EW caught David Heyman (producer from the original HP series) to talk about the new scripts…
Jo is at work. She’s not doing it for any other reason other than she loves the world and she had a story that she wanted to tell. It’s incredibly exciting. She doesn’t have to go back to this world, but something pulled her back. This is not Harry Potter. This is not Harry, Ron, and Hermione. This is a separate story within a universe related to the Potter universe. The fact that she’s going to this world means there are stories to tell. When I was doing the Harry Potters, what was clear to me is that Jo’s knowledge of this world is infinite. What you read in the books was just the surface of her knowledge. She had notebook upon notebook of stuff. I would call her and say, ‘What’s the sixth use of dragon’s blood?’ and she’d have it at her fingertips. In the fifth film, I think it was, we had the Black family tree, I called her, and literally 20 minutes later I receive this family tree, via fax in those days, with a hundred names and about six generations with birthdays, death dates, marriages, all figured out. She knew it.
Last week saw the first hit of Joss Whedon’s Marvel Agents of SHIELD… with a new episode landing tomorrow in the US last weeks debut hit some decent numbers.
Though with ad spend on every subway, in every taxi and bus, on street corners and billboards - not to mention the spending that came before the TV series with the Marvel feature films …
The US figures - according to Nielsen - 12.1 million people watched it live. Another 3.7 million watched on DVR. Another 4.7 million watched the repeat on Thursday. And 1.6 million streamed online. A grand total of 22.1 million viewers and counting.
For comparisson Breaking Bad’s finale reached 10.3m … while Big Bang Theory‘s new season premiere broke 20 million in six hours.
The re-launch of iconic kids series Thunderbirds Are Go! is looking more and more promising - ITV Studios, Pukeko Pictures and Weta Workshophave signed up Rosamund Pike to star alongside original cast member David Graham (reprising his role as chauffeur and International Rescue agent Parker), Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rasmus Hardiker and David Menkin
The 26 half-hours won’t appear until 2015 - featuring a mix of CGI animation and live-action miniature sets.
All you need to know is that Rob Hoegee is writing and David Scott is helming.
BIG news for any/all fans of Harry Potter… that JK Rowling is to write a new film series based inside the world of wizarding and muggles.
The first, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will be based around Newt Scamander, the writer of a textbook used by Harry Potter at Hogwarts school.
I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realised by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood. As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros. Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway.
I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.
