Last Harry Potter movie to be released in 2011

It seems that for Warner Brothers seven Harry Potter movies are not enough, therefore they decided to make another one, an eight instalment. Does that mean that the studio will continue the story that was created by J. K. Rowling and is told only in seven books? No, they just had in their mind that as the last Harry Potter book, the Deathly Hallows, is very long and complex in terms of the main plot, it was just better if they split it up. 

This means that Harry Potter fans will not be out of HP even in 2011 as the studio expects to present Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II in July 2011. Part 1 is scheduled to be released at the end of 2010. Meanwhile, the sixth Harry Potter film will only be released during the summer of 2009. Warner Brothers has already completed the production of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but as President Alan Horn said it was better for them to release a blockbuster in the summertime. Mr Horn also said that last winter’s writers’ strike is to blame. 

While the first part of the seventh episode is being in pre-production, one of the sets had to be closed down as one of the stuntmen had suffered an accident. Stuntman David Holmes had seriously hurt his back while shooting his sequence in the movie. According to the hospital where he is being treated he seems to be recovering, thus the set has been reopened recently after a thorough investigation. 

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7912088.stm

Rowling receives Legion of Honour

JK Rowling, author of the best-seller Harry Potter series, has been given France's highest civilian award, the so-called Legion of Honour. It appears that she is not the only one who received the honorary title in her family. Her great-grandfather had been made a knight because of her bravery during World War I. 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy himself handed the medal to Rowling who happens to be fluent in French; as her great-grandfather was French we can say British is not the only blood that runs in her veins. 

She apologised to the people who were present at the ceremony as it turns out that the name of Harry Potter's arch nemesis, Voldemort, means thief or the flight of death in French. 

According to BBC Rowling was just looking for a "name that evokes both power and exoticism". The reply of the crowd indicated that no offense had been taken. 

But why the award? According to Mr Sarkozy Rowling made millions of children read again by creating the story of the young wizard with the lightning scar on his forehead; to make one read is not easy nowadays in the world of the Internet. It takes some effort to cajole children into reading so that they are not glued to the display all day. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the series, had already been a best-seller in France when works on the translation into French started. 

Note that the Legion of Honour had originally been made up by Bonaparte Napoleon almost two hundred years ago and officially only French citizens can be made members of the society. Yet, foreigners can receive the honorary title, as well. 

JK Rowling is not the first to receive the Legion of Honour: Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand had been given the merit before. 

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7869216.stm