WB have emailed this morning with some fantastic news! The Harry Potter UK Facebook page has reached 1 million followers! Congratulations!! The press release is as follows:

The Harry Potter UK Page on Facebook has secured its one millionth fan, smashing Facebook’s record for largest film fan page in the UK around the Blu-ray™ and DVD release of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows™  – Part 1,  released on Monday 11th April.

Fans of the biggest franchise in film history have enthusiastically ‘Liked’, ‘Commented’ and ‘Shared’ to ensure that the Harry Potter UK Page on Facebook secured a place in the social media record books, beating the record previously held for a UK film page by Toy Story 3.

With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 1 now available on Blu-Ray and DVD there is also the opportunity to watch a sneak peek of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2 on Video on Demand via Sky Box Office, FilmFlex in Virgin Media’s Movies on Demand and BT Vision services

Warner Home Video worked closely with Think Jam, a leading social media, PR and creative agency,  on the creation and management of the Harry Potter UK Page on Facebook to engage, inform and entertain the growing Harry Potter fan community with exclusive trailers, stills, interviews and updates. This exciting initiative was launched for the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 1 in November 2010 and will continue through the theatrical and home entertainment releases of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2.

The Harry Potter UK Page on Facebook can be found at www.facebook.com/HarryPotterUK

In a new interview with MTV, Daniel Radcliffe talks about the transition between screen and stage. You can watch the interview below and read some snippets

Radcliffe, who has never had to sing or dance for a role in his life, noted that “there were a lot of challenges” he faced during his transition period onto the stage, but he did admit that everything he achieved for the musical he did with hard work.

“With the dance, particularly, there were some days when I was just so tired halfway through,” Radcliffe explained. “There was one time when I was in my dance class and we were like two-and-a-quarter hours in and I just have 45 minutes left, and I was like, ‘How am I going to get through the last 45 minutes of this lesson?’ And I actually went to the toilet, sat down on the toilet with the lid down, [set] my phone alarm for five minutes and just went to sleep for like five minutes and I just woke up thinking, ‘Jesus, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to hack it if I can’t even get through a lesson.’ “

Tonight, Saturday April 16th, CNN will be airing a television special entitled ‘Showbiz Summer Movie Blockbusters’. The special takes a look at the most anticipated movies of Summer 2011.  The show will air at 5:30 PM EST or 2:30 PM PST. It will also be airing on HLN tomorrow at 5:30 (I will have to watch the second time because I don’t get the right CNN, so hopefully I can get a recording if no one else does)

I am not sure if they will be airing any new footage or how long the segment on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be, but it should definitely be worth the watch.

The Harry Potter Facebook page has been updated with some new photos from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.  See the new photos in the gallery.  The first is of Draco, Goyle and Zabini outside the room of requirement, and the second is of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Scholastic have emailed to let us know that they interviewed some of the Harry Potter cast for their blog, Ink Splot 16, where they talk about the films. Some snippets may be read below and the full interviews are here.

Q: What were your thoughts when you read the 7th book, like was there any scene where you thought, “I have to film this. . .”
Mark Williams: It wasn’t very nice for me having to deal with the death of Fred. And I think both of us found that a bit tricky ’cause we spent quite a lot of time in and around that area for about two days, and that was a bit unpleasant.
Oliver: Yeah, it was.
Mark: You just got to lie there! Didn’t you go to sleep?
Oliver: Yeah, I was so in character. . . It was quite strange to read it. And then when we came to film that sequence in Part 1 when George gets his ear lopped off and everything that was really cool because I had never even had a scratch filming the films.
Domhnall Gleeson: I didn’t know I was going to be in the movie, so the first thing I did was call my dad [who plays Mad-Eye Moody] and said, “Dad, you’re dead by page 20.”
David Heyman: But it was sort of an amazing thing that we were making the movies concurrently with the books. Hogwarts, for example, has changed over the course of the films as we discovered what we had to do. We were making the films and we didn’t know what was happening. On the 5th film, the 7th [book] wasn’t already out. When we were developing the script, we’d left Kreacher out. And we sent the script to Jo [Rowling], because Jo reads all the scripts, and she called me and said, “You know David, you might want to put him back in. He’s got a role to play later on.”

Q: How was your first day on set?
Michael Gambon: I was just petrified when I came in to take over [after the original Dumbledore, Richard Harris, died]. . .But you just fight your way through it and be brave for a week until you settle in.
Domhnall: I nearly wet myself. I didn’t, but. . .I was really, really nervous. But it was really lovely. Everybody was incredibly welcoming. And you can tell the new guy on set, well, if it’s me, ’cause he’s got a wand in the corner going like, “Pew!” doing the sound effects. . .It was amazing though.
James: I can remember our first day. We learned that’s it’s not all shot in order, so our first scene was the last scene of the first movie. But I can remember being more nervous than I have ever been and probably ever will be. And we were in this little place called Goethland, in the middle of Yorkshire, like on Sunday morning, the sheep walk down the middle of the street kind of thing. I can just remember being like, nervous.
Bonnie: I remember starting on platform nine and three quarters, in the first film, and it was freezing winter. And I remember actually being the age of nine and three quarters on platform nine and three quarters. And I remember being absolutely freezing from nerves and clutching hot water bottles between every take. And I just didn’t know what any word meant. You know, “action, cut and rolling and speed,” all those words. . .I was just like, “What is going on?” I was so confused. In the film you have yet to see, we jump forward in time and we have Lily Potter, [Harry and Ginny’s daughter], and she was the same age as me when I started and we were on platform nine and three quarters, so it was very surreal going around in that whole cycle, that I started at that age and she started at that age, yet I was playing her mother. It was very bizarre.

In a new interview Gary Oldman briefly discusses Harry Potter and Dan, Emma & Rupert. He says:

I just think that the whole series is a mindbending achievement. It’s phenomenal that it’s been going for as long as it’s been going for. Ten years, seven films, and they’ve pretty well kept all the cast.

That is just a feat unto itself because these kids – Emma, Dan and Rupert – have gone through puberty and life lessons. There could have been drug addiction and all sorts of horrific things, but they kept all of these kids and they all have their heads on straight.

Who would have known that the three of them would continue to have the chops that we saw they had when they were first cast at 10 years of age and make it all the way through, holding the screen the way that they have. I give them props and I tip my hat to them. Job well done!