Emma Watson has updated her website to let us know she is taking some time off school to film Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, which we posted about last week. She says:

Hey Guys,
I’m just packing to go out to Los Angeles for “Bling Ring”.
I’m taking my 3rd term out of Worcester College to make sure I don’t compromise my studies or my part in the film.
I am so excited to have the opportunity to learn from Sofia and make what I think is a very important film. This is a bit of dream for me really.
So that’s my update!
I hope everyone is well.
Love Emma xx

The nominations for the 2012 Jameson Empire Awards have been announced and Harry Potter and Drive are leading the nominations with 5 a piece. You can vote for your favorites at the Empire site, voting closes on Friday March 12th. The awards will be presented at the Jameson Empire Awards 2012 on March 25.

Harry Potter and the actors are nominated in the following categories:

Best Female Newcomer

• Celine Buckens (War Horse)
• Elle Fanning (Super 8)
• Laura Haddock (The Inbetweeners Movie)
• Felicity Jones (Like Crazy)
• Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
• Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2)

The Art Of 3D Presented by RealD

• The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
• Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2 
• Hugo
• Thor
• Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Jameson Best Actor

• Daniel Craig (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
• Ryan Gosling (Drive)
• Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
• Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2) 
• Andy Serkis (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes)

Best Director

• Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Solider Spy)
• Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
• Steven Spielberg (War Horse)
• Rupert Wyatt (Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes)
• David Yates (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2)

Best Film Presented by Sky Movies

• Drive
• The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
• Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 2 
• Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BBC’s The One Show took a tour with Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis around Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.  Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter opens on March 31st and we will be there to give you all the news on the opening! View all past news on the tour at this link. You can watch a video below thanks to HP Supporters:

Following an enormously successful run at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, Harry Potter™: The Exhibition is extending its Australian run by an additional three weeks.  The exhibition will remain open through Easter to Monday, 9 April 2012.

Harry Potter: The Exhibition, which made its debut in Australia at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, has driven record-breaking traffic to the Museum with the best ever recorded summer attendance to date, with more than 325,000 visitors to the Powerhouse over summer.  The Museum has also seen a significant boost in tourist visitation, with almost half the visitors coming from beyond Sydney’s city limits.

During the exhibition’s Sydney run at the Powerhouse, the Museum has broken a number of visitor records.  The exhibition has contributed to the Powerhouse Museum’s biggest December ever with more than 109,000 visitors; busiest day for paid entry with 7,140 visitors on Friday, 6 January 2012; and biggest month with over 153,000 admissions in January 2012.

“We have been absolutely delighted by the incredibly positive response from visitors and are pleased to announce a three-week extension,” said Powerhouse Museum Director, Dr. Dawn Casey. “As a museum for inspiring and engaging young minds, it was so fitting and such a wonderful opportunity for the Powerhouse to stage this unique exhibition, and we hope to inspire future generations of writers, filmmakers and costume designers!”

Harry Potter: The Exhibition showcases hundreds of original film artefacts from the entire Harry Potter film series.  In partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Global Experience Specialists, Inc. (GES) created the 1,400 square-metre exhibition, allowing visitors to experience dramatic displays inspired by the Harry Potter film series and see up close the amazing craftsmanship behind the authentic costumes, props and creatures that appeared throughout the films.

Many of the great Hogwarts™ moments that the young wizards encountered in the films are replicated in the exhibition.  Visitors may be sorted into Hogwarts’ houses by the Sorting Hat™, toss a Quaffle in the Quidditch™ area, pull a Mandrake from its pot, and even take a tour of Hagrid’s hut and sit in his oversized armchair.

In addition to the hundreds of film artefacts on display, two new showcases were added for the Sydney exhibition and feature several items on display for the first time — the Deathly Hallows™ case displaying the Resurrection Stone, the Invisibility Cloak and the Elder Wand; and the Horcrux case containing five of the notorious magical items used to safeguard pieces of Voldemort’s soul.

Exhibition tickets can be purchased online with pre-allocated session times.  Fans are encouraged to book in advance to avoid queues and sold-out sessions.  Ticket prices will vary for peak times (Friday evenings, weekends and school holidays) and off peak times (Monday to Friday, excluding school holidays). Buy tickets online now at www.powerhousemuseum.com or www.ticketek.com.au

On view: Harry Potter: The Exhibition
Dates: 19 November 2011 – 9 April 2012 (extended closing date)
Address: Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street Ultimo, Sydney
Telephone: (02) 9217 0111 or infoline (02) 9217 0444
Website: www.powerhousemuseum.com
Hours: 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (open at 9 a.m. on weekends and during school holidays for Harry Potter: The Exhibition only)
Admission:
Peak sessions: (Fri. 5 p.m.– 7.00 p.m.; weekends Sat. 9 a.m.– 7.00 p.m. & Sun. 9 a.m.– 5 p.m.; and school holidays 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.). Families $95, Adults $32, Children (4 – 15 yrs.) $22, Student card holders, pensioner and concession $32, Groups $32, Schools $22 per person.
Powerhouse members peak sessions: Families $71, Adult $24, Child $16.50
Off-peak sessions: (Mon.– Fri. 9.30 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Families $79.50, Adults $28, Children (4 – 15 yrs) $19 Student card holders pensioner and concession $25, Groups $23.50, Schools $19 per person
Powerhouse members off-peak sessions: Families $60, Adult $21, Child $14.25
Audio guides: Be guided through the exhibition by the films’ creators.  Available in English at $7.50 per guide. Pre-book at ticketek.com.au

As part of his promotion for Into the White, Rupert Grint spoke to the Daily Mail about Harry Potter, his brother, his ice cream truck and more!

‘I did go through an anxious period after Harry Potter ended. Of course I always knew it would come to an end. But it took some getting used to.  Now I’m starting to enjoy the freedom. I can afford to choose my acting roles carefully and I’m able to enjoy my leisure time. I’m perfectly happy tootling around town in my ice-cream van, haring up the motorway in my Audi, or messing around on my hovercraft in the back garden.’

Of his Ice Cream Van, Rupert says:

‘My first ambition was to become an ice-cream man, which is why I bought the Bedford van. Not long after I first got it, I pulled into a pub to do a U-turn and there were eight kids with their pocket money out, hoping to buy a 99 or whatever. But I had nothing to give them. I’ve learnt my lesson since then. I keep my van well stocked. It’s got a proper machine that dispenses Mr Whippy ice cream and I buy my lollies wholesale – 50 for a tenner – so I never run short. I’m not allowed to sell my merchandise. I’d need a licence for that.  I tend to avoid July and August, but the rest of the year I’ll drive around the local villages and if I see some kids looking like they’re in need of ice creams, I’ll pull over and dish them out for free. They’ll say, “Ain’t you Ron Weasley?” And I’ll say, “It’s strange, I get asked that a lot.”

Rupert also attended the Oslo premiere of Into the White today and coverage on that may be seen at Rupert-Grint.net!

Time for a quick news roundup on Matthew Lewis’ upcoming film Wasteland, which Matthew began filming last week and will continue until March 31st (which many of you will remember as the day the Harry Potter Studio Tour opens). Matthew will be playing the character of Dodd and Timothy Spall will be playing D.I. West. The synopsis of the film is as follows:

Battered, bruised and under arrest, Harvey Denton sits in a police interview room facing interrogation. Clutching a stack of eyewitness statements, Detective Inspector West has no doubt as to Harvey’s part in a foiled robbery, and his subsequent attempted murder of local businessman Steven Roper.

Denying nothing, Harvey agrees to tell his version of events in full. We take in his release from prison a month earlier, and the malevolent, unjust act that put him there. We see his emotional reunion with his sibling-like best friends, and the
immovable loyalty they have for one another. We see the rekindling of a lost love, a second chance for two people meant for each other. We see the ingenious planning of the ill-fated robbery, the amazing twist, the shocking outcome, and the real driving force behind it – retribution. What unfolds is an exhilarating, moving and hilarious story of loyalty, jealousy, friendship, revenge and the pursuit of happiness.

WASTELAND is a bold take on a much-loved genre. A heist film, an underdog story and a thriller delivered with unexpected originality.

The studio opened an official Facebook for the film this morning and posted the first official photo from the movie which you can see in high resolution over at Matthew-Lewis.com

For some reason I always forget to post Matthew Lewis news on here because I post it on Matthew-Lewis.com, so make sure to follow @MatthewLewisCom on Twitter for all the latest Matthew Lewis news! And don’t forget to follow @MM_Official as well!