Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

Presenting Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K . Rowling.

Here is the summary of the book:

J.K. Rowling invites you to explore a new era of the Wizarding World...

Explorer and Magizoologist Newt Scamander has just completed a round-the-globe trip in search of the most rare and unusual magical creatures. Arriving in New York, he intends his stay to be just a brief stopover. However, when Newt's case is misplaced and some of Newt's fantastic beasts escape into the city, it spells trouble for everyone…

REVIEW ==

J K Rowling.... Can do no wrong. Harry Potter began a trend more than a decade ago. Since then that magical world had been sort of a refuge for any and everyone be it young or old... with just the swish and flick of the wand. The Casual Vacancy followed then the stories of Detective Cormoran Strike (still going on)... But the wizarding world had always been our first love.... will always be our first love.... 

And their venture of the return of that world, albeit further back in the past.... Is something we all looked to with much eagerness..... 'Fantastic beasts and where to find them'... In that essence renews that regard with much charm and gusto. A different era, a different country, different ethics but the magic just as effervescent.

This is of course not the novel we may have hoped for but the script to the movie. Adorned in the most gorgeous artwork and the adventures of Newt Scamander and his case full of magical creatures, the no-maj Jacob Kowalski, and the witch sisters Tina and Queenie. MACUSA is as ever strict in their laws.... There is a darkness growing in the streets of New York.... And Grindlewald is of course not far behind.

I might be doing a poor job of describing the book but really you have to see and experience  the movie first, to really experience this beautiful book to the fullest. But the best of all - 4 more movies will follow. But till anything new comes about, we are more than satisfied with Niffler, the Demiguise, the Occamy, the Bowtruckle, the majestic Thunderbird and all manners of beasts that call Scamander's suitcase their home.

"Magic, mayhem and wonder of wizarding world clothed in an equally magical cover"

Genre :      Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Publisher: Little Brown Book Group

Release Date: 19th November, 2016

My Copy: bought (hardback)

Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)

Other Books from the Author:
                Cormoran Strike #1 #2 #3
                The Casual Vacancy
               Harry Potter (i read the series before 
                   I began blogging, so I never put up 
                     a review for them)
    
Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part 1 & 2

Presenting Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part 1 & 2 by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne.

Here is the summary of the book:

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

REVIEW ==

(This review is the most informal one I have ever written *wink*)

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,Teach us something please,Whether we be old and bald,Or young with scabby knees,Our heads could do with filling,With some interesting stuff,For now they're bare and full of......"

Hogwarts. Harry Potter. And the Wizarding world. My first love that always shall remain so.

J.K, Rowling enchanted us with the life story for the boy wizard to grows up and defeats the worst villain ever, Lord Voldermort. All the while introducing us to some of the best characters, magical creatures and the best of wand waving magic.

So the 8th Harry Potter story???? Give me! Give me!

Its in script format? No problem i'll take it. Since i can't really go to London to just watch the live play. So script would do. And while it is evident enough that J.K. Rowling didn't write this story, the playwrights John Tiffany & Jack Thorne still manage to capture the magic that enchanted us throughout the Harry Potter books from the 1st to the 7th.

Of course i maintained total radio silence before jumping into this book. I literally went in blind without any expectations or any idea of what the story is about. Also paced myself and read it in 3 days.... people said they finished it in one sitting but i didn't want that so I paced myself and .... THANK GOD I did .... Because i got the most out of it like that..... But the wait between my pacing of the book was just excruciating.... BUT WORTH IT!

Of course the familiar characters were a lot more OOC than what we were used to. All of our beloved characters are adults now. With children of their own. So it was expected that they would be different. Also this is the script for the stage play. So things were bound to be different in that aspect but the best part as I said above ..... they managed to capture the magic of that magical world.

But things are not sunshine and roses for Harry and Co. Harry Potter doesn't know how to deal with his son Albus. Albus on the other hand doesn't know how to interact with his father. Just to rebel against his parents (Those who are familiar with the anime/manga of Naruto will recognize the parallels between Naruto & Boruto). Although Albus Potter's meeting with Scorpius Malfoy and their resulting friendship defined them both...... but Scorpius was just the sweetest and the kindest *aww*. And the highlight for this story as well. Really I liked Scorpius the bookworm *wink* the best.

Really its not just an experience for Albus, who is nothing like his father. He doesn't like Hogwarts. Isn't athletic like his parents at all. You can call him the problem child really. Harry also grows through this ordeal. Not only does he finds a common ground with his son but also does he take the time to finally get to know said teenaged son. This is definitely not a Harry Potter reboot like many were expecting it to be and really that's how it really should be.

On the other hand, adult Ron and Hermoine were a bit more different than what I was expecting. But on the whole this is a compound adventure, a masterfully written play and a meaningful and well deserving of the title of being the 8th story of the Harry Potter series...... Because friendship, true friendship that we saw between 'Harry, Ron and Hermoine' and 'Albus & Scorpius' is rare and it should be cherished. And family matters above all else.

..... Finally i'll only say this - I hope this isn't the last of the Wizarding world and we will get more..... PRETTY PLEASE!!!

"The exciting new adventure in the fan favorite magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy, Script

Publisher: Little, Brown UK

Release Date: 31st July, 2016

My Copy: bought (hardback)

Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

Other Books on Harry Potter:
                       (review links)
           
Buy:           Amazon | Book Depository 

Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey

As I have said before I don't honestly review production design books but making an exception when Harry Potter falls into that category. Presenting my views over Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey by Bob McCabe.

Here is the summary of the book:

Harry Potter: Page to Screen opens the doors to Hogwarts castle and the wizarding world of Harry Potter to reveal the complete behind-the-scenes secrets, techniques, and over-the-top artistry that brought J.K. Rowling’s acclaimed novels to cinematic life. Developed in collaboration with the creative team behind the celebrated movie series, this deluxe, 500-plus page compendium features exclusive stories from the cast and crew, hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and concept illustrations sourced from the closed film sets, and rare memorabilia. As the definitive look at the magic that made cinematic history, Page to Screen is the ultimate collectible, perfect for Muggles everywhere.

Nothing much to say about the contents of the book, it should be fairly visible from the title itself. Page to Screen is a complete rundown of the conceiving till end of the decade long phenomenon Harry Potter. How David Heyman first got the idea to bring the Harry Potter stories to the big screen. How all the characters Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and the others were signed up. How the ig creative creature came together to bring gargantuan Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and the mysticality of the magical world be brought to life and seen to the end.

Its all done in three parts. All the eight films are discussed greatly in terms of production, casting, special effects employing, the challenges each film presented and a lot of comments from the actors, creative team and the directors and the producers. We are introduced methodically to every movie and the side note to how some of the big effects were created and made believable also adds points to the whole write-up. After this first half, the next half of the book is more where the encyclopaedia designation comes in. Giant chunks of the book are dedicated to costumes (really, characters), sets, props, and creatures and what went into the design / how they came to life / concept art.

Regarding this book took me ages to finish, it'll be safe to say that every inch and every line of the book shows us the hard work that went into creating these 8 movies. Gives a serious appreciation FOR the amount of work that went into creating them, and it astonished me how often the techniques I assumed were CGI were actually grounded quite heavily in old-fashioned tricks like miniatures and robots. It's a lot to kind of slog through and absorb all at once. Page to screen also helps us see the way every Potter director worked and helped the world grow with their vision. But a major plus to this whole book is the artwork and the pictures. While the first half presented pictures shot during the movies, the second half was abound in concept art and details about how every nook and cranny of the magical world comes to life on the silver screen, every creature, every prop, costumes and sets are presented for the public to see.

That being said i'm sure you'll all remember that another book just like this was released before the final 2 Potter movies realeased...Yes I'm talking about Harry Potter Film Wizardry(Click to see the review), while yes a lot of things presented in this book are also found there and some of you all may find getting Film Wizardry as it is cheaper but Page To Screen makes one hell of a companion to the Potter Saga. It is definitely something I will go back to again in the future.

"A gigantic edition to the Potter Phenomenon"

Genre :      Movie Tie-in, Production design


Publisher: Harper Design


Rate:              5/5 (It was Awesome)


              (a necessary commodity every Potter fan should own)

Pretty Deadly Reviews: Harry Potter Read - A - Long #4

Now the next two week for re-reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban as part of the Harry Potter Read - A Long hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews - again the brilliant feeling and the nostalgia returns. And got to say PoA may as well be one of the darkest books on there with all the dementors snooping around and sucking everything happy.

Question of the book - 

Q: What is one memory you have, happy enough to conjure a full-formed Patronus? And what form do you think yours would take?

A: "A Patronus is a kind of positive force, and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him. In order for it to work, you need to think of a memory. Not just any memory, a very happy memory, a very powerful memory… Allow it to fill you up... lose yourself in it... then speak the incantation "Expecto Patronum". - Remus Lupin.

As this all states let me think about my most happiest memory to conjure a patronus.....i certainly have a lot of happy memories to choose from....well lets see.....the day i got my copy of the Harry Potter Film Wizardry - i know very cheesy but well after the deathly hallows came out and i had already devoured it i was feeling low - really missing the wizarding world and just going through all the other books and when i got it, it was great - new scoops and the design were to die for and i'm definitely getting the Harry Potter: Page to Screen this year when it comes out.

And if i have to guess what form my patronus would take then I really love unicorns - who doesn't - well not only are the most beautiful with their shiny mane and that horn but it is this mystical aura that surrounds them that draws me towards it. So yes if i was to guess my form would be a Unicorn.

Pretty Deadly Reviews: Harry Potter Read - A - Long #3

Now the next two week for re-reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as part of the Harry Potter Read - A Long hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews - again the brilliant feeling and the nostalgia returns.

Question of the book - 

Q: if you could drink Polyjuice Potion and turn into anyone, living, dead, or even fictional, who would it be?

A: A very tricky question this one. If I ever drink that yucky potion (if ever) then well i'd be sure to add a bit of hair of the gorgeous Jennifer Lawrence. Come on that girl is getting it all - Mystique (from the X-men : First Class) and now Katniss Everdeen (eagerly awaited The Hunger Games movie). Not only did she make me love Mystique but Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games is my favourite, and not only that but also she's getting Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson as co-stars there (but yes I LOVE PEETA).

But if i get a choice i'd want to add Hermione Granger's hair and would like to turn into her....well i'd dig to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and get that wand too and fly on those racing brooms and spend my time in that huge library.

Pretty Deadly Reviews: Harry Potter Read - A - Long #2

First two week for re-reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as part of the Harry Potter Read - A Long hosted by Pretty Deadly Reviews - oh it was just brilliant - all the memories - all the emotions

I even went and got myself the special edition DVDs of the first 5 movies.

But this post is for the question -

Q. What images would you see if you stumbled upon the Mirror of Erised whilst creeping the halls of Hogwarts after curfew?

Ans. Now that's personal that is....but yes i'd like to see myself happy in life and a successful animator as well as an author by hobby.

Pretty Deadly Reviews: Harry Potter Read - a - Long

http://prettydeadlyreviews.blogspot.com is hosting a Harry Potter Read - a - Long and its first stage was here, i.e., sorted into a house and I am a Badger...Hufflepuff (not bad i suppose it kinda co-insides with my Yellow House in School well Hufflepuff's colour is yellow after all)

Additional details can be found here

Notable Hufflepuffs Cedric Diggory, Nymphadora Tonks (i can't remember but i think she was one too) and Professor Sprout 

Harry Potter Film Wizardry

Normally I don’t elaborate on products or production based book, but this one is good enough to do just that.

With the end of the Harry Potter film franchise nearing, it seemed the right time to go back and savour the highlights of the ten-year long series. Harry Potter: Film Wizardry does just that: a scrapbook that encompassed the decade-long saga, where everyone from the producers, directors, and production designer explain in details how they conceptualised some of the plot points and settings; and the actors, including the three stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, hit memory lane to disclose some of the best, funniest, and sometimes most uncomfortable times they had playing Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the films.

The book begins with a foreward from Dan, Rupert, and Emma, who gush about how much of an impact the series made in their lives. Dan remarked on the journey both he and Harry endured in the ten years; Rupert took pride in playing brave Ron Weasley, the "ultimate ginger," in his words; and Emma voiced her respect for her young, annoying, brainy Muggle-born fictional counterpart she thought she had nothing in common with early in the series, but who she embraced with all her heart by the end. It then lead into the first of many producer's notes scattered throughout the book, where David Heyman, the man who read the first Harry Potter book, fell in love, and immediately insisted on making the films, explained how he began to piece the movies together well over ten years ago. 

Author Brian Sibley compiled the scrapbook with a combination of production notes, countless cast and crew interviews, set visits, knowledge of the book and film series, and production photos and movie stills to make the quintessential anthology of the Harry Potter film series. The book itself ended with a sneak preview of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, with nothing more than image captions under a dozen or so small photos from Gringotts and Hogwarts. Just enough of a teaser to make the reader wish there were a few more pages at the end, chronicling the end of the saga.

One of best features of the book, however, was that it focuses on so many of the minor details fans could never have been expected to notice, and the production teams that worked endlessly to make them. Here you have clear shots of Daily Prophetarticles and issues, rooms filled with creatures like Buckbeak and thestrals, various angles of the Room of Requirement both from Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows: Part II, Privet Drive and Diagon Alley, and countless rooms, corridors, and facets from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. (I definitely wished there were more photos than only the sneak-peek of Gringotts). 

"Everybody involved in these eight films knows that we have been part of something very special, and that there will never be another experience like this one," proclaims producer David Heyman in the introduction. He's right, of course, and while the people who made the movies were there for births, marriages, divorces and even deaths, fans have been along for the ride, hoping for a chance to sit in the front seat. This is finally it!

From tidbits like how Helena Bonham Carter perforated Matthew Lewis's eardrum with her magic wand in Order of the Phoenix, to grand designs like how the filmmakers created an entire Hogsmeade miniature village with intricately detailed micro-window displays the size of a £1 note, the book simply doesn't disappoint. It's the perfect mix of fact and -- as McGonagall would say -- "well-mannered frivolity."

On top of all that publisher Harper-Collins inserted over half a dozen prop replicas, like your very own sealed invitation to attend Hogwarts (addressed to Mr H Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, naturally), a Quidditch World Cup programme, and even a "real" Maurader's Map. There are also several fold-out pages, one of which contains the Black Family Tree Tapestry.

I highly recommend 'Harry Potter Film Wizardry' for any passionate Harry Potter fan, from one proud owner of this marvelous book to you all.

Genre :       Movie Tie-in, Production design


Publisher : Collins Design


Rate :         5/5 (It was amazing)


              (a necessary commodity 
                    every  Potter fan should own)

Harry Potter : A Look To The Past

“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.” Mind is the greatest tool for a human being, if the brain cultivates ideas of great potentials the human being is bound to see it to the end. If man hadn’t wanted to cross the water bodies, he would never have made those ships. If man hadn’t wanted to cross borders, he never would have thought of trains. If he hadn’t wanted to fly like a bird in the sky, airplanes may never have been invented. Imagination is what makes life full of possibilities.

By now I’m sure you all know what I am to trying to convey I these above lines. Also I think the title of the article “Harry Potter: A Look to the Past” is pretty much explanatory. When I say HARRY POTTER only one thing comes to mind “a simple yet effective imagery that captured the whole world in its wake”.

Yes, my dear fellows, I’m sure you all are acquainted with the inception of Harry Potter. In 1990, J. K. Rowling (the wonderful creator of this wonderful world) was on a crowded train from Manchester to London when the idea for Harry suddenly "fell into her head".

So what say Ladies and Gentlemen, shall we go on a journey into the magical world of Harry Potter and gain the knowledge as to how this wonderful world sprang from imagination and enchanted the whole world?

Yes we shall!!!!

Now you all know after Miss Rowling wrote the manuscript of the first book, she had a hard time finding a published, after submitting her scripts at 12 publishing house, she got a green signal  a year later by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, a small British publishing house in London, England.

From there started the journey of a life time, after The Philosopher’s Stone, came The Chamber of Secrets,The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince and finally ending the epic saga with The Deathly Hallows. Each book focusing on a particular year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry of the three lead characters, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley andHermione Granger as they grow up and fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort (snake-face).

Not only does the story evolve with each book with a beautiful pace, but we readers grow as well. I personally feel that the Harry potter series is definitely a right to passage while coming of age, for I grew up and entered the gates of adulthood reading these books (those who still haven’t read it READ, you are missing some of the best moments of your life).

But the series did not only remain as books, the stories were brought to the silver screen as well. In 1997, producer David Heyman searched Hollywood for a children's book that could be adapted into a well-received film. His staff at Heyday Films then suggested Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which Heyman believed was "a cool idea." Heyman pitched the idea to Warner Bros.and the following year, Rowling sold the company the rights to the first four Harry Potter books. A demand Rowling made was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion of Irish actors such as Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and Eastern European actors in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where characters from the book are specified as such. Miss. Rowling was hesitant to sell the rights (a good decision too) because she "didn't want to give them control over the rest of the story" by selling the rights to the characters, which would have enabled Warner Bros. to make non-author-written sequels.

From there on began the journey of a lifetime, as each of the films released they became a world-wide phenomenon, growing in numbers as each of the them released. For me the first movie titled “The Sorcerer’s Stone” was what initiated me into the Harry Potter World, although yes my paternal uncle and a cousin of mine were the ones who suggested me the first as an interesting read, but naturally I dismissed the idea. But after watching the sorcerer’s stone when it was released in 2001, I knew I had to read it and I did but after second film The Chamber of Secrets came out. I started reading with the third novel The Prisoner of Azkaban and it soon became a tradition for me I would demand the next book every year on my birthday as a present.

Each book I’m happy to say was beautifully woven for the silver screen. The actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, the three leads as well as the cast and crew grew and evolved through the 10 years they spent filming the whole series and I dare say they did a marvelous job out of it as well. For they started young, grew up, saw marriages, child births, divorces, and deaths along this bumpy ride of a lifetime.

But the books and movies weren’t the only thing out there regarding this magical world, a whole lot of merchandise were also produced, clothing line, broomstick and wands from the series, a few side along books for comic relief, props used in the films were produced as merchandises, picture books, colouring books, pop-up books, and a very recent book on the whole production of the series of which I am a proud owner “Harry Potter Film Wizardry” and the video games based on every film released. These merchandises not only helped to create a wider fan base for the series but also provided for a whole new level of commitment toward the series of the boy wizard.

From these lines it is clear that the human mind is a powerful store house of ideas. A simple idea or an imagination can prove to be the foreword to a huge phenomenon. But the clocks have started to tick for the end has begun, for the end for this epic saga of the harry potter series that had enchanted the whole world.