BURBANK, Calif. & LONDON - Saturday, September 14th 2013 [ME NewsWire]
Rowling to Make Screenwriting Debut on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the First in a New Film Series
Partnership
Spans All Areas of Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter Businesses, Including
Theme Parks, Digital Initiatives, Games and Visitor Attractions
Plus
Studio to Serve as Global International TV Distributor of J.K.
Rowling’s Upcoming Adaptation of her Book “The Casual Vacancy” for the
BBC
(BUSINESS WIRE) Warner Bros. Entertainment today announced an
expanded creative partnership with world-renowned, best-selling author
J.K. Rowling. At the center of the partnership is a new film series from
Rowling’s world of witches and wizards, inspired by Harry Potter’s
Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and the
adventures of the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander. The
announcement was made by Kevin Tsujihara, Chief Executive Officer,
Warner Bros. Entertainment.
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them” will be an original story and will mark Rowling’s screenwriting
debut. It is planned as the first picture in a new film series. Set in
the wizarding world, the story will feature magical creatures and
characters, some of which will be familiar to devoted Harry Potter fans.
“Although
it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I
was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but
an extension of the wizarding world,” said Rowling. “The laws and
customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has
read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will
start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.”
(Expanded Rowling quote at bottom of release.)
“We are incredibly
honored that Jo has chosen to partner with Warner Bros. on this
exciting new exploration of the world of wizardry which has been
tremendously successful across all of our businesses,” said Tsujihara.
“She is an extraordinary writer, who ignited a reading revolution around
the world, which then became an unprecedented film phenomenon. We know
that audiences will be as excited as we are to see what her brilliant
and boundless imagination conjures up for us.”
In addition to the
film series, “Fantastic Beasts” will also be developed across the
Studio’s video game, consumer products and digital initiatives
businesses, including enhanced links with Pottermore.com, Rowling’s
digital online experience built around the Harry Potter stories.
The
Studio’s expanded partnership with Rowling also covers the continued
expansion of its Harry Potter activities, including the wonderful
Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks in conjunction with partner
Universal Parks and Resorts (currently in Orlando, FL; opening in
Hollywood, CA and Osaka, Japan), digital initiatives (including
Pottermore), video games, consumer products and visitor attractions.
In
addition, Warner Bros. will serve as the worldwide TV distributor
(excluding the U.K.) of J.K. Rowling’s upcoming television adaptation
for the BBC of “The Casual Vacancy,” her best-selling first novel aimed
at adult audiences. This miniseries begins production in 2014.
The
relationship will be managed in London by Neil Blair of The Blair
Partnership, Rowling’s literary agency, and Josh Berger, President &
Managing Director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain, who will serve
as Warner Bros.’ chief business contact for all J.K. Rowling initiatives
going forward.
Rowling’s expanded quote regarding “Fantastic Beasts” is below:
“It
all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning
‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ into a film. I thought it was
a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author
of ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ realized by another writer was difficult. Having
lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it
and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans
will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf,
to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna
Lovegood.
As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape
that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea
for a film to Warner Bros.
Although it will be set in the
worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for
seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a
prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the
wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society
will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen
the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before
Harry’s gets underway.
I particularly want to thank Kevin
Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would
not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit
the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and
this is it.”
Notes to Editors:
1) J.K. Rowling is the
author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published
between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies
worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories, translated into
74 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films. She
has also written two small volumes, which appear as the titles of
Harry’s schoolbooks within the novels. Fantastic Beasts and Where to
Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages were published by Bloomsbury
Children’s Books in March 2001 in aid of Comic Relief. In December 2008,
The Tales of Beedle the Bard was published in aid of the Children’s
High Level Group (now known as Lumos), and quickly became the
fastest-selling book of the year. In 2012, J.K. Rowling published her
first book for adults, The Casual Vacancy, which has since been
published in 44 languages. J.K. Rowling has also written The Cuckoo's
Calling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, which was published this
year by Little, Brown.
2) Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter films have
grossed more than $7.7 billion to date worldwide at the box office,
making Harry Potter the largest-grossing film franchise in history. The
Harry Potter franchise has also been successfully extended across the
Studio’s television, home entertainment, consumer products, video game,
digital initiatives and visitor attractions businesses.
Contacts
Warner Bros.
Jack Horner
Jack.Horner@warnerbros.com
818/954-3291
Deb Lincoln
Deborah.Lincoln@warnerbros.com
+44-7879-484-944
JKR PR
Mark Hutchinson
+44-7904-359-339
The Blair Partnership
+44 (0)207 504 2520
Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/8500/en
No comments:
Post a Comment