Today is the birthday of celebrated actor Gary Oldman, whom you have almost certainly seen. Perhaps you didn’t realize that he portrays both persecuted wizard Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films, and as the long-suffering but upstanding Commissioner Jim Gordon in the most recent Batman films. And perhaps you didn’t know that actor Gary Oldman, 53, has also portrayed a Florida mental patient, a cutthroat scif weapons tycoon, a vampire, and Sid Vicious, but it’s all true.

So,  here’s to Gary Oldman! A hundred faces, a hundred voices, but all the same incredibly versatile actor.

1. Oldman as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films

2. Oldman as Drexl Spivey in True Romance

3. Oldman as Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter

4. Oldman as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy

5. Oldman as Coxy the Skinhead in Meantime

6. Oldman as Emmet Foley in Chatahoochee

7. Oldman as Buford Hill in Nobody’s Baby

8. Oldman as Rolfe, a midget, in Tip Toes

9. Oldman as Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman films

10. Oldman as Norman Stansfield in Léon

11. Oldman as Mason Verger, horribly disfigured pedophile, in Hannibal

12. Oldman as Ludwig van Beethoven in Immortal Beloved

13. Oldman as Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula

14. Oldman as Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element

(partly inspired by this Reddit thread and partly inspired by the general awesomeness of Gary Oldman)

From the UK’s Royal Mail, the above set of stamps features some of the most (currently) famous wizards, witches and enchanters. Featuring characters from Harry Potter, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, the legends of King Arthur, and characters from the Narnia series. Who else is thrilled The Luggage makes an appearance? He follows his owner everywhere, after all.

(Guardian.co.uk via Obvious Winner via The Daily What)

While we don’t condone the defacement of public or private property, one must at least acknowledge the obsessive dedication of whoever wrote the text of the entire first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on a bathroom stall.

See also: Street artist converses with the police in graffiti and whitewash.

(RentHarryPotter via TDW via Flavorwire)

‘Tis the season for giving; and since HarperCollins has furnished us with no less than five copies of Harry Potter: Film Wizardry, their retrospective viewbook on 6/7ths of the Harry Potter movies; we’ll be passing them along to you.  If you can gives us a sentence on why you should teach Defense of the Dark Arts, you might be getting a really beautiful book, that is full of other, smaller, beautiful books.

More details after the jump.

The Book

The book is, in a word, gorgeous, even to this casual fan.  The glossy pages are covered in photos of sets, actors, props, actual callsheets and other documentation, continuity photos, and concept art; and the text, squeezed here and there among visuals, contains interviews with castmembers, prop artists, makeup and costume designers, and pretty much anyone else who might have had a hand in bringing Harry Potter to the screen.

But the coolest thing about it is that it’s essentially a very grownup geeky popup book.  Strewn through the pages are various envelopes and booklets that are attached at one seam to the paper.  Each of them is a prop replica of some paper object from the movies, including: Harry’s first Hogwarts letter, adressed to the cupboard; a set of stickers to label home-made potions; paper boxes of Honeydukes candy (sans candy); a program from the Quidditch World Cup; an invitation to the Yule Ball; a Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes product catalog; and, last but not least, the Marauder’s Map.  The book’s collage-like format is so convincing that I actually started running my hands over each page, just to make sure I wasn’t missing an insert among the printed photos.

The only downside with its quite exhaustive visual presentation of the movies is that it’s not quite complete: there’s still a 7th film to come, which is acknowledged in the book’s last two pages where readers get a sneak peek at Gringotts Bank and the Room of Requirement as they will appear in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

The Contest

So, how do you get your own copy of the book?  Well, you could go out and buy one.  But if you want to get one of our five copies, what you’ve got to do is leave us a comment on the post in our Facebook feed, or in this post itself, and tell us, in a sentence, why the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry should hire you to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.  We’ll keep the contest open until for two weeks, so just make sure you do it by January 3rd.  The five most convincing comments will get their five most excellent prizes.

May the best prospective Professor Win!

This particular musician is improvising in the Stride style of the Ragtime genre of Jazz.

“Harlem Stride Piano, Stride Piano, or just Stride, is a jazz piano style that evolved partially from ragtime. The left hand may play a four-beat pulse with a single bass note, octave, seventh or tenth interval on the first and third beats, and a chord on the second and fourth beats… Unlike earlier “St. Louis” pianists, stride players’ left hand often leapt greater distances on the keyboard, and they played faster and improvised.”  — Wikipedia

“Flipping difficult.” — Susana, resident Geekosystem piano nerd

(via Neatorama.)

Pirate Bay Admins Face Higher Fines (Ars Technica)

Drawn and Quarterly to Publish a Complete Lynda Barry Collection (Comib Book Resources)

The 100 Greatest Movie Spaceships (io9)

Dentists Repair Elephant’s Tusk (BBC News)

Star Wars LEGO Minifig Alarm Clocks (Think Geek)

Christmas Tree Ornaments of Science! (Eavesmade)

Track 9 3/4 Appears in New York City (NY Daily News)

(mashed potato DeLorean via That’s Nerdalicious!)

Warner Bros. probably included lingerie in the trademark barrage simply to prevent someone else from capitalizing on the (obviously amazing) idea, preventing the sporty lingerie from possibly happening one day. Or, less likely, Warner Bros. found a whole new way to, *ahem*, milk the franchise. (Ed. Note: Gross.)

Either way, Warner Bros. has trademarked Quidditch lingerie. For when you want to be sexy while playing imaginary magical flying sports.

(The Hollywood Reporter via Blastr)

We demand that two brave souls show up to Monday’s taping of Conan dressed as cows.

Um.  Look, just watch the video.

(via Look at this Frakking Geekster.)

This much we know to be true: there are a lot of Harry Potter fans out there who have never been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and are not likely to get a chance to visit the Orlando based theme park any time soon.  If you’re one of those fans, solace has arrived.

Solace in the form of retail therapy, at least.  And is that really more expensive, on the whole, than conventional therapy?

What we’re trying to say is that Universal is making the stuff that they sell at the park available for ordering online.

Universal’s new site allows you to view a whole bunch of official Potter merchandise in the same way you’d see it in the park: store by store.  Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any perishable items in the online store, which means if you want candy, you’ll actually have to show up.

That said, as a particularly picky buyer of geek clothing, who can only be coaxed into paying more than $20 for a t-shirt if it is really cool, some of this stuff is really tasteful.  And some of it is just awesome. Because we like to flash our geek when we dress up, and that requires a certain subtlety.

(via Wired.)

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Tom Felton appeared on MTV News for a comedy segment called “American Talk with Josh Horowitz,” where each cast member was given a few “popular” American phrases, such as “Twilight blows,” and are asked to speak said phrases in their best American accents.

On a related note: Does anyone else ever notice that most singers sing in an American accent?

(MTV Movies Blog via Bonjour via The Daily What)

YouTube user “HarryPotterHimself” submitted the above video to Moviefone’s “American’s Biggest Harry Potter Fan” contest; looks like they’ve found their winner. Not only does he look and sound like Harry Potter, but he’s read each book over 100 times, has a house filled (filled) with Harry Potter collectibles, says that he wore dress robes to prom, says he “can wear Harry Potter clothing every day for three months without wearing the same thing twice,” and turned J.K. Rowling’s 2006 signature on his arm into a permanent tattoo. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a viral marketing stunt or hoax, but here’s hoping it isn’t.

(via Great White Snark)

Spielberg was even offered the director’s chair by Warner Bros., but one notion of his caused the studio to pass on him, ultimately settling on middling Home Alone director Chris Columbus for the first film: Spielberg wanted the Harry Potter films to be animated by DreamWorks.

LA Times:

Once the books became a sensation, greenlighting the first “Potter” film became a major priority at Warner Bros., where Alan Horn had recently taken over as president and Barry Meyer as chairman (replacing longtime studio chiefs Terry Semel and Bob Daly). DreamWorks circled back and proposed a partnership, but Horn wisely declined. There was one aspect of the DreamWorks talks that did intrigue him, however.

“I did think it would be worthwhile for Steven Spielberg to direct,” Horn said. “We offered it to him. But one of the notions of Dreamwork’s and Steven’s was, ‘Let’s combine a couple of the books, let’s make it animated,’ and that was because of the [visual effects and] Pixar had demonstrated that animated movies could be extremely successful. Because of the wizardry involved, they were very effects-laden. So I don’t blame them. But I did not want to combine the movie and I wanted it to be live action.”

Whether that’s an “if only” or a “glad that didn’t happen” depends largely on your opinion of Spielberg’s recent work, of DreamWorks, and of the Harry Potter movies as they’ve actually turned out. I would contend that the first two Harry Potter movies as directed by Chris Columbus weren’t very good, but that the series picked up after that in different hands; directors for franchises that big come and go, but the decision to go animated would have locked the Harry Potter films into one format for a decade to come.

(Los Angeles Times via SlashFilm)

In response to a report given by wildlife group Traffic entitled, “Imperilled Custodians of the Night,” Ramesh said, “Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls.”

Traffic also reported that, owls are used as sacrificial subjects in black magic rituals, including a multitude of their body parts, such as their skulls, eyes, and heart. To make matters even more ridiculous and the situation more dire for owlkind, apparently, parents are attempting to capture wild owls for their Harry Potter lovin’ children.

Maybe India’s owls could benefit from a set of heroes.

(AFP via Movieline via A.V. Club)

New Green Hornet Poster and Motion Comic/Trailer Thing (Bleeding Cool)

If You Want This Tron T-Shirt, You Have to Vote For It (FashionablyGeek)

600 Year Old Clock Tower + Laser Show = Wow (The Macula)

Harry Potter Will Still Get 3D Conversion (Topless Robot)

House Party At Arkham Asylum (taz98027)

Red UnDead Redemption Gets Release Date (That Videogame Blog)

ScreenRant’s RED Review (ScreenRant)

(pic via Bleeding Cool.)

“We will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date window,” Warner Bros. announced on Friday.

“Despite everyone’s best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality,” it continues. “We do not want to disappoint fans who have long-anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey.”

I smell an expensive 3D Blu-Ray release sometime down the road.

(Gossip Cop)

This spreadsheet organizing Harry Potter ideas displays two things: J.K. Rowling’s thought process, and that one doesn’t need fancy computer machines to become richer than the Queen of England.

Click here for a better look.

(elvisaaron.tumblr.com via BuzzFeed)

Specifically, she says:

I could definitely write and eight, ninth, tenth.  I could.  Easily.

But then she says:

I’m not going to say I won’t.  I don’t think I will.  I loved writing those books.  I loved writing them.  I feel I am done, but you never know.

We take this as a very author-y way of saying that you are done with a story, but you love the world and the characters, so who’s to say that you won’t one day have an idea that becomes another book.

In other words: don’t hold your breath.

(via io9.)

Previously, we’ve seen a theatrical trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows combining parts one and two of the final Harry Potter film; and now, an extended trailer for Part I.

Warner Bros summarizes, not that you don’t already know the plot by heart:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final adventure in the Harry Potter film series, is a much-anticipated motion picture event to be told in two full-length parts. Part 1 begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality and destruction–the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart. Meanwhile, the wizarding world has become a dangerous place for all enemies of the Dark Lord. The long-feared war has begun and Voldemort’s Death Eaters seize control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting anyone who might oppose them. But the one prize they still seek is the one most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter. The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort…alive. Harry’s only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him. But as he searches for clues, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale–the legend of the Deathly Hallows. And if the legend turns out to be true, it could give Voldemort the ultimate power he seeks. Little does Harry know that his future has already been decided by his past when, on that fateful day, he became “the Boy Who Lived.” No longer just a boy, Harry Potter is drawing ever closer to the task for which he has been preparing since the day he first stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.

Part I hits theaters on November 19th; for Part II, we’ll have to wait until July 15th of next year.

On the 30th anniversary of the 1980 musical comedy movie The Blues Brothers, The Vatican‘s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano advised Catholics worldwide to watch the film. Developed from the two Saturday Night Live sketch characters played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, the Blues Brothers embark on “a mission from God” in the movie, to save the Catholic orphanage where they grew up from foreclosure. So retroactively topical!

So it got us thinking, what other cool or geeky things have the Vatican been known to admit to liking? Hit the jump and find out.

The Beatles: According to NME, this April the Vatican forgave the biggest pop band in the world over John Lennon‘s cheeky comment claiming they were “bigger than Jesus” in 1966. NME cites the original statement:

“It’s true, they took drugs; swept up by their success, they lived dissolute and uninhibited lives. They even said they were more famous than Jesus. But, listening to their songs, all of this seems distant and meaningless … Their beautiful melodies, which changed forever pop music and still give us emotions, live on like precious jewels.” The band were described as “the longest-lasting, most consistent and representative phenomenon in the history of pop music.”

Harry Potter: Though the wizard series came under fire by various Christian groups for being Satanist and corruptive, L’Osservatore lauded Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for making the distinction between good and evil “clear,” and that good should overcome evil, which “sometimes … requires hard work and sacrifice.” As HuffPo reports, though the review criticizes J.K. Rowling for not making an overt “reference to the transcendent,” it applauds how the “spastic search for immortality epitomized by Voldemort is stigmatized.” Even earlier in 2003, Father Peter Fleetwood told the BBC: “I don’t think there’s anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world.” So take that, occult-haters.

2001: A Space Odyssey: Pope John Paul II was very much a supporter of the sciences, believing that they were perhaps not as separate as one would initially think. So it’s not so surprising that the then-Pope, also a screenwriter, endorsed Stanley Kubrick‘s 1969 sci-fi classic in a list published in 1995 of 45 praiseworthy films. According to MJ-Upbeat.com–so take this with a grain of salt–Bill Blakemore, ABC‘s Vatican correspondent from 1978 to 1983, had this to say about the Vatican and the movie:

His Vatican recently named 2001: A Space Odyssey as one of the most important movies of all time. We know that he sees no division between what science is saying and what his religion is saying. He often uses the quote from Jesus, “The truth will make you free,” or, “It’s the truth that makes us free.” And…this is sort of the third corner of the triangle, if you will — between his faith, his politics, and his science. They’re all in the same world.

Anymore to add to the list we’ve compiled? Any things you think the Vatican ought to bless? Let us know in the comments!

(via ABC.com)

Your prayers have been answered: Warner Bros. has just dropped the theatrical trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A full two-and-a-half minutes of epic bliss ensue. The trailer features scenes from both the first and second Deathly Hallows movies, which are scheduled to hit theaters on November 19th, 2010 and July 15th, 2011, respectively.

See the full Deathly Hallows trailer below:

The Deathly Hallows trailer will make its IRL debut during the Twilight: Eclipse premiere on June 30th.

(h/t Somos das Masmoras. title image via Collider)

It’s official.  Columbia Pictures has secured actor Will Smith, director Barry Sonnenfeld, and is in “advanced negotiations” with Tommy Lee Jones: Men in Black 3 is scheduled for a summer 2012 release.  In a possible major plot-related give away, Columbia has also announced that they are in talks with Josh Brolin (of No Country for Old Men and Milk) to play a young Agent Kay.

ScreenRant suggests that this means that the movie will heavily feature the training of a new Kay.  We have another idea.

Time travel.  Yes.  Lets do it.  Lets take all of that “never really redecorated after the 60′s” design aesthetic and the “never really forgot the McCarthy era” paranoia of Men in Black and actually put it back in the time period it came from.  Let’s talk about first contact, and the forming of the MiB, and the decision to hide the existence of aliens from humanity.  Lets talk about paradox, and fate.  Oh, and great big shiny guns and great big slimy aliens.

We have to admit that there’s a part of us that wants them to just forget about the movie and restart the cartoon.  We have fond memories.  But on the other hand, lets take another look at the 2012 summer lineup, shall we?  Harry Potter, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, The X-Men, Batman and now the Men In Black?  Thank Itzamna the Mayan apocalypse is in December.

For now, remember when kids cartoons were classy?

(via ScreenRant.)

Nowhere have the sparkly claws of Twilight failed to secure their grasp, for this week Forbes published their yearly Fictional 15, a compilation of the fifteen richest fictional people in current pop culture.  Carlisle Cullen, the nearly 400-year-old patriarch of the Cullen family is the richest fictional person in the world with a net worth of $34.1 billion.

Other noted newcomers this year include Sir Topham Hatt (noted aquaintance of Thomas the Tank Engine), and Lucile Bluth of Arrested Development.  (Mrs. Bluth is not the first woman to grace the list, having been beaten out by Lara Croft, Mom (from Futurama), and Princess Peach.

Noted absences from this year’s list include Lucius Malfoy, Oliver Warbucks, Willy Wonka, and Santa Claus, who Forbes removed from their list after a great number of people reminded them that he is actually real.  Also: Lex Luthor, who has not made the Fictional 15 since 2005,

We’re sure that this has nothing to do with his actions as president of the United States, when he made a deal with Darkseid for a kryptonite powered supersuit, tried to blame the kryptonite asteroid headed for earth on Superman, started shooting up a mixture of liquid kryptonite and the experimental steriod Venom, and eventually went completely, certifiably insane, leading the caretaker of his companies, Talia Head (daughter of Ra’s al Ghul), to turn over all of his holdings to Bruce Wayne.

Mr. Wayne comes in at #7 this year, inbetween Adrian “Ozymandias” Veidt and the Tooth Fairy.