATE: The BBC reports that Jo read from Beedle the Bard this evening. You can read the report right here.

In a follow-up to what we reported earlier, we now know that our favorite author will be reading at The Royal Opera House tonight (Thursday) in London. As The Independent reports:

Today, Mrs Obama and the G20 spouses will visit the Royal Opera House for a programme of operatic and ballet extracts. JK Rowling will give a reading during the performance, introduced by the broadcaster Mariella Frostrup.

At least one picture has already appeared online of Jo from the G20 dinner which you can see here. We do not know what Jo will be reading from at the Royal Opera House, but we'll keep you updated!

Yep, we had you! All the news from asking for donations to 5-minute long episodes of MuggleCast were pranks.

We fooled some of you (who were very sad and supportive), and just entertained the rest of you. At any rate, we're glad to have everything back to normal!

Special thanks goes out to MuggleNet staff members Dylan, Micah, Nick, Matt, and Ben for pulling this one. In case you missed it, you can view all of the pranks we had yesterday right here. We also have our posts from last year's prank at this link.

It is with deep regret that I inform you of a radical corporate reshuffle at MuggleNet as a direct result of the current economic problems. Earlier today, Emerson Spartz, founder and webmaster of MuggleNet.com, was overruled by a large pack of monkeys who rebelled after hearing they'd no longer be fed bananas while working the inner parts of our site. The lead monkey, who only wishes to be called Larry, is now webmaster of MuggleNet.

As a cost-cutting measure, and to make sure the monkeys continue receiving their bananas, all but two of the staff have now been fired. Some of which, have been with the site from the beginning and will be missed by us all. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new webmaster, Larry, to the team and to thank Emerson, Micah, Ben, Ciaran, Damon, Jamie, Rachel, Laura, Dylan, Jill, Rosey, Brendan, Jackie, Becky, Eric, Michael, Kat, our transcribers, editorial staff, fan fiction staff and our interns for their contribution over the years. We wish all of them the best of luck for the future.

Check out the new profiles of the remaining staff here and don't forget to leave a good bye message in the comments section for those staff who were fired.

As we reported yesterday, JK Rowling is attending a dinner with Michelle Obama this evening in relation to the G20 Summit.

One photo has already appeared online, which you can see right here. The Telegraph also has this article, which gives more details about the dinner.

We'll update this post if any other pictures make their way online! Thanks to UHP for the tip.

The good news: a new episode of our Harry Potter podcast is here! The bad news: our show is now formatted to comply with MuggleNet's money-saving policies.

What does that mean? We'll have to severely shorten the length of new episodes from here on out (they'll average between 5 - 7 minutes), so you may notice that things feel a bit rushed.

To download, just click here. This show will not be available in iTunes for the time being. We hope you... enjoy!

In line with recent cut backs we have had to come up with ways to generate income to offset costs during these difficult financial times. In addition to our 'Advertise on MuggleNet' section, we are now seeking donations in the form of Galleons from visitors. As a thank you, anyone who donates will be placed on our appreciation page, which can be viewed here.

Thank you for your continued support during this transition phase.

Another site announcement: our image gallery will be switching to a one-pic-a-day format to cut down on bandwidth costs. Hosting thousands of images was simply a ridiculous idea, because who ACTUALLY looks at all of them?!

With this new gallery, you will be able to see every image we pay for in a very easy-to-use format. All you have to do is visit the page once a day and you will be presented with a Potter-related image. The images are carefully chosen based on what's hot in the fandom that day. Enjoy!

As previously mentioned, given the current economic conditions, MuggleNet needs to do away with excess. Therefore, within the next 24 hours we will shut down MuggleSpace, our online Harry Potter social network. The more than 15,000 of you registered is just not enough to sustain the community over the course of the next fiscal year. This decision did not come easily, but it is only one of many corners our staff needed to cut.

If you want to do your part to try and help us recover, you will see there has been an "Advertise on MuggleNet" section added to our left-hand navigation. Please check it out and consider all the options.