Deathly Hallows: Part 2 among the top 10 most-pirated films of 2011!

Here are the 10 most pirated movies of 2011, along with the number of times each was illegally downloaded, according to valid information provided by TorrentFreak:

"Pirating", as it is widely called by now,
is simply the act of illegally downloading
 something, such as a movie, song, TV show,
through the internet, or a website which specializes in pirating music or video.

 This year, in 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 made the list.
This list shows the top 10 most-pirated movies this year,
as well as the number of times they were pirated and illegally downloaded.

1. "Fast Five" (Universal): 9.3 million
2. "The Hangover Part II" (Warner Bros. / Legendary): 8.8 million
3. "Thor" (Marvel/Paramount): 8.3 million
4. "Source Code" (Summit / Vendome): 7.9 million
5. "I Am Number Four" (DreamWorks / Disney): 7.7 million
6. "Sucker Punch" (Warner Bros. / Legendary): 7.2 million
7. "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight): 6.9 million
8. "Rango" (Paramount): 6.5 million
9. "The King's Speech" (Weinstein Co.): 6.3 million
10. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" (Warner Bros.): 6 million

This is interesting, because the Blu-Ray and DVD versions of Deathly Hallows: Part 2
sold so well, it caused an overall rise in DVD and Blu-Ray sales.

If this is indeed true, why have there been over 6 million illegal downloads of the film?

Harry Potter DVDs to no longer be available in stores starting today!

As of today, December 29, 2011,
all eight of the Harry Potter films
will be discontinued by Warner Bros.

This means that, starting today,
Warner Bros. will no longer produce
copies of the films for stores to sell.

W.B. will no longer produce more DVDs
and Blu-Ray disks for people to buy.

If you wish to buy the films before all copies are sold out,
please do so quickly, for it is uncertain how long the films will be available.

It is possible that, in years to come, the Harry Potter films will re-appear
in some sort of special collector's edition, like the upcoming box set titled:
"Harry Potter: The Definitive Edition" which is due out sometime in 2012.

And any and all digital retailers selling or renting the film online
will not be affected by this sudden marketing change.
All legal online retailers selling or renting the Harry Potter films will not be affected.

But for now, the future of the Harry Potter films is uncertain.

Quidditch coming to London 2012 Olympic Games!

For those of you who enjoy the rapidly
growing sport of quidditch, here is news
that you do not want to miss.

According to an announcement by Alex Benepe,
who is the CEO and President of the  
International Quidditch Association,
Quidditch is coming to the 2012 Olympic Games!

This Quidditch is a real-life adaption of the
Harry Potter based sport, and it will apparently be
appearing at the Olympic Games next year.


Here's mostly what we know so far, thanks to Benepe's announcement:
“In summer 2012 the IQA will organize an expo match in London during the Olympics.
The IQA is currently assessing venues, working with media contacts, and reaching out
to local teams,” said Alex Benepe. “At minimum, the IQA will organize a UK vs. US match,
and may bring additional European teams.”

New Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Oscar marketing poster released!

Just yesterday, a new poster of
Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was released,
as a means of promoting the film for
the upcoming Oscar Awards in February.

Warner Bros. is now trying to have the film
nominated in at least four categories:

*Best Picture
*Best Director
*Best Adapted Screenplay
*Best Cinematography

Although it may indeed be unlikely that
the film will win in all four categories,
Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will likely walk out
with at least one Oscar Award.

Now it's time for some speculation as to what WILL happen at the Oscars.
  

Here's my guess:

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Adapted Screenplay (Win)
• Best Cinematography (Win)

In just weeks, we'll see the shortened list of nominated films in all the categories,
which will give us all a better idea as to what competition Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will face.

Pottermore.com recieves updates, comments now allowed!

We have received good information that
Pottermore.com, the much-anticipated
Harry Potter themed virtual experience
designed by author J.K. Rowling,
has just underwent significant updates,
which future Pottermore visitors will
benefit from.


Here is the description by Pottermore Insider, the official Pottermore blog.

"We have been working on a number of site enhancements during this time.
Once again, you may not immediately notice the differences,
as some of the important work we have just completed focuses on site performance.

However, you’ll now see some changes in the way notifications work,
including a more streamlined dashboard and a refined owl messaging system.

Help us test our changes by brewing potions, uploading drawings, adding comments,
and interacting with the Moments and features, so that we can monitor the changes
and observe how the site performs."

So, to summarize this post, here is a list of the confirmed additions/changes:

• Pottermore members can now comment from inside Pottermore itself.
• Improved messaging system.
• Pottermore users will now be able to upload fan art.
• Better interaction with Book Moments and features.

By now, these new, or improved, features will have gone live on Pottermore.com .
Pottermore does not yet have a public release date.