This afternoon it was revealed that BBC One would be producing a TV series based on Robert Galbraith’s novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling. As we all know, Robert is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling that was outed last year, which led to the heightened popularity of the novel (which was already a great seller.) Jo herself revealed the news on her Twitter account by saying:
My friend @RGalbraith‘s first novel is going to be a TV drama on @BBCOne. He’s very excited, but expressing it with characteristic silence.
This will be the second of Rowling’s books to be adapted for television. As we reported a couple years ago, BBC would also be producing a three part mini series for her first post-Potter novel, The Casual Vacancy. That will be aired some time next year.
Earlier this week, Pottermore announced that Christmas is coming early to the site with #PottermoreChristmas. Starting on December 12th, and for each day leading up to December 23rd, there will be new content made available on the site. These new tidbits will be released at 1pm GMT (8am EST). Many news outlets are reporting, incorrectly, that there will be 12 new stories. The site originally posted:
With wonderful writing by J.K. Rowling in Moments from Half-Blood Prince, shiny gold Galleons and even a new potion or two, make sure you don’t miss out – just visit pottermore.com and answer our rhyming riddles to unwrap a #PottermoreChristmas surprise every day.
But after the major news outlets (meaning not Potter fan sites) started getting the story wrong they decided to clarify by saying:
As true Potter fans worked out straight away, our 12 days of festive surprises and accompanying rhyming riddles refer to new potions and Moments in addition to several new entries by J.K. Rowling that will be posted on pottermore.com between 12th and 23rd December. Sorry to disappoint fans, but there will not be a set of 12 new short stories, one for each day of Christmas. Even Pottermore wouldn’t be that generous.
Little, Brown Book Group will be publishing a new book from J.K. Rowling in April 2015. The book is an illustrated edition of a speech she gave at Harvard University’s graduation ceremony back in 2008. Very Good Lives will be published in hardback e-book format on 14th April 2015 and will cost £9.99. Proceeds from the book will go to Rowling’s charity – Lumos.
Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination uses the speech Rowling made to graduating students at Harvard in 2008.
It will be illustrated by Joel Holland, with 90% of the proceeds from the sales of the book going to Lumos, Rowling’s charity which helps disadvantaged children. The remaining 10% will be donated to university-wide financial aid at Harvard University.
Little, Brown Book Group and Little, Brown & Company in the US are also making a donation to Lumos.
Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust said: “I have heard and read many commencement speeches, none more moving and memorable than J K Rowling’s. Years after her visit to Harvard, people still talk about it—and still find inspiration in her singular evocation of the idea that living a meaningful life so often means daring to risk failure. What a powerful example she embodies, and what a remarkable gift her speech was, and is, for all of us privileged to hear it then—and to read it now.”
In a new interview with Digital Spy, producer David Heyman discusses Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as well as their decision to split Deathly Hallows into two films. Watch below,and thanks to SnitchSeeker we also have a transcript. David is very soft-spoken so you’ll have to turn up your volume.
I know you’ve said before it’s helped you in your career to have lived in America and here. So how does it feel to be going back to the world of Potter that’s going to be set in New York for Fantastic Beasts?
David Heyman: Anything that Jo creates is exciting to be a part of. She has such an incredible imagination. It’s a privilege to have worked with her on the eight Potter films and to be working with her again on this. She’s written a wonderful script. I’m very, very excited.
Are you looking to start casting soon for Newt?
Heyman: I think we’ll probably start up sometime next year.
How do you feel to have started this new trend – I think it was you – with Potter splitting the final chapter into two? It’s now kind of the norm.
Heyman: That was so not a calculated decision. It was really borne purely out of creative imperative. I think if we’d done one film, it’d have been four-five hours long. As much as people’s attention is much … people love Potter – I think they would have struggled, and we’d have had to cut out too much to make it work.
So, I know people will find that hard to believe but I promise you it was borne out of creative imperative. Actually it wasn’t me who had the idea. Someone else had the idea: Lionel Wigram, who is producing Fantastic Beasts with me. And my initial reaction was no. He said, “No, David. How are we going to do it?” And I reread the books, and Steve Kloves, the screenwriter, we discussed it. It became clear it was the only way to tell the story that we wanted to tell in the way that we wanted to tell it. I don’t know whether all the others are borne out of a similar creative imperative. Maybe. But that was the source of ours.
In a new interview, Harry Potter producer David Heyman discusses the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them script, which was written by J.K. Rowling and will be produced by Heyman. He also discusses his latest film, Paddington, which hits theatres on November 28, 2014.
On Paddington:
‘I still have my Paddington teddy bear from when I was four,’ he says. ‘My mother’s a hoarder.’ Rereading them as an adult, he found them just as appealing. ‘They made me smile, they made me laugh, and I loved Paddington’s good nature, his generosity of spirit. It’s a classic immigrant story in many ways, about someone looking for a home, a place to be, and about a family who see the world afresh through this bear’s eyes.’
On Rowling and the Fantastic Beasts films:
‘[Rowling] is an incredibly generous person,’ Heyman says. ‘She’s one of the most philanthropic people around.’
The first of three new films set in the Harry Potter universe, albeit 70 years before Harry himself was born, it will also be the first film scripted by Rowling. ‘Jo’s a good scriptwriter, too,’ Heyman says. ‘She is so smart, and her turn of phrase, the precision of the language she uses, is a joy to behold.’
Today, J.K. Rowling’s charity, Lumos, started an IndieGoGo campaign to raise money to help children with disabilities get an education. They are raising funds for a Special Education Unit in Moldova that will enable local children with severe disabilities to attend their local school for the first time in their lives. The Unit will be adapted for the special needs of the children to ensure that they receive a good quality education, supporting them to achieve their full potential.
Every child has the right to an education and every child should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. We believe that disability should never prevent a child from accessing the education they deserve or separate them from their family and community.
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Since 2006, we have been working in Moldova, the poorest country in Europe. We have been part of establishing an inclusive education system, this has meant that hundreds of children have been able to return home from institutions. But special care and attention is needed for the children with the most severe disabilities, to ensure that they receive an education – a good education!
[…]
The Special Education Unit has been specifically designed to support children with complex disabilities, and will include a variety of facilities and support services. The Unit will provide psychological and social counselling, for children and their families. There will also be special rooms for Hydrotherapy, sensory, art and music therapy and speech therapy. A specialist gym will be provided for vital sports and movement therapy. In addition, there will be areas that cater for the special health care needs of the children.
In addition to constructing and furnishing the unit, Lumos will train teachers and specialist support staff to ensure that the children receive high quality education and all the care and support that they need. We’ll also purchase necessary special equipment such as adapted minibuses, wheelchairs, adapted desks and chairs, sports equipment, toys and much more.
For full information on the campaign, visit IndieGoGo. Every penny or cent they receive goes directly to their projects and is not used to pay for overhead costs such as administration or fundraising, thanks to J.K. Rowling’s support.
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