Club Jade

The release date for the DVD of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is now being reported as December 11.

With the start of filming for Half-Blood Prince just around the corner, more casting news is finally becoming available. David Thewlis will be returning as Remus Lupin and James and Oliver Phelps will apparently be back as the Weasley twins (woot!).

Oh, and Daniel Radcliffe is nervous about being naked on Broadway.

At least those in the United Kingdom will be getting it November 12th. No word yet on North America or the rest of the world.

Is Sylar-Spock reality after all? E!’s Kristin thinks so… We’ll find out for sure at Comic-Con, where reports are that J.J. Abrams plans to announce his Trek casting

Also…

• Is the relationship between Paramount and Dreamworks on the rocks?

• First look at Beowulf. Do I smell an uncanny valley?
• Cinematical digs up details on the upcoming Futurama movies. WANT.
• Naomi Watts confirmed to play Narcissa Malfoy?
• Stanley Tucci in negotiations to play villian in Jackson’s The Lovely Bones adaption.

Age of the comic book movies

• Finally, schlubby fanboys get a comic hero they can truly understand: Seth Rogen is in negotiations to write and star in The Green Hornet.

• They’re making a Y: The Last Man movie? I gotta dig out those TPBs…
• Hillary Swank makes Iron Man cameo. Also confirmed: the Samuel L. Jackson/Nick Fury cameo.
• Is Rome’s Ray Stevenson the new Punisher? Much better choice than the last guy.
• Maggie Gyllenhaal aims to take The Dark Knight’s Rachel Dawes up a notch.
• Todd McFarlane wants to reboot Spawn on film. Dude, the 90′s are over. Accept it.

Trailer park

• The Darjeeling Limited. Wes Anderson film starring his regulars, as well as Adrien Brody and Natalie Portman. (She’s not in the trailer, though.)

• The Last Legion. Colin Firth, Romans, Excalibur, melodrama, etc. Highlight looks to be Aishwarya Rai with a sword.

Perhaps we slightly overestimated the whole Potterdämmerung thing. Live and learn! In any case, this is the last time I’m googling it.

All is well

• Deathly Hallows sets sales records. 8.3 million copies in 24 hours, and that’s just Scholastic. Globally, an estimated 20 million.

• Reviews: AP calls it a ‘fitting finale’; Entertainment Weekly, ‘stunningly beautiful;’ BBC, an ‘entirely fulfilling end.’
• Is Potter on track to being the biggest franchise of all time?
• Did Deathly Hallows harm Order of the Phoenix at the box office?

We here at Club Jade always appreciate a fine piece of parody, and Maya comes through with a sidesplitting take on the “Order of the Phoenix” film. Click for a whole new world of “HELL NO.” (You’ll see.) No “Deathly Hallows” spoilers, but as most spoilerphobes are probably aware, there are no guarantees when it comes to the comments, so tread carefully.

Jim Dale, who reads the Harry audiobooks, knows how it all ends, and he can’t even tell his grandkids. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the NYT, a look at the directors of the HP films. Or simply keep up with their Harry Potter index. (Thanks, Liz!)

Meanwhile, no one has any business being surprised that Order of the Phoenix is tops at the box office, making about twice as the nearest competition, Transformers.

Also…

• The leak is out there. Spoilers at every turn!

• No Potter for ASDA supermarket chain. ASDA is the second largest retailer in the UK – and a subsidiary of Wal-Mart. Ha-ha.
• Deathly Hallows is as green as an almost 800 page book could possibly be.
• Booksellers gird their loins.
• Books still under warehouse guard.
• HP release sure to effect workplace productivity. Hey, we’ve all been there.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix made $12 million from Wednesday’s midnight openings, busting Return of the King’s previous record of $8 million. Who knows how much cash the weekend will bring… Also from Variety: Will book/movie synergy work for Potter? I don’t doubt it.

Order of the Phoenix

• Rotten Tomatoes: With most reviews in, OotP now getting 74%

• Interview with Phoenix scriptwriter Michael Goldenberg
• Moviefone ranks HP villians

Deathly Hallows

• Wal-Mart pledges not to spoil DH buyers by handing out earplugs.

• Harry’s effect of children’s reading habits overestimated.
• Washington Post profiles editor Arthur Levine.
• Only 20% of adult fans think Harry will die.

Midnight showings of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix have reportedly netted Warner Brothers $12 million. Not bad for a Tuesday night.

And Salon talks to screenwriter Michael Goldenberg about the daunting task of adapting OotP to the big screen. (Thanks to Hollywdliz for the head’s up).

Hackers have created a Harry Potter worm that latches onto portable USB drives. The Hairy-A worm then gives the infected a message to ‘repent’ when the computer reboots.

On a more positive note, HBO is running a 13-minute first look at the upcoming Order of the Phoenix movie.

Pirates leave you cold? Harry Potter not your thing? Transformers not moving you? Take a look at next year’s summer blockbusters.

Getting on with it…

• First Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix review. Not really much for talking about the actual movie, are we?

• Meanwhile, Pablo saw Transformers.
• National Lampoon to weakly parody 300. I think the internet already took care of this one, guys.
• Conan rights up for grabs. Also, another He-Man movie? This can’t possibly end well.
• Justice League film may be next for Superman.

Trailers

• Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Starring Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman.

• Domestic The Golden Age. Note: international version is less Elizabeth-I-for-Dummies.