J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is getting a makeover — no magic wand necessary. A new cover for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was unveiled Wednesday, the first of seven new Harry Potter book covers on the way. The new covers will appear on the U.S. paperback edition beginning in September, timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the U.S. publication of the first in J.K. Rowling’s mega-successful series. The artist behind the new covers is Kazu Kibuishi of Alhambra, Calif., known for the graphic novel series “Amulet.”  Each of the seven covers will pluck a memorable moment from the book, and will also be available as a boxed set. Albert Brooks takes bait, signs on for “Finding Nemo 2″ Kibuishi is a longtime Harry Potter fan who called this opportunity “more than a little surreal,” according to a statement posted […]

J.K. Rowling has a little holiday gift for Harry Potter fans. The first seven chapters of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” launched on Pottermore.com today, with a series of new interactive illustrations featuring some of the characters, places, objects and creatures that populate the third book in the much-loved fantasy series. Want to learn more about famous Boggarts of the past? Or what Dumbledore gave to Hagrid’s predecessor Professor Kettleburn on his retirement? Or the origin of the wizard adage “I’ll take Cadogan’s pony?” Well, you’re about to be in a wealth of luck, according to a statement issued by the Pottermore folks about the new content. Rowling announced the creation of Pottermore in 2011, describing the site as a new “online reading experience” in which fans of any age could “share, participate in and rediscover the stories” involving […]

“Wonderbook: Book of Spells,” a new game released exclusively for PlayStation 3 earlier this month, uses augmented reality to transport the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into a player’s living room. The game, which relies on PlayStation’s Eye camera and Move motion wand, was created in collaboration with “Harry Potter” author J. K. Rowling and allows would-be wizards to learn and cast spells — Incendio, Wingardium Leviosa, Alohomora and many more that will be familiar to any Potter fan. Hero Complex caught up via email with Dave Ranyard, the director of Sony’s London Studio, which designed the game, to talk about the origins of the game and Rowling’s influence. HC: Can you tell us a little about how the project came about? What inspired this augmented reality book/game combination? DR: The London Studio started making augmented reality games back in […]

After eight movies, a theme park and a slew of video games, Harry Potter’s magical world is returning to its roots: A book. As we reported earlier this week, PlayStation’s “Book of Spells” — announced at E3 2012 in Los Angeles — will allow would-be wizards to wield wands and learn charms in their living rooms through augmented reality. The virtual storybook uses the console’s PlayStation Eye camera, Move motion controller and a new, book-shaped peripheral called Wonderbook, paving the way for other titles in the future. “Book of Spells” will feature charms familiar to Hogwarts aficionados as well as new writing from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Hero Complex talked with Book of Spells programmer Andrew Ellis and got a hands-on Wonderbook demo. Check it out in the video above. – Noelene Clark RECENT AND RELATED Harry Potter: A fictional life […]

Muggles can now get a taste of Hogwarts. In partnership with J.K. Rowling, Sony on Monday announced an interactive title called “Book of Spells.” Part-game, part-book, the title lets readers learn about spells used in the “Harry Potter” film and book series — and then practice “casting” them via Sony’s PlayStation 3 Move motion controller. The book – or is it a game? — will feature some original writing by Rowling, though it remained unclear to what degree. “Book of Spells” was conjured up by Rowling’s new Pottermore division, which sells electronic versions of the author’s Harry Potter titles. The title, priced at $39.99 for both the physical book and a game disc, will use a new book-shaped peripheral called Wonderbook, which does some conjuring of its own by creating augmented reality to enhance stories and educational titles through the PS3. […]

This post has been corrected, as detailed below. Would-be wizards can now purchase the “Harry Potter” novels as e-books through Pottermore, author J.K. Rowling’s virtual world for magic-loving Muggles. All seven books in the series are now on sale in the Pottermore Shop, marking the first time the “Harry Potter” series — which shattered book sales records and spawned the most successful movie franchise of all time — is available in digital format. The books are available in English print and audio formats, in their U.S. and U.K. editions, with four other languages on the way, including Spanish, French, Italian and German. They are being released in the popular EPUB format, which is compatible with most e-readers, including Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Sony’s Reader and devices using Google Play. The digital books range from $7.99 to $9.99 individually […]

What do you do after the magic is gone? That’s the career question facing David Yates, the director who this year delivered his fourth “Harry Potter” film and watched it go on to $1.3 billion in worldwide box office along with the best reviews of the entire era-defining franchise. On Tuesday, sipping tea and sitting in the sun on the patio of a Los Angeles hotel, the soft-spoken 48-year-old said he was still trying to sort out his emotions as well as his ambitions, which include a “Doctor Who” feature film. “It’s so hard to contextualize. I’m not sure how I feel. I’ve gotten much more opportunity, I know that, but how do I feel? I feel … well, I’m still in recovery, frankly. I’m recovering from six and half years of incredibly intense schedules and expectations. I have post-Hogwarts Syndrome. We were joking […]

The Harry Potter books and films are more than popular; they’ve spawned a wizard-themed amusement park, introduced new words (like “Muggle,” “apparate” and “quidditch”) into the popular vernacular and inspired pop art and culture. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ marks the end of a decade of The Boy Who Lived on the big screen, and by many accounts the final film in the magical franchise has lived up to the hype; the movie was hailed by many critics as the best of the eight installments in the series, and its creators received an outpouring of love from fans across the globe. Here at Hero Complex, we counted down to the film’s theater release with exclusive interviews, photo galleries and apps. Now that the spoiler-wary have had a chance to see “Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ in […]

David Yates, the soft-spoken auteur who directed the final four films in the history-making “Harry Potter” franchise, watched an early Imax screening of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″  with 340 lucky Hero Complex readers and then took the stage to talk about the new movie and (dab those Muggle tears) the end of a magical movie era. We’ll be bringing you video highlights from the Q&A in upcoming days (you can see the first one right here, the very interesting second installment right here, part three right here and the fourth one over here). In the video below, Yates talks about the colossal achievement of casting the franchise’s three young stars and a bit about their personalities. In today’s installment: Yates talks about J.K. Rowling’s genius and screenwriter Steve Klove’s intense challenge. To find out about all of the upcoming free Imax movie […]

THE LAST SPELL: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2” closes out a decade of Hogwarts in Hollywood. Hero Complex is counting down to the release of the final film in the magical franchise with exclusive interviews and photos. Today: Hero Complex contributor Amy Kaufman chats with Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the films. AK: How did you prepare for the darker tone of this film? EW: I felt there was a real change in tone, and it was definitely a big step up in terms of what I had to bring. I didn’t prepare particularly differently. A lot more was asked of me than had ever been asked before. It was nice to feel challenged, and I had to step up and engage my brain and really think and put everything into it. I was able to focus on giving […]