Cinematical

• Debunking the Myths Surrounding the Harry Potter Date Change
  

  Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Warner Brothers, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Distribution, Harry Potter

  
  
  When Warner Bros. announced last Thursday that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been pushed back from Nov. 21 to next July, hardcore fans immediately entered the five stages of nerd grief. So far we've worked our way through denial, anger, semi-literate Internet ranting, and conspiracy-theorizing. All that's left is acceptance, where we go ahead and watch the movie when it comes out next summer and forget any of this ever happened.
  
  In the meantime, several myths about the date change have popped up, and we'd...
  



• With Harry Potter Gone, 'Twilight' Moves Up to Nov. 21!
  

  Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Warner Brothers, Fandom, Distribution, Family Films, Newsstand, Harry Potter

  

  
  For all you Harry Potter fans who are also devoted to a certain series of teen-vampire romance novels, here's something that should help you deal with Thursday's devastating news about Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince being pushed back to next summer. Summit Entertainment announced today that with Harry having vacated the November 21 spot, they're going to fill it with Twilight, bumping it up a full three weeks from its original date of December 12.
  
  While some fans wondered, irrationally, if...
  




• Go Ahead and Disregard That New Entertainment Weekly Cover
  

  Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Warner Brothers, Family Films, Newsstand, Harry Potter

  This is the cover of the new Entertainment Weekly, which hit newsstands today, approximately 24 hours after its top story became outdated. As you've heard by now, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is no longer the most-anticipated movie of the fall; it's now the most-anticipated movie of July 17, 2009. Whoops.
  
  This bit of unfortunate timing is particularly cruel given that Entertainment Weekly and Harry Potter distributor Warner Bros. are both owned by Time Warner Inc. As EW's Jeff Giles writes in a must-read entry on...
  



• BREAKING: 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' Moved to Next July!
  

  Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Warner Brothers, Exhibition, Family Films, Newsstand, Harry Potter

  
  
  Thanksgiving just got a lot less magical. Warner Bros. has announced that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, originally scheduled for release on Nov. 21, has been pushed back to July 17. As in 2009. As in ELEVEN MONTHS AWAY! It's enough to make you utter an unforgivable curse, such as "Avada Kedavra!" or "What the f***?!"
  
  A film's release date being moved back is usually a sign that the production is in trouble, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. For one...
  



• Is Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak Becoming a Reality?
  

  Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Tech Stuff, Harry Potter

  I recall reading about real-life experiments with invisibility a couple years back, and I could have sworn I blogged about them here on Cinematical. But I must have decided to keep Harry Potter fans from getting their hopes up, despite the fact that the original article I read had specifically mentioned Potter's invisibility cloak. Plus, I must have been hesitant to attempt to explain the science behind it.
  
  Well, now that more news has come out about the development of materials that may be able to render people and other three-dimensional objects invisible, I figure it's time...
  



• Should the Fourth 'Twilight' Book Be Two Films?
  

  Filed under: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Harry Potter, Comic/Superhero/Geek

  Devout fans of Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight Saga" might not appreciate the comparisons, but it's easy to see from the outside that the books are being treated by the entertainment industry like the second coming of Harry Potter. Only with vampires instead of wizards. Yet despite all the excitement surrounding tomorrow's release (or tonight's release, if you're a real fan) of Meyer's fourth and final installment, "Breaking Dawn," I don't see the series really being as successful. I can't imagine a whole new Twilight-themed music genre forming, for instance ("vampire rock" would just be goth rock,...
  



• Godiva Releases 'Twilight' Chocolate Bar
  

  Filed under: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, George Lucas, Harry Potter

  As both a cinephile and a candy freak, I get excited anytime there's a new movie-themed confection (as you can see from this Cinematical Seven from last Halloween). While some tie-ins are less tasty than others -- it's no wonder that the movie theater I worked at had trouble pushing Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans at the concession stand -- everything is worth sampling. And from time to time, some candies, such as the Star Warsprequel-inspired dark chocolate M&Ms and this summer's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-themed...
  



• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer!
  

  Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Harry Potter, Remakes and Sequels, Trailers and Clips

  
  
  The first trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princehas just arrived online (watch it above or over on Moviefone in glorious HD), and, well, wow -- is it creepy or what? Not a...
  



• News Round-Up for Tuesday, July 29 -- UPDATED
  

  Filed under: Casting, Deals, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Harry Potter, Images, Trailers and Clips

  
  
  Here's what's happening in the world of movie news today:
  
  
  • UPDATE: Columbia Pictures has announced that The White Stripes' Jack White will team with Alicia Keys on the Quantum of Solace theme song. Said song will be called "Another Way to Die," and it will be the first duet in Bond soundtrack history.
  • UPDATE: Universal lands Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards -- they will partner with The Weinstein Co. on the WWII flick. The writer-director has already met with...
    
  
  
  
  • Jarvis Cocker Writes Songs for 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'
    

    Filed under: Animation, Music & Musicals, 20th Century Fox, James Bond, Harry Potter

    Further ensuring that the band Pulp should have new fans in the future, front man Jarvis Cocker continues to seek younger listeners. This time, in an interview with Time Out Chicago, he claims to have written a few tracks for Wes Anderson's stop-motion-animated film The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is based on the novel by Roald Dahl. He says there are three or four songs and then some music that could become part of the film's score. Additionally, in response to questions regarding his solo track "Disney Time", he...