Director, Writer, Actor and Producer Terry Gilliam recently discussed how he almost directed Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.

The former Monty Python legend was J.K. Rowling’s first choice to helm Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2000, but Warner Bros. studios decided to go with Chris Columbus.  At the time, Gilliam was furious – denouncing Columbus’ work as “terrible” and “pedestrian”.  But looking back, the 12 Monkeys moviemaker is glad he was overlooked – insisting he couldn’t have handled studio bosses meddling with his work over revenue fears.

He tells Total Film magazine, “That was one of my lucky moments. I would have gone crazy. It’s a f**king factory, working on Harry Potter. It is. The studios are staking everything on the success of those movies.  It was way too expensive. Too much at stake. So they (studio bosses) interfere. It’s about serving something higher than yourself. It’s the film. The film is God and I’m worshipping… while I’m making it I become a zealot. Basically, I’m a like a suicide bomber when it comes to my films!”

While Rupert Grint was at the Reading Festival last month he bumped into Trekstock, an organization which gives to charity through music and fashion events, all funds raised by Trekstock benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust.

You can view a photo of Rupert with the iconic “I <3 Trekstock” blue pin here via Trekstock’s Twitter!

Thanks RGN!

In a short new interview, Jason Isaacs talks about the end of filming Harry Potter.

“I find it unbearable, I’m absolutely dreading it – I’m such a sentimental old fool that even though I don’t finish shooting until April, I already feel like they’re playing Leaving On A Jet Plane in my ear.”

“One of the lovely things about these two films is Lucius has gone from the most evil man in the series to being utterly humiliated and emasculated by Lord Voldemort.  He’s reduced to little more than the man who rushes around with a dishcloth clearing up the spills. It’s nice to have that kind of journey as a character and see him get the comeuppance he so richly deserves.”

Amazon France has a limited “Prestige edition” collection of Harry Potter DVDs in a special container at the base of a replica of Hogwarts on their website. The set which contains DVDs of all six Harry Potter films, including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be released on November 16, 2009.  The price of this AWESOME collectible (that I would DIE for) is set at $287 (if I converted correctly).  It is unknown whether it will be released in the US or anywhere else as of yet.

They also state that the standard, blu-ray and double-dvd will be released on November 18th and November 25th.  If you recall the release date for the US was last rumored as December 8th, so who knows which is right!  Hopefully we will find out soon.

Thanks Sue!

In an upcoming speech that will be given by President Obama at a back to school event in Arlington, Virginia tomorrow, the President mentions Harry Potter and JK Rowling.  You can watch the speech tomorrow at 12:00 PM (EDT) at this link.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK.  Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.