Dan Radcliffe apologized to Robbie Coltrane for Phone Prank

Daniel Radcliffe’s tendency to prank his fellow Harry Potter cast-mates often added levity to the set, but there was at least one time when his antics went a little too far.

Reportedly, Robbie Coltrane, who portrayed Hagrid in the films, was once a victim of a prank where the young actor changed the settings on his friend’s phone from English to Turkish. The joke seems harmless enough—except that Coltrane was left unable to make calls!

The infuriated actor had a hard time finding anyone on set who could change the settings of his phone back to English, and Radcliffe was left feeling understandably sheepish about what he had done. Coltrane remembers the event clearly:

Eventually we found a girl in the Harry Potter make-up department who was Turkish Cypriot. She phoned her mum and was chatting away in great detail until they sorted it out. I think Daniel was so upset at what had happened that he wrote me that note...'Dear Mr. Coltrane, I'm sorry I changed your mobile telephone into Turkish...

Have you ever been part of a prank gone too far? Let us know in the comments!

'Half-Blood Prince' to make basic cable debut as part of ABC Family's '25 Days of Christmas'

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will make its basic cable television premiere on December 4, as part of ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas.

The movie will debut that Sunday from 8:30 PM - 12:00 AM ET/PT, headlining the network's annual Harry Potter movie marathon.

The marathon will run Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4 and additionally include the first five films.

WB working to release Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince in a 3D Blu-Ray format

If the recent news about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1's 3D-less release had you down, you'll be pleased to know Warner Brothers is currently working to convert Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince into 3D films for Blu-Ray.  Says Variety:

Work has begun on "Half-Blood Prince," the sixth pic in the franchise. Prime Focus London is the lead facility on the conversion, with additional work being done by company's Hollywood and India facilities.

Prime Focus and Warner took a lot of heat after the 3D version of "Clash of the Titans" was rushed; in contrast, work on the conversion of "Half-Blood Prince" is proceeding methodically. Including Warner's plans to put both parts of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in 3D, all four "Potter" pics directed by David Yates have been in line for 3D conversion.

Yates is still in post on "Deathly Hallows" and will not turn his attention to the 3D back titles until early 2011. However, the Prime Focus process is flexible enough to permit the director to view shots and ask for adjustments after most work on those shots has been done.

No release date for these films has been set likely because Warner Brothers wants to take their time in making sure the conversion is done right.

Hot Topic debuts Potter shirt based on Deathly Hallows one-sheet

Check out this sweet new shirt at Hot Topic based on the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 one-sheet.

The shirt features the poster with the text "It all ends here."

I may have to buy this one.  Thanks to Sage, Scott, and Caroline for the tip.

Reminder: Half-Blood Prince to debut tonight on HBO

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will make its television debut tonight at 8 pm ET on HBO.

The sixth Potter film will undoubtedly air multiple times across HBO's network of stations over the course of the next several weeks, so check local listings.

Harry Potter, Half-Blood Prince win at National Movie Awards (updated)

UPDATE: Thanks to DanRadcliffe.com, three videos from the event are now online:

- Looking back at Harry Potter
- Dan, Emma and Bonnie accept the Family award
- Cast and crew accept Special Recognition award

As we reported yesterday, the National Movie Awards were held today in the United Kingdom and Harry Potter picked up a couple awards.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince won in the Family category, while Harry Potter as a whole won the Special Recognition Award.

Dan and Emma were also present and received the awards on behalf of the franchise.