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Fantasy news round-up – January/February 2010
Fantasy authors donate towards the Haiti appeal
Harry Potter author JK Rowling donated a full UK edition set of her books, as well as a handwritten card, to Helping Haiti Heal. These rare items join more than 100 special gifts, including a signed book by author Neil Gaiman, five dedicated books by Sir Terry Pratchett, and original conception art from the film Where the Wild Things Are.
And… The Daily Mail “newspaper” grudgingly apologises to JK Rowling
”On January 17 we reported the recent purchase of a property by author J. K. Rowling. We wrongly alleged that she offered an extra £300,000 for the seller to leave within two weeks so she could hold a Christmas party and that she viewed only two rooms before deciding to buy the property. We apologise to Ms Rowling for any embarrassment caused.” announced the sulky press release.
Graveyard Book movie is dead for now
Neil Gaiman’s young adult novel, The Graveyard Book, which won a Newbery Medal and a Hugo award looks set to remain solely in the written word for the foreseeable future. The film adaptation that was to be written and directed by Neil Jordan (The Brave One, The Crying Game and Interview with the Vampire) has fallen apart on the financing front.
Harry Potter fans bid for Quidditch league
Students at the University of Nottingham want to establish a British Quidditch league based on the JK Rowling stories. The sport is already popular in universities in the United States but has yet to be taken seriously in this country. In the Harry Potter books the trainee wizards fly on broomsticks. In reality the Nottingham students hold a broom between their legs and throw a ball with their free arm.
Fantasy authors battle it out on live online role-playing game
Fantasy authors Peter V. Brett, Ari Marmell, and Diana Rowland go head-to-head in a live online role-playing game session. The two-hour session, hosted by Suvudu.com, features a real-time adventure illustrated with artwork, and featuring characters from the King of RPGs graphic novel series.
New Line Cinema push back Hobbit release date
New Line’s efforts to get “The Hobbit” on the big screen have been hobbled again. Studio officials confirm that the film, which had been slated to premiere in December 2011, won’t hit theatres until the end of 2012 at the earliest. The two-part prequel to New Line’s mega-successful “Lord of the Rings” franchise has Peter Jackson signed on to produce and Guillermo del Toro enlisted to direct. Production had previously been delayed by haggling between author J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate and New Line over “Lord of the Rings” profits. This latest delay, however, has to do with financing for “The Hobbit,” which unlike “LOTR,” will not be paid for via foreign pre-sales. Rather, for “The Hobbit,” New Line shares financing rights with MGM/UA, which purchased its rights back in 1969 and could sell them soon as part of a larger restructuring. In short, “The Hobbit’s” production financing situation probably won’t become clear until MGM’s situation is sorted out later this year.
Posted: February 5th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JK Rowling, Latest News, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
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