Guess Who This Is!

Helping Haiti Heal- UPDATE!

Harry Potter Fans Unite Fan Communities Across the World Raise Over $50,000 (and counting) for Partners In Health

(Final Fundraising Webcast to take place Saturday, January 30, 2010)

JANUARY 27, 2010 - BOSTON, MA - This Saturday, January 30 will be the grand finale of Helping Haiti Heal - a fundraising campaign put together by Harry Potter fans and fans of other blockbuster books, movies, and television series that in just days has raised over $50,000 for Partners for Health, the biggest health care organization on the ground in Haiti.  Helping Haiti Heal kicked off with a hugely successful live webcast on January 23 that included tens of thousands of viewers from across the world, watching as a number of the biggest names in web, film, television, and literature came together to raise money for the people of Haiti.

Throughout the week, thousands of people have been contributing with the hopes of receiving one of over 200 thank you gifts based on individual donation levels from such donors as J. K. Rowling; Harry Potter actors Evanna Lynch, Tom Felton, and Matthew Lewis; bestselling authors Sir Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and the Printz award winning John Green; as well as "Ghostbusters" actor Ernie Hudson. The campaign, which has already been one of the top trending topics on Twitter, will culminate this Saturday with leaders of multiple fan communities, as well as interviews with "The Wire's" Sonja Sohn, "Heroes" actor David Lawrence, and Oprah Radio network host and best selling author Marianne Williamson.

"We just built an unprecedented coalition of fan communities and creators of popular culture to benefit Haiti," says Andrew Slack, Executive Director of the Harry Potter Alliance.  "This coalition includes the most prominent fan sites for Harry Potter, "True Blood," "Mad Men," "Firefly," "Lord of the Rings," "The Guild," "Ghostbusters," as well as stars from many more.  Rather than simply sitting in front of our computers and tv screens, our collective love of story has brought us together with the hope that we may contribute to the very story of our times and plan on more to come in the future. For Helping Haiti Heal, we chose Partners In Health because they have written the book on addressing poverty in Haiti and will be with Haiti, rebuilding long after the initial effects of this recent earthquake subside."

After the first webcast, scores of people from across the world were tweeting, "I have never been prouder to be a Harry Potter fan or a fan of any thing in my life. Bravo everyone!" 

Donations continue to pour in as the final day of Helping Haiti Heal is Saturday, January 30 and will end with another exciting webcast at 2 pm EST at  http://thehpalliance.org/haiti. For more, see http://thehpalliance.org/haiti/prizes.

#  Helping Haiti Heal is sponsored by The Harry Potter Alliance (http://www.thehpalliance.org/), The Leaky Cauldron (http://www.leakynews.com/),MuggleNet.com 

(http://www.mugglenet.com/), HPANA (http://www.hpana.com/), and FictionAlley (http://www.fictionalley.org/).

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CONTACT:
Andrew Slack, Executive Director of the Harry Potter Alliance

617-943-9434andrew@thehpalliance.org

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 The HP Alliance (www.thehpalliance.org) is a 501c3 nonprofit that engages Harry Potter fans in social activism. With over 30 active chapters, the HPA has raised over $15,000 to protect thousands in in both Darfur and Burma, put out original podcasts on Darfur that have been downloaded over 120,000 times, donated over 14,000 books world wide (4,000 of which are being shipped to a youth village in Rwanda), helped educate over 2 million people on Wal-Mart’s unfair treatment of employees through the famous “Lord WaldeMart” videos, and continues to work on promoting media reform, marriage equality, and tools for our members to live more creatively or “magically.”

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has recognized the HP Alliance on her web site, www.jkrowling.com, awarding it the Fan Site Award and praising its efforts.

Our work has been featured in over 200 US publications including the front covers of Politico and the Chicago Tribune Business Section.

From Time Magazine’s 2007 Person of the Year article about J.K. Rowling: “When asked about the [HP Alliance], Rowling practically levitates off the couch, spilling her coffee along the way. ‘It’s incredible, it’s humbling, and it’s uplifting to see people going out there and doing that in the name of your character,’ she says. She’s especially pleased by the group’s choice of mission, and the old Amnesty International worker in her surfaces.”

Helping Haiti Heal (HP Alliance!)

J. K. ROWING DONATES SIGNED UK EDITIONS OF HARRY POTTER SERIES, PERSONALIZED NOTE TO HELPING HAITI HEAL FUNDRAISER
(Fans Unite to Help Haiti Heal this Saturday, January 23, 2010, in a Live Fundraising Webcast Benefiting Partners In Health)

JANUARY 22, 2010 - BROOKLYN, NY - Worldwide bestselling author J. K. Rowling has donated a full UK edition set of Harry Potternovels and handwritten note card to the Helping Haiti Heal, a home-grown effort to contribute to the growing humanitarian aid and charitable relief activities in Haiti by benefiting Partners in Health (http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti).  This contribution by J. K. Rowling comes along side a personal donation through her trust, The Volant Charitable Trust, to Haiti.

The Helping Haiti Heal live fundraising webcast will take place Saturday, January 23, 2010, at 2 P.M. EST via Livestream (http://www.thehpalliance.org/haiti), and bring together Harry Potter fans and fans of other blockbuster books, movies, and tv series such as "Heroes," "True Blood," "Mad Men," "The Wire," and "Firefly" for this effort.  The four hour event will feature a donation drive where donors have the opportunity to receive thank you gifts based on certain donation levels, several of the Internet's most popular podcasters, leaders and celebrities from various segments of popular culture, performers from popular book-based musical acts, interviews with civic leaders and Haitian Americans, and more.

"This community is uniting with other popular and vibrant fan communities to harness the energy of popular culture toward making a genuine difference in Haiti," says Andrew Slack, Executive Director of the Harry Potter Alliance. "We have chosen Partners In Health because they have written the book on addressing poverty in Haiti and will be with Haiti, rebuilding long after the initial effects of this recent earthquake subside."

The Helping Haiti Heal fundraising webcast aims to raise monetary funds for the benefit of the Haitian people through the donation drive of unique and personalized items donated by prominent musicians, authors, and actors.  In addition to the one-of-a-kind contribution by J. K. Rowling, items up for auction include:

• Five signed, dedicated, first edition novels by bestselling author Terry Pratchett.
  
  
• Original conception art from the film Where the Wild Things Are.
  
  
• Signed books from Time Magazine's Lev Grossman, NY Times bestselling author Melissa Anelli, Movies in 15 Minutesauthor Cleolinda Jones, and Urban fantasy novelist Lilith Saintcrow, as well as young adult authors Karen Healey,Aprilynne Pike, Pam Bachorz, Lisa Mantchev, and many more.
  
  
• A signed Mega Book Pack of 30 novels from The 2009 Debutantes (http://www.feastofawesome.com/), including: Malindo Lo, Saundra Mitchell, Sarah Ockler, Michelle Zink, and Jackson Pearce.

• Guest spots on PotterCast and Hogwarts Radio.

• Signed CDs from such wizard rock bands as The Remus Lupins, The Whomping Willows, The Butterbeer Experience, andOliver Boyd and the Rememberalls.

• Quality replica LightSaber based on Luke's from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

• Full Access Registration to LeakyCon 2011, valued over $300.

• $200 Gift Certificate to Infinitus 2010.
  
  
• Limited edition, artist signed, Replica Slimer from Ghostbusters.
  

The fundraising webcast will also feature podcasting personalities from leading Harry Potter podcasts that reach well over 50,000 listeners: PotterCast (http://www.pottercast.com/), MuggleCast (http://www.mugglecast.com/), Hogwarts Radio (http://www.hogwartsradio.com/), FictionAlley (http://www.fictionalley.org/), and HPA’s PotterWatch (http://www.thehpalliance.org/category/potterwatch/); live performances from many wizard rockers; leaders in fan communities; personal interviews with Haitian-Americans about the importance of giving to Partners In Health; human rights activists; a representative from MIT's Media Lab discussing ways that we can donate our time using new media; and much more.  It is the aim of Helping Haiti Heal to provide ideas and inspiration across fandoms to those with the desire to aid those affected by the earthquake.  Together, we can help heal Haiti.

#  Helping Haiti Heal is sponsored by The Harry Potter Alliance (http://www.thehpalliance.org/), The Leaky Cauldron(http://www.leakynews.com/), MuggleNet.com (http://www.mugglenet.com/), HPANA (http://www.hpana.com/), and FictionAlley(http://www.fictionalley.org/).

Gilderoy Picture on Episode 26

A Nostalgic Look at Harry Potter

CNN has this great article about the Harry Potter movie franchise that has a one on one conversation with some of the actors.

It's very nostalgic... like black and white photography. But in the wizarding world nostalgic is an old Shooting Star broom.

There's also some video footage if you're interested, right above the article.

Click here to read!

New Image!!!!!

There so much new stuff today!!!! We also have a new image from Deathly Hallows Part 1. It's of Daniel Radcliffe in what I assume is Grimmwald Place. YAY!

New Trailer!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bonus section on the Half- Blood Prince DVD ( which will be released on December 8th ) has a teaser trailer for the first part of Deathly Hallows. But we have the trailer early so click here to see it:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=16032&count=0