A few days ago a friend and I were talking about the Harry Potter movies and I said that I wasn’t excited about the new one coming out because the series has been going on for so long and the breaks in between are really long so I am not “in it” anymore. Plus the book came out years ago and I’ve pretty much forgotten the story already. But then the new trailer came out and now I’m actually quite excited about it. It looks great! What do you think?

The newest Harry Potter film is coming out on the 16th or 17th of July 2009 (depending on where you live). The makers are seriously taking their time … the last one, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, came out in July 2007. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) will be turning 20 a few days after the premiere next year. So how old will he be when the last film in the series is released? According to the IMDb Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows will come out in two separate parts (oh come on! Just let it be over and done with already …), one in 2010 and the next in 2011.

For the people who can’t wait until next summer, J.K. Rowling is releasing a little book called The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It is a collection of wizarding fairy-tales which was left to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in the last of the Harry Potter books. The author wrote and illustrated seven copies by hand from which Amazon bought one at an auction at Sotheby’s (for £1.95 million or $3.98 million!). Amazon will be selling a special edition with a copied version of the handwritten introduction by J.K. herself. It is a pretty little book, in a velvet bag, in a wizarding text book (very Harry Potteresque) and will cost $100. The special edition will be released alongside the standard hardcover version ($7.59) on December 4th this year. I wonder how many kids (and adults?) will find this book under their Christmas tree this year …