Besides Beedle: Rickman, RDR update, ABC Family

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With all the news concerning The Tales of Beedle the Bard there have been a few other things of note going on:

– Alan Rickman, who plays Severus Snape in the Potter series appeared Wednesday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He also did an interview with SciFi.com where he discussed his filming schedule and the impact of the final film:

“Well, it'll be a big finish, won't it? That's true, and appropriately. You can feel it now, the size of the undertaking.”

The online magazine also got a hold of producer David Heyman where he discussed the delay of the sixth film and the impact of the decision to split Deathly Hallows.

– On Thursday, RDR Books officially withdrew its appeal of U.S. District Judge Patterson's decision to publish an unauthorized companion novel to the Potter series. J.K. Rowling's public relations agency issued the following statement:

“We are delighted that this matter is finally and favorably resolved and that J.K. Rowling's rights — and indeed the rights of all authors of creative works — have been protected,” the statement said. “We are also pleased to hear that rather than continue to litigate, RDR have themselves decided to publish a different book prepared with reference to Judge Patterson's decision.”

The Muskegon Chronicle goes on to say that in the new book the words “An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials” appears boldly below “The Lexicon” title and above author Steve Vander Ark's name. There is further explanation that neither Rowling nor a host of others with trademarks and other interests in the Harry Potter series had any part in the book.

– Finally, USA Today has written up a preview of ABC Family's Potter weekend which begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can expect to see deleted scenes from Goblet of Fire as well as a look into Half-Blood Prince. The paper quotes producer David Heyman on the sixth film:

“It's different than the other films. It's not the non-stop action that some of the others are, although there is some action. It's more of an emotional film.”