The Wall Street Journal
written by Michael Calia
Thursday September 12, 2013
J.K. Rowling will make her screenwriting debut with a new film from the world of the author’s blockbuster “Harry Potter” series, as part of an expanded partnership with Warner Brothers Entertainment.
The film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” is planned as the first movie in a new series of films as the studio hopes to continue to capitalize on the popularity of the “Harry Potter” movies, which were based on Ms. Rowling’s best-selling children’s novels. The eight-film series, which concluded in 2011, grossed more than $7.7 billion in total, according to website Box Office Mojo.
“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,” Ms. Rowling said.
In addition to the film deal, the expanded partnership also extends to the videogames, theme parks and Pottermore.com, which is Ms. Rowling’s website dedicated to the “Potter” series. Warner Brothers will also act as the worldwide distributor of Ms. Rowling’s upcoming BBC adaptation of her adult-themed novel, “The Casual Vacancy.”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” which takes its name from a textbook in the “Potter” universe, will follow the adventures of a character named Newt Scamander, the fictitious author of the book.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 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,” Ms. Rowling said.
Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. TWX -0.38% (TWX), has had a string of successful film series lately, including the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films, the “Harry Potter” films and the recently concluded Batman trilogy. The studio is also reportedly working with DC Comics, another Time Warner entity, to make a film based on the “Justice League of America” comics featuring Batman and Superman. (A Warner Bros. spokesman said: “There is no ‘Justice League’ film that has been officially greenlit.”)
Shares of Time Warner were inactive premarket and closed Wednesday at $63.32. The stock is up 33% this year through Wednesday’s close.
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