David Yates and Emma Watson, who worked together on the last four Harry Potter instalments, are set to reunite for Your Voice in My Head.

Written by Emma Forrest, Your Voice in My Head centres on a young woman (Watson) who attempts suicide before being saved by a New York-based psychiatrist who’s dying of cancer.

It is yet unknown who will play the psychiatrist, but such prolific actors as George Clooney (The Descendants) and Tom Hanks (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close) are said to be in the mix.

Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the rights late last week, and have made it a top priority.

Expect production on this to start before the end of the year, before Yates moves over to Sony to direct A Reliable Wife.

Source: Deadline

Taking in more than $1.3bn. at the international box office and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2011, and the third-highest of all time (unadjusted for inflation), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was a magnificent end to what has become the most successful film franchise ever.

Concept artist Andrei Riabovitchev, via Collider, has released some impressive new concept images for the film that show an earlier visualisation of how Voldemort (played by Ralph Fiennes) could have died, as well as a few close-ups of the giants’ heads.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was released in cinemas in the height of last summer, and took more than a 400% profit from a $250m. budget, which, as you can imagine, almost never happens.

It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray at the end of last year, and as you may be aware already, may not be around for long, because Warner Bros. announced that they would stop production of all of the Harry Potter films for home media at the very end of 2011. So once it’s sold out, it’s sold out.

There’s a silver lining for anyone who doesn’t complete their collection in time, though, because we’re also expected to be treated to a kind of ultimate edition (more ultimate than the complete 8-film collection that currently exists) sometime in the future, expected to come either at the end of this year or the start of next year. For now, here are the great new concept images to enjoy, letting us see what could have been. As usual, you can click to enlarge.

And if you’re missing your annual fix of Daniel Radcliffe, his first film following Harry Potter, The Woman in Black, is released on 10^th February, and you can read our review of the film here.

Yesterday we promised you longer versions of our interviews from the Woman In Black red carpet. Never say we don’t deliver. First up, we’ve got a full version of our interviews with Daniel Radcliffe and Ciaran Hinds.

In this interview, Radcliffe talks about the reaction of the die-hard Harry Potter fans (who spent most of the night screaming for his attention) to The Woman In Black. As he puts it, “They stuck with me through Equus”. He also gives a few details about the plot of his next project, Kill Your Darlings.

Hinds spoke about the attraction of Goldman’s script, and his casting in the film, as well as being in two films, back-to-back with Daniel Radcliffe. We also discussed Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and how he felt when he watched the film. And as a special treat, you all get to see the moment where I made a slightly embarrassing error, and assumed Tinker Tailor had been nominated for Best Feature for the Oscars.

Check back later today for more of our full length interviews from the Woman In Black premiere.

Ahead of next week’s publication of Lord Smith’s review on the state and future of the British film industry David Cameron visited Pinewood Studios today to deliver a speech setting out his thoughts on the aims of the industry.

The choice of Pinewood was well made. The studio, which is already two projects into its new initiative of film production as well as being an icon of British film, is at the heart of the industry in this country and much of what Mr. Cameron said will impact those working in this, and other, British studios.

Lord Smith’s report is expected to focus lottery funding to encourage more commercially successful, the word ‘mainstream’ rears its head here, as well as culturally rewarding films and the Prime Minister talked about the £4bn contribution to the economy as well as the ‘incalculable contribution to our culture’ of British film in his speech. His encouragement of the talent in the industry here is commendable, and he is right to promote this sector in the glowing terms he does.

However, unless you’re Martin Sheen, politics and filmmaking are rarely tender bedfellows, with the clamour for immense financial returns often running up against the artistic vision of the filmmakers. Though this is clearly not always the case it is at the heart of the statement from the Prime Minister.  A key misunderstanding comes here, the devil revealed in this particular detail,

Our role, and that of the BFI, should be to support the sector in becoming even more dynamic and entrepreneurial, helping UK producers to make commercially successful pictures that rival the quality and impact of the best international productions.

Equating quality and the nebulous notion of impact with commercial success gives us a few scenarios. The first is that we pump out films like Disney’s recent Alice in Wonderland which, through star power and audience familiarity with the characters, made a mint despite disappointing many. A second, and more troubling, option is that projects are only put into production once their original vision is adapted for maximum financial potential.

Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire surprised many people with its success, not least at the 2009 Oscars; it became a defining film of that year, and many in the UK will remember the marketing campaign coating the image of a hugging Frieda Pinto and Dev Patel with the graceless misnomer ‘The Feel-Good movie of the Decade’. That this was not expected to make any money, and was considered for a straight-to-DVD release, is important.

Number 10 are naturally keen to pull out The King’s Speech as an example of how successful a British Independent film can be. Likewise Harry Potter is rolled out as the other end of the production spectrum, focusing on the British talent involved in front of, and behind, the camera. When I spoke to Tom Hooper last year, prior to his Oscar win, he talked of the process of getting the film out there, and how he found the commercially focused studio system,

[The King's Speech] has taken on this momentum, so people might not acknowledge it as a British, small budget, independent film. But that’s what it is. Without the Film Council it would not have got made, without Momentum, the distributors, it wouldn’t have got made. And the studios all had it, but they were never going to make it in today’s climate.

It may change, and these things are cyclical, but at the moment the studios are focused on films that make £400 million or so, or franchises that can make over a billion and they’re not so interested in this kind of filmmaking. I think it might change but certainly when I was setting The King’s Speech up that was the world we were in.

So what do we do? Have Noel Clarke complete the Kidulthood trilogy with Knighthood? Should Joe Cornish have made Decorate the Block (with Carol Smillie and Alesha Dixon), maybe Ben Wheatley have made a film about two men organising a dinner party,

Shopping List?

Should Andrew Haigh have been encouraged to throw in a mainstream actor to bump up the audience appeal for Weekend?

Where will it all end?

Not here. But you get my point?

The recent BAFTA awards longlist failed to include Kill List or Weekend, despite both films having a very strong showing critically and commercially. Whether it is the pre-Oscar placing or a desire to be seen as mainstream and populist those omissions are stark indicators of where we find ourselves. Richard Ayoade’s Submarine was a shining example of a new voice emerging, as was Chris Morris’s Four Lions the year before. Both had the quality Cameron appears to be talking about, but not the impact, assuming soaring box office hauls and success abroad (i.e. America) is what is suggested here. The question therefore is, if the UK Producers are being supported to focus on making commercially successful films as a guiding principle, would these films have been made?

We need a British Film industry that encourages, develops, supports and celebrates the variety of talent it has, commercial success is necessary and a very high priority for everyone involved in each film that is produced. Understanding that the nuturing of homegrown talent enables the individual rivulets to find their way to making up the mainstream rather than simply being thrown in and becoming obscured by it is crucial.  If the report by Lord Smith has these ambitions then we should see a continuation of the emergence of a strong identity through filmmaking. Focusing on the box office take is not the way to do this.

David Cameron’s full speech is printed below and further information is available on the Number 10 website,

The UK film industry, the skills and crafts that support it, and our creative industries more widely, make a £4bn contribution to our economy and an incalculable contribution to our culture.

“But in this year when we set out bold ambitions for the future, when the eyes of the world will be on us, I think we should aim even higher, building on the incredible success of recent years.

“Our role, and that of the BFI, should be to support the sector in becoming even more dynamic and entrepreneurial, helping UK producers to make commercially successful pictures that rival the quality and impact of the best international productions. Just as the British Film Commission has played a crucial role in attracting the biggest and best international studios to produce their films here, so we must incentivise UK producers to chase new markets both here and overseas.

“I am confident that Lord Smith’s Review will form an ambitious blueprint, and look forward to his recommendations next week.

As do we all.

Christmas Day may have been and gone but we’re still feeling very festive here at HeyUGuys and since we’re still in the twelve days of Christmas, we thought it would be a lovely idea to show off five different clips from five of the Harry Potter movies that celebrate this festive time of year! All eight movies are now available to buy in the HARRY POTTER: THE COMPLETE 8-FILM COLLECTION on DVD and Blu-ray and you can order your copies here.

Scroll down to view the first clip and then click next below each video to proceed to the next and let us know if we missed any clips in the comments section below.

1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

We’ll go in order and that means starting off with the very first movie – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. This movie broke the mould when it comes to all things Potter, set the scene and introduced us to three actors (among many others) who we’d come to see on the big screen for the next eleven years. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are now household names and this is why…..

In this scene we get all festive seeing Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) pulling in the Christmas Tree into Hogwarts followed by Professor Flitwick (Warwick Davis) decorating it in a rather unique way. We then get to see Ron (Grint) and Harry (Radcliffe) playing chess which comes in very handy for the climax of the film while Hermione (Watson) gets ready to go home for the Christmas holidays.

Vin Diesel has pretty much put rumours of a sixth and seventh Fast and the Furious film to rest this week by stepping out of the shadows to pretty much (two important words there) confirm them.

Speaking on the writing process of the much touted sixth film (a process that I’m sure is ably aided by a veritable surfeit of Hot Wheels miniatures and a lot of vroom vroom sound effects) he has stated:

With the success of this last one, and the inclusion of so many characters, and the broadening of scope, when we were sitting down to figure out what would fit into the real estate of number six, we didn’t have enough space. We have to pay off this story, we have to service all of these character relationships, and when we started mapping all that out it just went beyond 110 pages.

To this he added that the studio said “you can’t fit all that story in one damn movie!” which for my money is Universal braying for two films worth of box-office, what with their engine currently running on last year’s Fast Five dollars and all.

Director Justin Lin is confirmed for the sixth and everyone seems to be assuming that he and the cast will return for both new outings considering that most of them are pretty much box-office poison outside of the franchise (and by most of them I ironically mean the two leads stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker). Even so that’s no bad thing because as long as you lobotomised yourself on the way in Fast Five was undoubtedly rollicking good fun.

It’s yet to be seen whether the two films will be stand-alone pieces or whether they will form one two-part contiguous story but either way I’m excited. Whilst they won’t be anything like The Hobbit or Harry Potter 7 they will definitely rival them as pieces of all out entertainment.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

This time yesterday,  I had never met Boris Johnson and had never been to the famous Harry Potter set, Diagon Alley but by midday this afternoon, both those dreams had come true! This morning, I got to travel back to Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire (see our first trip here) which is he home of the brand new Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour. We were there to interview the London Mayor  on the set of Diagon Alley which was announced today to be part of the tour when it opens its gates to the public on March 31st 2012.

Walking onto the (as yet incomplete) set that is Diagon Alley was truly amazing. I still remember when I was at university in Cheltenham and my friend Lauren McConnell (and now recently married as Lauren Jewhurst YAY!) told me that I MUST watch this ‘phenomenon’ called is Harry Potter. She gave me a crib sheet that she made for me detailing who everyone was an gave me an outline to the story. I was doubtful that this would be anything big at the time and just thought Lauren had gone a bit balmy as she saw it at the cinema some crazy amount of times. She can correct me if I’m wrong but I think it was nine! Thing is, turns out she couldn’t have been more right as these movies have really set a new benchmark in a modern day movie franchise and since that time in 2001 has indeed become the biggest movie franchise of all time. Back then, no one could have predicted just how huge Harry Potter would go and I never dreamt that the time of watching it that one day I (and you in a few months) would get to walk on the amazing sets. One of my stand-out memories of Potter was watching Hagrid take Harry into Diagon Alley through the bricks that moved apart at the touch of a wand.

So, back to today! Boris Johnson was given a tour of the new studio by Warner Bros. UK President, Josh Berger followed by a Q&A with me and a few other people about the studio, what it would bring to London and what we can expect when it opens next year. I caught the whole thing on video and have embedded it below for your viewing pleasure. My favourite bit has to be when he places a wand in Ollivander’s (John Hurt in the movies) shop window followed by a fabulous thumbs up!

I said it previously when I visit the studio back in October to interview some of the cast of the movie but the attention to detail on these sets is something that you honestly cannot appreciate until you actually visit them for yourselves. Tickets are on sale now and you can pre-order then here. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter and are in the UK, you have to go and visit the studio as you’ll have one of the best movie experiences you’ve ever had!

I got a little snap happy on the set so have placed all the images below. I hope you enjoy them and please click them to enlarge. You’ll notice that not all the windows are fully dressed, this is simply because Leavesden is still a construction site hence me wearing a high visibility jacket and hard hat and looking dashing! All this will be complete for the tour when it opens which I am now more keen to see than ever!!

We have a rather special prize this morning and Harry Potter fans are going to love it! Royal Mail have joined forces with Warner Bros. and creator J.K. Rowling to release this special Royal Mail Special Issue Harry Potter Heroes & Villains Stamp Set and we have five sets to give away. If you haven’t already bought them, you can also buy the full set of Harry Potter movies right here.

The Dumbledore and Voldemort stamps have been taken from the Magical Realms set of stamps, launched in February this year, that also featured characters from the likes of the tale of King Arthur, the Chronicles of Narnia and Terry Pratchett.

The stamps are also available via the link here: www.royalmail.com/harrypotter, and also on the Royal Mail eBay store: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Royal-Mail-Stamp-Collections.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who Directed the final movie in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 2nd January at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Three Horcruxes down and long past the point of no return, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) – alongside best friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) – are busy planning their next assault on Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) divided soul. With Gringots Wizarding Bank and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry both harbouring Horcruxes, the trio must draw on their six years of education, their combined ingenuity and a number of assorted peers and allies if they are to destroy He Who Must Not Be Named and liberate the wizarding world once and for all.

Film: Eight movies in A Nightmare On Elm Street had spilled over onto Camp Crystal Lake, James Bond was on its third 007 and The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze was languishing at the bottom of bargain bins on home video. Harry Potter, meanwhile, has acheived a feat of which there has been no precedent: it has continued to grow both in scale and quality, maturing in tandem with an ever-increasing ensemble of returning characters and cast-members. Whether the latest – and last – instalment in Hollywood’s most lucrative franchise was a good film in its own right or not, it was already ear-marked as a movie-making (and story-telling) achievement of truly staggering proportions.

Apparently despite the so-called law of diminishing returns, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is one of the most exciting, moving and spectacular films of not only the franchise itself, but the year so far. Boasting a truly breathtaking array of explosive set-pieces, one of the most organic and tender romances of all time and a final confrontation which pays dividends to just about everything that came before, returning director David Yates has crafted what is simultaneously the perfect conclusion to a much loved cinematic series and a truly astonishing film in its own right.

While the film, importantly the second instalment in a two-parter, might resume with somewhat of a muted introduction, the audience is efficiently and effectively brought up to speed at Shell Cottage before they – along with Harry, Ron and Hermione – are thrust back into the action with a spell-binding assault on Gringotts. Such issues as needless tension (why do they cause a scene at the bank when they could just present Bellatrix’s wand and progress unnoticed?), incongruous mispronunciations (can Alan Rickman really not pronounce pensieve? Sirius?) and unfortunate deviations from the book (am I the only one who wanted to see Sybil Trelawney bombard werewolves with her crystal balls?) are easily forgivable, however, as the rest of the film proves so thoroughly entertaining. Even the epilogue – a scene which most fans would have quite happily seen lost in translation – is wonderfully realised.

There are quite simply too many memorable moments to note: The Battle of Hogwarts is flawlessly executed, Ron and Hermione’s embrace in the Chamber of Secrets is utterly charming and our brief insight into Severus Snape’s enigmatic past proves hugely rewarding. Radcliffe too impresses with an unexpectedly astute and nuanced performance, his reaction to a last-act revelation reminding you just how complex a character Harry Potter actually is. While a few deaths and character beats may fall unfortunately by the wayside, it is to Steve Kloves’ credit that so few characters fall victim to the equally impressive but potentially overwhelming stunt-work and special effects. Whether it’s Seamus Finnigan (Devon Murray), Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) or Molly Weasley (Julie Walters), each of Rowling’s creations gets at least a line or scene in which to shine.

Boasting assured and franchise-best performances from the central cast, welcome and carefully woven references to the extant series, a truly magisterial score from composer Alexandre Desplat and a core relationship that roots the action and adventure in very human territory, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is one of very few films that lives up to the hype. Beautifully sold – and incidentally reviewed – by its advertising campaign, this really is the motion picture event of a generation.

Extras: While the culmination of thirteen years’ solid investment – as stated by J.K. Rowling in a welcome introduction – alone should be enough to make this DVD nothing short of essential buying, the filmmakers have gone to great lengths to ensure that you remain entertained long after the credits have finally rolled. Perhaps most revealing is a documentary titled When Harry Left Hogwarts, an eight-part series chronicling production on the final movie. Set amidst the ruins of Hogwarts at Leavesden Studios, we pay witness to cast interviews, read-throughs and discussions with workmen who are just looking to finish up and get home for the night.

Also nestled among the special features are focus points which cover everything from an introduction to Aberforth Dumbledore, to costume changes and the creation of Hogwarts’ magical shield, a heartfelt and insightful spotlight on the women of Harry Potter, the usual deleted scenes and a set of adverts for both the Pottermore website and the tour in London. With an indelibly misty-eyed atmosphere, if you thought the première footage was devastatingly nostalgic and unexpectedly upsetting, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

***** (5/5)

You’ve really got to hand it to Daniel Radcliffe, whether you want to or not. While there would be those more than happy to watch the Harry Potter star vanish off the face of the earth now that he has finished his tenure at Hogwarts, there is little point denying that the actor is around to stay.

Confessing in a documentary included on the upcoming Deathly Hallows: Part II DVD that he is mindful of how few opportunities he will likely have post-Potter to escape the pigwidgeon-hole the franchise has left him in, Radcliffe is certainly making the most of his three chances at a future, following as he is a highly anticipated turn in The Woman in Black and his universally well-received stage-performance in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying with a role in upcoming thriller Kill Your Darlings (via Twitch Film).

Inheriting the role of American beat poet Allen Ginsberg from previous favourite Jesse Eisenberg (and following in the footsteps of James Franco, who filled Ginsberg’s shoes in Howl), Radcliffe’s take on the role will chart the artist’s early days and concern his relationship with Jack Kerouac and Lucien Carr – who in 1944 was imprisonment for the murder of his lover, David Kammerer.

Radcliffe will not be limiting himself to merely acting, however, with a recent interview with MTV alluding to a script he is in the process of writing. Having spent the last few years penning poetry in his spare time, The Boy Who Lived has a story in mind which he has described as both “arthouse” and “a film that no one wants to see”.

I don’t know about you, Daniel Radcliffe, but I’ll watch anything.

So, here it is, the last of my exclusive interviews with the cast of Harry Potter and just in time for the release of the Blu-ray this Friday, 2nd December! If you missed it yesterday, you can see my interview with the Weasley Family and if you missed my interviews with the same set of people for the brand new Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter Studio Tour London you can catch up here and here.

This interview is with Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Warwick Davis (Griphook & Professor Flitwick) & Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks) and we chat about their favourite moments in the Potter franchise, what it is about Warwick that we need to bottle to make an amazing franchise and finally, I thank them for eleven amazing years of filmmaking. This interview takes place in Professor Dumbeldore’s office, the one that was actually used in the movies and the one you’ll be able to go to see when the tour opens in April!

Have a watch of the interview below and I really hope you enjoy it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 releases on Blu-ray Triple Play, DVD and Digital Download December 2^nd, 2011 and you can order your copy here.

Several of our writers at HeyUGuys, including our two editors, have young children, and therefore a legitimate excuse to watch Children’s TV. I, on the other hand, don’t. On the other hand, I am barely employed (and barely employable), so am far better versed in the ins-and-outs of children’s TV than I have any right to be. Consequently, when I was asked to head to the Park Lane Hilton to film my far more respectable colleague Paris Davis as she interviewed the arrivals on the red carpet, I leapt at the chance. After all, it’s not every day I get to be in the same room as Dick and Dom, Mr Tumble and Helen Skelton. Certainly not all at once.

Of course, it wasn’t just children’s TV presenters, and during the course of the night we spoke to Simon Farnaby, Bunny and the Bull’s ‘Bunny’ about the feature script he is writing with Julian Barratt, and comedian Jack Whitehall about auditioning for Harry Potter and The Hobbit. We also found out TV legend John Craven and BBC political editor Nick Robinson’s favourite films.

And if that wasn’t enough for you, we also caught up with Warwick Davis in the press room, shortly after he had collected the first of two awards won by Harry Potter films during the evening. During our conversation he spoke about how it felt to be collecting an award on behalf of the Harry Potter cast and crew, as well as his desire to have his own talk show.

Earlier this year, I got to go to Leavesden Studios to see a few of the brand new sets that are being built for Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter Studio Tour London. It was one of my personal highlights from working on HeyUGuys and if you missed my interviews with the Weasley Family and Tom Felton, Warwick Davis and Natalia Tena talking about the studio, you can catch up here and here.

While we were there, we took the opportunity to chat with the cast members Julie Walters, Mark Williamson, Oliver and James Phelps and Bonnie Wright about the release of the Blu-ray which lands in UK shops 2nd December. During the interview with the most famous Ginger family in the world (that would be the Weasley Family!), I got to ask them about their favourite memories of filming over the past 11 years, and whether they now all meet for Weasley Family Christmas! The interview takes place in the actual Great Hall that was used in the movies and it’s also the one you’ll be able to go to see when the tour opens in April. You may notice that Julie asks me why I’m doing another intro, this is because the videos were separate and it made me laugh so much, I thought I’d leave it in!

Have a watch of the interview below and I really hope you enjoy it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 releases on Blu-ray Triple Play, DVD and Digital Download December 2^nd, 2011 and you can order your copy here.

It seems like only yesterday that audiences were left sobbing into their sorting hats as the credits rolled on the final Harry Potter film and though the imminent Blu-ray release may ease the pain somewhat there’s no getting away from the fact that there is no more new Potter to come.

Well, that’s not completely true, we have some of the sweepings from the cutting room floor from the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and while it won’t stoke you to your core it’s nice to see a little more context to the preparation for an important moment in the film.

This scene comes early in the film as our three heroes are planning the raid on Gringotts bank. Enjoy…

Total Film had this one, and top darts to them.

‘Who’ saw this coming??? According to Variety, ‘Harry Potter’ director David Yates will bring the BBC’s long-running, much-loved primetime sci-fi series Doctor Who to the cinema screen!

Yates is due to commence development on the feature very soon, alongside the US-based BBC Worldwide executive VP of programming and production, Jane Tranter. Little is known about Yates’ ultimate plans for the franchise, but he’s revealed that this will be a deviation from the current team behind the TV show:

“Russell T. Davies and then Steven Moffat have done their own transformations, which were fantastic, but we have to put that aside and start from scratch.”

Interesting. This is the first big screen venture for the time lord since the sixties (1965’s Doctor Who and the Daleks and the following year’s Doctor Who: Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. both featured Hammer veteran Peter Cushing as The Doctor) and it could prove very lucrative indeed for the BBC.

Some fans may bemoan the fact that their beloved character may become synonymous with those US-centric Harry Potter-style blockbuster extravaganzas, but this is arguably the only way a big-screen version could have gone.

Following on from the visual effects featurette that we posted last week look at Hogwarts getting destroyed, Den of Geek have put up this nice new featurette from Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 which takes us behind the scenes of The Room of Requirement that we seen burnt to a crisp in the movie. I’ve embedded the clip below which is great!

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” is the final adventure in the Harry Potter film series. The much-anticipated motion picture event is the second of two full-length parts. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort . It all ends here.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is directed by David Yates , stars Daniel Radcliffe​, Rupert Grint​, Emma Watson​, Helena Bonham Carter , Jim Broadbent , Robbie Coltrane , Warwick Davis , Tom Felton , Ralph Fiennes , Michael Gambon , Ciarán Hinds, John Hurt , Jason Isaacs , Matthew Lewis, Gary Oldman , Alan Rickman , Maggie Smith , David Thewlis, Emma Thompson​, Julie Walters​, Bonnie Wright​ and is released on DVD and Blu-ray December 2nd. You can pre-order your copy here.

How do you make an already incredibly profitable franchise that much more profitable?

Make it hard for the consumer to get hold of; pull it out of circulation.

That is exactly what Warner Bros. are doing with Harry Potter, Deadline report. As of the 29^th December this year, Warner Bros. will stop shipping copies of all of the Harry Potter films, including the most recent Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, on both DVD and Blu-Ray, meaning that once they go out of stock in shops, that’ll be it.

The article doesn’t explicitly mention the UK, but it’s probably a safe bet to think that UK shops and consumers will find themselves in the same position as the US. Though it might sound counter-intuitive, it of course means that your sales in the time period it is on sale for has the potential to be incredibly driven up, with everyone who wants a copy of the films ensuring they buy them before they go off the shelves.

Deadline do note, however, that it won’t be forever. It sounds like Warner Bros. are taking a leaf out of Disney’s book, who have often stopped circulation of their films, and then release a re-issue with more special features some time in the future. And that’s the plan for Harry Potter. So we may see it go, but it should just be temporary.

According to Jeff Baker, the Senior Vice President/General Manager of Warner Bros.’ Theatrical Catalgoue, the Complete Eight-Film Collection that is due out here on 2^nd December won’t include,

““an Ultimate Edition on the final two films” which means there inevitably will be “some grand kind of piece” Baker says could come at “the end of 2012 or the beginning of ’13.””

I know that a lot of fans of The Lord of the Rings were patient in their wait for the recent release of the extended version of the trilogy on Blu-Ray, so no doubt there will be many fans of the Harry Potter franchise who will want to do the same, waiting for this grand release that Baker makes mention of. But there will also be many who will want to make sure they get their copy of the final film, and any others missing from their collection, before they fly off the shelves at the end of this year and the start of 2012. So the decision is in your hands; choose wisely.

Titan Publishing have sent us these rather amazing new images from their new book, Harry Potter Page to Screen – The Complete Filmmaking Journey which is on sale now and you can order your copy here. The book is packed to the brim with images from the movies and we’ve got a fair few of them below all of which you can click to enlarge.

The book is broken into sections which covers the complete world of Harry Potter and any muggle out there who likes anything to do with Potter will love this!

Packed with spellbinding details and hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and illustrations, HARRY POTTER: PAGE TO SCREEN provides an insightful, in-depth look at the inner workings of the world of Harry Potter(Titan Books; Hardcover; October 25^th, 2011; £49.99).

The book unravels some of the films’ most peculiar mysteries, such as how Harry’s Invisibility Cloak became visible, which ingredients were used to make Polyjuice Potion a reality, which mythical creature required the most make-up, and why the Sorting Hat failed miserably as a puppet, while also addressing some of the broader issues surrounding the set, including the impact of Richard Harris’s death on the cast and crew, and the young stars’ thoughts on growing up on a public stage.

Complete with extensive profiles of the cast and crew, this lavishly illustrated volume is the official behind-the-scenes look at the art and making of the most popular film series in cinema history as told by the Muggles who made the magic real.

Click the images below to enlarge.

copyright © 2011 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR.

Ben Affleck competes for the title of Hollywood’s most in demand director with two big gigs in the works, one featuring his old Good Will Hunting buddy, and another which marks quite a departure from his previous work.

Collider are reporting that the duo may reteam (it hasn’t been officially announced as yet) in a biopic of Irish crime boss Whitey Bulger, with Damon  playing the lead role and Affleck performing directorial duties. What’s more, Boardwalk Empire mastermind Terrence Winter is writing the script.

This all sounds very promising, but when (and where) this will fit into Affleck’s increasingly busy schedule is unclear. Currently filming and starring in (alongside an all-star cast) the comedy drama Argo, Deadline brings news that he has been chosen by Warner Bros. (who are behind the aforementioned George Clooney-produced picture, and Affleck’s highly-praised 2010 feature, The Town) to adapt and direct the long-awaited, big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s post-apocalypse epic, The Stand.

This is certainly an interesting and welcomed choice (although wasn’t Harry Potter’s David Yates attached to this a mere month or so back) but due to the sheer size and scope of this production (which will undoubtedly dwarf his previous productions combined) if the Whitley Bulger feature is eventually green-lit, we could be still be waiting a considerable time yet for an Affleck/Damon reteaming.

Here’s part of the the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London that I got to visit last week on the day that the ticket office opened. If you missed part, one, with Tom Felton, Warwick Davis and Natalia Tena, click here and have a watch as I think you’ll enjoy!

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Last week, I had the ridiculously awesome and privileged opportunity to visit the set of  the UK’s newest attraction, Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour London at Leavesden Studios. Since filming of the eighth and final Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 finished, Leavesden Studios underwent a massive makeover, was levelled and is currently in the process of being rebuilt to house many of the actual sets that you will have seen in the Harry Potter movies. From March 31st, you’ll be able to go to the studios and see these sets for yourself.

I got to go there a little early and see two of the sets which have been rebuilt; Dumbledore’s Office and The Great Hall. Both were absolutely magnificent and will blow the mind of any Harry Potter fan! In fact,even if you’ve never seen a Harry Potter movie, visiting the studio is going to be a real treat. When you see the sets on film, they do look amazing but it’s not until you’re able to touch them and see the attention to detail that has gone into making these elaborate and astonishing sets. While we were there, a man came past us carrying one of the york stones that was used to create The Great Hall. Apparently it was insisted on that the floor would be made of this durable material knowing that so many years would go by with so many people walking on it. Like I said, the attention to detail is simply amazing.

While I was there, I got to chat with the rather famous Weasley family (Julie Walters, Mark Williamson, Oliver and James Phelps and Bonnie Wright) about all things Potter and their reactions to the brand new Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour. I spoke with them about what it was like for them to come back to the studio, what people can expect when they come here in 2012 and some of the memories that they have from filming in the most successful franchise of all time. I hope you enjoy these videos and keep your eyes peeled for all the extra footage in them of the sets themselves which shows the cast seeing them for the first time and their initial reactions.

As you watch this video, hundreds of people are still working at Leavesden to create this magical attraction for you. There is no end date to the attraction so don’t worry if you don’t get tickets for quite a while. They’ll be having 5000 people go through the studio every day with tours leaving every hour. For more information and to book tickets, head over to the official WB Studio Harry Potter Tour London website here. Please remember though that you can’t just turn up at the studio, you must have booked tickets before you arrive.