As we posted back in January, J.K. Rowling attended the Bath Literature Festival on March 10th. The Independent posted a video and highlights from her chat with James Runcie.

Fans are constantly asking if she will write a prequel to the Potter series based on the Mauraders. Once again she has stated that she currently has no plans to do so, because she feels “prequels are not generally very successful,” but will “never say never”.

Of the adult themes in her newest book, The Casual Vacancy, she says “I have never ever sat down and thought… ‘now is the moment to write a book with a penis or with swearing in it’. This was a book I was burning to write… I draw on my own adolescence… and on my experience of adolescents as a teacher… I see adolescence as very fragile. When I watch my two young children, who are eight and 10, they will watch shows on Nickelodeon where teenagers are wholly false.

She also teased about the new children’s book she is writing by saying, “It will be shorter [than Potter]. I’m very bad at estimating what sort of age group will like this… I think it might be for slightly younger children.”

It wouldn’t be a J.K. Rowling interview without talking about the success of the series, so in talking about her first experience with fame: “From about 2000, I knew there would never be any topping Harry Potter. My publishers had got this train for the book launch which consisted of me leaving Kings Cross. I looked out at all the people screaming. It was like Beatlemania. I remember thinking ‘you will never top this’. [Now], I can say ‘oh, I will never top it’ or I can see how lucky I am… I truly feel completely free.”

Don’t miss Harry Potter: The Exhibition before it closes in just three weeks! The blockbuster exhibition, which returned to New York City by popular demand after its successful 2011 run, will be open at Discovery Times Square through April 7, 2013.

The 14,000-square-foot experiential exhibition showcases the amazing craftsmanship behind authentic costumes and props from the films, offering fans a firsthand view of hundreds of artifacts displayed in settings inspired by the film sets – including the Great Hall, Hagrid’s hut, the Gryffindor™ common room, and more.

In addition to the artifacts from the first seven Harry Potter films displayed during the exhibition’s initial visit to New York, artifacts from the series finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2, are now part of the exhibition – including a vignette dedicated to the epic battle of Hogwarts™.

Tickets are available for one last chance to step inside the famous wizard’s magical world for $19.50 (child 4-12), $25 (adult) and $22.50 (senior 65 and over) and can be purchased online at DiscoveryTS.com, at the Discovery Times Square box office (226 West 44^th Street) or by calling (866) 987-9692.

Today we have some sad news for Emma Watson fans.  Firstly, Stanley Tucci revealed in an interview that Emma will no longer be starring in David Yates’ Your Voice in My Head and that Emily Blunt will be replacing her.  We had reported last February (2012) that she was attached to star in the film.

Also, Marc Grasser of Variety has revealed via his Twitter account that Emma Watson has turned down the role of Cinderella in Disney’s reboot of the story by simply stating: “Emma Watson has decided NOT to star in Disney’s CINDERELLA.” We had reported last week that she was in very early talks for the film so it was in no way definite that she would take the role.

Fans can still look forward to her playing Belle in Guillermo del Toro’s adaption of Beauty and the Beast as well as other roles she may be filming. Upcoming releases for Emma include The Bling Ring (June 14 Limited Release), This is the End cameo appearance (June 14) and Noah, which is set to release on March 28, 2014.

The Huffington Post reports that Daniel Radcliffe will once again appear on stage! This time he will be playing Billy, a disabled orphan in 1930s Ireland who harbors an unlikely dream of Hollywood stardom, in the play The Cripple of Inishmaan. The play opens in The West End starting in June for a 12-weeks and also stars Ben Whishaw, Judi Dench and Jude Law.

“He walks that line between tragedy and comedy so brilliantly,” Radcliffe said of McDonagh [the playwrite.] “I think one of the hilarious things about this play is, by our standards today, how politically incorrect it is,” said the actor, looking lean if a tad tired – he’s been at the gym, working out ahead of rehearsals for the play – in the troupe’s office atop a West End playhouse. “So much of the comedy is just people being relentlessly cruel to Billy. I’m trying to write something at the moment, and it’s just so dark, and I think it’s funny, but I’m not sure if anybody else ever would. I aspire to be a poor man’s Martin McDonagh.”

Of his future projects, Dan said: “Hopefully later on this year people will start to see some very different performances from me. And hopefully some really good movies. It’s about the movie as a whole, not just people studying my performance and seeing how I’m getting different and how I’m growing up.”

Coming up next for Daniel are some independent films including Kill Your Darlings, The F Word, Horns, and he will start filming an adaption of Frankenstein (as Igor) soon.

On The F Word: “I don’t want to say (I’m) playing myself, exactly, but (I’m) playing a character that’s fairly high-anxiety, slightly hyperactive guy.”

On Horns: “It’s a love story, it’s a revenge movie, it’s a horror movie in parts – it’s going to be crazy,”

Over the weekend WB Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter revealed a poster (in six pieces!) announcing their first anniversary; that full poster may be seen in the gallery! From Monday 18th March to Sunday 14th April, the WB Studio Tour will be celebrating their first anniversary with a bunch of surprises for guests who visit the attraction! Great giveaways and extra experiences will take place at Leavesden over that time, so be sure to order your tickets at www.wbstudiotour.co.uk. Here are some highlights since the opening:

• The first person to visit the Studio Tour was a four-year-old boy named Harry and the millionth visitor was a nine-year-old boy from the appropriately-named town of Dudley.
• The longest distance traveled to the Studio Tour by a visitor to date is over 11,000 miles. This particular person came all the way from New Zealand.
• The longest time a visitor has spent in one day at the attraction so far is 10 hours.
• Over 20 members of the Studio Tour staff worked on the Harry Potter film series as costume makers, extras, chaperones and/or members of the tech and catering teams.
• The Great Hall doors have opened more than 14,000 times since the Studio Tour began, and each group of visitors has been greeted with the words “Welcome to Hogwarts!”
• The number of wands sold by Warner Bros. Studio Tour London since opening would, if stacked end to end, be taller than 7,000 triple-decker Knight Buses.

Fans will recall that we were at the grand opening last March to interview the stars and experience the tour. What an amazing year it has been for the tour, did you get a chance to visit yet?

Starting this Monday, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is launching a new advertising campaign that will feature some of their talented staff members for the first time. The new ads will be appearing on bus sides, billboards, websites and in magazines, shopping centres and newspapers over the next week. You can see a preview of the ads in our gallery!

Over 20 members of the Studio Tour’s staff worked on the Harry Potter film series as costume makers, extras, chaperones and members of the tech and catering teams. They won a national customer service award last September and the feedback from visitors about them has been incredible. They are real fans, incredibly knowledgeable and the keepers of so many behind-the-scenes secrets.

The company said, “We’re looking forward to the Studio Tour staff receiving even more recognition for the fantastic job they do.”