cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14708072

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11003585

It's one of the first things I would expect from a site like this. I know that J.K. Rowlings views are very controversial to put it mildly, but:

1. The fandom/books are not the author
2. Harry Potter will become a part of the Fediverse at some point anyways - better to support it early on and shape its developing rather than having a company build a H.P. social network on top of the fediverse, which will be to our disadvantage
3. In terms of potential users, this could be huge for the threadiverse
4. We are in the Fediverse: defederation is always a possibility

Or was it just never tried before / no one wanted to yet?

LINK (archive.ph)

AI may be a buzzword on Wall Street, but on the West Coast it’s at the center of Hollywood’s biggest labor dispute in more than 50 years. Among those warning about the technology’s potential to cause harm is British actor and author Stephen Fry, who told an audience at the CogX Festival in London on Thursday about his personal experience of having his identity digitally cloned without his permission.

“I’m a proud member of [actors’ union SAG-AFTRA], as you know we’ve been on strike for three months now. And one of the burning issues is AI,” he said.

Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, which has around 160,000 members, went on strike last month over pay, working conditions, and concerns related to the use of AI in the film industry. It joined the Writers Guild of America—a union representing thousands of Hollywood writers—which went on strike in early May, marking the industry’s biggest shutdown in more than six decades.

A key sticking point for actors on strike is the possibility that studios could use AI to make digitally replicate their image without compensating them fairly for using their likeness.

Speaking at a news conference as the strike was announced, union president Fran Drescher said AI “poses an existential threat” to creative industries, and said actors needed protection from having “their identity and talent exploited without consent and pay.”

During his speech at CogX Festival on Thursday, Fry played a clip to the audience of an AI system mimicking his voice to narrate a historical documentary.

“I said not one word of that—it was a machine. Yes, it shocked me,” he said. “They used my reading of the seven volumes of the Harry Potter books, and from that dataset an AI of my voice was created and it made that new narration.”

Fry—who has appeared in movies including Gosford Park, V for Vendetta, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—is the narrator of the British Harry Potter audiobooks, while actor Jim Dale narrated the American version of the series.

“What you heard was not the result of a mash up, this is from a flexible artificial voice, where the words are modulated to fit the meaning of each sentence,” Fry told the audience at CogX Festival on Thursday.

“It could therefore have me read anything from a call to storm parliament to hard porn, all without my knowledge and without my permission. And this, what you just heard, was done without my knowledge. So I heard about this, I sent it to my agents on both sides of the Atlantic, and they went ballistic—they had no idea such a thing was possible.”

Fry added that when he discovered his voice was being used in projects without his consent, he saw it as just the beginning of an emerging threat to creative talent, warning his angry agents: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” “This is audio,” he said he told them. “It won’t be long until full deepfake videos are just as convincing.”

As AI technology has advanced, doctored footage of celebrities and world leaders—known as deepfakes—has been circulating with increasing frequency, prompting warnings from experts about artificial intelligence risks. Fry warned on Thursday that those technologies only had further to go.

“We have to think about [AI] like the first automobile: impressive but not the finished article,” he said, noting that when cars were invented no one could have envisioned how widespread they are today.

“Tech is not a noun, it is a verb, it is always moving,” he said. “What we have now is not what will be. When it comes to AI models, what we have now will advance at a faster rate than any technology we have ever seen. One thing we can all agree on: it’s a f***ing weird time to be alive.”

Not the first

Fry isn’t the only famous actor to publicly vocalize their concerns about AI and its place in the film industry.

At a U.K. rally held in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike over the summer, Emmy-winning Succession star Brian Cox shared an anecdote about a friend in the industry who had been told “in no uncertain terms” that a studio would keep his image and do what they liked with it.

“That is a completely unacceptable position,” Cox said. “And that is the position that we should be really fighting against, because that is the worst aspect. The wages are one thing, but the worst aspect is the whole idea of AI and what AI can do to us.”

Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey told Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff during a panel event at this year’s Dreamforce conference that he had concerns about the rise of AI in Hollywood.

“We have a real chance, if we are irresponsible, of cannibalizing ourselves and creating this digital god that we’ll bow to, and we’ll all of a sudden become tools of this tool,” he said.

Meanwhile, Star Trek and Mission Impossible star Simon Pegg has called AI “worrying” for actors.

“We’re looking at being replaced in some ways,” he said at the rally in London in July. “We have to be compensated and we have to have some say in how [our image is] used. I don’t want to turn up in an advert for something I disagree with… I want to be able to hang on to my image, and voice, and know where it’s going.”

A spokesperson for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the entertainment industry’s official collective bargaining representative, was not available for comment when contacted by Fortune.

Hogwarts Legacy fans can finally play a mode they've been asking for since the game launched last year, and it's all thanks to the hard work of one dedicated gamer.

Hogwarts Legacy has generated well over $1 billion since launching back in February, and we still have the Nintendo Switch launch to come. Rumours abound that Avalanche Software is working on its next project, which is almost certainly Hogwarts Legacy 2.

The good news is that you can now enjoy New Game Plus in Hogwarts Legacy! The bad news? It's not an official download. Still, PC gamers looking for an excuse to replay the magical sim as the nights draw in should definitely check this out.

The Hogwarts Legacy Simulate New Game Plus Save mod does exactly what it says: it starts you in a new game with a bunch of items and progression, similar to how it would go down in an official New Game Plus mode.

The only catch is that you obviously won't start a new game with all the gear and upgrades you earned, as the modder can only simulate their own save. Still, if you fancy starting from scratch with a crap-ton of gear, gold, and all spells unlocked, then you should definitely go ahead and check this mod out.

Hopefully Avalanche Software give us the real thing somewhere down the line, but this will do until then.

screenrant: Now, with the Harry Potter TV show's release date nowhere in sight, Heyman provides an update to Total Film (via GamesRadar) regarding the status of the series and what audiences can expect. While it doesn't sound like the show will be coming anytime soon, the producer does tease that this new format will allow for a more faithful adaptation. Check out Heyman's full comment below:

"[On Harry Potter] It’s early days. We haven’t even hired a writer to begin writing. It’s a bit early. But hopefully [it will be] something that’s very special, and gives us an opportunity to see the books, and to enjoy a series which explores the books more deeply."

It is expected that the Harry Potter TV series will premiere on Max (formerly HBO Max) sometime between 2025 to 2026.

David Heyman Gives Update on “Harry Potter” TV Show While David Yates Comments on “Fantastic Beasts” by Catherine Lai · Published September 13, 2023 · Updated September 14, 2023

We last heard about the planned Harry Potter TV show back in April when it was announced, and it’s been radio silence since then. But in the September 2023 issue of Total Film, David Heyman, producer of the Harry Potter films, speaks about the current status of the Max show, revealing that not much has changed in the last few months and writing has not yet begun:

It’s early days. We haven’t even hired a writer to begin writing. It’s a bit early. But hopefully [it will be] something that’s very special, and gives us an opportunity to see the books, and to enjoy a series which explores the books more deeply.

This isn’t surprising given the current Hollywood writers’ strike, which began just three weeks after the series was announced.

However, it is interesting to note that it seems Heyman is now officially on board. Last we heard, he was just “in talks” to be an executive producer.

David **Yates** on if he could return to directing in the ‘Harry Potter’ Universe: “Never say never” #TIFF23 pic.twitter.com/CniZcTnfkl

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) September 11, 2023

This certainly sounds like, as many fans have been suspecting, we aren’t getting a fourth or fifth film as previously promised. Warner Bros., of course, has not made any official announcements. However, it’s nice to see David Yates keeping the door open for potentially directing for the TV show or other future Wizarding World projects.

And it really irks me a lot.

Update: Man, I have gotten tons of great responses here and a lot of activity. The comments section turned out way better than Reddit. Thank you all! <3

• Jamie Christopher worked on all eight Harry Potter films
• Christopher began his career in TV and movies as a production runner... He continued to climb the later throughout the 90s, landing second assistant director gigs on films like The Fifth Element and The Mummy.
• The British first assistant director worked on all eight of the movies inspired by J.K. Rowling's bestselling children's novels, as well as multiple Star Wars and Marvel films. It's understood that Christopher, who was born in Barnet, passed away of heart complications in Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife Carly and four children, Stella, Teddy, Phoebe and Killeon.

https://variety.com/2023/film/people-news/jamie-christopher-dead-assistant-director-for-marvel-rian-johnson-harry-potter-1235708984/

Jamie Christopher, assistant director on Marvel films including “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the entire Harry Potter franchise, died Tuesday in Los Angeles from heart complications. He was 52.

Christopher began his AD career in 1992 as third AD on David Fincher’s 1992 film “Alien 3.” In 1997, he was the second unit first AD on Luc Besson’s cult classic sci-fi film “The Fifth Element” starring Bruce Wilis, Gary Oldman and Milla Jovovich, and two years later joined Stephen Sommers as second AD on “The Mummy.”

Soon after, Christopher joined production for the first installment of the Harry Potter franchise, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” where he served as the second unit’s first AD. He reprised this role through the first five editions of the series until he became first AD on “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” and remained in that role until the eighth film was released in 2011.

Christopher is survived by his wife Carly and four children, Stella, Teddy, Phoebe and Killeon.

Adam Starkey 2–3 minutes

Barbie has become the highest-grossing movie in Warner Bros. history.

Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy passed the $1.342billion mark at the global box office on Monday (August 28), beating Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 to become the company’s highest-grossing film ever, not adjusted for inflation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barbie is set to become only the 13th movie in history to cross the $600million mark at the US box office later this week. As of Sunday, the film has grossed over $592.8million in the US, and $745.5million in the rest of the world.

The film is also set to beat The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.36billion) as the highest-grossing film of 2023 globally in the coming days. When it crosses the milestone, Barbie will become the 15th highest-grossing film of all time.

In a statement to mark the record, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-CEOs, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, said: “Reaching this outstanding achievement is a reminder of the power of moviegoers – from countries in every corner of the globe – coming together to further the celebration of an iconic character that has entertained us for so many decades.”

Barbie previously surpassed Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight to become the highest-earning film in Warner Bros. history in the US. Since it was released in July, the film has also become the highest-grossing live-action movie solely directed by a woman.

Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie released on the same day as Nolan’s latest film Oppenheimer, creating the “Barbenheimer” phenomena which boosted the success of both films at the box office.

In a four-star review, NME wrote: “What follows is a nuanced, rose-tinted comedy adventure, set to a stonking pop soundtrack featuring Lizzo and Billie Eilish, that somehow lives up to the immense hype. To borrow a pun from Ken’s coolest jacket (out of a long lineup), Barbie is more than ‘kenough’.”

extract Cut down to relevant interesting parts.

David Tennant appears in one Harry Potter film and though his part isn't big, his character is crucial to the story. Tennant is a prolific stage, television, and film actor who has appeared in numerous franchises as well as smaller roles across the course of his career. In the same year as Harry Potter, Tennant played the 10th Doctor in Doctor Who. These two massive franchises paved the way for Tennant’s career path. Since then, he has appeared in notable series like How to Train Your Dragon as Spitelout, the Star Wars franchise as Huyang, Broadchurch as Detective Alec Hardy, and Jessica Jones as Kilgrave, among many other roles.

The end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire reveals that Mad-Eye Moody (Brendan Gleeson) has actually been Barty Crouch Jr. the entire film; having disguised himself with Polyjuice Potion. Barty Crouch Jr. is revealed to be the secret puppetmaster behind many of the calamities and victories that happened to Harry. It’s not obvious that Mad-Eye was an imposter but David Tennant improvised by licking his lips throughout the film, a trait Gleeson decided to mimic, signaling one of the small ways keen-eyed viewers could figure out the twist.

In an AMA on Reddit in 2020, Tennant promoted his podcast “David Tennant Does a Podcast With…” and answered fan questions. In response to one question about his time on Harry Potter, Tennant replied,

"I wasn’t on Harry Potter for all that long. I think I did 10 days or so over a year, so I always felt a bit like a visitor. But it was great to be part of something so extraordinary. They only gave me a little chair though, so when everyone was sat around Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman and Daniel Radcliffe all towered over me in these fancy cast chairs. Still a pleasure to be there though."

It’s not a surprise that David Tennant did not feel completely at home on the Harry Potter set. He only had a small role and was coming into a film with actors who had known each other and worked together for years. The rest of the AMA focused on Doctor Who and Broadchurch. So like many of his fans, the time David Tennant spent on Harry Potter was memorable, though it wasn't as significant as the rest of his career.

Book 4, Chapter 13:

‘Your dad’s in the paper, Weasley!’ said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet, and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed Entrance Hall could hear. ‘Listen to this!’

FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

It seems as though the Ministry of Magic’s troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.

Malfoy looked up.

‘Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley, it’s almost as though he’s a complete nonentity, isn’t it?’ he crowed.

Just wondered if this could have possibly been inspiration for the name of Ginny's pygmy puff two books later.

LINK

With the archive initially founded as a place to house the wealth of material from the Harry Potter films as shooting wrapped, the UK has continued to be a preferred destination for Warner Bros to film some of its biggest tentpole productions.

Need a broomstick? There are Firebolts, Nimbuses and Nimbus 2001s galore, as well as various characters’ brooms, such as Mad-Eye Moody’s (Picture: Tori Brazier)

The archive itself is split into three major areas... that houses mostly flatpack set pieces for ongoing shows or oversize props, like dragon backs or chess pieces from Harry Potter – things that would require a forklift truck to get to or move, as Steven Fouché, director of the WBD Archive, puts it.

That’s why you can find everything here from Mr Weasley’s blue Ford Anglia and Harry’s invisibility cloak to Godric Gryffindor’s sword, a Horcrux or two and dozens and dozens of wands, trunks, brooms and costumes.

Potter items even include miscellaneous trophies from a Room of Requirement scene, stacks of Daily Prophets and various written material, as well as fake food like mounds of chocolate dessert for the feasts and balls held at Hogwarts, after production moved away from using real food.

A framed timetable for the Hogwarts Express is also peeking out nearby, fully complete, despite the fact it won’t have been seen as anything other than a glimpse in the background of a scene (the train runs through stations including Uxbridge, if you’d like to know).

‘The detail in Harry Potter is astonishing. There are pamphlets for the Quidditch world cup that were never seen on screen, but you can actually turn through them and they’ve got player profiles,’ says Fouché.

In among the archive’s impressive collection of broomsticks (the Nimbus, Nimbus 2001 and Firebolt are all present and correct), we learn the distinction between things like generic student and stunt brooms, as well as the ‘hero’ or ‘beauty’ broom.

‘Quite often, especially with weapons, you’ll have the main hero or beauty one that you’ll do close-ups with, but then if that’s being used in a stunt or in any form of action, then they’ll make rubber or soft ones so that if an accident does happen you don’t have people injuring themselves,’ Fouché explains.

Most of the beauty broomsticks from Harry Potter are out on display at either the Leavesden or Tokyo studio tours, or one of the two travelling exhibits, with another two planned to start later this year.

"IT is unclear who removed socks and other items from a shrine to a Harry Potter character on a Pembrokeshire beach – but visitors have been asked to not replace them.

The socks were a tribute to house elf Dobby, who in the novel is freed from servitude after his evil owner, Lucius Malfoy, is tricked into gifting him a sock. Dobby wears the sock until his death.

The location is where the production of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1” filmed Dobby’s death scene.

After Harry Potter fans erected a memorial for Dobby at the filming location, many more fans were inspired to visit Freshwater West beach and leave socks at the site.

Fans have also left pebbles, crosses, and even a statue was put in place, but this was removed shortly afterwards.

Last year concerns about high visitor numbers and pollution had led to a survey on the possible relocation of the 'memorial' to the beloved character.

In November 2022, Natural Trust Cymru said that following a consultation with locals and visitors, the shrine could stay "in the immediate term".

They have asked visitors to not add anything more to the shrine, citing concerns about the sensitive nature of the beach – which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The Trust also pleaded with visitors to just admire it and take photos, rather than add to it, to lessen the impact on the environment.

A spokesperson for National Trust said: “Freshwater West is a Sire of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and the area is home to grey seals, harbour porpoise, and some of the largest populations of seabirds in the world.

“We love welcoming visitors and we’re asking them to help us look after the landscape by only taking photos when visiting the memorial to Dobby.

"Items like socks, trinkets, and paint chips from painted pebbles can enter the marine environment and food chain and put wildlife at risk.

“National Trust Cymru staff and volunteer COASTodians monitor and carry out regular beach cleans, removing artificial and plastic objects to reduce danger to marine wildlife, as do other local voluntary, community-based groups and individuals.” "

Archived version: https://archive.ph/HSmIX

‘I wanted to be No 1. But a certain JK Rowling came along’: Jacqueline Wilson on rivalry, censorship – and love

Interview by Simon Hattenstone

Raised by a ‘scary’ father and a ‘terrible snob’ of a mother, the Tracy Beaker author has always understood the loneliness that marks so many young lives. But at 77, she’s never been happier.

I was at this small book fair and I randomly found these. These were the only three sadly, but still stoked I have them :D

extracts

Reportedly, there is a new Lego Harry Potter game in the works as an image promoting it was spotted on the Warner Bros. South Africa Instagram account.

Per Video Games Chronicle, this now-deleted post showed a Lego Minifigure of Harry Potter with the logo for TT Games and a date of August 25. TT Games is the British developer and publisher behind the Lego games and this date overlaps with Gamescom, one of the industry’s largest trade fairs, which will be hosted over August 23 to August 27 in Cologne, Germany.

Rumours that there is a Lego Harry Potter game that would mimic the structure of 2022’s Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga popped up in March of this year. Nintendo Life‘s source said that the game was “sucking up the studio’s resources” and that a Lego Guardians of the Galaxy game was cancelled at the same time.

Link to all pages and more

Link

Alternatively titled: McGonagall Cat Loaf in box.

Link

Just wanted to post a beautiful peice of art that I saw some time ago that needed sharing. I love the style, textures and emotion too.

There are about seven more images that you can go and see at the link above.

I once regretted not being able to post my own copies' covers, so I decided to look up and share how they combine when on the shelf in order. Also, Ukrainian translation was really good, as I was able to confirm once I learned English enough to read these in it

But man, I remember that party at the bookstore being so fun. I'm a little late for the 16 year exact, but I found the sticker today.