The Woman in Black YouTube channel has released a video of Daniel Radcliffe reading the winning ghost story from the competition held last year. According to the press release from Momentum Pictures:
The competition was a resounding success with 177 harrowing, spooky stories submitted that were whittled down to ten finalists. Fans were encouraged to vote for their favourite story from 21st December to January 5th, 2012 in what was a fiercely competitive contest. Budding young writer Nicky Torch, 16 from Lancashire beat 177 other haunting and harrowing tales to become the winning entry with her story ‘Fear of Hue’.
Talking about winning the competition, Nicky says, “I entered but I had no idea I would win, I was happy enough to get in the top ten and I can’t wait to see Daniel read my story!”
Nicky’s prize for winning the competition was to attend the world premiere of THE WOMAN IN BLACK and to have her story read out by Daniel Radcliffe on the DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download release of the film.
The stories shortlisted for the final ten were selected on the following judging criteria: creativity, originality and writing style, with the winning tale being voted the spooky favourite by fans on YouTube.
Kristin Ryan from Momentum Pictures said “We’re delighted that The Woman in Black has inspired this winning ghost story and to have Daniel Radcliffe read this out is a real treat for fans.”
The video of Daniel reading Nicky’s story may be seen below:
Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Weasley in the Potter films and son of Brendan Gleeson, will be starring in the upcoming film Dredd, which opens on September 21st. Dredd is based on the Judge Dredd comics and also stars Karl Urban (Eomer in Lord of the Rings).
The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.
Today the filmmakers have sent us the brand new poster from the film, but rather than upload it here I thought you would all benefit from visiting the Dredd Official Facebook page to see it yourself and learn more about the film.
Thanks to the makers of the film for the poster an information!
Daniel Radcliffe, the star of the thrilling ghost story, THE WOMAN IN BLACK, today launched an initiative across YouTube and Facebook to stage the first ever worldwide home premiere screening of a ghost story film, THE WOMAN IN BLACK. The event will be taking place on June 21st from 8pm (in the UK) with fans encouraged to “attend” the event and watch their Blu-ray, DVD or Digital Download simultaneously with other fans around the nation. Stay tuned to THE WOMAN IN BLACK Facebook and YouTube channels for more announcements from Dan.
Radcliffe instructed fans with the following message, “As you know the longest day is coming and it makes sense for you to safely watch The Woman In Black before the darkness creeps in. We want everyone to watch the film on June 21st from 8pm.”
Some information on what will be on the DVD is as follows:
Release Date: 18th June 2012
Running Time: 91 mins
Special Features:
* Audio Commentary with Director James Watkins and Screenwriter Jane Goldman
* Inside the Perfect Thriller: Making The Woman in Black
* No Fear: Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps
* Interviews with Daniel Radcliffe, James Watkins & Jane Goldman
* The Woman in Black Red Carpet Special
* Ghost story competition winner, as read by Daniel Radcliffe
* Photo Galleries including A Look Behind the Scenes, Storyboards (by Storyboard and Concept Artist Simon Duric) and Production Designer Kave Quinn)
* Trailers
Warner Bros. have opened their studio at Leavesden Studios today. It is the only film studio to be owned by a major Hollywood studio but will be available for use by other companies from anything ranging from commercials to feature films.
The new studio is spread across a secure 200-acre site and houses a collection of some of the largest sound stages in the UK spanning over a quarter of a million square feet, including one of the largest heated underwater filming tanks in Europe. In addition, the site provides an unrivalled, clear horizon 100 acre back-lot, one of the most extensive in Europe, which can be adapted for any production need.
Alongside the sound stages, which range in size from 10,000 to 36,000 square feet, are a series of workshops and a unique multi-function building, ideal for costume, props, camera, grip and all support services requirements. Moreover, there is a selection of fully furnished en-suite dressing and hair and make-up rooms, which are also adjacent to the stages, ensuring easy, covered and secure access to sets. Private, custom-built production suites offer impressive combinations of offices, open work areas and meeting rooms with WiFi throughout the whole facility.
In addition, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden has set up an on-site production rentals division, which will provide the film and TV industry with lighting equipment, scaffolding and production supplies for any stage or location shoot.
A few Warner Bros executives have talked about the impact this studio will have on the UK film industry.
Josh Berger President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain, said: “Alongside a growing UK film, TV and games production slate, the opening of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden clearly demonstrates the company’s commitment to the UK and underlines our belief in the world-class talent that resides on these shores. As well as helping to generate inward investment and create new jobs both locally and nationally, this significant infrastructure outlay – probably the single biggest the UK film industry has witnessed in decades – will further amplify the UK’s reputation as the go-to place for film and TV production.”
Dan Dark, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, commented, “Drawing on Warner Bros.’ unparalleled studio-operating experience, we have spent the last 18 months building a state-of-the-art facility that will provide clients with a highly functional and contemporary environment within which to film. The feedback we’ve already received from the production community has been overwhelmingly positive.”
In the world of Harry Potter, the Book of Spells is 200 years old and is written by Miranda Goshawk. This powerful spell book is kept in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts library. As a student at Hogwarts, chapter by chapter you will be able to read about and practise a variety of spells, picking up valuable experiences and lessons along the way.
Wonderbook is a new peripheral for PlayStation®3. Using the latest augmented reality technology, Wonderbook puts a physical book in your hands and will support a magical new range of games and reading experiences for the whole family to enjoy.
In addition, Andy House of Sony spoke about how they came up with the idea and how excited J.K. Rowling is about the collaboration.
Sony’s London Studio has been innovative in the past with peripherals like the EyeToy camera, what led to the Wonderbook? I think it was a natural progression, initially from EyeToy and then they built up some considerable strength in Augmented Reality – you may remember EyePet and Invizimals, which were really nice kid-friendly franchises that took full advantage of AR technology, and then it was a natural step to say: what if we combined that idea with some form of physical peripheral? And the intuition was that the most natural interface that we all know is a book.
At the same time, we had the partnership with [J.K. Rowling’s] Pottermore [online property], something I was involved with personally. It was a form of serendipity, we built a good relationship with Michael Denny who runs Sony’s UK studios and was looking for ways to extend the partnership and he said they’d got this rather nascent idea around books and reading and the use of AR.
The next step was to bring it to the attention of J.K. Rowling and she became very enthusiastic. She was marvellous in guiding us in a certain direction. Her view was that text is important and and that informed Book of Spells, we wanted to have this really interesting interaction with text itself so you’re getting children to enjoy the reading experience and getting something magical out of that.
You don’t think consumers will be put off by having to buy the book, perhaps a Move controller and Eye camera? The advantage of bringing this to market now is we have fairly mature technology in terms of the Playstation and controllers, we’re pretty confident we’ll be able to construct some competitive and compelling price points around it. The marketing challenge for us is to convey to people that this is a one-off investment you need to make, but once you’ve done that, there’s an opportunity to refresh it with other content at very affordable prices. If we’re able to bring bona fide educational content to them, then people will find that compelling.
Amazon has updated the product page for the Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection with full details on what is included in the set! The site has also been updated with new photos from the set which you can view in the gallery!
The magical film franchise is now available in a spectacular limited-edition collectible box set. The most comprehensive Harry Potter movie collection yet features all eight films, exclusive never-before-seen content and must-have memorabilia.
This new limited and numbered 31-disc collection contains all eight Harry Potter movies on Blu-ray, DVD and UltraViolet Digital Copy and more than 37 hours of special features including all previously released materials and more than 10 hours of new to disc bonus content, and 5 hours of never-before-seen material.
In addition to the theatrical release of every film, the collection also includes the extended versions of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; and the 3D versions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows –- Parts 1 and 2.
Films Included in Collection
Disc 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Theatrical Version + Extended Version + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 3: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Creating The World: The Magic Begins (Blu-ray)
Disc 4: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Disc 2 from the Special Edition (DVD)
Disc 5: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Theatrical Version + Extended Version + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 6: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 7: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Creating the World: Characters (Blu-ray)
Disc 8: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Disc 2 from the Special Edition (DVD)
Disc 9: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Theatrical Version (Blu-ray)
Disc 10: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 11: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Creating the World: Creatures (Blu-ray)
Disc 12: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Disc 2 from the Special Edition (DVD)
Disc 13: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Theatrical Version (Blu-ray)
Disc 14: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 15: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Creating the World: Sound & Music (Blu-ray)
Disc 16: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Disc 2 from the Special Edition (DVD)
Disc 17: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Theatrical Version + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 18: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 19: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Creating the World: Evolution (Blu-ray)
Disc 20: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Theatrical Version + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 21: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 22: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Creating the World: Magical Effects + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 23: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Theatrical Version + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 24: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 25: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Creating the World: Story + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 26: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (Blu-ray 3D)
Disc 27: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Theatrical Version + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 28: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Theatrical Version (DVD)
Disc 29: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Creating the World: Growing Up + Extra Content (Blu-ray)
Disc 30: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (Blu-ray 3D)
