Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them

Who else is looking forward to returning to the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling when Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them arrives at theaters across the United States on November 18, 2016?  Fan of the Harry Potter books and movies will find themselves transported back to this magical realm, but this time are visiting it decades before the birth of the famous boy wizard who became a world phenomenon within the Muggle --  people who lack any sort of magical ability -- community.  Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them was referred to as a Hogwarts School of Witchery & Wizardry text book in the Harry Potter book series and is the inspiration for this original movie which was scripted by J.K. Rowling and is her screenwriting debut.  To help get A Geek Daddy in the mood to go see Fantastic Beasts, Warner Brothers Pictures kindly provided me authentic recreations of the scarf and wand associated with the main character in the film, Newt Scamander.  I'm all ready now to conjure up a good time by going to see this film when it appears at movie theaters -- Accio Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them!

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them takes place in 1926, and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident, were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt's fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.




For more information about the film, please visit fantasticbeasts.com

A Treat for Harry Potter Fans on Halloween

Author J.K. Rowling is providing fans of the wizardly world of Harry Potter with a special treat this Halloween.  On October 31, 2014 she will be releasing a brand new short story on the official Harry Potter website www.Pottermore.com that fans can read for FREE!  This story won't focus on Harry or his cast of friends though, rather it will be centered around the horrid witch Dolores Umbridge who is a character people love to hate.  This new tale will provide a back story providing more perspective on this evil cat hoarding character who had a fetish for anything the color pink and reveled in tormenting Harry Potter.

Teaser posted on the Pottermore website to promote the new Harry Potter themed short story

"Umbridge is not only one of the most malicious Potter characters, she is the only person other than Lord Voldemort to leave a permanent physical scar on Harry," the Pottermore website posted.  "The new exclusive J.K. Rowling content provides a rich 1,700-back story about Umbridge's life filled with many new details, as well as Rowling's revealing first-person thoughts and reflections about the character."

Dolores Umbridge, played by actress Imelda Staunton in the Harry Potter movies, first appeared in the 5th book in Rowling's series about the boy wizard titled Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  While serving as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts she punished Harry Potter for contradicting her in public by forcing him to write the phrase
"I must not tell lies" repeatedly with a Blood Quill ( a dark magical object of torture that cuts the words a person writes with it into their hand) eventually leaving him scarred.  When Lord Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic she worked in his regime overseeing the registration and persecution of Muggle-born (the term given to a magical being who is born to two non-magical parents) witches and wizards.  Following the death of Voldemort, Dolores Umbridge was arrested, placed on trial, and imprisoned for her crimes against Muggle-born.

This special story will be exclusively released on Halloween via Pottermore.com, the website Rowling created as a one stop shop for anything Harry Potter related.