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We still have several months of waiting until the Fantastic Beasts comes to theaters but J.K. Rowling and David Yates have already started talking about the sequel. Jo has already finished the script for the second Fantastic Beasts movie and passed it on to Yates to read. In this Entertainment Weekly article, Yates talks about how different the sequel will be to the first Fantastic Beasts movie.

“We’ve seen the script for Part 2, for the second movie, which takes the story in a whole new direction – as you should, you don’t want to repeat yourself,” says Yates, who also helmed the final four Potter films. “The second movie introduces new characters as she builds this part of the Harry Potter universe further. It’s a very interesting development from where we start out. The work is pouring out of her.”

Although Yates shared this much with us, when asked if the sequel would also be set in America, he was not yet ready to disclose this information. Can we assume that this means we will see Newt Scamander travel back to his home in London, or perhaps somewhere new?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

See more on the subject here. And be sure to catch Fantastic Beasts in theaters November 18!

Warner Bros. has confirmed that Eddie Redmayne will star in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them prequel movie. Redmayne (pictured, via) has become well-known for his roles in other literary adaptations such as The Theory of Everything and Les Misérables.

For this project, the Academy Award-winning actor will portray “the Wizarding World’s preeminent magizoologist” Newt Scamander. Fans of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter book series will recognize that character as the author of  a textbook studied by students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Director David Yates gave this statement in the press release: “Eddie is a fearless actor, brimming with invention, wit and humanity. I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of working with him as we start this new adventure in J.K. Rowling’s wonderful world, and I know she feels the same way” (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Warner Brothers has made several announcements about the Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them project.

The first film, scripted by J.K. Rowling, will hit the silver screen in 2016. According to Deadline, the studio intends to create at least two more movies for this franchise; the second one will be released in 2018 and the third one will follow in 2020.

David Yates, the director behind the final four installments of the Harry Potter movie franchise, will helm Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. In addition to her duties as the screenwriter, Rowling will serve as a producer along with David Heyman, Steve Kloves, and Lionel Wigram.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Warner Bros. has released another trailer for Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

In the video embedded above, fans get a glimpse of the final face off between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Flashes of Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Professor Severus Snape can be seen throughout the trailer.

In a previous video, director David Yates promised “a much more spectacular action picture.” What part in the movie are you most looking forward to? (via Shelf Awareness)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

As Harry Potter fans wait until the July 15th release of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Warner Brothers has delivered a behind-the-scenes look at the final film of the movie franchise.

The video embedded above features interviews with principal actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. Director David Yates promises “a much more spectacular action picture.”

To date, the first installment of the final film has grossed more than $950 million at the box office. (Via Deadline)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Note this blog entry contains spoilers about the final two Harry Potter books

It’s a truism that cinematic adaptations often pale besides their literary counterparts. An obvious counterexample is Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner but, off the top of my head, I can’t think of more. For those who’ve only seen the film, it’s well worth reading the Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? to see just how different it is, but to explain some elements of the screen version you’d have to gloss over otherwise.

Read the book to discover why the Blade Runner owl is artificial

A wonderful thing about a book is that everyone’s idea of it is unique. The reader converts the printed word from the page into a world of their own imagination. How I see the Imperial Palace on Melania in my head, is different from any readers of the Johnny Mackintosh books. Perhaps that’s why film adaptations so often disappoint, as the Director is competing with thousands of movies that have already run within a reader’s head.

There’s no film I can remember that’s disappointed me more that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, directed by David Yates with a screenplay by Steve Kloves. As someone who loves the stories so deeply, it horrifies me that this pairing were also asked to make the double film of the final book. While I think the quality of film-making in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince isn’t terrible (though it is weak), what I can’t fathom were the drastic, totally unnecessary changes to the plot that were introduced, diverting from Rowling’s marvellous story architecture and characterization.

[spoiler alert]

Yates and Kloves think they know better than JK Rowling

With a long book, why introduce a mad scene where Bellatrix Lestrange destroys The Burrow? Where will they hold the wedding in the next film, or has that been scrapped too?

A more important example was the death of Dumbledore. In the book, Harry is powerless to act, hidden under the invisibility cloak with Dumbledore’s body-bind curse on him. He would do anything to fight to save his pseudo-grandfather figure, and knows all too well the Hogwarts Headmaster is dead when the curse lifts. If the film, Harry is hiding in the background, and chooses simply to watch and not act, perhaps due to some bizarre element of cowardice that Yates and Kloves wanted to introduce into Harry’s character. There are numerous other examples and a lot concerning Dumbledore’s relationship with Harry: in the books, our hero is kept in the dark and has o puzzle things out for himself; according to this film, Harry is Dumbledore’s confidant.

When I write the Johnny Mackintosh books, I confess I sometimes have a secret nod to possible future film adaptations. I know a fair amount about film theory and structure, and sometimes I’ll be particularly proud of a passage because I know how well it would translate onto the big screen. I see the same in Jo Rowling’s writing at times, where she’s gone a little out of her way to write a beautiful, cinematic scene for her directors, knowing how much it would enhance the film. Yates completely ignored this. There ar