The Harry Potter Alliance is asking Harry Potter fans around the world to celebrate this year’s Olympics motto, “One World, One Dream.” The Alliance likens the Olympics to the TriWizard Tournament in that “both are ancient athletic competitions designed to bring about international cooperation,” though this ideal was “hijacked by Lord Voldemort” during the TriWizard Tournament – and “we don’t want that happening in our world.” As the 2008 Olympic Games are being hosted by China (whose government is actively funding the genocide in Darfur, the military regime in Burma, and several other equally horrific ventures across the globe), the HP Alliance is asking everyone to come together to truly stand for the “One World, One Dream” ideal and “not allow it to become an empty phrase of propaganda like Grindelwald’s ‘For the Greater Good.’” As part of this, the Alliance is asking you to host and/or attend a Harry Potter Alliance house party! All the tools you need to host a house party are available on the Harry Potter Alliance website. Andrew Slack of the HP Alliance writes, “We think this is going to be a really fun way to take action on behalf of our world. We’ve even divided what you can do into Three Tasks! Together we can apply the message that we’ve learned from Harry Potter, in these dark and difficult times, do what’s right over what’s easy, and have fun as we celebrate Harry Potter and the authentic ideal of One World, One Dream!” For more information, check out the House Parties page on the HP Alliance website, and if you’re interested in hosting a house party or would like to find one in your area, please email Dinah at houseparties@thehpalliance.org!

As mentioned on Episode 155, over the next three weeks, MuggleCast will be teaming up with Teddy Bears For Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides teddy bears to children affected by homelessness, disease, and neglect. It's time for the show and its fans to help give back to those who really need it. Go here to learn about this great charity and how you can make a difference. The Potter fandom has always prided itself on rallying around great causes. No amount is too small and all funds go directly towards providing children with hope for the future, through the comfort and security of a brand new teddy bear. Teddy Bears for Hope is a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity.

The Broadway production of Equus is quickly approaching (with performances beginning in September), and we've just been told by the production company that rehearsals will commence in just a few days! As most of you know, Equus on Broadway stars Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon). We'd like to remind everyone that the link to the Equus on Broadway site can be found right here, and you can go here to purchase tickets for a showing.

If you want to catch the recently released Half-Blood Prince teaser trailer on the big screen, you'll be happy to know that there are a couple of films to see it with. As we told you when the teaser was announced, it is currently playing in front of The Mummy. A few MuggleNet readers have also told us that the trailer is playing with Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Readers have also been telling us that it hasn't appeared in front of The Mummy in a few theaters. We recommend that if you're going to see a film just for the teaser, check with the theater ahead of time. Thanks to those who e-mailed in with the tip!

Back in June, we told you about the prequel that JK Rowling wrote to support Waterstone's "What's Your Story" charity auction. Jo's story sold to the winning bidder for nearly $50,000 Today, the postcard book that includes stories from Jo and 12 other authors went on sale to the general public. Lo and behold, The Telegraph is reporting that 10,000 copies went on sale at Waterstone's stores, and 10,000 copies were sold by the end of the day! From the article: "Fans have been desperate to own this limited edition piece of Harry Potter history," said Toby Bourne, Waterstone's head of children's buying. "Pre-orders flooded in from all over the world. Demand was so big that we stopped taking pre-orders to ensure customers had a chance to buy the book in stores."

This week's episode of our Harry Potter podcast is now available, including a special interview with Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga. The Saga was just completed last Friday when the fourth novel, Breaking Dawn was released. Credited for gaining an audience and fandom that has her closer than anyone else to Potter's popularity, Stephenie talks about the differences and similarities between the two tales. And a question we all need an answer to... Who would win in a fight: Edward Cullen or Harry Potter? Also on this week's episode: - We discuss the news of Beedle the Bard being published. - Will there be midnight release parties? - Listener Rebuttals address last week's hot topics. - This Week in MuggleCast History, Make the Music Connection, and Chicken Soup. To download for free, we recommend subscribing through Apple iTunes. Just CLICK HERE and then press "Subscribe" to the right of our album art. (Already subscribed? Refresh your feed!) No iPod or MP3 player needed! You can also visit the MuggleCast website to listen right within your browser. Enjoy!

Many release dates for the sixth Potter film, Half-Blood Prince, have just been posted on the official Harry Potter website. Thanks to everyone who emailed!

IOACentral has a new report up from Universal Studios in Florida, where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park is currently being constructed. New outside the upcoming park's perimeter is a proclamation decree similar to those seen in Order of the Phoenix. The sign states that magic is "at work" and they appreciate everyone's patience. You can see all of the pictures at IOA Central. Thanks to Snitch Seeker for the tip!

Jo Rowling's website has been updated to wish Ginny Weasley a happy birthday for August 11th. Have a great one, Ginny!

The Half-Blood Prince film and video game are quickly approaching their November releases, and another preview of the game is now online! This one is about the Nintendo DS version, courtesy of IGN: Most of the Hogwarts school is represented in an isometric world. Players control Harry and can explore the grounds of the wizarding school. Numerous students litter the halls and courtyards, offering friendly challenges. The first portion of the game we tried was the Wizard Duel. Players face off in one on one magic fights with fellow students. Players use the touch screen to attack and defend. The touch screen is split into two sides to switch between attack spells and defense spells. Read the full report here!

The popular entertainment magazine has just made a blog post about the Half-Blood Prince push back to July 17th, 2009. In it, they revealed that not only will Potter be on the cover of this week's issue of the magazine, but not everyone at WB was in-the-loop about the decision: EW and Warner Bros. share a parent company, but they clearly do not share, you know, important friggin’ information. A Warners publicist stressed that word about the rescheduling had only just come down today—which is most likely true, given that the Half-Blood teaser trailer is already in circulation. As of tomorrow, it will run with the new animated Star Wars movie, almost certainly still trumpeting a fall release date. We're hoping that the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly has a new picture from Half-Blood Price, since it will be featured on the cover. We'll show you what it looks like once we get it!

News of Half-Blood Prince being delayed until July got you down? Fear not, Potter fans! We have several new photos online that will leave you... well, still sad. Ironically, this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly has a fall movie preview - and guess who's on the cover? Check out the new scans below, including five new photos that surfaced online, unrelated to the EW article (thanks to Pipocacombo.com.br): - Entertainment Weekly cover - Opening article - side 1 - Opening article - side 2 - Snape, Narcissa, and Bellatrix - Ginny arriving at the Slug Club - Snape casts a spell as McGonagall and the trio observe - Slughorn and Dumbledore - Harry and Slughorn at Slughorn's party - Bellatrix, probably at the attack on The Burrow

If you were one of many people hoping to see Half-Blood Prince in IMAX on November 21st, the IMAX folks have some good news for you. You'll still have to wait until July 17th, 2009 for the new general opening, but it will be available in close to 100 theaters as opposed to just the 40 planned for November: On the bright side, he noted that when "Harry Potter" does open next summer, it will appear in close to 100 of its new digital theaters, as opposed to about 40 estimated to be in operation by November. "It's a better revenue opportunity for us at that point," he said. Richard Gelfond, the Co Chief Executive of IMAX, goes on to say that they only found out about the push back yesterday, and all of their other IMAX release plans for Summer '09 will stay unchanged.

In case the nine new photos from Half-Blood Prince weren't enough for you yesterday, we now have an additional four that surfaced online at this blog. Check 'em out below: - Ron and Lavender Brown - Harry and Ginny holding a discussion - Harry and Dumbledore approaching Slughorn's house - Bellatrix on a table in the Great Hall

The LA Times has a new article up highlighting how upset fans are at Warner Brother's decision to push back the release of Half-Blood Prince to July 17th, 2009. They spoke with WB president Alan Horn (pictured left) about the matter, who tried to come up with more reasoning: Warner currently is riding high with "The Dark Knight," the Batman film that also stars Bale. The grim super-hero movie has taken in $452 million in the U.S. since its July 18 release, making it the second-highest grossing film ever. To some degree, that success motivated Warner to shift "Half-Blood Prince," Horn said. The film will now hit theaters the same midsummer weekend that "Dark Knight" was released this year. Horn said the young, core Potter audience would be out of school and give the film a longer theatrical life. It will now open opposite Universal's special-effects comedy "Land of the Lost," which stars Will Ferrell. But Horn said there was nothing next year compared to this summer's especially dense slate of big-budget releases. The article wrapped up with this quote from Horn: "We would never do anything to hurt one of the movies or the series. We love our fans."

With an intro by Jim Dale and significant contributions from several activists and members of the fandom, this latest episode of the Harry Potter Alliance podcast is particularly informative and inspiring. It asks Harry Potter fans to help personify the theme of the 2008 Olympic Games by working on behalf of the people of Darfur, Tibet, and Burma despite the Chinese government's actions in those regions. As stated on the Harry Potter Alliance site, "We hope you find it empowering, educational, and inspiring as we ask for Harry Potter fans across the world to embrace the Olympic (and the TriWizard) ideal of 'One World, One Dream.'" Check out the podcast in the iTunes store or listen to it directly here. In similar news, the Harry Potter Alliance House Party Coordinator Dinah will be hosting her own HPA House Party tomorrow in Chico, California at noon. If you're in the area, stop by what is sure to be an incredible event!

Warner Brothers has passed along two high res pictures that appeared in this week's Entertainment Weekly, as seen in this report. Check 'em out below: - Young Tom Riddle sits in his room at the orphanage - Snape, Narcissa, and Bellatrix

Today (August 16th), the actress who plays Luna Lovegood in the Potter films turns 17! A diehard Potter fan, readers may remember that Evanna was a frequent MuggleNet visitor and heard about the Luna Lovegood casting call through the site. She is truly one of us, and how far she has come! Have a great one, Evanna!

Scholastic's official website has a new interview with the actor who plays Draco Malfoy in the Potter films. In it, he speaks about the character of Draco, Tom's YouTube videos, and a lot more. Scholastic: What's your opinion of Draco? Tom: Not a very pleasant one, I assure you. I figure, I think of him as a misled only child who's been slightly bullied into his state of mind, if you will. But in long short, he is a nasty bit of work. A bit of a slimy, troublesome character who's not really up for any good and certainly the benefit of anyone else. Scholastic: Well, my next question was going to be, "Do you think people misunderstand him?" But I guess you already answered that. Tom: Well, I suppose, "yes" would be the answer. By the same token, he doesn't do a great job of trying to convince otherwise, does he?

In an article reporting on how Entertainment Weekly posted their fall preview with Half-Blood Prince, The Canadian Press spoke with Dan Feldman, who is Head of Distribution at Warner Brothers. Feldman reveals the timeline of the decision: The studio had been mulling the date change for three or four weeks, "but it really didn't kind of get on the front-burner until sometime within the last seven days," Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. head of distribution, said Sunday. Entertainment Weekly's "deadline must have been earlier than the decision, than when we started to get serious about making the decision," Fellman said. WB's press release, revealing that Half-Blood Prince will be opening on July 17th, 2009, can be read right here.

The latest episode of our Harry Potter podcast is now, finally, available! This week's episode has lots of discussion on the Half-Blood Prince delay, and it's also our highly-anticipated final weekly episode. While we're not ending the show by any means, the end of weekly episodes will actually make MuggleCast better than ever when we have more time to produce each show. - The news of Half-Blood Prince being delayed puts us in a frenzy. - What was the real reason behind this? - Were there signs of a mistake from the beginning, dating back to 2006? - We play some old segments that haven't been seen in a while. - Make the Connection, British Joke, Favorites, Dueling Club, and more. - Our final thoughts on the show and where it will be going. To download for free, we recommend subscribing through Apple iTunes. Just CLICK HERE and then press "Subscribe" to the right of our album art. (Already subscribed? Refresh your feed!) No iPod or MP3 player needed! You can also visit the MuggleCast website to listen right within your browser. Enjoy!

On August 6, 2008, hundreds of wizard rockers and friends converged at the Hilton Chicago for Wrock Chicago - one of the largest wizard rock festivals ever! Today, MTV has released their coverage of the event, which you can view on their website. If you attended Wrock Chicago, see if you can spot yourself - many fans (myself included!) were captured on camera dancing and jumping during the shows.

Alan Horn, President of Warner Brothers, has issued a statement in response to the large amount of disappointment from their decision to delay Half-Blood Prince until July 17th, 2009: Many of you have written to me to express your disappointment in our moving “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to Summer 2009. Please be assured that we share your love for Harry Potter and would certainly never do anything to hurt any of the films. Over the past 10 years, we have nurtured and protected each film, and the integrity of the books upon which they are based, to the best of our ability. The decision to move “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was not taken lightly, and was never intended to upset our Harry Potter fans. We know you have built this series into what it is, and we thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm and support. If I may offer a silver lining: there would have been a two-year gap between “Half-Blood Prince” and the much-anticipated first part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which opens in November 2010. So although we have to wait a little longer for “Half-Blood Prince,” the wait from that film until “Deathly Hallows” will be less than 18 months. I am sorry to have disappointed you now, but if you hold on a little longer, I believe it will be worth the wait.

Back in mid-July we told you that Dan would appear at TimesTalk in NYC to promote and discuss his upcoming performance in Equus. A staff member of Snitch Seeker was present at the event and took lots of notes from what Dan had to say. In their report, we learn a lot about Equus and some information concerning Half-Blood Prince. The most timely thing learned about Half-Blood Prince was a comment from Dan on the delay, which he says he found out about only 24 hours before everyone else. He also asked everyone to not blame him for the delay. Read the full report here!

Wrock for Darfur – an all-day Harry Potter-themed festival organized to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur – will be held from noon to 9 PM this Saturday at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie. This wonderful collaboration by a small group of teenagers will feature a massive wizard rock concert, vendors, food, games, and even an elaborate Horcrux Hunt! And the best part is, all proceeds will go directly into purchasing school supplies for Darfuri refugees as well as civilian protection in Darfur. Read more at the link below!

The British Board of Film Classification's website has been updated with information concerning a second Half-Blood Prince teaser trailer. Coming in at 91 seconds long (the first teaser trailer was 96 seconds), it has a PG rating and was just approved yesterday. We'll let you know if anything comes of this! Thanks to CinemaBlend for the tip.

Ah yes, it's been a while since we've seen wise old Albus Dumbledore wearing some half-moon spectacles in the films. What a treat it is to see a pretty cool behind the scenes photo of Michael Gambon and the crew within the Great Hall, where it looks like Dumbledore is about to make a speech. It also looks like there's a green cover on his hands for the visual effects. The scans come from the German magazine Cinema, and you can see the scans here and here. The rest of the article has images we've seen before. Thanks to Harry Potter Experts for the tip!

The behind the scenes photo we showed you in a German entertainment magazine yesterday is now available in high-res right here, courtesy of Warner Brothers. Additionally, WB has informed us that the teaser trailer now reflects the new July release date. You can see the trailer on the official Harry Potter website.

Equus on Broadway is quickly approaching its September start, and the publicity train is kicking into full gear. Dan is scheduled to make a television appearance on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien on August 25th. Late Night begins at 12:35 AM on NBC after The Tonight Show. Additionally, last week we received a couple of publicity photos from Equus' production company. You can see a shirtless Dan right here and another one with him and Richard Griffiths here. There's also a promotional Facebook group you can join at this link. Don't forget that you can purchase tickets to Equus and find more details about it on the official site.

As mentioned previously, MuggleCast has teamed up with Teddy Bears For Hope, a non-profit organization that provides brand new teddy bears to children around the world whose lives have been ravaged by tragedy. With Sunday, August 24 fast approaching we are heading for our final push. You can still donate and learn more about the charity by going to this page on the MuggleCast site. Some of you have e-mailed in saying you were unable to donate because you need permission or just don't have the necessary funds. That has been fixed -- all you need now is the simple click of your mouse. By going to SearchKindly.org, and voting for Teddy Bears For Hope you can help out. All of the organizations listed on the poll will receive a donation, but the size of the donations will be determined by the results of this poll. The greater the percentage of votes that a charity receives, the greater its share. Let's make sure our charity receives the most amount of votes. The funds it receives from this poll will go towards MuggleCast's overall effort. Thanks again to everyone who has made this a success thus far!

J.K. Rowling has updated her site to wish Percy Weasley a happy birthday for August 22nd. As the late Barty Crouch Sr. would say, have a great day, Weatherby!

Today marks the 20th birthday of Rupert Grint, the actor who plays Ron Weasley in the Potter films. We at MuggleNet wish Rupert a fantastic day!

MuggleNet Senior Staff member Benjamin C. Schoen turns the big 19 today! Where would MuggleNet be without Ben and his five years of service to the team? He's always working behind the scenes to make sure every last line of PHP has its respective quotation and question marks. Plus, we all know him from his one-of-a-kind remarks and impressions on MuggleCast. Without him, the show would have never begun. He had the first words on Episode 1 when Kevin and I couldn't strike up the courage to kick it off. From all of your fellow staff members, Happy Birthday Ben!

New images from the 2009 Half-Blood Prince calendar have surfaced online via Amazon and LiveJournal: - Front Cover featuring the Trio - Bellatrix and those involved in the Burrow attack - Ron and Lavender having a moment - Several different characters from the film - Professor McGonagall in a frame There is no date set yet for this calendar's release, but it is currently listed at Amazon right here. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with the tip!

The Decatur Book Festival allows you to "immerse yourself in literature and poetry, meet Pulitzer Prize winners and probe the writers' mind... or you can dress silly, sing loud, laugh a lot and have the cheapest possible family outing." Scholastic's Harry Potter "continuity editor" at Scholastic, Cheryl Klein, will judge a Harry Potter quiz on August 30th as part of the festival. AJC.com spoke to Cheryl about this role, a little about what she's doing post-Harry Potter, and whether she ever encountered inconsistencies in the Potter books: "Changes like that did come up. Talking about them is a little like violating lawyer-client privilege. It’s the author’s job to talk about those." Thanks to everyone who emailed!

Whimsic Alley, an awesome Harry Potter merchandise store located in Santa Monica, CA, is hosting a big Wizard Rock concert this Saturday and Sunday: The fun begins on Saturday, August 30th at 12:00 p.m. (noon), as we start the festival off with the Punk Rock band Switchblade Kittens. We follow with Wingardium Leviosa, Tonks!, and new band The Ginny Potter Revelation. Then we will finish off the afternoon with Wizard Rock fan favorites The Hermione Crookshanks Experience and Marked as His Equal. Then, on Sunday, August 31st, beginning at 3:00 p.m., popular Wizard Rock bands The Remus Lupins and The Whomping Willows will serenade fans, both magical and muggle, with their greatest hits. Admission is free, and Whimsic Alley is located at 2717 ½ Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, check out their website.

The fifth Harry Potter movie, Order of the Phoenix, has received a nomination for the People's Choice Award at this year's European Film Awards. The film faces competition from mostly local movies like the German romantic comedy Rabbit Without Ears. You can vote for the Movie 5 on September 1st at this link. Thanks to everyone who emailed.

The 2008 Magical Tours Summer Intern, Thomas Pardee, has posted the anxiously-anticipated Third Episode of his on-going Harry Potter locations travelog made during the recent Magical Tours in Britain. This one features terrific information about early scenes in the upcoming film of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and MORE! To see Thomas' newest video report go to Episode 3. And if you haven't seen the first two editions, you can see #1 here and #2 here. Thanks to Thomas for creating an awesome collection of reports for MuggleNet visitors! Magical Tours has also announced the fantastic 2009 tour schedule! Some great new locations and awesome events in Scotland and England have been added for what is shaping up to be the best Harry Potter travel season ever! Check out all the exciting tour plans for next summer right here . And be sure to bookmark their site to keep up with tour information and updates.

Snitch Seeker has received a new picture from Half-Blood Prince. This time, it depicts Harry, Ron, and Ginny sharing a laugh in The Burrow. Their smiles surely won't last for long, as we know that an attack on The Burrow happens after this scene.