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A weekend blaze near a railway bridge in Scotland
where 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' is
being filmed on location caused Voldemort-like smoke,
damage and chaos. As such, production has been emporarily
held up on the third film in the series.
The fire, which started Saturday and was eventually
snuffed out by local authorities on Sunday, scorched
nearly 100 acres of dried-out, combustible scrub near
the Glenfinnan Viaduct in northwest Scotland. Though
no one was hurt, locals and moviemakers alike were
evacuated from the scene, and the cause of the blaze
is still a mystery.
Moviemakers were filming the Hogwarts Express steam
train making its way to the magical School for Witches
and Wizardry on the railroad bridge near the Viaduct.
It's the same setting for a flying-car scene in last
year's 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'.
The extent of the damage is not fully known, and the
studio has not yet revealed when production will resume,
but the fire shouldn't derail the film's planned 2004
release.
If fans have their way, however, Azkaban will steam
ahead quickly and get them their much needed Potter
fix. Potterphiles are still festering over the multiple
delays in the release of J.K. Rowling's next book,
'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', the fifth
in the planned seven-book series. The book is finally
due to hit shelves June 21. (It's already got a gazillion
pre-orders and is sure to be another bestseller.)
Many are also anxious to see how new director Alfonso
Cuaron (of Y Tu Mama Tambien fame) will treat the
much darker movie that features Sirius Black, a mass
murderer out to get Harry.
Meanwhile, Warners finally confirmed what E! Online
reported months ago: respected Brit thesp Sir Michael
Gambon has been tapped as the new Albus Dumbledore,
filling the magical shoes tragically vacated by Richard
Harris who died in October.
Gambon, a 62-year-old multiple Emmy, Golden Globe
and BAFTA contender and a knighted Shakespearean actor,
will play the beloved head of Hogwarts in Prisoner
of Azkaban and, presumably, the rest of the Potter
films based on Rowlings' best-selling books. Prior
to Potter, Gambon has garnered acclaim for roles in
films like Path to War and Gosford Park.
'Prisoner of Azkaban' will bow in the summer of 2004
- presumably with a simulaneous UK and US release
date. Joining Gambon in the film will be Gary Oldman
as Sirius Black, along with returning cast members
Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Harry's red-headed
best bud Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (the studious
and fearless Hermione Granger).
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