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Yesterday, the Fantastic Beasts Twitter page released an exclusive introduction to the protagonist of the newest film to be set in the wizarding world: Newt Scamander. There are some exclusive new clips in this video, so be sure to watch it below!

A new hero for a new era of the Wizarding World. Meet Newt Scamander. #FantasticBeastshttps://t.co/Yi5Ko4VPiy

— Fantastic Beasts (@FantasticBeasts) June 23, 2016

The video starts with J.K. Rowling (screenwriter and producer) introducing her concept of a hero:

“My heroes are always people who feel themselves to be set apart, stigmatised, or othered. That’s at the heart of most of what I write, and it’s certainly at the heart of this movie”

We are then shown an intriguing new image of Newt, Tina and Jacob in MACUSA, after what looks to be an arrest:

Newt then delicately and fondly touches Tina’s face:

Rowling then tells how a textbook used in Hogwarts in the Potter books and films became its own phenomenon in the muggle world of today – she became increasingly interested in Newt’s story whilst writing the Potter series, leading to the Fantastic Beasts movie!

“He’s been travelling the world studying magical creatures – he calls himself a magizoologist!

“Newt’s creatures live in his magical case – you open it up, you can go down, and it’s an amazing space”

Eddie Redmayne then introduces his character: “He feels more at home with creatures than he does with human beings,” we are told by Redmayne. It is here that the Bowtruckle is introduced.

“Come on, give me a smile.” Newt coaxes. The Bowtruckle responds by blowing a raspberry at him!

Pottermore says of the creature:

“A small twig-like creature that guards wand-wood trees” 

“Peaceful and shy, unless its tree habitat is threatened. Has long, sharp fingers”

Bowtruckles are found in the West of England, southern Germany and certain Scandinavian forests.

Read more here!

“Newt walks into a society he doesn’t really understand” Rowling continues:

“Mr Scamander, do you know anything about the wizarding community in America?”, Tina asks Newt.

“I know that you have rather backward laws about relations with non-magic people” he replies (notice he didn’t say ‘muggle’!), “You’re not meant to befriend them, you can’t marry them, which seems wildly absurd to me”

We are then told the crux of the Fantastic Beasts storyline:

“Jacob accidentally opens Newt’s case, full of magical creatures” Rowling says. “It’s something that has implications for the whole wizarding world’.

Read more at Pottermore here!

A team of worldwide creators set to market Fantastic Beasts over the coming months was introduced this week at VidCon. As this is one of the biggest fan conventions based around the power of online video, (originally conceived by YouTube’s Vlogbrothers, Hank and John Green), it was only fitting that Youtubers led the panel and the new marketing strategy!

The event starts with the amazing trailer of Fantastic Beasts, of course (which you can find here)

The panel is then introduced by Youtubers Tyler Oakley and Ingrid Nilsen, telling us that more teasers are coming up in the next few months, let by ‘worldwide creators’ chosen by Warner Bros to market the film.

These worldwide creators are introduced on the Fantastic Beasts set, and give us a tutorial on correct posture and pronunciation of spells in the Wizarding World.

The panel of creators then introduce their houses, and kick off by answering a question by J.K. Rowling, who asks what it was like to be on set. Of course, most appreciate the level of detail behind the scenes of the film, and say how exciting it was to be on set!

The creators share stories on how they were introduced to the books and films, memories of being a part of the Potter fandom, why Eddie Redmayne is the perfect Newt Scamander, questions they have about the Fantastic Beasts storyline, and answer many more questions surrounding the new, expanded wizarding world we have been introduced to through Fantastic Beasts.

Be sure to watch the panel below to get to know the creators who will be marketing Fantastic Beasts – more teasers are soon to come!

This event came shortly after Warner Bros. release of another Fantastic Beasts poster, which you can find here.

Watch the video of the panel below!

Warner Bros. were present at Licensing Expo 2016 in Vegas, with exclusive merchandise from Fantastic Beasts and a statement on further projects:

“As we head into Licensing Expo 2016 and look to the year ahead, we’re focused on forging new and innovative partnerships with premiere licensees and retailers, continuing to build strong franchises, and delivering great product and experiences to our consumers,” said Pam Lifford, president, Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

“By strategically leveraging our world-class franchises, we’ll continue to offer our new and seasoned partners more consumer engagement opportunities, best-in-class product and expanded fan experiences.”

Licensing.biz reports:

“To celebrate the film’s debut, Warner Bros. Consumer Products will roll out an all-new programme including a robust publishing push, apparel, toys and collectables, housewares, stationery and more.”

Warner Bros expand on this with a statement on how Fantastic Beasts will be marketed using ‘themed entertainment initiatives’:

• Fantastic Beasts Are Coming: The Wizarding World franchise has been captivating fans since the release of Harry Potter and is now expanding to include new characters, creatures and locations with the debut of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, hitting theaters November 18. To celebrate the film’s debut, Warner Bros. Consumer Products will roll out an all-new program that extends the Wizarding World fan experience with best-in-class products and partnerships. These cross-category opportunities will include a robust publishing program, inspired-by apparel, toys and collectibles, housewares, stationery and more.  

• Harry Potter’s Immersive World:  A global phenomenon, Harry Potter is one of the most beloved franchises around the world.  As J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World expands – from Harry Potter-inspired themed lands in Florida, Japan and Hollywood, to globally touring exhibitions and concert series – WBCP and its partners continue to deliver immersive high quality experiences to extend the journey for the legions of current fans and new generations to come.

Based on these new initiatives, a new Harry Potter Production team has been established by Warner Bros. The new team is called the Harry Potter Global Franchise Development Team (HPGFD), and will be dealing with all future Potter-related projects, including films, Warner Bros Studio Tour in London, theme parks and digital products (i.e. Pottermore).

Polly Cochrane will operate as Chief Marketing Officer of the team, as well as group marketing director for Warner Bros UK and Ireland.

Read more about the team here.

We look forward to seeing the new Fantastic Beasts merchandise!

When something is broke, you try to fix it, and following the disastrous critical and fan reception to Batman V Superman, WB pulled out all the stops for a press junket bringing all the top movie scoopers and reporters to the set in London last week, and allowed them to run their stories today. Our […]

A quick summary of some of the high-points being reported today

Embed from Getty Images Speaking of Spider-Man, a long time ago, an internet-driven write-in campaign to get Community star Donald Glover to player Spider-Man began. The campaign led to a scene in Community where Glover wore Spider-Man pajamas, and later a more substantive role as the voice of Miles Morales, the Ultimate Universe Spider-Man, on the […]

Natalia Tena (who played the ever-fabulous Hufflepuff and Auror, Tonks, in the Harry Potter films) stars in an animated short film called Fishwitch, previously titled Once Upon an Iceberg. As Leaky reported previously (read here), the short description of the animated short calls the film “an ugly fairy tale with a lot of heart.” The animated short is currently in production, running at about 8 minutes total.

The plot outline reads:

“When Tootega the Sea Witch catches Derek the Singing Merman in her net, she assumes she can use her powers to get rid of him, just like everyone else. Except Derek is not like everyone else, and Tootega soon finds her heart melting under Derek’s influence – quite literally.”

Natalia Tena will be playing the protagonist, Tootega the Sea Witch. Sam Apley, Tena’s partner from her musical band, Molotov Jukebox, will be taking the role of Derek the Singing Merman.

The short film will be screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, in competition with other short films that will be shown. There are tickets still available to see Natalia Tena as Tootega, more information can be found on the film’s Facebook page, here. The new trailer for the short film can be seen below!

FISHWITCH Trailer from adrienne dowling on Vimeo.

With the first screenings beginning last night, Now You See Me 2 is now in theaters!

Daniel Radcliffe’s face graces our the big screen as he appears in the movie as Walter Mabry, a spoiled billionaire who kidnaps the Horseman (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Lizzy Caplan) and tricks then into committing a heist. The Horseman, however, have other plans. They come up with an elaborate stunt to expose Walter Mabry and clear their names.

Coming from a lifetime in the Harry Potter world, you’d think Daniel Radcliffe would know quite a bit about magic. Well, he reveals, in this USA Today article, that he isn’t as good as Harry was with magic tricks.

“The one thing I can kind of do is the bit I screw up in the first scene,” says Radcliffe, 26, flicking an imaginary card from one hand to the other. “I can actually do that, but then the one time I missed, I was like, ‘Ah, that’s definitely going to be the (take) they use.’ Failure is always funnier than success, particularly when it comes to this character.”

Daniel tells that to prepare to play a smart yet bratty young billionaire, he looked to his private school classmates as inspiration. He clarifies that, while a lot of good, perfectly nice people come out of private schools, occasionally there will be those who have a false sense of entitlement which causes them to be quite arrogant. “I saw him as a product of that environment,” says Daniel.

Playing Walter Mabry in this illusion themed sequel to the 2013 surprise hit gave Daniel Radcliffe a chance to not on play the villain for the first time but also to work with a line-up of A-list actors. Being able to work with Michael Caine was particularly gratifying for Daniel. “A long-held personal goal of mine,” Daniel says of Caine, who plays Walter’s father in the film. “Growing up in England, you hear Michael talked about so much, with such reverence. Knowing that I’d have significant scenes with him was amazing.”

See more about the film here. Be sure to catch the film in theaters everywhere and see the trailer below!

We’re hitting that point where SDCC announcements will start rolling in over the next four to five weeks. Studios will be unveiling their panel schedules and reporters like me will be hoping there’s some secrets to uncover wherever we can find them. Last year, Marvel Studios sat out the festivities in San Diego, opting instead […]

In a recent interview with GQ earlier this week, Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) talked about his journey from playing our favorite boy wizard, to playing the role of a farting corpse in his new film, Swiss Army Man. Radcliffe has played a diverse set of roles, and Now You See Me Two has him playing a muggle who is bad at magic tricks (rather than a boy wizard who is better than average at magic, but no Hermione).

Radcliffe is a busy man and already back to filming another movie. GQ reports:

As a famous person, you’re choosing lots of parts these days that involve solitude and getting away from civilization.
The group of people I’m out with is [f-ing] awesome, so I’m having a really good time. This is an incredibly fun job, and it’s very rare as an actor that you feel like you’re earning your money, where you actually go home feeling physically like you’ve worked a really good day. We were filming by a river last week, and the river rose ten meters overnight, so three of our sets got washed away. It’s not normal making a movie like we are, out in a [f-ing] jungle.

Do you have lots of bugs and [stuff] eating you out there?
There are bugs eating us, yes. But we were making this film about this guy who went into the jungle and struggled desperately to survive for three weeks. I’m not in any way a method actor, but if I’m playing a guy who’s starving and I’m going home at night and tucking into a [f-ing] pizza, I’m making it much harder for myself to do my job.

But you’re at a place where you don’t really have to take on rough s–t like making movies in jungles if you don’t want to. So why do it?
I get a lot of credit that I don’t deserve—people notice that I pick very different things more than they do with other actors, because I played one part for so long. Paul Dano (Radcliffe’s co-star in Swiss Army Man)…his career is [f-ing] amazingly varied, and everybody I know wants the same thing, which is they want as diverse a career as possible.

Like, it’s my total ambition at some point in my life to be in some massive [****y] big disaster movie. But I’m in an amazing position, which is that I have a certain amount of financial security and that allows me to do things that make me happy, and things that will fulfill me and challenge me, with people I’ll have a good time with. You hear horror stories about actors all the time, and I’ve worked with so few of them compared to the amount of stories I’ve heard. I’ve been incredibly lucky, and I do believe life is too short to work with arseholes.

I just saw Now You See Me 2 (in theaters June 10), and in it you’re a rich young tech guru who’s a spoiled dick. I think you do derive extra joy in playing a d**K on screen specifically because you aren’t one.
Totally. You’re absolutely right. Ricky Gervais talked to me about doingExtras for the first time. I was like, yes, please—finally, a chance to show that I have a [f-ing] sense of humor about all this. Because you are confronted very regularly with the expectation that A) you’re gonna be a d**k, B) you’re gonna fail, and C) “Do you really deserve this?”

How’s fame been treating you? Has your fame settled down sincePotter?
I think so. It took me a few years to work out my priorities. Now I pick things that I think will make me the most happy, and not try to think, “What’s gonna be the most successful thing I can do?” You can be despondent about the fact that you’re never gonna be in something that big again, but that’s [f-ing] idiotic. I’ve been in the most successful thing I ever will be in, and to me it’s a huge relief. Because you just go, “Okay, that’s literally never gonna happen again.”

Would you do a Star Wars movie if you were asked?
I’d love to. I would jump at the chance. I have absolutely no tolerance for people who are not [f-ing] delighted to be on set every day, because you should be.

What made you want to play a farting corpse [in Swiss Army Man]?
The farting didn’t even enter my head as being a weird thing. I was really quite taken aback when we sound mastered it and it caused such a weird reaction in some people. [Many people at Sundance walked out of the initial screening, possibly because one of the opening scenes involves Paul Dano riding Radcliffe’s dead body like a jet ski, only powered by farts.] I can understand it being not for everyone, but controversial? It’s not like we’re making a massive racist remark. It was very strange to me but also kind of entertaining.

Were you upset by the negative reaction?
I remember there was one tweet—I’m not on Twitter. I don’t get involved. But I did get sucked in over that period, and there was one tweet that did get under my skin, because it was a guy that was all p–sed off. He hashtagged one of his tweets #makebettermovies, which I was just like, f-ing—it’s from a man who’s never made a movie! The s—ttiest film you’ve ever seen has had such f-ing hard work put into it! You can’t say s**t like that.

For Swiss Army Man, did they also make you fart and groan on cue? Or did they add all the farts in post-production?
I definitely can’t fart on cue. That is beyond me. They were all done later. The directors basically announced if anyone wanted to just go over to the sound recordist, Steve, and fart, he would record it and they would try and put it in the movie.

Could you see yourself not acting at some point? Taking a permanent break?
Not really. I don’t think I could ever enjoy that if I wasn’t in some way going back to contributing to a film in some way.

My daughter wanted me to ask you why you wanted to be an actor.
Because it was so much better than being at school!

  I was chatting with someone in PR prior to going to see a screening of Warcraft yesterday and he said in a comforting tone “It isn’t as bad as they say.” Considering it’s at 18% n Rotten Tomatoes, it would have to be pretty bad indeed. Maybe it was my lowered expectations, but I […]

Harry Potter alum, Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) recently sat down for a photoshoot with Interview Magazine. In this photo shoot, Matt kept all of his clothes on. He also discussed his life in the five years since the wrap up of the Harry Potter films.

Matt Lewis has covered a number of roles since his Longbottom days. He has taken on everything from romantic comedies and “chick flicks,” to sketchy characters in crime dramas. Matt explained to Interview Magazine how he came to take on such roles, saying:

“Some of the more interesting characters are the ones that aren’t heroic, that aren’t James Bond-esque,” Lewis explains over the phone. “I quite like the interesting ones, so I never really say, ‘I won’t do that, I won’t do this’ or ‘I want to do this or that.’ I like to keep an open mind… [I’m interested in] the idea of people wanting to discuss something that’s happened in their life or that’s impacted or changed them,” he continues.

“On the flip side of that, sometimes it’s nice to do something that’s fun, a movie where people are going to come in, and switch off for an hour and a half. I feel like if you can do one of those two things, if you can tell a great story that affects people or you can make them have fun, then you’re doing all right.”

Matt Lewis discussed how he took on the role of Patrick in the summer flick, Me Before You, and his darker character of Sean in the TV drama, Happy Valley.

On Patrick: “It was quite different. In the book, Patrick is a bit of a dick. He is obviously very focused on himself; he’s self-centered and won’t give a whole lot of time to Louisa’s needs, wants, and potential in life. We wanted to keep the inherent features of Patrick in the movie but we wanted to make it a little bit less black-and-white, a bit more ambiguous as to her ultimate decision. We wanted to see more of a reason why Louisa was with Patrick for the seven years…It can be a scary thing to suddenly leave your life behind and say, “I’m going to go and realize my full potential.” It can be quite daunting and we wanted to convey that.”

On Sean: “There were quite a few nerves involved with that for the few months of preparation for it. I just wanted to make sure that I did it justice.”

Then it was just the idea of trying to get into Sean’s mind. Luckily, for me, Sally understands her characters very well; she has vivid images of where they’ve come from, where they’re going, why they do what they do, etcetera. I had to pick at her brain and find Sean’s motivation, which was daunting for sure, but it all helped in trying to create this character—this young man who is very, very lost.

You don’t play him as the bad guy; you just play what’s on the page and you play his life, and his life was that he moved from town to town, no one had really ever given a shit about him, he’s got a very bad temper and often he regrets that. He drinks a lot and he can’t remember and it’s that frustration more than anything. The anger is a result of the frustration and once you realize that, the rest of it starts to fall into place.

In a flash back to when he was just 11 years old. Matt Lewis recounted his first day on set of the Harry Potter films. He discussed working with award-winning actors, such as Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith, but particularly recalling being in awe of Rik Mayall who was cast as Peeves, a role that didn’t make it past final edit cuts. Lewis talked about how Harry Potter changed how he approached acting, and took on different roles.

“I can remember quite clearly being 11 years old on the first one. We were at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland and it was the scene with Madam Hooch, where we have the broomstick lesson and Neville flies off and crashes into the wall…

“They looked after me very much and I had a week of my life just flying on this broomstick around this beautiful castle in the North of England. I thought, “If this is what my career is, if this is what I’m going to get paid to do for a living, then this is the dream.”

“I was sort of unaware of the caliber of who I was working with, but definitely their fame and their ability to a certain degree. There were a lot of things that those guys had been in and done that I was a huge fan of. At the time, I was a ridiculously big fan of Rik Mayall, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. Rik was cast to play Peeves the Poltergeist in the first film, and unfortunately he was cut out in the end because of time issues, but he was superb in it.”

“I sat next to him at the read-through and I was completely lost for words. He really took me under his wing and started chatting me through the different characters behind the camera, who everybody was and what their job was, and he signed my script. It was a huge moment to be in that read-through surrounded by all of these amazing people who I’d seen on TV and then they were friendly and so unassuming.”

“Then the worst thing happens, you get to 15, 16 and start to realize, as you’ve already said, the sheer caliber of what they’ve done. You become much more aware of the craft and the medium. All of that camaraderie you’ve built up over the years suddenly takes a big hit because you go, “Oh god, I’ve been so blasé with these people. They’re actually all incredible and I’m just here chilling out with them.” So then you get a whole new fear that comes along. I was 18 when I finally got over that.”

When moving forward from the Harry Potter films, and looking to be recognized in other roles, Matt Lewis expresses the same catch-22 of the other Harry Potter “child stars”–eternal gratefulness that Harry Potter was their start, but seeking to break the labels of their Harry Potter characters and gain recognition for their acting abilities in other roles. Matt Lewis stated:

“It was an exciting time and quite strange [having done] them for 10 years but I was very ready to finish when we came to the last one. After playing the character for that amount of time, I wanted to do different things, I wanted to find new characters, and explore new avenues. I literally had no idea what I was going on to…”

“I wasn’t keen to jump back into a robe and be a wizard in something anytime soon but [I was interested in] anything that came up, really. I felt very much that I was starting at the bottom rung again and that being in Harry Potter was no gimmick; I was going to have to leave that behind to lose the Neville Longbottom tag and prove that I could do other things, learn, and understand.”

The article continues as Matt discussed growing up in Leeds, acting with his brother Anthony, hoping to work with his brother Chris, almost getting trampled to death by cows with his Me Before You costars, and much more. The entire article may be read here, accompanied by a gallery of pictures from the photo shoot.

Do you like a mystery? I thought so! Here's a good one. If you ask anyone around the Hollywood water cooler about who is the envy of tinsel town, most people would say it's Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. His handling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been little short of genius from a box office perspective, taking obscure properties like Guardians of the Galaxy and making them household names, and boosting even mediocre material like Ant-Man to "Hey that was really fun!" reactions. But is this true?

It’s a busy Monday, and there’s a couple of worthwhile bits of entertainment news of interest for the comics crowd: – I’ve been pretty vocal about this in the past, but I was never the biggest fan of Pacific Rim, despite some very nice Guy Davis concept work, and that neon Blade Runner aesthetic that […]

Could it be that Hollywood's junkie-like reliance on sequels could be coming to an end? A series of so-so-sequels, many based on comics, tallied another disappointing chit with this weekend's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadowstook. Produced by Michael Bay, the film was #1 at the box office but with a moribund $35.25 million, on a production cost of $135 million. X-Men Apocalyse was #2 with $22.3 million, a 66% drop that's typical for sequels but further evidence of a softening market:

Inquirer.net recently sat down to talk to Daniel Radcliffe about Cursed Child, magic and his acting career thus far. Dan recently starred in Swiss Army Man and Victor Frankenstein, and will soon be appearing as Walter Mabry in Now You See Me 2.

Mabry is a wealthy, magical entrepreneur who has captured the Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Lizzy Caplan) – you can catch glimpses of his character in the movie’s trailer (below).

On whether or not he’ll be likely to see Cursed Child:

“I don’t know if I would. Because I feel like me going to see that show, it might become more about the fact that I was there seeing that show that night than anything else.”

At which point the Inquirer hinted to him that he might just be able to sneak into the show, asking if he was keeping up with the show:

“Do you really think that’s possible (for me to sneak in) (laughs)? No, I haven’t been keeping tabs. But I know Jamie Parker is playing me (Harry), which I’m very happy about, because he’s a great actor.”

Dan also said that he doesn’t see Harry Potter co-star Rupert Grint very much anymore (he’s working on his own TV comedy at the moment!), but did say that he saw him “at the beginning of the year, or the end of last year”.

On working with Michael Caine:

“Growing up in England… he is someone that you grow up being aware of as an institution. He’s everything that I want to be when I grow up as an actor.

When I first started working on “Potter,” there were crew members who have known Michael and had worked with him on various projects. To listen to them talk about Michael and the respect that they have for him, it made me, as a young actor, go, “God, I want to do that.”

When you work with him, he is utterly professional and also really good fun. He enjoys his job so much. I do love my job and I am thinking, if you aren’t having fun at work, you shouldn’t be there.

But watching Michael—I guess he is in his 80s by now—act at four o’clock in the morning in cold and dark England and still be there…

So many other actors would have been complaining and moaning. Michael is unflappable, and he’s still having a good time, telling stories, joking and laughing. He knows everyone’s name. It was a pleasure to be around him, to watch him work and to work with him. It was extraordinary.

Whenever I need a bit of a boost, I just go on Michael Caine’s IMDb page.”

On Swiss Army Man and its many complexities:

“I am not staying away from [romantic-comedy] roles. I think it’s more that it’s actually a lot harder to write something happy than it is to write something dark. There’s a lot of different versions of darkness that are very interesting. It’s harder to make happiness interesting onscreen for whatever reason.

“Swiss Army Man” sounds like a dark character because I’m playing a dead guy. The film does have its dark moments, but it’s got a lot of levity and joy. For me, that film is about joy. It isn’t a traditional rom-com, but it’s definitely got some lightness to it.”

Read the full interview over at Inquirer.net here, which includes more about his character in Now You See Me 2. Watch the latest trailer for the film below!

Because sitting through the nearly three hour film once certainly isn’t enough, right? You know you want to watch an extended version of Snyder’s magnus opium with over half an hour of additional footage, right? You know it’s cool that this “Ultimate Edition” is rated R, right? Oh, and did we mention that the ultimate edition […]

This year’s Oscar Best Actress winner for her remarkable performance in Room may be on the verge of headlining Marvel Studios first female-led big screen effort. According to a report in Variety, Brie Larson is in early negotiations to play the role of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel in the studio’s solo launch of the […]

Say what you will about the MCU vs the DCEU, Warner BRos. is killing it with the art direction. Suicide Squad, in particular has had a fresh, striking ad campaign that really positions the film as something new and differen. That look continues with these two covers for the French movie magazine CINEMA TEASER. The […]

This New York magazine profile of the great Louise Simonson found universal acclaim when it appeared yesterday. Not only is Weezie one of the nice people of the world, but an immensely talented writer/editor whose impact on comics history is undeniable, from co-creating Power Pack to co-creating Cable and Apocalypse and Steel and editing some […]

Come August 19th, we will be able to see our beloved Sirius Black, a.k.a Gary Oldman, on the big screen once again. Gary will be playing Nathaniel Shepherd, a NASA scientist in charge of sending astronauts to live on Mars.

With Gary Oldman alongside Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson, The Space Between Us is about a boy who was born on Mars and raised by scientists. Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield) returns to Earth to find his father, only to find that his body can’t quite function properly on Earth. The trailer for the film can be seen below:

This week, Pottermore gave us a look inside what David Yates actually does as Director of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Apparently it’s not all yelling ‘Cut!’ and ‘Action!’ – at least not for David Yates.

A team of Assistant Directors ensures filming runs as smoothly as possible, and according to Pottermore, most of their jobs involve adjusting leads, moving extras and actors around, preparing props and muttering instructions into mics. This team is led by first Assistant Director (AD) Josh Robertson, who usually does all the yelling, cutting and hushing:

“Josh and the other ‘ADs’ do a lot of yelling and a lot of shushing. Volume control is one of their principle duties. And when you consider that a mistimed cough could ruin a scene and cost thousands to reshoot, it’s very important.”

…

“There are four ADs on set (or, in movie speak, ‘on the floor’) and they all have earpiece microphones that make everything they say sound urgent. On Fantastic Beasts, Josh is joined by Tom Brewster, Danni Lizaitis and Katherine Hingst as second, third and fourth AD. Their names will appear right near the top of the end credits of the film when it’s out – you’ll spot them.”

“To support [David’s] process, the ADs fan out, assume positions at various spots on set and keep that area clean, clear, quiet and calm during and between scenes. They are the purveyors of smooth operation, the enablers of great direction.”

David Yates adjusts cameras to get the perfect shot, gives quiet directions to actors and monitors each shot and how the action plays out on screen. His gentle manner is something Katherine Waterston (who will portray Tina Goldstein in Fantastic Beasts) previously shared insight into David’s inspired style of directing:

‘He has a shorthand and a comfort with the world. He’s not precious with it, he understands what it needs and what it doesn’t need and there’s something really comforting in that.’

 ‘When we’re incorporating things that aren’t actually there, to look at David and know he can see the world is… everything,’

The Pottermore Correspondent adds:

“He is both obsessively detailed-oriented and able to see the whole project as if from above. After directing the final four Harry Potter films, this is his fifth venture into J.K. Rowling’s imagination and he knows the territory well. He just needs a dependable crew to clear his path for him”

Read the full piece here, and Pottermore’s interview with David Yates here!

  [Recently Joe Casey conducted an email interview with a writer for a now deceased site. I expressed an interest in running it on the Beat, but was unable to contact the original writer despite repeated attempts. As its general internet principle that the interviewee owns the written answers, I agreed to run Joe’s answers, as he’s […]

The verdict is in from audiences and X-Men: Apocalypse has found itself garnering an estimated $65 million over its opening weekend, with its total racking up to $76-80 million for the 4-day holiday. Two years ago, X-Men: Days of Future Past opened in the same slot and grossed $110.5 million. While 80 is nothing to […]