To celebrate the holiday season, MuggleNet and Alivan's have teamed up for a great deal! Any MuggleNet visitor that spends more than $20 at Alivan's gets a FREE Mugglenet wand with their order (see a photo of the handmade wand and its included velvet satchel at this link).

To get your free wand just visit www.Alivans.com and place your order. During checkout you just need to enter the coupon code FREEMAGIC in the Redeem box (it is very important you enter the coupon code as that is the only way Alivan's can know to include your MuggleNet wand).

Happy Holidays!

BrianOrndorf.com - a site that has provided plenty of Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park construction photo updates in the past - has posted yet another update.

This latest one shows the finishing touches going on Hogwarts Castle as well as what may be some new construction on Hogsmeade and the queues.

See all the photos at this link! For all we've got on the theme park, click here.

The time has come to name one lucky fan MuggleNet's first ever Fan of the Year!

We received hundreds of entries and narrowed it down to three nominees who we truly believe deserve to be Fan of the Year.

Now it's up to you, the fans of MuggleNet, to name one of your own as the year's biggest fan! The winner will receive a Gryffindor Scarf from Blockbuster as well as be featured on MuggleNet!

Head over to Fan of the Week to check out the nominees profiles and to vote! Voting closes on New Year's Eve so make sure to vote often! Next year, it could be you!

In a new interview with Canada's The Magazine, Tom Felton and Bonnie Wright say that they will attend the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studious Island of Adventure in May 2010.

This answer was said by Bonnie in a questionable tone. The opening could very well change in the event of construction delays.

Also keep in mind that earlier reports have pointed to an April 2010 opening.

Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the tip!

UPDATE: MuggleCast picked up the 2009 Podcast Award for Entertainment. Thanks especially to our listeners, everyone who voted for us, and our very dedicated transcription team over at MuggleCast.com. We'll see you all next year at the 2010 PA's!

Tonight, you can watch the 2009 Podcast Awards live online beginning at 8 p.m. ET. MuggleCast is nominated in two categories: Best Produced and Entertainment. Co-host and MuggleNet staff member Eric Scull will be attending the ceremony on behalf of MuggleCast (and hopefully accepting some awards!).

Check out the stream right here!

UPDATE: The screening has concluded! View a list of everything we learned during the screening at this link!

EDIT: It looks like there was a last minute change. Producer David Barron will be hosting with Dan instead of director David Yates.

Dan Radcliffe and David Yates are currently hosting a community screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with those fans who are digitally attending via their Blu-Ray disc/player.

If you can't attend the screening, no worries! We'll be tweeting from a brand new Twitter account we created specifically for live events. We're using a separate Twitter account so we don't clog up your Twitter feed with messages from @MuggleNet. The box on the right side of this page displays the latest updates about the screening!

Once the screening is over we'll write up a news post with complete details.

Just a reminder that in celebration of the Ultimate Edition DVD release, last week MuggleNet launched an exclusive sweepstakes!

All you have to do is go here and enter your e-mail address and date of birth for your chance to win. The grand prize package includes:

- A brand-new Blu-ray player
- Sorcerer's Stone Ultimate Edition (Blu-ray)
- Chamber of Secrets Ultimate Edition (Blu-ray)

Three (3) first prize packages include:
- Sorcerer's Stone (Blu-ray)
- Chamber of Secrets (Blu-ray)
- Harry Potter Collector's Coin Set
- Harry Potter 5-Piece Bookmark Set

Please note this sweepstakes is open to U.S. residents only and you must be 18 years old to enter. Only ONE entry per person is permitted. The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on January 3, 2010.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Happy birthday wishes to Charlie Weasley!

He turns 37 years old Dec. 12, according to J.K. Rowling's calendar.

Tom Felton named his favorite franchise director in an interview with MTV.

"David Yates, who we've been working with for the last few years, he's been by far my personal favorite," Felton told MTV News. "I get on with him like a house on fire. I think he's a genius at what he does."

Which of the four Harry Potter franchise directors do you prefer?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been shortlisted as a semifinalist for Achievement in Visual Effects at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Half-Blood Prince is up against 15 other films for the award. The list will be narrowed down to 7 in January 21st. From there, the list will be nominated down to three for final Oscar consideration.

The 82nd Annual Academy Award nominations will be announced on February 2nd. The Award ceremony will be held on March 7th on ABC!

Thanks to Andrew for the tip!

Teen Vogue has let us know that Emma Watson made two of their Best of 2009 lists this year:

- Best Dressed: In a classic Burberry trench or a sci-fi inspired Rodarte frock, it's no question that this Harry Potter star has the ability to pull off her versatile wardrobe.

- Most Searched For: Here are the top 20 it boys and girls you couldn't get enough of this year. Who did you search for the most?

The actor who plays Draco Malfoy in the Potter series continues to promote the Half-Blood Prince DVD with US media outlets (he reveals in this interview that this trip to the US was a last-minute decision).

In what could be considered the best interview yet from this US media push, the Wall Street Journal speaks to Tom about Deathly Hallows filming and the Half-Blood Prince DVD. On the subject of the former, Tom briefly hints at what they're filming currently:

Tom Felton: I can’t reveal too much, or I’ll get myself in trouble, but I can say that we’ve been shooting some of the very last scenes from the very last film. Though we’re not going to be able to see it for another two years, which is crazy. But it’s very moving, because this is what we’ve been working toward for the last 10 years. Daniel [Radcliffe] is the figurehead of the series, so when we see him battered and abused and scarred [while in character] on set, you get all emotional.

Later in the interview, Tom comments on the recent news of nude scenes in Deathly Hallows:

I’ve seen some pretty horrific… no, I’m kidding. I haven’t seen any pictures — usually they do artist’s impressions to show us, but I haven’t seen anything yet. I haven’t talked to Dan about it, actually. I may have to have a word. I’m sure it will be awkward for them.

The one thing to keep in find is that [the Potter series] are adult books. Half the characters die by the end, and often in grisly ways. Teenagers are about sex, drugs and rock & roll, and David’s very keen to keep the films true to what these kids would be going through in real life; he’s not censoring anything that doesn’t need to be censored. The idea of this alluring Hermione is great, because [the character] is so unalluring; it’ll be great to switch it up. And I can’t say exactly, but I look forward to what happens.

It's not often that Alan Rickman talks about Potter (even our interview with him at the Half-Blood Prince premiere was a very special opportunity). This past Monday, Alan was at the Hudson Union Society and spoke about a wide range of topics surrounding his career including Potter.

While he doesn't say much about Deathly Hallows filming, Alan does discuss what it's like working with different directors for all the different films. You can see three parts of the interview right here thanks to Snitch Seeker.

It's December, and for many of us that often means the stress of exams, college applications, and the holidays. It's enough to make all of us act like pre-exam mode Hermiones. In fact, it has somehow become "normal" to listen to a Muggle Mindset that tells us that in order to be productive or hardworking, we must live with a level of stress that is so high it can cause us to panic or lose sleep over what we "should" be doing.

The HPA has been putting out blog posts each day about ways that we can get beyond the Muggle Mindset and relieve stress at this often crazy time. Check it out at http://TheHPAlliance.org - there's a new post about this every day for the next several days!

There are two new interviews online tonight with Tom Felton and Bonnie Wright, who have recently spoken to United States news sources to promote the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DVD.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Tom talks briefly about Deathly Hallows and an upcoming cameo in a Jonah Hill film.

In an interview with US Potter book publisher Scholastic, both Tom and Bonnie discuss the books/films in general:

Q: How would you describe J.K. Rowling?
Bonnie: I always find it so surreal meeting her. This whole world literally is because of one person.
Tom: She's a very unassuming down-to-earth lady, the most lovely lady. I was always taken away by how genuine she seemed, and how unaffected by the fact that she's probably the world's biggest author.

The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows preview trailer found on the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince DVD is now online in high res!

The best part is that it includes an intro with David Yates, David Heyman, and new behind-the-scenes footage from filming.

Watch the trailer below. Click here for high-res screencaps!



Let us know what you think about the trailer in the comments! Thanks to TheRemembrall.org for video and screencaps.