The behind the scenes photo we showed you in a German entertainment magazine yesterday is now available in high-res right here, courtesy of Warner Brothers. Additionally, WB has informed us that the teaser trailer now reflects the new July release date. You can see the trailer on the official Harry Potter website.

Ah yes, it's been a while since we've seen wise old Albus Dumbledore wearing some half-moon spectacles in the films. What a treat it is to see a pretty cool behind the scenes photo of Michael Gambon and the crew within the Great Hall, where it looks like Dumbledore is about to make a speech. It also looks like there's a green cover on his hands for the visual effects. The scans come from the German magazine Cinema, and you can see the scans here and here. The rest of the article has images we've seen before. Thanks to Harry Potter Experts for the tip!

The British Board of Film Classification's website has been updated with information concerning a second Half-Blood Prince teaser trailer. Coming in at 91 seconds long (the first teaser trailer was 96 seconds), it has a PG rating and was just approved yesterday. We'll let you know if anything comes of this! Thanks to CinemaBlend for the tip.

In celebrating the 10th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone on September 23rd, Scholastic has announced a really cool opportunity for Harry Potter fans to sit in the throne used by JK Rowling at Carnegie Hall. Starting at 8 AM on September 23rd within the Scholastic Headquarters, fans will sit in that throne and take turns reading from Sorcerer's Stone until the book is finished! Those participating will receive a commemorative souvenir, and the first 100 people will also get a copy of Sorcerer's Stone anniversary edition! The event will also be streamed to the internet so fans from around the world can enjoy this special occasion. For full details, click here. And to everyone who attends: Have fun!

Wrock for Darfur – an all-day Harry Potter-themed festival organized to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur – will be held from noon to 9 PM this Saturday at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie. This wonderful collaboration by a small group of teenagers will feature a massive wizard rock concert, vendors, food, games, and even an elaborate Horcrux Hunt! And the best part is, all proceeds will go directly into purchasing school supplies for Darfuri refugees as well as civilian protection in Darfur. Read more at the link below!

Back in mid-July we told you that Dan would appear at TimesTalk in NYC to promote and discuss his upcoming performance in Equus. A staff member of Snitch Seeker was present at the event and took lots of notes from what Dan had to say. In their report, we learn a lot about Equus and some information concerning Half-Blood Prince. The most timely thing learned about Half-Blood Prince was a comment from Dan on the delay, which he says he found out about only 24 hours before everyone else. He also asked everyone to not blame him for the delay. Read the full report here!

Alan Horn, President of Warner Brothers, has issued a statement in response to the large amount of disappointment from their decision to delay Half-Blood Prince until July 17th, 2009: Many of you have written to me to express your disappointment in our moving “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to Summer 2009. Please be assured that we share your love for Harry Potter and would certainly never do anything to hurt any of the films. Over the past 10 years, we have nurtured and protected each film, and the integrity of the books upon which they are based, to the best of our ability. The decision to move “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was not taken lightly, and was never intended to upset our Harry Potter fans. We know you have built this series into what it is, and we thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm and support. If I may offer a silver lining: there would have been a two-year gap between “Half-Blood Prince” and the much-anticipated first part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which opens in November 2010. So although we have to wait a little longer for “Half-Blood Prince,” the wait from that film until “Deathly Hallows” will be less than 18 months. I am sorry to have disappointed you now, but if you hold on a little longer, I believe it will be worth the wait.

On August 6, 2008, hundreds of wizard rockers and friends converged at the Hilton Chicago for Wrock Chicago - one of the largest wizard rock festivals ever! Today, MTV has released their coverage of the event, which you can view on their website. If you attended Wrock Chicago, see if you can spot yourself - many fans (myself included!) were captured on camera dancing and jumping during the shows.

The latest episode of our Harry Potter podcast is now, finally, available! This week's episode has lots of discussion on the Half-Blood Prince delay, and it's also our highly-anticipated final weekly episode. While we're not ending the show by any means, the end of weekly episodes will actually make MuggleCast better than ever when we have more time to produce each show. - The news of Half-Blood Prince being delayed puts us in a frenzy. - What was the real reason behind this? - Were there signs of a mistake from the beginning, dating back to 2006? - We play some old segments that haven't been seen in a while. - Make the Connection, British Joke, Favorites, Dueling Club, and more. - Our final thoughts on the show and where it will be going. To download for free, we recommend subscribing through Apple iTunes. Just CLICK HERE and then press "Subscribe" to the right of our album art. (Already subscribed? Refresh your feed!) No iPod or MP3 player needed! You can also visit the MuggleCast website to listen right within your browser. Enjoy!

In an article reporting on how Entertainment Weekly posted their fall preview with Half-Blood Prince, The Canadian Press spoke with Dan Feldman, who is Head of Distribution at Warner Brothers. Feldman reveals the timeline of the decision: The studio had been mulling the date change for three or four weeks, "but it really didn't kind of get on the front-burner until sometime within the last seven days," Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. head of distribution, said Sunday. Entertainment Weekly's "deadline must have been earlier than the decision, than when we started to get serious about making the decision," Fellman said. WB's press release, revealing that Half-Blood Prince will be opening on July 17th, 2009, can be read right here.

Scholastic's official website has a new interview with the actor who plays Draco Malfoy in the Potter films. In it, he speaks about the character of Draco, Tom's YouTube videos, and a lot more. Scholastic: What's your opinion of Draco? Tom: Not a very pleasant one, I assure you. I figure, I think of him as a misled only child who's been slightly bullied into his state of mind, if you will. But in long short, he is a nasty bit of work. A bit of a slimy, troublesome character who's not really up for any good and certainly the benefit of anyone else. Scholastic: Well, my next question was going to be, "Do you think people misunderstand him?" But I guess you already answered that. Tom: Well, I suppose, "yes" would be the answer. By the same token, he doesn't do a great job of trying to convince otherwise, does he?

Lots of news has been circulating around the web relating to Half-Blood Prince's move to July 17th. This post will cover several stories related to the move. First up, Summit Entertainment, the company behind the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's first Twilight novel, has announced that the film will take Half-Blood Prince's spot on November 21st. Summit "saw a unique opportunity to slot in [their] film which has been gaining tremendous awareness and momentum over the past several months." They were also quick to say that "by no means are [they] trying to fill the shoes of the incredible POTTER franchise for 2008." Second, disgruntled Potter fans are using the internet to be very vocal about the move. Facebook groups, clever YouTube videos, and online petitions (that one in particular has over 23,000 signatures) have been trying to make their mark on WB. Next, IGN has an article online which wonders whether or not the video game will be seeing a delay. The game was set to be shipped this November at the same time as the film's release, but that is now up in the air. An EA spokesperson told IGN "We are making a great game that Harry Potter fans will really enjoy -- we are evaluating the impact of the movie date change." Last, a bit of an absurd story comes from an article on FOX news. FOX believes the film was delayed because Warner Brothers doesn't want Dan Radcliffe's good Potter image to be tarnished with Equus. We know that this is not true, as WB has been openly supportive of Dan's stage play ventures.

The other day, we showed you scans from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly - they had new photos and a set report from Half-Blood Prince. EW has now posted the report on their website. There's lots to be learned in this report, including news about the opening sequence where Harry is "flirting with a waitress". There's also a bit about the flashbacks: Kloves was girding himself for a grind, but after writing an unwieldy draft that included almost every flashback, the scribe and the franchise's current auteur in residence, David Yates, changed course. ''We distilled the flashbacks down to three. We see Voldemort as a little boy, and then on two occasions we see him as a student. By doing that, we honor the spirit of what Jo [Rowling] had done but avoid getting stuck in narrative cul-de-sacs."

Today (August 16th), the actress who plays Luna Lovegood in the Potter films turns 17! A diehard Potter fan, readers may remember that Evanna was a frequent MuggleNet visitor and heard about the Luna Lovegood casting call through the site. She is truly one of us, and how far she has come! Have a great one, Evanna!

Warner Brothers has passed along two high res pictures that appeared in this week's Entertainment Weekly, as seen in this report. Check 'em out below: - Young Tom Riddle sits in his room at the orphanage - Snape, Narcissa, and Bellatrix