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Rumors are surfacing that Spiderman Producer/director Sam Rami has been approached to continue the Lord of Rings franchise.

With Peter Jackson not returning,due to a law suit filed against New line Cinema for “Lord of the Rings II” earnings,Rami’s name has been popping up to be the predecessor to the successful trilogy.

But based on the new clips of Spiderman 3 that Sony has released, it’s hard to imagine him prodcuing the “Hobbit”,when it looks like they will want him back to start working on Spiderman 4. Which would be in the works soon, if Sony goes ahead with another film.

Will have to wait and see what lies ahead for Rami, but someone will have to fill Jackson’s spot, and Rami would be a great fit.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures has provided ComingSoon.net with the new teaser poster for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, coming to theaters and IMAX on July 13, 2007. You can catch the new teaser trailer in theaters this weekend with Happy Feet.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix theatrical teaser trailer will debut in theaters on November 17th. The trailer can only be seen in front of the studio’s comedy adventure film, Happy Feet. The trailer should be online sometime the week after.

The highly-anticipated fifth “Harry Potter” installment hits theaters and IMAX on July 13, 2007.

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures & ComingSoon.net

Warner Bros. Pictures has provided ComingSoon.net with the five first photos from the highly-anticipated Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, opening in theaters and IMAX on July 13.

In the fifth film, directed by David Yates, Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

The DA

View them all here

Source: Movies for the Masses

Movies for the Masses has your first look at the excellent new promo trailer for director Zack Snyder’s 300, based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller.

The movie is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy.

300 brings Miller’s (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

Warner Bros. will release the film on March 9.

Amazon Link to the graphic novel here

Source: 20th Century Fox, ComingSoon.net

20th Century Fox has provided ComingSoon.net with the new poster for director Stefen Fangmeier’s big screen Eragon adaptation, opening on December 15. You can view the full poster by clicking the image below:

Based on the best-selling novel, this epic fantasy-adventure centers on a young man named Eragon whose destiny is revealed with the help of a dragon. Eragon, now a Dragon Rider, is swept into a world of magic and power, discovering that he alone has the power to save – or destroy – an Empire.

Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, Djimon Hounsou, Garrett Hedlund and John Malkovich star.

Earlier this morning, Harry Potter author JK Rowling attended a press conference ahead of her charity reading with Stephen King and John Irving. At the press conference Ms. Rowling commented that she will have to go through a bereavement process when finished writing the last book in the series.

On the one hand, I am going to feel sad. Harry’s been an enormous part of my life and it’s been a turbulent phase of my life and he was always the constant.

So there will be a sense of bereavement.

But there will also be a sense of liberation because there are pressures involved in writing something as popular.

Wonderful though it’s been, I think that there will also be a certain freedom in escaping that particular part of writing Harry Potter.

When asked about the two deaths that she previously mentioned, Ms. Rowling said:

I guess some people will loathe it, some people will love it.

You can now see pictures here from the event.

Meanwhile, John Irving and Stephen King
urged Ms. Rowling not to kill of Harry off in the last installment, but Rowling made no promises.

Source: IMAX Corporation

IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - the third Harry Potter film to be converted into IMAX’s format – will be simultaneously released to both IMAX® and conventional theatres on July 13, 2007. The film is based on the best-selling J.K. Rowling book and is the fifth installment of the widely successful “Harry Potter” film series. The last installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which opened on November 18, 2005, shattered numerous IMAX 2D box office records and grossed more than $20 million in IMAX theatres worldwide.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is Warner Bros. Pictures’ thirteenth title scheduled to be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. Warner Bros. Pictures will be the exclusive distributor of the film to IMAX theatres worldwide.

“The ‘Harry Potter’ series has been a huge success in IMAX theatres, and we are delighted to combine this next exciting installment with The IMAX Experience to offer Harry Potter fans another magical adventure for 2007,” said Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures. “The IMAX theatre network is a proven source of incremental revenue that we believe will grow exponentially as more IMAX theatres continue to open around the world.”

“We’re delighted to be working with Warner Bros. Pictures on our 2007 film slate this early in the year,” said IMAX Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “The last two ‘Harry Potter’ films we released to IMAX theatres grossed a combined $34 million, demonstrating the strong worldwide appeal of Harry Potter and The IMAX Experience. This new title gives us a powerful kick-start to next year’s film slate.”

“We are proud of our partnership with Warner Bros. and producer David Heyman, and we’re excited that once again Warner Bros. Pictures will be delivering a film that lends itself perfectly to The IMAX Experience,” added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “As we explore the possibility of converting some of the picture into IMAX® 3D, we expect to have an even broader audience base for the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ in 2007.”

CBBC Newsround reports that Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, who was to be played by Helen McCrory in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, will now be played Helena Bonham Carter. McCrory is expecting a baby and would be heavily pregnant when her scenes in the Ministry of Magic were filmed.

Meanwhile, the role of replacement Care of Magical Creatures teacher Professor Grubbly-Plank has gone to Apple Brook.

The casting of the young Marauders has also been completed. Young Sirius will be played by James Walters, Young Lupin by James Utechin and Young Snape will be played by Alec Hopkins.

Actor Jason Piper has also been cast in the part of the Bane the Centaur.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, directed by David Yates, is scheduled for a July 13, 2007 release.

In related news, Bloomsbury publishing director Liz Calder tells Daily India she expects that the seventh and last “Harry Potter” book will hit shelves in 2007 as well.

“One more ‘Harry Potter’ only but she (Rowling) said from the beginning that she would write seven. So she would not write another one after this. But Rowling would write other books for us,” said Calder. “The next ‘Harry Potter’ book is likely to come out in 2007. I hope so.”

Vital Stats

Birth
22 May 1859

Birthplace
Edinburgh, Scotland

Death
7 July 1930
(heart attack)

Best Known As
The creator of Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Scotland and studied medicine there, eventually serving as a physician in the Boer War (1899-1902). But his fame rests on his creation of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle published his first Holmes tale, A Study in Scarlet, in 1887. Over the following 40 years he published 56 short stories and four novels featuring Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson. Late in life Doyle became closely interested in mysticism and wrote the 1926 book A History of Spiritualism.

Extra credit: Doyle was knighted in 1903 for his services to the crown, including his authorship of the 1902 pamphlet The War in South Africa… Doyle and Dr. Watson have much in common: both are medical doctors, both are writers, and both served in the British Army… According to his New York Times obituary, Doyle was married to the former Louise Hawkins from 1885 until her death in 1906. He was married again to the former Jean Leckie from 1907 until his own death in 1930. Doyle had two children with his first wife, three with his second.

Four Good Links:

Sherlock Holmes on the Web
Their section on Doyle has a great list of online resources

The Arthur Conan Doyle Society
A bit stuffy, but with a sturdy basic biography

Modern Spiritualism: A.C. Doyle
Pro-spiritualism history of Doyle’s beliefs

Conan Doyle Dead
Nifty New York Times reprint of its 1930 obituary