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Beedle the Bard may be the king of storytelling in the Wizarding World, but it’s the Bard of Avon who reigns over the English-speaking Muggle one.

Saturday, April 23 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, and several of our favorite Harry Potter film actors will be celebrating his plays in the coming weeks.

The main event is a cooperative effort of the BBC and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC): the BBC Shakespeare Festival 2016.  The BBC announced that David Tennant (Doctor Who but also Barty Crouch, Jr. in the Harry Potter films) will host Shakespeare Live! from the RSC on BBC2 this Saturday at 8:30 pm BST.

Tennant will be joined by Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Ian McKellan, Benedict Cumberbatch and others in a special variety show at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s theater in Stratford, England.  The production will also be screened live in cinemas across Britain and Europe.  Movie theaters in the United States will host the event one month later, on May 23, as The Shakespeare Show.

Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore in several Harry Potter films) is participating in the BBC celebrations by playing Mortimer on The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses television series with Benedict Cumberbatch this year.

Into Film ambassador Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter films) has a Q&A session at Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre as part of BFI’s Shakespeare anniversary events.  Several of Branagh’s Shakespeare films will screen, including Much Ado About Nothing (1993), which he directed and starred in with Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney in the Harry Potter films) and Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films).

Branagh’s Henry V (1989) will also show, featuring Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid in the Harry Potter films) and Emma Thompson.

Please join us in lifting a tankard of Butterbeer to celebrate over 400 years of William Shakespeare’s genius with some of our favorite Harry Potter film stars.  Huzzah!

This April, you’ll be able to learn more about how our beloved Hagrid was brought to life on screen at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

From March 27th –  April 17th 2016, the feature will reveal the great efforts gone to by producers, costume designers and the special effects teams to turn Robbie Coltrane into the loveable Half-Giant magical creature (or fantastic beasts!) enthusiast.

The tour’s official website goes into more details about Hagrid’s costumes:

“During production two costumes were created for Hagrid, one which was worn by Coltrane and the other which was made 25 per cent larger and used by 6‘10’’ England rugby star Martin Bayfield who appeared as Hagrid in scenes where he needed to be bigger than the setting around him. As fans of the first film will remember, Hagrid wears an oversized coat made from moleskin. As the costume department wanted to stay true to the description, they cut imitation fur into mole shapes and sewed them together, each complete with tiny ears and tails.”

As you might remember, if you’ve visited the Studio Tour before, Hagrid’s head is a huge, fully operable animatronic head, moulded to match Robbie Coltrane’s features, the costume took huge amounts of work and prop-making to give the full visual impression of Hagrid’s Half-Giant size – water pipes to cool him down, small-sized props to make him look bigger, shoe inserts to give Robbie Coltrane a boost – definitely worthy of an exhibition at the Studio Tour!

The website reports on more of the small details you can discover in the Creature Effects Department:

“One of the early encounters that Harry has with Hagrid is a trip to the vaults of Gringott’s and the team will be demonstrating techniques used to create the prosthetic masks worn by Goblins at Gringott’s bank. Made from silicon, each one was given a particular personality to ensure they all looked different.”

Be sure to visit the exhibit this Easter break, find details on how to get tickets here.

Thanks to Mugglenet for the heads up! Check out their photos here.

By Scott Yanow

When I was approached by the good folks at Oxford University Press to write some entries on jazz artists, I noticed that while the biggest names (Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, etc.) were already covered, many other artists were also deserving of entries. There were several qualities that I looked for in musicians before suggesting that they be written about. Each musician had to have a distinctive sound (always a prerequisite before any artist is considered a significant jazz musician), a strong body of work, and recordings that sound enjoyable today. It did not matter if the musician’s prime was in the 1920s or today. If their recordings still sounded good, they were eligible to be given prestigious entries in the African American National Biography.

Some of the entries included in the February update to the Oxford African American Studies Center are veteran singers Ernestine Anderson, Ernie Andrews, and Jon Hendricks; trumpet legends Harry “Sweets” Edison, Kenny Dorham, and Art Farmer; and a few giants of today, including pianist Kenny Barron, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and clarinetist Don Byron.

In each case, in addition to including the musicians’ basic biographical information, key associations, and recordings, I have included a few sentences that place each artist in their historic perspective, talking about how they fit into their era, describing their style, and discussing their accomplishments. Some musicians had only a brief but important prime period, but there is a surprising number of artists whose careers lasted over 50 years. In the case of Benny Carter, the alto saxophonist/arranger was in his musical prime for a remarkable 70 years, still sounding great when he retired after his 90th birthday.

Jazz, whether from 90 years ago or today, has always overflowed with exciting talents. While jazz history books often simplify events, making it seem as if there were only a handful of giants, the number of jazz greats is actually in the hundreds. There was more to the 1920s than Louis Armstrong, more to the swing era than Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, and more to the classic bebop era than Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. For example, while Duke Ellington is justly celebrated, during the 49 years that he led his orchestra, he often had as many as ten major soloists in his band at one time, all of whom had colorful and interesting lives.

Because jazz has had such a rich history, it is easy for reference books and encyclopedias to overlook the very viable scene of today. The music did not stop with the death of John Coltrane in 1967 or the end of the fusion years in the late 1970s. Because the evolution of jazz was so rapid between 1920 and 1980, continuing in almost a straight line as the music became freer and more advanced, it is easy (but inaccurate) to say that the music has not continued evolving. What has happened during the past 35 years is that instead of developing in one basic way, the music evolved in a number of directions. The music world became smaller and many artists utilized aspects of World and folk music to create new types of “fusions.” Some musicians explored earlier styles in creative ways, ranging from 1920s jazz to hard bop. The avant-garde or free jazz scene introduced many new musicians, often on small label releases. And some of the most adventurous players combined elements of past styles — such as utilizing plunger mutes on horns or engaging in collective improvisations — to create something altogether new.

While many veteran listeners might call one period or another jazz’s “golden age,” the truth is that the music has been in its prime since around 1920 (when records became more widely available) and is still in its golden age today. While jazz deserves a much larger audience, there is no shortage of creative young musicians of all styles and approaches on the scene today. The future of jazz is quite bright and the African American National Biography’s many entries on jazz greats reflect that optimism.

Scott Yanow is the author of eleven books on jazz, including The Great Jazz Guitarists, The Jazz Singers, Trumpet Kings, Jazz On Record 1917-76, and Jazz On Film.

The Oxford African American Studies Center combines the authority of carefully edited reference works with sophisticated technology to create the most comprehensive collection of scholarship available online to focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture. It provides students, scholars and librarians with more than 10,000 articles by top scholars in the field.

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Image Credit: Kenny Barron 2001, Munich/Germany. Photo by Sven.petersen, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

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Several Potter stars and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell are working together once more. This time Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix), and Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) have been casted together in a new adaptation of Charles Dicken's Great Expectations (directed by Mike Newell). The trailer of this newest adaptation was released yesterday (and can be viewed below). According to the Examiner, the film is set to premier at Toronto International Film Festival and be released in the UK and Germany. There is currently no notice of the movie being released in American theaters. The Examiner gives a synopsis of the movie:

The story follows a young orphan named Pip who has lived his entire life in misery with his abusive older sister. One day he is called upon by a wealthy shut-in named Miss Havisham (Bonham-Carter) to come to her home and play with her daughter, Estella. Though Estella treats Pip with utter disdain, he soon finds himself falling in love with the young beauty, which Miss Havisham encourages. Pip then gets an invitation from a mysterious benefactor to go to a finishing school where he can become a proper gentleman. But things are not as they appear to be and Pip soon finds himself at the center of a much bigger plan.

It's been a quiet week in terms of news from the Harry Potter cast. Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) spoke to The Guardian newspaper's Weekend supplement about her most recent projects, including her role in Tim Burton's highly anticipated adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland." In the interview, Bonham Carter speaks briefly about the Harry Potter films:
<>We talk about the four Harry Pott... Read the rest of this post

As many of the adult cast are returning to film their parts for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there are new comments from Robbie Coltrane who portrays Hagrid. Set to film for the final time in his role as the beloved groundskeeper of Hogwarts, Robbie Coltrane speaks to the thought of completing the series, and notes "I think the last few days are gonna be quite tough," the actor told th... Read the rest of this post

As announced earlier, WB will be releasing Harry Potter: Wizarding World DVD game on December 1st, just a few days before the release of Half-Blood Prince and the special Ultimate Collector's editions DVDs. As such Amazon.com has a brand new trailer for the DVD game which you can see right here in our Video galleries. Last month we told of the details for the game which covers elements from Har... Read the rest of this post

Several days ago you might recall we saw photos and a fan report regarding location filming of the Seven Potters scene for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The sequence filmed involved doubles for Harry and Hagrid as they zoomed along an express way in England in the motorbike belonging to the late Sirius Black. The local paper, Dartford & Swanley Times, has more now with the paper stating... Read the rest of this post

Over the past month or so, long time readers will know we have been experiencing some down time for our galleries. Tonight we are delighted to report our galleries are back in business and have some lovely new photos for us to enjoy. WB has officially released to all the media now a slew of new clips and high res images. Starting at this link, there many many new photos from the upcoming<> Harry ... Read the rest of this post

There are a whole host of new reviews for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince online today before the UK premiere of the film later today in London. Most are very positive about the film, notable are comments from the Telegraph that remark on performances from both the adult actors and the Trio, especially on Dan Radcliffe as Harry Potter: "Increasingly, they give the films their backbone,... Read the rest of this post

Portkey has now released more of their scans from the Panini Sticker album for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. While many many of these stickers we have seen in one form or another, there are a few of interest (SPOILERS) including this of Katie Bell and Leanne walking, carrying a package, when Leanne touches the necklace here. Also of note is this of a bloodied Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton)... Read the rest of this post

A number of actors from the Harry Potter films have donated original doodles for National Doodle Day 2009, a charitable event that benefits Epilepsy Action and the Neurofibromatosis Association.  This year, actors Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Imelda Staunton (Umbridge), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood), Zoe Wanamaker (Madam Hooch), and Jim Broadbent (Slughorn), are amon... Read the rest of this post

Italian company DeAgostini has now launched a new collection of Harry Potter figures. In the new collection, additional photos here and here, there are new figures of Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), Harry Potter (Dan Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). There is also a Dumbledore poster book,... Read the rest of this post

Actor Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) has given a few new interviews while attending the London Film Festival for the screening of his latest movie, The Brothers Bloom. Empire Online has a brief video interview at this festival where he briefly mentions the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movies. In the interview (approx 2:42 in) reflects on completing the series, and also says he has so... Read the rest of this post