Why Harry Potter Star Daniel Radcliffe Almost Quit The Harry Potter Movies

After eight successful movies, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Daniel Radcliffe in the role of the most famous wizard in the world. But did you know that he almost quit Harry Potter midway through the series?

That’s the small bombshell the now-24-year-old actor dropped when he revealed to The Guardian that he almost stopped playing the famous boy wizard after the third film in the movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Radcliffe said:
"By the third film, I thought, if there's a time to get out, it's now; there's still enough time for another actor to come in and establish himself.
"For a while I thought, if I do all of them, will I be able to move on to other stuff or should I start doing other stuff now?"
At the time, Radcliffe was 14 years old, and said that he would have missed appearing alongside his fellow cast members, adding that "actually there aren't many great parts out there for teenage boys, certainly not as good as Harry Potter."

But Radcliffe has also learned to embrace the fact that the character of “the boy who lived” was going to be linked with him forever:

"I know that Potter is going to be with me for the rest of my life, so to try to set a goal where nobody talks about that anymore is stupid.
"It would be like… Paul McCartney might have gone on to do a lot of other things, but people are always going to want to talk about the Beatles."
"It's just a fact of your life, so you can't get annoyed by it or resent it. You have to embrace the fact that you were involved in this incredibly cool thing that did wonders for the British film industry and though you might not always be happy with the work you did on it, the opportunity it has given you to forge a career for yourself is amazing."
Are you relieved that Daniel Radcliffe stuck around for the entirety of the Harry Potter series? Do you think his quitting mid-series would have had an impact on the franchise?

(via Digital Spy, Blastr)

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JK Rowling Reveals Plans For New Harry Potter Inspired Film

JK Rowling has signed a deal with Warner Bros. to write the screenplay for a new fantasy film based on parts of the Harry Potter novels.

The author announced the news on her Facebook page and explained it isn't a prequel or a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but more an extension of that world.

The film will be based on Harry Potter textbook and spin-off book, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and follows the adventures of it's fictional author Newt Scamander.

"Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world," Rowling said.

There will be some familiar faces though, as the film will involve various magical creatures and characters that have featured previously in the Harry Potter books.

"The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry's gets underway."

Talking about how the idea came about, Rowling said: "“It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult.

"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood."

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be the first in a new film series, so we can probably expect the usual run of video game tie-ins and merchandise along the way too.

Via Mirror

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See what Wookie and 7 other sci-fi icons almost looked like in awesome concept art

Yoda, Hagrid, Buzz Lightyear,Beast -- they're all film icons, but what were they originally supposed to look like?

When it comes to character sketches versus the final, cinematic result, you never know what you'll discover. Sometimes the original intent remains entirely or in part until the very end. Other times, the sketch and the product are as far from each other as two things can be.

And with that in mind, here are a few side-by-side comparisons -- some of them are bizarre, some of them are awesome, but they're all worth a look. You can find our favorites below, and then be sure to check out the rest here.

And don't forget to tell us what you think! Should some of these characters have remained true to their earlier counterparts?
(via blastr)

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