Thursday’s issue of Australia’s Herald Sun talked about a tour of the Leavesden Studios lot that the Sun went on during Half-Blood Prince filming last year. Here is some thanks to SS:

Rupert Grint (aka Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) aren’t among that team today — they’ve headed north for an outdoor location shoot — but the boy wizard himself, Daniel Radcliffe, is present for duty in the place he’s called his second home since before he was even a teenager (he turns 20 next month).

Radcliffe’s not in this scene, but he’s happily watching what Jim Broadbent, who makes his Potter debut in the Half-Blood Prince as Horace Slughorn, does with his several go-throughs.

Slughorn is greeting guests, including Luna Lovegood (played by the wonderfully eccentric Evanna Lynch) dressed up like a silver Christmas tree, and with each take Broadbent mixes it up — easy stuff for a veteran of his status.

‘‘I wasn’t in the first shot this morning but I went down to watch it just ’cos . . . I’m just interested in it and I want to see how other people act together. It’s about learning, for me,’’ Radcliffe says.

‘‘I like wandering round. Sometimes I go and play table tennis or I’ll read or I’ll play a computer game. But most of the time here I’m on set, so there is not a huge amount of down time.’’

See the scan here thanks to SS!

The Brisbane Times is reporting that the Australian premiere for Half-Blood Prince will take place on Sunday, July 12, 2009 (the same day as in Paris). The event will be hosted by Warner Bros Movie World on the Gold Coast.   According to the article, “Celebrities and VIPs are expected to walk the red carpet at the July 12 event.” We do not know if any of the Harry Potter cast are attending as of right now.

Thanks SS!

Warner Bros France have stated that a premiere for Half-Blood Prince will be held in Paris on July 12th at 9:30am at the UGC Cine Cite Bercy.  None of the cast will be attending the screening since some have already promoted the movie there.

Thanks UHP!

There is a new interview online with David Heyman.

It helps, of course, that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is coming at him now as two films, doubling his pleasure all over the place, but finding the precise line of demarcation “was something we wrestled with. I’m not going to reveal where it is just yet, but there are a couple of places. I initially was not in favor of doing two films. Then I went through the book with Steve Kloves, looking at what you omit, always one of the challenges you make. When Alfonso Cuarón [director of the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban] came onboard, one of the shifts we took was to tell the story distinctively from Harry Potter’s point of view—and things that didn’t relate to Harry were put aside because there just wasn’t enough room.

“Once we made that decision, the challenge is to find out where you cut it. I think we’ve made a really interesting choice. It’s acknowledging that actually this is one book, and there are two parts to the story, and I think it will be really exciting.  Actually, there’s almost enough material in here to make three films, but I think that would have probably tipped it over the edge. The book is a very rich canvas.”

Clearly, Heyman is keeping the melancholy at bay. “It hasn’t hit yet because it’s a 248-day schedule, and we’re on Day 67 or 68. There’s 180 to go—and then there’s a year of post—so the horizon looms much closer than ever before, but it’s not yet upon me. I suppose there’ll be mixed feelings. I’ve learned a huge amount. I continue to learn. The material continues to inspire and challenge. Being on this adventure, working on the Potters, has been the gift of all gifts.”

Thanks for the tip TLC!

A two part special for Half-Blood Prince will be airing on Channel Canada next month. The preview, which is called Beyond the Screen: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be shown on Saturday July 11 (part one), and July 18 (part two) at 10am EST, and include interviews with stars Dan Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.

Thanks SS!

Thanks to UHP there are even MORE photos from the Panini sticker book!

See them all in the gallery, here!