Our adult Harry Potter alumni have been keeping busy lately with a multitude of projects, taking part in everything from new films to the theatre–and even one concert!
Toby Jones (voice of Dobby) will join Art Parkinson (Game of Thrones) and Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey) in the upcoming film Zoo, based on the true story of a 12-year-old boy and friends who join up with an older woman to save a baby elephant during the Belfast air raids in 1941.
Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy) has received much praise for her star performance as Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea, which is to be broadcast live to select cinemas around the world during the September 1 performance at the National’s Lyttelton Theatre.
An eerie first trailer for the second season of Fortitude, starring Sir Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore) was recently released. Gambon stars alongside Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games), and Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow, Frequency) in this Icelandic psychological horror series.
Kelly MacDonald (Helena Ravenclaw) has joined Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley) in the upcoming film Goodbye Christopher Robin, which centers around the life of A.A. Milne (the author of Winnie the Pooh) and Milne’s relationship with his son, Christopher Robin. Domhnall will play the role of A.A. Milne himself, and Kelly will take on the role of Olive, Christopher Robin’s nanny.
Domhnall is also attached to an as-of-yet unnamed thriller–currently referred to as Day 6–alongside an all-star cast consisting of fan favorites like Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Javier Bardem.
The first trailer and movie poster for the highly-anticipated Denial–starring Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew)–were released last week giving us our first look at the film, which is based on the book History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier.
The film–which also stars Academy Award winners Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkinson–is based on the true story of the legal battle of Deborah E. Lipstadt. Lipstadt and her legal team went up against David Irving (Spall), who–when Lipstadt asserted him a Holocaust denier–accused her of libel.
Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn) joins an all-star cast in the latest installment of the Asterix series, Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods. The film–which is the first feature-length 3D film in the series–will open in cinemas this August.
The year is 50 BC. Gual is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely…
One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. Julius Caesar (Jim Broadbent), exasperated by the situation, decides to change tactics. Since his armies are unable to prevail through force, Roman civilisation itself will charm the barbaric Gauls. And so he has a luxurious housing complex built near the village for Roman families, called ‘The Mansions of the Gods’.
Will our Gaulish friends resist the lure of easy money and Roman comforts? Will their village become a simple tourist attraction? Asterix and Obelix are going to do all they can to thwart Caesar’s plans.
Lastly, Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge) joined husband Jim Carter (Downton Abbey) and the folk duo Show of Hands at a concert in Devon commemorating the Battle of the Somme centenary. During the event, Imelda and Jim read poems penned by war poets.
Of their participation, Imelda said:
“We were delighted to be asked to work on the centenary project. The music is beautiful and the poems work so well. It is very moving and we feel very proud to be a part of it.”
Thanks to our friends at Mugglenet for the heads up!
This week, Playbill announced that Harry Potter actor Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) has returned to the stage after a 19-year hiatus. He features in a revival production of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker as the homeless vagabond, Davies.
The play, directed by Matthew Warchus, is in production at the Old Vic Theatre in London until May 14. BBC News writes that Timothy Spall’s reviews are mostly positive, pulling quotes from reviewers at The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and The Guardian, among others.
In her review, Sarah Carson of the Radio Times writes,
Spall fills the creaking, cluttered attic in which all the action takes place with tales of his far-flung friends; his lifelong mistreatment; his various monikers; and his ‘papers’ – with a man down in Sidcup, apparently, to be collected anon. Early in the play, his performance has echoes of a regrettably over-friendly exchange with a stranger on a bus. His Davies has a Faginesque quality, brilliantly physically comic if without much subtlety. Lines are replete with guttural outbursts that win cackles from the audience.
Several reviewers described this production of The Caretaker as a strong outlet for Timothy Spall’s talent at portraying odd characters using physical comedy. The Old Vic created a trailer, which can be seen below.
Follow the links above to read more, or visit The Old Vic to purchase tickets.
Alice Through the Looking Glass is set for release on May 27th this year, and will feature many of our favourite actors from Harry Potter!
Alan Rickman is returning as the voice of the Blue Caterpillar, Helena Bonham Carter will once again make a fantastic Red Queen, and Stephen Fry – a fantastic reader of the Harry Potter audiobooks – is bound to impress again as the Cheshire Cat.
All three can be heard or seen (in the case of Helena Bonham Carter) in the trailer below. Timothy Spall will also return, voicing Bayard – the Red Queen’s bloodhound.
Adding to the list of Potter names involved, Toby Jones (Dobby) will feature in the film as the voice of ‘Wilkins’, Frances de la Tour (Madame Olympe Maxime) as ‘Aunt Imogene’ and Rhys Ifans (Xenophilius Lovegood) as the Mad Hatter’s father, Zanik Hightopp.
Ifans speaks about his role, and being on set of the film in an interview (below):
The synopsis of the film (a sequel to the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland) is as follows:
‘Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends the White Rabbit (Sheen), Absolem (Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Fry) and the Mad Hatter (Depp), who is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Mirana (Hathaway) sends Alice on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock which powers all time. Returning to the past, she comes across friends – and enemies – at different points in their lives, and embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out.’
A still from the film was released recently and can be seen below, along with the official movie poster.
The first clip of Evanna Lynch in the new Sky series Sinbad has been released. The clip is a scene that shows Lynch's character (Alehna) being rescued by her mother and Sinbad (and can be seen below). Two more Potter stars join Evanna Lynch in the cast: Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) and George Harris (Kingsley Shacklebolt). The 12-part show comes to US TV April 13, 2013; the show will begin in the UK later this month. SnitchSeeker reports:
“When mystical meets muscle, anything can happen in this exciting, action-packed
series. With its strong production values and rich story, Sinbad will be a
terrific addition to our primetime lineup,” said Chris Regina, Syfy’s SVP
programming & original movies.
Thank you to SnitchSeeker for the heads up!
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is among those nominated at the 14th Annual Satellite Awards in the category of "Best Motion Picture (Animated or Mixed Media). Others nominated in this category include "Up," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Where the Wild Things Are," "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," and "The Princess and the Frog." Also nominated for his supporting actor role in "The Damned U...
Read the rest of this post
As Comic Con is now well underway, exhibitors are continuing to display their new merchandise, including more now of the Harry Potter mini-busts from Gentle Giant. Courtesy of Cool Toy Review, we can see this new figure of Wormtail aka Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall). Also new seem to be large standing figures of Snape (based on actor Alan Rickman) and Dumbledore (based on Michael Gambon). Furt...
Read the rest of this post
