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]

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is bestowed on individuals of any nationality who are deemed to have contributed to US interests, world peace, or any cultural or social advancement. During his tenure, President George W. Bush awarded 81 such medals. But in his new book, Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer reveals that JK Rowling, whose Harry Potter series has been devoured by children worldwide, was suggested as a medal recipient, but tossed out because of the magical content of her books:

This was the same sort of narrow thinking that led people in the White House to actually object to giving the author J.K. Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged withcraft.

Barack Obama is an avowed Potter fan, having read the books with his daughters, and it'll be interesting to see if this news prompts him to consider Rowling for the medal himself.

Bush Officials Objected To Awarding Medal To J.K. Rowling Because Harry Potter Books Promote Witchcraft [Think Progress]

True fandom knows no bounds. The evolution of fan culture is not a trajectory that can be measured or predicted. When the first episodes of Star Trek appeared on television, no one would have foreseen that it would turned into an all-enveloping fan culture. Similarly, it is hard to imagine JK Rowling envisioning the effect her stories would have on the world, and the epic fandom that would emerge from it. Certainly she could not have expected Wizard Rock.

Brothers Joe and Paul DeGeorge formed Harry and Potters in 2002, playing in libraries and high school auditoriums. The teenagers were surprised to find the genre they invented in their rec room, "Wrock", becoming a true fan phenomenon. Teenage girls screamed for more. The brothers DeGeorge were soon playing at fan conventions and going on an a world tour.

Other bands emerged from the mists of the fanverse; punk-rock Slytherins Draco and the Malfoys, the very emo Whomping Willows, pop duo The Parselmouths, The Moaning Myrtles and many others. Wrock bands have compiled compilations, toured together, and even performed at Wrock festivals around the country such as Wrockstock.

The world of Wrock is not just geeky, but also strives to be socially conscious. Joe and Paul know that their elementary school fan base looks up to them as idols, and they try to promote literacy in the true spirit of Rowling's best-selling series. The Whomping Willows recently played a Marriage Equality benefit, promoting equality for gay wizards everywhere.

Wizard rock is perhaps the most incredible example of the evolution of Harry Potter fandom; the emergence of something entirely now, that while influenced by Rowling's works, has taken on a life of its own, and found its own fame and fandom.

Davies has been emailing writer Benjamin Cook about the process of producing Doctor Who's fourth season for the past year, to help generate material for a book they're going to collaborate on. Some of the emails have been published in the London Times, and they reveal a Davies who's just as manic-depressive and gleeful as you'd expect. And, by the sound of it, a bit of a recovering alcoholic. He talks about his writing process:

Everything - and I mean every story ever written anywhere - is underscored by the constant murmur of: this is rubbish, I am rubbish, and this is due in on Tuesday! The hardest part of writing is the writing.

At one point, Davies talks about his idea to bring J.K. Rowling to Doctor Who. At first, he wanted to have her write an episode of the series, but she ended up declining. (I would give a lot to see her write an episode, actually.) And then he was obsessing about the fact that he can't possibly get someone as famous as Kylie Minogue to star in the 2008 Christmas special, and it ocurred to him:

BAM! I thought, don't ask J.K. to write a Doctor Who, ask her to be in a Doctor Who! We've done Dickens, Shakespeare, Agatha Christie...why should kids think that all great authors are dead? Imagine it. A cold Edinburgh Christmas Eve. J.K.Rowling walking through the snow, pursued by a journalist. “What are you going to write after Harry Potter?”

The diffcult second album...Later, J.K. sits down to write. At the same time, a Space Bug (maybe the same as Donna's time-psych creature in 4.11), probably put there by the Rita Skeeter-type journalist, leaps onto her back. ZAP!

J.K.'s imagination becomes real! A world of Victorian magic replaces the present-day world. The Doctor arrives and has to battle through a world of witches and wizards, with wands and spells and CGI wonders, to reach J.K. Rowling at the heart of it all... That's either brilliant or more like a Blue Peter crossover.

But worth trying. It's different, certainly. So, Julie is trying to set up a meeting with J.K. ...Imagine those opening titles: DAVID TENNANT flying at you, then J.K.ROWLING!...Imagine the Doctor in a world of magic made real - that would be glorious. So, there we go. That's under way.

Davies even had a meeting set up with Rowling to discuss her appearance in the show. So why did the J.K. Rowling star turn fall through? David Tennant (who actually appeared in a Potter movie as Barty Crouch Jr.) scuttled it, insisting that it would be too spoofy. Davies apparently bowed to Tennant's will because "we've got to keep him happy."

And speaking of which, what happens if Tennant does decide to abandon the TARDIS in season five? Davies already has a replacement in mind — although he won't be in charge by then. Davies wants to see Russell Tovey, who appeared in The History Boys, take over as the Doctor. Davies cast Tovey as Midshipman Frame in the 2007 Christmas Special "Voyage Of The Damned," and wrote to Cook that Tovey will be huge and "I think I'd make him the eleventh Doctor."

[London Times and London Times