Brockbank has made concept art for all of the Harry Potter films to date, and did the Doctor Octopus designs for Spider-Man 2 and several illustrations for X-Men, including Cerebro and Magneto's prison cell. He has just posted the concept art for the most recent Harry Potter movie, revealing his visual reimaginings of JK Rowling's ideas and Dumbledore's unfilmed funeral.

[Adam Brockbank via The Leaky Cauldron]

Variety reports that L'Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the Vatican, has given Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a positive review, a fact even more surprising considering that the last time the newspaper had talked about Potter, it was quoting Pope Benedict XVI's comments that the books offered "subtle seductions that are barely noticeable, and... that have a deep effect and corrupt the Christian faith in souls even before it could properly grow." So what caused the turnaround? Apparently, moral ambiguity; the newspaper's review praises character development that shows that Harry has become "aware that the world of magic, which he grew up with in the past, is not exempt from malice."

If that's all it takes for the Vatican to endorse movies, we humbly but strongly suggest that the people behind the Twilight movies have at least one character in each new movie point out that vampirism may not be all blood cakes and party hats.

Vatican gives thumbs up to 'Potter' [Variety]

It's no surprise that A Very Potter Musical became such a huge internet sensation — the whole production was surprisingly well executed, with great writing and a young charismatic cast that could give the big-budget films a run for their money. It's gotten so big that at a midnight screening the other night a third of the trivia questions asked were about ‘RumbleRawr' and the Mars version of the wizarding school, ‘Pigfarts'. If you're unfamiliar with the production, it's a full musical version of Harry Potter that takes some of the best of books one, four, six and seven to create a completely new take on the story.

We sat down with Darren Criss and Brian Holden (along with a few cameos from the elusive Lang Brothers) the creators of A Very Potter Musical to discuss their newfound Harry Potter stardom. Here are some of the highlights:

How did you feel about this thing basically taking the internet by storm?

Brian: In five days it will have been up for a month, but the first week that it was up it was fun and scary. It was like opening the floodgates to Harry Potter fandom, and the internet. It was really cool and overwhelming and we were getting offers. Like everyone was all, "Give me the soundtrack! I want a DVD!"

Darren: "I want to do this in my school, university, theater company." People all over the world — literally, that's not a hyperbole.

Brian: People asked us to translate it into German.

Darren: My Italian friends, that, um are actually not even my friends, they're friends of friends of friends, who may or may not actually be my friends, in Italy, sent me a long e-mail in Italian asking me to translate it in Italian.

Darren: With the show, when we started it people were all like "You should go to NY, or something and put this show on". And yeah that would be cool, but if we did, it would be a legal nightmare. It would be absolutely ludicrous, it could be done if we wanted to get our asses kicked.

Brian: This is a good time to bring up one thing that was floating around the internet when we took the videos down for a week. (We took our videos down a week) so that we could edit them and tweak them. Warner Bros never contacted us and said, "You guys have to take these videos down." We took them down for a few reasons. One, the first time we performed it, it was for a college audience, so we could get away with things you normally can't get away with like with younger kids watching — which is the case now. We wanted to make it into something that could be a PG-13 type thing, that children could enjoy without having to sneak around their parents.

Darren: Some jokes were cut, and of course we didn't want to.

Brian: We like em.

Darren: And there were things I was bummed about, 'cause I like saying them. But we didn't want any room for this show to possibly be perceived in a negative way or be attacked.

So what kind of projects are you working on now? Are you thinking about something new, or going back into the musical genre…?

Brian: Yeah, we have a few new ideas for some new musicals. They're all comedy musicals because frankly, that's what we love. That's what we like to do.

Darren: Parodies are what we love. Although I'd love to write that serious symphony one day, but its probably not going to happen because it'd just end up being too goofy.

Brian & Darren: It'd be the funniest symphony you've ever seen.

Darren: Back in the day, if you wanted to make a television show or movie or a musical, you'd have to go pitch it and get backers and stuff. What's cool about now [is] that... if I was to tell you what the show's about you'd be like "Um, ok" but now I can be like, "Hey, you wanna see it? Watch it. Just watch it, and you'll understand."

That's really what's great about the internet right now, I mean, you look at things like Dr. Horrible, which was on a shoestring budget.

Darren: We love Dr. Horrible. Joss Whedon can do whatever he wants.

Brian: He's good.

Darren: He's very good. But that's the kind of thing we do. For comedians and musicians, you can just put it on the internet

Brian: And that's the idea behind what we're working on right now.

Darren: We're really excited about it. It's going to be a full musical.

I know that the Harry Potter phenomenon is just absolutely nuts, especially with fans, and I was curious to know: what are some of the more colorful things that have probably been sent to you or asked of you?

Darren: I think I've been unofficially married to a number of people.

Brian: We always try to get him married in a few different states so we can avoid some legal trouble. I think the things that are most amusing are that Darren, Walker and Lauren Lopez in particular, are having just legions of fanboys and girls who are running after them.

If you'd like to listen through the whole interview, including the nasal-sounding wheezing that passes for my voice nowadays, here's it is infull mp3 glory.

You can find Little White Lie or A Very Potter Musical on the Starkid Channel. Also, on opening night of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the guys all went out and serenaded film goers in Hollywood. It's worth checking out merely to see Gryffindor adorned musicians walking past Hollywood and Highland. I don't know about you, but after seeing that, a chapter of my life seemed to be...complete.

Special Thanks to the Lane Brothers, Darren Criss and Brian Holden of the StarkidPotter Channel for their cooperation.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was notable only for David Yates' decision that the two most epically important parts at the end of the film should be cut: the death scene and the funeral scene.

Sure, the movie was pretty and funny and not even terribly drawn out like some of the Potters have been. But how could Yates have mistreated the fans so blatantly?!? Well, then again, it's not like he had to pander to us. At this point it seems like this Harry Potter will be a financial success, despite what people say.

This loyal fan, however, has a few problems with Yates' revisionist ending.

The battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters

Alright, so there have been plenty of non-central characters cut out of the series so far who were to appear in the battle at Hogwarts and the funeral afterward (which we'll get to next). And cutting them out makes sense, no retort here. But the lack of any battle whatsoever between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix changes the magnitude of the evil enveloping the world.

There is supposed to be clamoring, clanging and general disruption, true evil baring it all in the "safest place" imaginable, Hogwarts. It's not simply a puny, crying teenager uselessly making his final stand.

We're not supposed to have simply Draco. Oh, Draco. What's with his sniveling and annoying whining all throughout the movie? Yeah, OK, some of it is transferred in from the book, but come on. It reaches a breaking point in Dumbledore's office as Malfoy seems to be pleading with the headmaster to save him from what is fated. In the book, Draco sees himself as a man, a grown-up, not a boy playing dress up. But in Yates' version, Draco feels as visibly broken as the Dark Lord sees him.

After Malfoy fails to kill Dumbledore, JK Rowling paints a perfect picture of the moment that inspired the great Snape Debate:

"Severus ..."
The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.
Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed.
Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbldore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.
"Severus ... please ..."

On the page, Snape was evil evil evil ... until he wasn't. In the film, we should see him at the peak of evil but the pleading between him and Dumbledore seems to give too much away. There's no hatred, no evil crossing Snape's face; it's more like visible pity. Even the minor interlude between Potter and Snape speaks volumes about the professor's true allegiances.

One of the greatest and most terrible parts of the book was Harry's literal inability to do anything to save his mentor. On screen, Yates has made the teen acquiesce to Dumbledore's lame "stay below" command. Really?! He remains below as his father figure is dying?! Feels like a cop-out.

In Rowling's version we must suffer alongside Harry as he is petrified under the invisibility cloak. There's nothing to be done until Dumbledore is dead and Harry is released from the curse. Then we glimpse Dumbledore's Army and the Order fighting Death Eaters. More than any other moment, that is the one where we see our students all growed up: Ginny and McGonagall are fighting side by side (at least in my mind) and you can picture the D.A. fighting for their school in the corridors.

Dumbledore's funeral

What happened here? Why is there no funeral and instead a simple wand show?

Yates' decision to forgo a funeral was sorely misplaced. To not allow a generation of Potterphiles the opportunity to properly grieve for their loved one is ridiculous. Dumbledore has been a father, a mentor, a changing force in every student's life at Hogwarts. The emotional shift that occurs in the book at this point sets the tone for everything that is to come.

In the book, there are 3 whole chapters after Dumbledore's death covering the fate of the students, the school, and his final resting place. Most of the impressionable characters we've met throughout the series return for the honorable wizard's funeral. It's a great game of catchup and sends an even greater message: In times of trial, friends and loved ones must band together.

In Half-Blood, the movie, we see the headmaster sprawled on the ground ... and that's it. No tomb, no funeral. A silly little light show from the wands and then, scene.

But Rowling gives us the closure she knows we desperately need:

Bright, white flames had erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table upon which it lay: Higher and higher they rose, obscuring the body. White smoke spiraled into the air and made strange shapes: Harry thought for one heart-stopping moments, that he saw a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue, but the next second the fire had vanished. In its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body and the table on which he had rested.

The most filmic moment of (arguably) the series is cut, and for what? More awkward Ron-Lavender snogging, more comedy? I would gladly have given up a forced make-out sesh (or two) and the awkward humor for Dumbledore's white tomb born of fire. Ironically, the characters in the book have the same argument among themselves: To bury the headmaster with the students present or to send them home. Unfortunately for us, Yates decides to throw Dumbledore's death at us and then shove us out of the theater. It feels too rushed.

I feel like I got hoodwinked, sideswiped, swindled. Whatever you call it, I want closure! I demand a re-cut.

Fans have been eagerly anticipating Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince partly because it signals the blooming of two romances that many people have been waiting for. Harry's pals, brainiac Hermione and goofy Ron Weasley, finally start to figure out that they like each other as more than friends. And Harry himself finally realizes that he needs a sensible, sporty girl like Ron's little sister Ginny. These developments are true to the spirit of the book, and would make a welcome respite from the usual ghostbustering if they were at all believable.

Unfortunately, none of these young actors have any chemistry together except as a Scooby Gang. And so even though I think this is probably the best Harry Potter film so far, there are stretches of the film that feel mechanical. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ham it up to show how besotted they are with various people, and the result feels like a romantic comedy without the romance. We never understand why Hermione is interested in Ron, other than the fact of proximity. Indeed, Ron's relationship with the lusty Lavender seems far more believable.

But these romantic shenanigans are woven into what makes this film so beautiful. Director David Yates notoriously worked very hard to make the film look dreamy, and in fact tinkering with the visuals delayed the film's release by almost a year. Apparently, an early version of the film contained such hyper-saturated colors that the studio sent it back to Yates and asked him to lighten it up. The movie still retains a unique look, in which landscapes and buildings seem to glow. The dark characters who take center stage pop against this radiant background, which works because their stories are the most interesting in this film.

That true heart of this movie is the relationship between Harry and his nemesis Draco, who has been ushered into the evil ranks of the Deatheaters. With his family in disgrace, Draco is no longer the taunting, mean boy of previous films. His face pale and lined, he is pursued by an evil he cannot admit frightens him. We know he has been tasked with a horrifying errand for the Dark Lord, and that the slippery Professor Snape has sworn to protect him. As Draco puts it, he has been chosen – and his words deliberately echo the phrase that people use to describe Harry Potter, "the chosen one."

The Deatheaters have grown so bold that they come streaking into muggle London like smokey, black bombs, destroying a bridge filled with pedestrians. It's an intense scene, giving us the feeling right away that this isn't fairy tale spookery anymore. We've crossed over into the world of adult terror, where everyone - even non-wizards - has something to fear. And as we see the always-mysterious Snape (played brilliantly by Alan Rickman) being drawn deeper into the Deatheater's plans, he becomes an even more intriguing character. If anything frustrates in this movie more than the lackluster romances, it's that we see less of Snape than we want to.

Part of the film's dreaminess also comes from its mcguffin, the bottled memories Harry watches in the memory-recreating penseive. Good Professor Dumbledore tells Harry that he must watch memories of Voldemort's early days as Tom Riddle, and retrieve a missing memory, in order to defeat the evil wizard. So Harry must face the dark past, while Draco must find the strength to carry out his dark task. Along the way, we see that Draco has been cornered into evil. And that Harry has the capacity to do evil himself. The movie's title comes from a potions book Harry becomes obsessed with, a book filled with dark spells that once belonged to someone called the half-blood prince.

And all of this happens between quidditch matches and awkward dates. The dialog is even peppered with quips that work surprisingly well in this generally serious franchise.

Yates directs the movie like a suspense story with no payoff - unless the payoff you're looking for is a closeup of Harry kissing Ginny Weasley with his slightly repulsive extendo-lips. Other than the previous Harry potter film, Yates is best known for directing episodes of suspense television shows, and you'll wish that he brought some of the taut pacing from those shows into this movie. Even when Harry is going undercover to retrieve that lost memory, or braving a lake full of skeletons, the tone falls strangely flat.

The ending may be shocking, but it doesn't feel climactic. Partly this is because the next two movies – book seven will be broken up into two films – will give us the true climax of the story begun here. But partly, I think that this is just bad storytelling. We have a series of set pieces, not a smooth, dramatic arc. Many of those set pieces are quite glorious, however. And we're willing to forgive a little bit of clumsiness in the service of a story which manages to feel entirely magical.

At the Potter press conference, producer David Heyman and director David Yates filled us in on what we have to look forward to. Before the release in autumn 2010 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, with Part 2 coming in the summer of 2011 (at least that's what the producers said they had planned for right now).

Says Heyman: One of the things that's going to be on BluRay is that we've created some additional material in regard to the kids taking you around certain departments [behind the scenes], and interviewing people in those departments. Photographers and editing and [editor] Mark Day talking about [his work]. And that's in the 6th Blu-Ray. And other such things.

Adds David Yates: One of the things we've included I'm sure it will be on the DVD and Blu-Ray, we had all these photographs of [Horace] Slughorn taken for the movie. You know the photographs in Hogwarts move and Jim Broadbent who is a very gifted comedian as well as an actor did all these improvisations for us. We cut them together in a montage which is really fun and entertaining.

Harry Potter will be in theaters July 15th while the DVD is rumored to be out December 7th.

For those of you who haven't read it yet, in the final book there's a flash-forward scene, and we see our heroes in their late 30s. So how will the studio be handling this? Will they lay on the makeup, CG their young faces to bits, or bring in new actors entirely? We got the chance to ask director David Yates and Producer David Heyman at the Half-Blood Prince press conference.

In the last book there is a flash forward for the characters, and rumors have it that you are working on CGing the faces of the young actors to look older. Is that still on the table, or have you decided to swap them out for older replacements?

David Yates: You know, we're still exploring how exactly we're going to be dealing with that. It's an absolutely beautiful part of the book. One of the most unique of this franchise is the fact that you've grown up with these characters. Is what I think makes it special for the audience. So we want to be delivering at the end of seven [the seventh book] part two. We're looking at various options of how we do it. And we still haven't quite figured it out yet.

Will you be using Benjamin Button-type technology?

David Yates: Probably not Benjamin Button technology. We did look into that. But we don't think it's the route we're going to take.

David Heyman: Benjamin Button technology was used to make him look younger, but we're taking people who are 20 years old, and making them look like they're in their late 30s. So that's a different experience. And we may use some of the techniques from Benjamin Button technology, but we're still exploring. We're going to do everything we can — but it will be Dan, Rupert and Emma, not someone else.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released in theaters on July 15th.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince will be out July 15.

It sounds like the next Harry Potter film will be a journey both into the dark underbelly of the mystical realm, with breaks for the students to make out between the stacks. Reviewers didn't even seem too miffed the film cut out the novel's big climactic scene. And what of the films running time (the longest of the Potter films thus far)? Not long enough, says some critics — bladders be damned, you'll supposedly will be looking for bottle to fill on the floor, so not to miss a moment of the action.

Variety:

Steve Kloves happily returned to once again skillfully condense a massive book into manageable dramatic form; among many tough narrative decisions, he has cut back on the violent mayhem surrounding the murderous climax and put off the introduction of Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour until the next episode....

Director David Yates, after a prosaic series debut on the prior film, displays noticeably increased confidence here, injecting more real-world grit into what began eight years ago as purest child's fantasy; messenger owls and chattering house elves have been superseded by a frank Underground tea-room flirtation, school security checks and raging teenage hormones. The sets have been stripped down to reduce Hogwarts' fairy-book aspects and emphasize its gray medieval character, and even the obligatory Quidditch match is staged with greater attention to spatial comprehensibility than ever before.

the film is clear-headed and clean-lined; now that he's at home with the material, Yates has made a "Potter" picture that is less desperate to please than any of its predecessors, itself a sign of series maturity.

The Daily Mail

David Yates has found his footing in his second outing as a Harry Potter movie maker after 2007's Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix and his decision to use cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel was a masterstroke.

The film looks great and Delbonnel gives the picture a palette of dark hues that lure us into the story and keep us there. I looked at my watch just once during the 153 minute running time, and that was to work out whether I had time to race to the loo. But I stayed in my seat. I didn't want to miss a single moment.

The Guardian

There's lots of blushing, stammering and smooching. Will Harry lock lips with Ginny? Is Ron smart enough to see that Hermione ... well, it's not Skins. Hands are kept above the waist at all times.

Putatively winsome all this may be, but what it actually does is throw the series' biggest weakness into sharp relief: film-making can (and does) control pretty much everything – except how the cute juvenile leads grow up. Still, director David Yates knows how to play all the cards. Although a touch ungainly, his film is solidly constructed, with lots of fine effects. If, as Potter approaches his final confrontation with Voldemort, the wizardly battles begin to resemble Lord of the Rings, it's hardly a handicap; this is tried and tested cinematic language, and does all it needs.

The Hollywood Reporter

Bottom Line: A jerky start of exposition and backstory gives way to vigorous storytelling in the latest chapter of Harry Potter.

Composer Nicholas Hooper, cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and designer Stuart Craig deliver a singularly muscular and vigorous chapter while all the visual and digital effects have now blended seamlessly into the package.

CHUD

Is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the best Harry Potter film yet? Oh yes. Is it one of the best films of the year? Oh yes again.

Could a Harry Potter film make a showing at the Oscars in a non-technical category? If Warner Bros plays their cards right I believe that they could easily wrangle a nod for [Jim] Broadbent, who plays new Potions teacher Horace Slughorn.

If you're not onboard with the Potter films don't even think of jumping aboard with this one. While Half-Blood Prince is so good that I think it would charm even the most jaded Potter non-believer, the film makes no bones about being the sixth in a series.

In fact, Half-Blood Prince feels like the most grown-up Potter film yet when it comes to the menace of the bad guys. They're everywhere, and they're casually evil. While the death of Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire was a stunner, Half-Blood Prince carries a constant presence of malice, and it feels like any kid could be killed at any moment.

So it sounds like we're being made up to after the last feature, which was terrible by any means, but in my opinion terribly rushed. Still, I'll be anxious to read other reviews as we all know the online community often feels one way about a franchise, while the rest of the world sometimes has a different opinion.

There are so many things to comment on in this gallery. What about Luna Lovegood's mascot attire, which absolutely must spawn a thousand cosplays. I don't seem to remember any quidditch mascots, but I totally approve of this little get up. Also I've got to call attention to the lonesome "boys riding on trains" photo, where Harry and Ron are lounging around looking like some miserable ad for Abercrombie Jr... ah, teenagers.

No doubt this film will be, at the least, beautiful when it's released July 15th.

Aw Ronald all love-struck is too cute, and it's always good to see Helena Bonham Carter getting back to what she does best: acting insane.

I have to admit, I'm banking on this Potter to be the best of the series. It's one of the better books, plus from these clips alone, I'm already certain it will be 1,000 times better than the last movie. Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince will be out July 15.

If you haven't read the book I think it's pretty easy to say that the studio is finally setting up this film to be the big battle royale it deserves to become. Still, with all the earlier promotion of the light-hearted Hogwarts campus life, it should be interesting to see if this film can find a balance between the serious and the playful.

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince Of Tides will be out July 15th.

[via itunes]

So there you have it, it's not all about Ronald and his new girlfriend, although I'd happily fork over $10 for an entire Ron movie any day. Get ready for the really big wand showdowns.

You gotta love these big budget pictures that can match a symphony to Hermione walloping Ron. It's been too long, Harry. Happy to have you back. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince will be out on July 15th.

While most of the world is building wildly elaborate green screen sets, it's pretty amazing to see the detail in something as simple as the Hogwart's library. Harry Potter will be in theaters on July 15.

Avatar:

More dirt from E3. Here are some shots of the model of the "Heavy Loader" armor that was on-site. More at the link. [Collider]

Iron Man 2:

Director Jon Favreau appeared on Jimmy Fallon, and... he didn't reveal much. They're filming scenes set at Hammer Industries, the company run by rival industrialist Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). [IESB]

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra:

Here's a new TV spot, pretty similar to what we saw at the MTV Movie Awards the other day:

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

New concept art gives a much better look at this movie's main villain. Who looks more and more like Doctor Who's Sutekh, the more I see of him. [TFG2 via Seibertron]

Ooh, and here are some new TV spots, with a bit of new footage here and there. The first one is the one with all the Megan Fox:

Harry Potter:

Warner Bros. gave Snitchseeker.com an exclusive pic from the new film, showing Harry, Hermione and Ron in the boys' dormitory. Bigger version at link. [Snitchseeker via IESB]

Paul:

More details about Simon Pegg's alien road-trip movie. Sigourney Weaver's on board, and she may play an old crackpot whom Pegg and Frost meet, who claims to have witnessed the crash of Paul's ship and pulled him from the wreckage. The duo are on the run from government agent Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman) and they accidentally kidnap a Christian girl (Kristen Wiig). [Slashfilm]

Planet 51:

Some new details about this animated film, which we've written about a lot, but not lately. The Rock plays Chuck Baker, who's the 37th sexiest person in America, but he wants to break into the top 10 by discovering a new planet. When he lands on Planet 51, he thinks it's an uninhabited rock (he can't scan it from orbit?) and does a "one small step" style Moon landing thing.

Then he realizes it's a 1950s-esque planet full of green humanoids. He runs and hides in the local observatory, where he meets Lem (Justin Long) who explains to him that he's the alien here. Lem helps Chuck avoid the military force who are hunting for him. The main difference between the aliens' 1950s USA and ours is that theirs is flying-saucer based, with saucer-shaped houses and cars. (They used saucers to visit us years ago.)

The film has lots of in-jokes, like the aliens' dogs resemble the xenomorphs in Alien. They have a pet that resembles the Mars rover. And there's an E.T. nod. Jessica Biel plays Lem's love interest, Neera. Gary Oldman plays General Growl, the military man hunting Lem. And John Cleese plays the wise Professor Kipple. [Sci Fi Wire]

Twilight:

Here are a few more New Moon pics, including shirtless Taylor Lautner. [Twilight Sweden via SpoilerTV-Movies]

Meanwhile, the movie series is casting three new characters for the third movie, Eclipse. Riley's a handsome, clean-cut college boy who becomes a vampire after he's victimized by Victoria, as part of her attempt to murder Bella Swan. The Clearwater twins, Seth and Leah, will be played by Native American or First Nation actors. A tall, gangly 19-year-old with a happy grin, Seth idolizes Jacob Black (Lautner). Leah is the only female member of the "wolf pack." She's tall and slender with beautiful skin and short black hair. She'd be lovely, except for her perpetual scowl, due to a broken heart. [On The Flix]

Heroes:

Tim Kring sent out a "Heroes All Access" newsletter to fans and revealed that "we're all very excited" about season four. (What do you mean, "We"?) But actually, his description of the themes and storylines of the next season does sound pretty intriguing:

One of the big issues we'll be exploring is how should a person with abilities live his or her life. Should they try to assimilate by hiding their abilities, or should they live more honestly, exposing their powers to the world?

Claire will be at the forefront of that issue, starting college in Washington, D.C., and trying to discover, as all college kids do, who she really is. But re-adjusting to normal life won't be easy, especially when Claire is caught in the crossfire of her parent's divorce and a mysterious suicide on campus.

Meanwhile, Peter and Nathan are trying to get their lives back on track. Peter is trying to be a hero in the purest sense - saving on life at a time. But that means cutting himself off from friends and family. It's only when Peter makes a romantic connection with a fascinating new "powerful" woman that he'll find out that life means staying connected to others. Nathan is discovering new things about himself everyday, mostly due to the fact that he's actually Sylar.

Matt will have to live with the guilt of what he did to Sylar; making his attempts to live a normal life with his wife and child virtually impossible.

Noah Bennet (HRG), with the help of Tracy Strauss, Angela Petrelli and all of our Heroes, is tasked with forming a new COMPANY. But that new organization won't be concerned with conspiracies and prisons anymore. It will be about people. Finding them. Connecting to them. And figuring out why so many of them have been seduced by another "organization" out there that treats people with abilities in a fascinating, dangerous and potentially deadly new way.

[Next On Heroes]

Meanwhile, when Claire goes to college, she'll meet a "quirky" student, played by Madeline Zima (Californication). Gretchen is an "edgy outsider" who becomes Claire's roommate, and appears in several episodes. [Hollywood Reporter, Thanks MissMercyStreet!]

Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince of Soppy Puppy Eyes hits theaters July 15.

It's been a long road, waiting for these teens to grow up to the point where the men start humiliating themselves for the attention of the fairer sex. Oh wait, nope — still about everyone being in love with Harry and Ronald. Hermione is a gem — a gem, I tell you.

For some reason this new Harry Potter trailer reminds me a bit of that Spring Awakening musical with all those songs about sexual repression. Can't you see it? Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince of Puberty hits theaters July 15.

Potter will be released in theaters on July 15th, 2009.

[Moviefone]

I don't care if it's wrong - Ron looks amazing in his quidditch uni. Each character poster reminds me of just how much older everyone is getting. I wonder what will be next for our magical teens, once Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released on July 17th?
[Via MSN]

These new shots from Oculmencia have our boy running through the forest, wand in hand - looking pissed and ready to battle some evil. So, business as usual at Hogwarts.

In other Potter news here is the brand new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, complete with smoke monsters and fire!

'

Hallows the first installment of the two-part ending to Harry Potter's saga, will hit theaters November 19, 2010.