#including robbie coltrane (hagrid)

[sihtryggr]

REST IN PEACE: DAME MAGGIE SMITH (1934 - 2024)

[scotianostra]

Anthony Robert McMillan was born on March 30th, 1950 in Rutherglen, we knew him better as Robbie Coltrane.

Robbie was educated at Glenalmond College, an independent school in Perthshire, from which he was nearly expelled after hanging the prefects' gowns from the school clocktower. Though he later described his experiences there as deeply unhappy, he played for the rugby First XV, was head of the school's debating society and won prizes for his art.

From Glenalmond, Coltrane went on to Glasgow School of Art, where he was ridiculed for "having an accent like Prince Charles" (of which he quickly disposed, though not before gaining the nickname "Lord Fauntleroy"), and thereafter the Moray House College of Education (part of the University of Edinburgh) in Edinburgh.

In the early 70's Robbie took the name Coltrane, due to his love of jazz musician John Coltrane, and began a career of a stand-up comedian at night clubs, at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as an actor with Edinburgh's renowned Traverse Theatre.

After picking up a few bit parts in films and TV series I first remember Robbie appearing in the BBC Scotland comedy sketch series A kick up the Eighties, he went on from there to appear in The Comic Strip Presents films during the 80's The Supergrass and The Pope must die being the most successful. At that time Coltrane had a drinking problem, downing as much as a bottle of whisky a day. In 1986 he flew to a clinic in Mexico and was treated for obesity. In 1987 his partner for 15 years, Robin Paine, left him for good. A year later he met Rhona Gemmell in a pub. They married and had a son, Spencer, and a daughter, Alice. His career took off during the early 1990s with the leading role as Dr. Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, a forensic psychologist, in the popular TV series Cracker.

Coltrane is one of only a few to have played "baddies" in 2 Bond films, playing Russian mafia man Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. He went on to play Rubeus Hagrid in seven Harry Potter films.

Robbie has also featured in factual TV series, Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles, as well as a host of other TV series, none of which, surprisingly are Taggart! He was voted No. 11 in ITV's TV's 50 Greatest Stars and sixth in a poll of 2000 adults across the UK to find the 'most famous Scot', behind the Loch Ness Monster, Robert Burns, Sean Connery, Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.

Robbie passed away on October 14th 2022, he had become a virtual recluse, living a a rented converted barn near Stirling, living off takeaways from a local Chinese. Coltrane was cremated and his family spread his ashes around several of his favourite places around Manhattan, New York.

His death certificate shows that the actor died from a string of conditions including multiple organ failure, the causes of death given were sepsis, where an infection triggers an extreme reaction throughout the body, lower respiratory tract infection and heart block.

I always loved Robbie, from his early days right through his career, it's sad when the people you grew up laughing at and enjoyed in folms and TV pass away.............Rest in Peace big man.

[hello-mystery]

:(

Dumbledore( Richard Harris, Michael Gambon), Hagrid( Robbie Coltrane), Snape( Alan RIckman) McGonnagal( Maggie Smith) Vernon Dursley ( Richard Griffiths) RIP ❤ (including everyone else i couldnt list!)

[adiarosefandoms]

Harry Potter is Being Rebooted

HBO just confirmed a Harry Potter reboot in the form of a ten-year long tv show... and I hate it.

Why would you adapt something for the second time when you can do something new? Something on the Marauders, or founders, or Ilvermorny, or Tom Riddle, expand the world. It hasn't been nearly long enough to warrant a reboot. For years, Harry's story has been set and safe, now it's not anymore. I know adaptations have colored my feelings on the source material before just because I could always feel the disappointment in the back of my mind (note: Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children). I love HP, it was everything to me and fundamental in my development. It gifted me confidence and a safe place to turn to, not to mention that I’m positive it saved my life. They don't need to screw it up.

NOBODY could ever embody these characters the way the original actors did. Can you imagine anybody but Emma Watson being Hermione? Anyone except Daniel being Harry? Anybody else but Rupert being Ron? Believe me, I know the films are not perfect. Harry should have been sassier, Ginny should have been more fiery, Ron’s character shouldn’t have been reduced, Peeves, SPEW, and Winky should have all been included. But nothing is perfect, yet this is one of the best book to movie adaptations ever. It was done so well with so much love, care and talent. In this, Maggie Smith won’t be McGonagall, Alan Rickman won’t be Snape, Robbie Coltrane won’t be Hagrid, Evanna Lynch won’t be Luna, Gary Oldman won’t be Sirius, Helena Bonham Carter won’t be Bellatrix, Warwick Davis won’t be Flitwick, all of the Weasley’s from Molly to Arthur to the twins will be replaced.

Once Emma Watson said maybe in fifty years, they could do a reboot. She could play McGonagall, Daniel Snape, Tom Dumbledore. I’d be fine with that, but it’s too soon now. The younger cast is just now reaching their thirties, Daniel Radcliffe is just now having a child of his own. It’s too soon.

And to those who are saying “just don’t watch it.” This will affect the fandom. The characterizations, the parks, the tours, the look/feel of Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and everything else. It’s all going to be reimagined. This is nothing more than a cash grab from an already incredibly profitable franchise. As in, the third most profitable behind only Marvel and Star Wars.

The Wizarding World is always ready to be expanded. But Harry Potter, the characters, the world at that period in time, that feeling of home we get when we look at the set story, does not need a reboot.

[geekcavepodcast]

Review | Hogwarts Legacy

Note: Were it not for controversial comments made by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, this game would be universally beloved and applauded. As it stands, there are a fair amount of people that view supporting this game as the same as supporting repression of or violence against transgendered individuals. The Geek Cave Podcast does not endorse any views or movements that practice anything other than peace, acceptance, and tolerance. A game code was provided for review; the following article looks solely at the game and its individual merits.

Anyone who has ever heard a story about wizards and witches and picked up a twig as a child to pretend it was a magic wand has wondered, at some point or another, what it would be like to actually be able to practice magic, casting spells, riding fantastic beasts (or brooms), and having incredible power at one’s own disposal. Portkey Games’ Hogwarts Legacy, which takes place within the Harry Potter universe but centuries prior to Harry’s own adventures, seeks to at least give you a taste of what that’s like, and it does so admirably.

You take on the role of a new student at Hogwarts, the school for witchcraft and wizardry known the world over, except you’re no ordinary student: you’re jumping in as a fifth-year student (practically unheard of except for a few outliers) and also have the ability to see traces of ancient magic (ditto on the “practically unheard of” part). The game wastes no time in alerting you to the seriousness of the whole situation by having a dragon attack your ride to Hogwarts, straight up eating one of your carriage’s passengers in the process. 

Once you escape, your studies begin, as you balance getting classwork done with unraveling an ancient mystery into the special magic that is also desired by a group of goblins revolting against the current societal norms. Whlle there were some concerns prior to launch about the goblin race seemingly being used as a charicature for the Jews, in my playing experience the “evil” goblins made up a minority of the goblins you’ll encounter in the game; it seems, just like with any other group of people, there are good and bad examples. 

Commentary aside, the world is as you may remember it from the Warner Bros. Hogwarts-related films. Hogwarts itself is lovingly recreated in fine detail, including a small memorial at the groundskeeper’s hut in honor of Hagrid actor Robbie Coltrane. Hogsmeade, similarly, is vibrant and full of the same energy you get glimpses of in the films (disclaimer: I haven’t read the books but I’ve been assured by a few said book series fans that the details are spot on). The environments and set pieces are well-made, and the visual effects from each individual spell also look great. The only time I had a hard time actively looking at Hogwarts Legacy was when I tried it out on the Steam Deck (we received a code for the PC version). On a decent PC or laptop, it looks great. On the Steam Deck, it runs on low to medium settings, and you’ll be able to tell it was a bit scaled down. Expect the Switch version to be similar. 

Gameplay-wise, though, no matter what version you pick up, combat feels fast and very customizable. I compared it to the Fable or Kingdoms of Amalur series of games when talking about my experience with a friend. Specific spells are mapped to the face buttons on your controller, while the right trigger can fire a basic attack spell when tapped. Defensive actions are also mapped to the face buttons; to differentiate between those and using a particular spell, just hold the right trigger before casting... and there are a lot of spells to learn, giving you ample reason to take on side quests. 

Speaking of side quests, Hogwarts Legacy gives you plenty to keep yourself occupied, whether you’re into fetch quests, monster hunting, or herbology. Eventually you’ll unlock the Room of Requirement, which will let you set up your own potion brewing and plant growing stations plus more. Hogwarts Legacy almost has too many things for you to do, as I found myself constantly overpowered for whatever part of the main campaign I finally got around to doing after first focusing on doing things for my classmates and teachers. Each “house” of Hogwarts Legacy also has exclusive sidequests, so completionists will have to replay multiple times (I went with Hufflepuff for my first playthrough because it’s the only one that featured a trip to Azkaban Prison). 

The game’s soundtrack evokes the classic John Williams theme, which even showed up as an easter egg for a particular puzzle. Voice acting is mostly good, with a couple of side characters being a bit annoying to listen to (but not to the point of unbearable). 

Overall, Hogwarts Legacy delivers exactly what someone would want from a Wizarding World game. Controversy about the world’s creator aside, it’s clear that the team behind the game care deeply about not only the fiction, but the real-world fandom. 

Be Like Me. Definitely worth playing.

[allthenewzworld]

Robbie Coltrane, who passed away two years ago today, was beloved for his role as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, where his warmth and towering presence made the character iconic.

In the 20th Anniversary documentary, Coltrane reflected on Hagrid's lasting legacy, saying, "The legacy of the movies is that my children's generation will show them to their children. So you could be watching it in 50 years' time, easy. I'll not be here, sadly...but Hagrid will, yes."

Beyond Harry Potter, Coltrane was admired for his versatile career, including his roles in Cracker and James Bond.

RIP 🕊️🙏

Read more at link in our bio.

[coochiequeens]

It would be hard to think of any public figure over the past 30 years who has comported themselves with more dignity and grace in the face of overwhelming fame and success than JK Rowling. But for the last two years, for the simple reason of speaking her mind, she has been obliged to demonstrate that same dignity and grace in the face of a tsunami of hatred and vilification.

It was in December 2019 that Maya Forstater, a researcher at an international think tank, lost an employment tribunal case, accused of using “offensive and exclusionary” language on Twitter after she had posted a tweet saying “Men cannot change into women.”

The tribunal judge ruled that the belief, expressed by Forstater, that biological sex is immutable, and that it is impossible to change one’s sex, was “incompatible with human dignity and fundamental rights of others.”

The day after the tribunal ruling, Rowling posted a tweet to her 14.6 million followers: “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?”

The sluice gates opened – and it’s fair to say that since then they’ve never closed.

Last month, three trans activists posted photographs of themselves on social media staging a protest outside what could clearly be identified as Rowling’s Edinburgh home.

In a tweet responding to the posting, Rowling said: “I’ve now received so many death threats I could paper the house with them, and I haven’t stopped speaking out. Perhaps – and I’m just throwing this out there – the best way to prove your movement isn’t a threat to women, is to stop stalking, harassing and threatening us.”

Social media groups set up to target Rowling lit up with abuse: “JK Rowling is a liar”, “JK Rowling is trash”, and “jk Rowling I am about to dress like myself to K!ll you” and “Rot in Hell”.

The three activists, meanwhile, posted a message saying that while “we stand by” the photo they were removing it because of the “overwhelming amount of serious and transphobic messages” they had received.

On January 1 HBO Max will be showing a documentary, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, marking the anniversary of the first film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which includes new interviews with actors from all eight Potter films, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, as well as the director of the original 2001 movie, Chris Columbus. According to the Warner Bros executive Tom Ascheim, it will be “a tribute to everyone whose lives were touched by this cultural phenomenon” – everyone that is except the person responsible for the cultural phenomenon. Despite tribute being paid to Rowling by some members of the cast – notably Robbie Coltrane, who plays Hagrid in the Potter films, and says “One of the many reasons I admire JK so much is that millions now read books who would never have lifted a book up in their lives, and suddenly you realise the power of writing” – JK Rowling herself will be represented only in archive interviews.

It is unclear whether Rowling was not asked to appear, or if she declined to participate. But we think we can guess. Corporations that Rowling has enriched over the years now fall over themselves to avoid being seen to be associated with her. Despite being the creator of the Fantastic Beasts franchise and the producer and co-screenwriter of the new film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Rowling was given only a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it credit on the trailer for the film, at the bottom of the video’s final title card. The most successful children’s author of the age has been cancelled.

How has it come to this?

J K Rowling: timeline of a cultural phenomenon

Rowling’s own story is as well known as any she crafted for Harry Potter. In 1995, she was a 29-year-old single mother, with a failed marriage behind her, who had been diagnosed with depression, and was living on benefits in a one-bedroom flat in Edinburgh. She had written the first Harry Potter book sitting in a succession of Edinburgh cafes, fuelled by endless cups of coffee, while her infant daughter Jessica slept in her pushchair beside her.

In search of an agent, she picked the name of Christopher Little out of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook,  because, she said, it sounded like a name from a children’s book, and sent him the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The manuscript went straight into the rejection basket because Little thought that ‘children’s books did not make money’. It was only on second reading that he realised “there was something really special there.” He wrote back to Rowling, asking to see the rest of the manuscript. “It was the best letter of my life, including love letters,” she said. “I read it eight times.”

The book was turned down by every major publisher in Britain, until finally finding a home at the independent publisher, Bloomsbury. Published in 1997, the first print run was just 1,000 copies. “Remember, Joanne,” Little had warned Rowling, “this is all very well, but it’s not going to make you a fortune.” The Harry Potter books have gone on to sell more than 500 million copies around the world in 65 languages, and Rowling’s wealth is estimated at £795 million.

“She was very nice – almost naive at that stage, and freaked out a bit by the attention,” one former Bloomsbury executive remembers. “There was a big literary dinner where she had to get up and speak in front of industry figures, journalists, celebrities, and she was really nervous. We both smoked then and we sloped off to a staircase to have a calming ciggie. Much later she made a speech at Harvard University and she was just fantastic, so different from that almost studenty type girl from the late 1990s. Having millions of pounds and that degree of success is bound to affect you, but she’s dealt with it so well.”

Rowling has never forgotten what it was like to be poor and desperate. She has supported numerous charitable and human rights causes. Her Volant Charitable Trust (Volant was her mother’s maiden name) has an annual budget of £5.1m and works to alleviate poverty and social deprivation while her non-profit organisation, Lumos works globally to end the institutionalisation of children. In 2012 Forbes magazine estimated that she had given $160 million in charitable donations.

She married for the second time in 2001 to a Scottish doctor, Neil Murray, and she has two more children with him.

How then could a woman whose contribution to the sum of human happiness, and in particular to the welfare of women and children, have found herself the victim of a virulent hate campaign?

Look no further than social media.

When Rowling first went on Twitter in 2014 she described it as “an unmixed blessing”. It was a way both to communicate with her fans, and air her opinions. She delighted in mocking Donald Trump on Twitter. A supporter of the Labour party – Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah are friends, and she once donated £1m to party funds – she was fiercely critical of Jeremy Corbyn and his equivocation over Brexit, which Rowling opposed. She also opposed Scottish independence in the 2014 referendum. Her first sally into the gender wars came in 2018, when she ‘liked’ a tweet by a female Labour party member, complaining that “Men in dresses get brocialist solidarity I never had. That’s misogyny!” Rowling’s publicist dismissed the ‘like’ as “a clumsy and middle-aged moment.”

Trans activists leapt on Rowling’s ‘like’, but the vitriol was nothing compared with the deluge that followed her tweet in support of Forstater.

Forstater, who has never met Rowling, says she was flabbergasted when the author tweeted about her case. “I’d lost the case the day before and was trying to hold body and soul together. And somebody sent me a WhatsApp message with a screenshot of her tweet. I thought they’d made it up to cheer me up.”

The tweet, she says, escalated her own case to a matter of international attention, bringing a huge social media backlash.

“There’s been this move to say that everything that JK Rowling has said on this issue is wrong and in bad faith, and part of that has been to lie and misrepresent my case,” says Forstater “In America, newspapers have said I harassed a transgender colleague. I didn’t have a transgender colleague, and I’ve never harassed anyone. They say that not because they care who I am but so they can say that JK Rowling defended this terrible person.

“The idea is you’re not supposed to talk about this, and she talked about it. If you’re a woman, particularly if you’re on the Left and you work in the voluntary sector or the public sector there are places where it’s dangerous to say anything. Someone will report them to their employer, or try to get them to shut up by making it harder for them to get work. Financially you can’t cancel JK Rowling. But they still had to come after her and make her into a witch, so that other people will be afraid to speak about this. And the fact that she kept coming back and talking about it has been incredibly inspiring and brave.”

After the Forstater row, Rowling backed away from Twitter for a few months, then in June 2020 she responded to an article on the website of Devex, which reports on sustainable development, headlined: “Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate.” Rowling tweeted: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”

In America, Variety reported it as an “anti-trans tweet”. The social media sluice gates collapsed.

“If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased,” Rowling tweeted. “I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”

A few days later she posted a lengthy, measured and candid essay titled ‘JK Rowling Writes About Her Reasons for Speaking Out on Sex and Gender Issues’, in which she wrote of having been ground down by “the relentless attacks from trans activists on social media... I forgot the first rule of Twitter – never, ever expect a nuanced conversation”; having spoken up “about the importance of sex” she had been “paying the price ever since.

“I was transphobic, I was a c---, a b----, a Terf, I deserved cancelling, punching and death. You are Voldemort said one person, clearly feeling this was the only language I’d understand. But endlessly unpleasant as its constant targeting of me has been, I refuse to bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it.”

She went on to talk about being a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor herself. “I managed to escape my first violent marriage with some difficulty, but I’m now married to a truly good and principled man, safe and secure in ways I never in a million years expected to be.

“However, the scars left by violence and sexual assault don’t disappear, no matter how loved you are, and no matter how much money you’ve made.

“I want trans women to be safe,” she wrote. “At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman... then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.”

Even those who owed Rowling the most – the young actors whose careers had been made by Harry Potter – turned on her.

Radcliffe posted a statement on the website of the Trevor Project – an American nonprofit organisation that states its mission as being to “end suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning young people” – saying that while Rowling had been “unquestionably responsible for the course my life has taken,” he felt compelled to speak out. “Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional healthcare associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.”

Watson followed suit, tweeting: “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”

Grint tweeted: “I firmly stand with the trans community. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgement.”

One of the few members of the cast to speak out in Rowling’s defence was Coltrane, saying: “I don’t think what she said was offensive really. I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended. They wouldn’t have won the war, would they? That’s me talking like a grumpy old man, but you just think, ‘Oh, get over yourself. Wise up, stand up straight and carry on’.”

In America, institutions that had previously garlanded Rowling with awards, immediately caved. The Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) organisation, which in 2019 had awarded Rowling the Ripple of Hope Award in recognition for her “commitment to social change”, issued a statement by its president, Robert Kennedy’s daughter Kerry, describing her “dismay” over Rowling’s “deeply troubling transphobic tweets and statements”.  Rowling promptly returned the award, saying “no award or honour, no matter my admiration for the person for whom it was named, means so much to me that I would forfeit the right to follow the dictates of my own conscience.”

The writers’ campaigning group, PEN International, which in 2006 had awarded her the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service award, lionising her as a “fierce opponent of censorship” and an “advocate for women’s and girls’ rights”, issued a deeply equivocal statement saying that “any discussion of freedom of expression must also be a discussion of power” adding “we support the right to hold and express strong views, provided that such expression does not undermine the internationally recognised human rights of others, incite hatred, nor engender the threat or use of violence.”

Such has been the climate of condemnation of her views that it is not uncommon to find Rowling described even in mainstream American publications as “the transphobe JK Rowling”, accused in the hyperbolic language of the times of peddling “hatred” and “endangering” the lives of trans people.

“It’s emotional language that’s designed to elicit fear and stop people talking about the realities of the situation which are much more complicated,” says Nina Power, the philosopher and social theorist. “The trans activist movement is about a lot of people trying to deal with their own suffering and projecting it onto another group. It’s a symptom of a deeper issue of how our society seems unable to think about sexual difference in a non-hysterical way.

“And I think JK Rowling was doing all of us a favour by coming out and saying these things, which she didn’t have to do. She could have remained aloof and not said anything, but I think she felt a moral imperative to do so, because she could see other women getting a lot of flak and losing their jobs. So I think her gesture was brave.”

Rowling’s global fame alone would have been enough to make her the target of the mob, but the vitriol goes deeper than that. With Harry Potter, she created a magical world which gave solace and comfort as well as escape to readers of a certain age, particularly those asking questions about their own identity and feelings. The books created obsessive fans, and the obsessiveness of that fandom has been mirrored by the obsessive nature with which she has been attacked. The tone is not simply of anger but of betrayal. It is the children of Harry Potter turning on the mother, their rage an act of matricide.

Roger Sutton is editor-in-chief of The Horn Book, America’s leading journal on the subject of children’s fiction.

He says he is “perplexed” about the rage that Rowling’s comments have engendered, particularly among those who grew up loving her books. “I’ve read everything she’s written about gender and to me there seems to be a real mismatch between the perceived offence and the reaction. But the American writer Fran Lebowitz once quipped that people love to feel superior to their past, and I think part of the reason she’s attracting so much anger on the part of the people who are angry with her is that they are reacting to their younger selves.”

Rowling’s books have long been pored over by those in search of hidden slurs or stereotypes; this character is supposedly a metaphor for paedophiles, that one is ‘anti-Semitic’; reams have been written on how the depiction of the House Elves perpetuates the canard of ‘happy slaves’. But in the wake of the controversy over her views on gender, the revisionist interpretation of Harry Potter has gathered steam, and Rowling is found guilty of transgressing every social justice shibboleth – as one critic puts it, "[the stories’] arguable racism, queerbaiting, lack of multiculturalism, fat-shaming, and upholding of the patriarchal structures.”

Nowdays, in the increasingly censorious world of children’s and young adult fiction, such trangressions are rigorously policed by ‘sensitivity readers’ – freelance editors hired by publishers to seek out examples of cultural appropriation and infelicitous references to race, sex, gender, disability, class and ‘non-inclusive’ language.

It makes you wonder, if JK Rowling was submitting the manuscript for the Harry Potter books today, would they be published?

Sutton, who describes himself as “gayer than five Dumbledores”, laughs. “That’s a great question, but it’s impossible to know because JK Rowling completely changed the face of publishing in children’s books, for good or ill. You can’t envisage a present without her having been in the past.”

Speaking personally, Sutton is not a fan. “My problems with JK Rowling were aesthetic ones, not political ones – why use five adverbs when one would do? But she’s done wonderful things around children and books; her philanthropy has been exemplary. I think she’s a hero as a children’s writer.”

Yet, curiously, it is not easy to find people in British publishing willing to say the same. Calls aren’t returned. Emails go unanswered. People are suddenly “unavailable”. “Nobody wants to talk about this,” says one publisher. And that includes one person in particular. JK Rowling was not available for comment.

[justforbooks]

The actor Robbie Coltrane, who has died aged 72, was regularly described as a big man of the British screen. Journalists said he was heavy on talent yet thin-skinned as an interviewee. He disliked his encounters with the press. But the larger-than-life roles with which he was most associated – the criminal psychologist Fitz, Harry Potter’s half-giant friend Hagrid – demonstrated something else: they were performances of a kind of crumpled vulnerability that was also characteristic of the man.

Coltrane recalled that during the filming of Ocean’s Twelve (2004), he found himself sitting at a table with George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. “These are about the three most successful, most beautiful actors in the world at the moment. And here am I. A fat boy from Rutherglen … What the fuck am I doing here?”

The fat boy from Rutherglen also had a splendidly eviscerating wit, useful for rebuffing questions premised on his girth. Once, he was telling an interviewer how he was trying to raise money for a film about Laurel and Hardy. Who would you play, his interlocutor asked? “I’d be playing the wee one with the funny hair, like yourself,” snapped back Coltrane.

It was easy to confuse the big man with his big roles. In the 1990s ITV crime drama Cracker, scripted by Jimmy McGovern, for which Coltrane won the best actor Bafta three years in succession, he played Dr Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald, an obese, alcoholic, foul-mouthed, sarcastic, yet cerebral criminal psychologist. “I drink too much, I smoke too much, I gamble too much. I am too much,” Coltrane’s Fitz shouted in one episode. That self-description seemed to fit actor as much as character. True, smoking and gambling were not Coltrane’s vices, but alcohol was: “Booze is my undoing,” he said once. “I can drink a gallon of beer and not feel the least bit drunk.” And Coltrane was regularly written up as just too much, dominating conversations with anecdotes and funny voices rather than listening.

There could also be too little of the big man. When, for instance, he fulfilled his manifest destiny and played the boozy, libidinous, life force Falstaff in Kenneth Branagh’s 1989 film of Henry V, the critics felt short-changed. “Mr Coltrane is not on the screen long enough to create any true idea of Falstaff’s magnificence,” decided the New York Times. “Instead, he simply looks like a woozy Santa Claus.”

He could also erase himself exasperatingly: once in 2012, after disclosing to an interviewer that he was diabetic and had lost four and a half stone in order that a leg operation could proceed, he turned tight-lipped. How did he lose weight? “I just stopped eating for a while.” Seriously, how did he manage it, pursued his interviewer. “No, no, no! I don’t want to talk about this in the press!”

Born Anthony McMillan in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, he changed his name, on becoming an actor, in honour of the great jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. His mother, Jean Ross, was a pianist and teacher, and his father, Ian, a GP who also worked as a police surgeon. His son recalled that Dr McMillan “used to spend all weekend stitching up knife victims”. Their son attended Glenalmond college, an independent school in Perthshire, often described as Scotland’s equivalent to Eton. “It was a very strict school and I didn’t respond well to discipline.” Indeed, he was nearly expelled for hanging prefects’ gowns from the school clocktower, but also played for the school’s rugby team, captained the debating team and won prizes for his art.

At Glasgow School of Art (1968-72), he was nicknamed Lord Fauntleroy for the posh accent he quickly repressed. Contemporaries included the poet Liz Lochhead and TV presenter Muriel Gray. He soon became known as Red Robbie for his involvement with radical causes. In 1971, he supported the campaign by workers to keep the Glasgow shipyards open. “I believe I showed a pornographic movie and charged people five shillings to look at it and gave the money to Upper Clyde shipbuilders.”

To his lasting regret, he never became a painter. In 2014, when invited back to art school to open the Reid Building, Coltrane said: “I wanted to paint like the painters who really moved me, who made me want to weep about humanity. Titian, Rembrandt. But I looked at my diploma show and felt a terrible disappointment when I realised all the things that were in my head were not on the canvas. I felt there was something wrong with my hands. That was a heartbreaking day.”

At art school he had started acting. Lochhead saw him in Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter and recalled his performance as “fantastic … bloody terrifying”. His memory was different: “I threw up every night before going on stage.” He went on to study art for another year, at the Moray House College of Education, Edinburgh, and acting became his vocation: “One day, [the renowned Scottish actors] Bill Paterson and Alex Norton came to me and said ‘Are you just going to carry on showing off in pubs, or are you going to take this seriously?’ and they sent me to the Traverse theatre”. His first success was in John Byrne’s trilogy The Slab Boys (1979), about a group of young working-class Scots in the 1960s.

Coltrane came to British TV viewers’ attention in a string of 1980s sketch shows, including A Kick Up the 80s and Laugh? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee, working alongside Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry and Rik Mayall. He went on to become a fixture of TV comedy, starring in Blackadder and several films in the Comic Strip Presents series.

He was particularly fine as the butt of Blackadder’s wit as an increasingly apoplectic Dr Samuel Johnson in a 1987 episode. “Here it is, sir. The very cornerstone of English scholarship,” the doctor declared to Blackadder, brandishing the manuscript of his recently completed dictionary. “This book, sir, contains every word in our beloved language.”

“Well, in that case, sir,” retorted Blackadder, “I hope you will not object if I also offer the Doctor my most enthusiastic contrafibularities.”

He was better yet at the difficult task of playing Charles Bronson playing Ken Livingstone in the Comic Strip Presents … GLC: The Carnage Continues (1990). After preventing the Tories from flooding south London to turn it into a yacht club, Coltrane’s Livingstone strives to thwart Margaret Thatcher from beheading the Prince of Wales and taking over the kingdom.

Coltrane’s success had downsides. “I’d been broke for a long time and suddenly I had enough money in the bank not to worry if I could afford to eat out or drink a whole bottle of whisky and suddenly I was famous. It went to my head. It only lasted for 15 years.” His friend the actor John Sessions once said that Coltrane had a “strong self-destructive streak … a deep, driving melancholy”.

In the late 1980s, nearing 40, he met Rhona Gemmell. They had a son and daughter and married in 1999, but split up four years later.

The funny man went straight in 1987, when he starred opposite Thompson in Tutti Frutti, a six-part drama by Byrne about a faded Scots rock’n’roll band called the Majestics, newly fronted by the dead singer’s brother, Danny McGlone (Coltrane), who has a romance with a former classmate, Suzi Kettles (Thompson). Danny proves his fondness for Suzi at one point by taking a drill to the teeth of her estranged husband, a dentist. The performance earned him his first Bafta nomination.

Though his subsequent performances in Cracker (1993-96, plus a 2006 revival episode) won awards and critical plaudits, it was the cheesy British film comedies such as Nuns on the Run (1990) and The Pope Must Die (1991) that made Coltrane a movie star. He also appeared in two consecutive James Bond films, GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999). In 2000, he came sixth in a UK poll to find the “most famous Scot”, behind the Loch Ness monster, Robbie Burns, Sean Connery, Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.

In 2001, though, Coltrane’s celebrity status went global when he was cast as Hagrid, the half-giant gamekeeper of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry in the first film adaptation of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, reportedly at Rowling’s insistence. The 6ft 1in actor had to adjust to the novelty of being looked up to by adoring small fans. “Kids come up to you and they go: ‘Would you like to sign my book?’ with those big doe eyes. And it’s a serious responsibility.” In 2006 he was appointed OBE.

Coltrane had a passion for classic cars, which he indulged in two travelogues. For Coltrane in a Cadillac (1993) he drove from Los Angeles to New York in a convertible; in 1997 he drove from London to Glasgow in an open-top Jaguar for Robbie Coltrane’s B-Road Britain.

When, in 2009, Coltrane hung up Hagrid’s beard for the last time, after filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, the eighth and final adaptation from Rowling’s books, it was with regret. He went on to star in David Pirie’s well-received cop drama Murderland (2009) and in the last episodes of the US sitcom Frasier.

He memorably captured the years when entertainment crashed into investigations of sexual abuse as the veteran comedian Paul Finchley in the Channel 4 drama series National Treasure, written by Jack Thorne, with Julie Walters as his wife and Andrea Riseborough as his troubled daughter. Times and attitudes had moved on: again there was a crumpled vulnerability as Finchley failed to come to terms with what was happening to him. In 2020, Coltrane appeared in Sky Arts’ Urban Myths series as Orson Welles in Norwich.

He is survived by his son, Spencer, daughter, Alice, and sister, Annie.

🔔 Robbie Coltrane (Anthony Robert McMillan), actor, born 30 March 1950, died 14 October 2022

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[samgphotography]

My mate posted this. He was so much more than Hagrid.

Robbie Coltrane passed away. I’d like to take this moment to highlight his impact on British Culture.

Without argument the highlight of his career was the Ghost of Christmas in Blackadders Christmas carol. (1988)

However his impact started as early as his role of “man at airfield” in the 1980 sci Fi masterpiece Flash Gordon. And who can forget his role as the CB voice in classic British sit com “are you being served?” Although the mid 80s proved triumphant for him with a role as Rhun, in the movie Krull, arguably an equally shit movie akin to Hawk the Slayer was it not for Jack Palance. Multiple roles in The young ones, French and Saunders and other sketch shows and various movies like Absolute beginners, as putting him next to skinny David Bowie might make him look like a half Giant. What few British comedic actors can claim to have supported Lenny Henry in the brief time he was actually funny? Not many.

As a true Scotsman, he nailed the role of “Man in a Bathroom” in a little known movie and easily forgotten sequel National Lampoons European vacation.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill and Aliens foul mouthed kick ass commando Bill Paxton starred in Slimstream (of course you haven’t heard of it) but Coltrane stole the screen with the loveable best friend role of Montclaire. Clearly this catapulted him into 2 Bond movies, one of which was not shit and had a fucking awesome Nintendo game. And again showing his comedy chops alongside mildly famous Eric Idle in Nuns on the run.

Then a stint as quirky criminally minded perverse interrogator in the long running show “Cracker” showing all the best of a quirky, criminally minded perverse Scotsman.

Then sadly, he was type cast as a fat jolly fellow for some anti gender equality authors novel film adaptations who had the audacity to reuse the exact same fucking costume from blackadders Christmas carol, because they gave all the money to Hans Gruber and the kids. And he was forced to do that like 8 times. 11 if you include the Disney shorts to watch while you’re in line.

Rip Robbie Coltrane, who was so much more than just Hagrid.

[maturemenoftvandfilms]

My Top 10 Actors I'd Like to F@#k: Harry Potter (Film Series)

(10) Peter Pettigrew, Portrayed by Timothy Spall

Yeah, I know. The whole rat look is... a little off putting, but comb that hair, I could work with him.

(9) Dolores Umbridge, Portrayed by Imelda Staunton

Why you ask, since she's an evil bitch. (1) Evil bitches need dick too. And she wasn't bad to look at and she was rocking pink dress. (2) I've got a thing for bad guys and since I'm BI, I'm including the women too.

(8) Argus Filch, Portrayed by David Bradley

I'm thinking he'd like to work off all the frustration of being a Squib with some bedroom activities.

(7) Professor Albus Dumbledore, Portrayed by Michael Gambon

Why wouldn't I want to do a wizard who was considered to have been the greatest wizard of modern times, perhaps of all time. And he's gay. 

No love spells required.

(6) Vernon Dursley, Portrayed by Richard Griffiths

I wouldn't mind being his manservant living under his stairs, performing all the wifely duties she don't or won't perform. What? You know I like them big.

(5) Cornelius Fudge, Portrayed by Robert Hardy

Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge, O.M., was a wizard who was the Minister for Magic from the years 1990–1996. He thus had complete control of the Ministry of Magic, the main governing body of the British wizarding world.

(4) Arthur Weasley, Portrayed by Mark Williams

Mmm... Ron's dad.

(3) Professor Horace Slughorn, Portrayed by Jim Broadbent  

Slughorn was a Pure-blood wizard, the Potions master and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lets just say, I'd love to taste the potion this Potions master is brewing.

(2) Hagrid, Portrayed by Robbie Coltrane

Hagrid stood at eleven feet, six inches tall. I'd do him, but I might be writing a check my ass can't cash with him being a half giant.

(1) Alastor Moody, Portrayed by Brendan Gleeson

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was a pure-blood wizard, considered to be the most famous Auror of all time. And he's played by Brendan Gleeson. 

Nuff said.

[estalubowitzitsoftware]

Reunion of Harry Potter Cast on 20th Anniversary

Are you also a die-hard Harry Potter fan? Here is the good news for you to start your new year with a bang. HBO Max will make your beginning of the new year even more special with a reunion where you can see the magic giant Harry, Ron, and Hermione of Harry Potter.

HBO Max released the teaser of the special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary on Sunday. The teaser includes Robbie Coltrane, Matthew Lewis, and Mark Williams as members of the film series cast.

The teaser also features other members Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Watson. The pair is confirmed to be a part of the reunion, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Tom Felton, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, and Evanna Lynch.

Harry Potter and the 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts

HBO Max will premiere “Harry Potter and the 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts on Jan. 1, 2022, to mark the anniversary of the franchise’s first film, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” According to HBO Max, they will share the making stories of Harry Potter, in-depth interviews, and conversations with the cast. There would also be behind-the-scenes film footage and never-before-seen clips.

It’ll also air on TBS and Cartoon Network in spring 2022. The third special by HBO Max after the release of two popular TV shows. The gathering of the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air marked the 30th anniversary of the show with Smith and the rest of the surviving series regulars: Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid, and Alfonso Ribeiro, plus recurring co-star DJ Jazzy Jeff.

Reunion of popular shows and series

After that, the cast of the friends reunited earlier this year. However, Return to Hogwarts would be the first streaming reunion with a film franchise. The cast will assemble at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, where the films were shot.

Harry Potter is the most loved fantasy movie directed by Chris Columbus, adapted from the novel by J. K. Rowling. The series started with the first movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in 2001. The exciting story of the orphan boy, Harry Potter, who lives with his non-magical uncle and aunt, known as a muggle in the magical world.

Half-giant Rubeus Hagrid introduces him as a wizard and tells him about his parents and evil- lord wizard Lord Voldemort, who brutally murders his parents.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone story follows Harry’s first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He finds that he is a famous wizard and begins his formal wizarding education.

So, the audience gets the opportunity to meet the magical giant Harry, Ron, and Hermione after 20 years with the unique Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.

Do you also admire the fantasies of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Wisdom of Professor Albus Dumbledore as “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all those who live without love” from” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” or “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends,” Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

You can join the cast to lane down your favorite memories to cherish your best-loved characters and dialogues. Anniversary specials and reunions are nostalgic as these make us remember our good old days of light moments. Not only do the cast and crew revisit their memories, but as audiences, we also revisit.

Visit: mcafee.com/activate

Source:https://globalsofthelp.wordpress.com/2021/12/11/reunion-of-harry-potter-cast-on-20th-anniversary/

[emma-what-son]

HBO Max has released the first image from its upcoming special “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts,” which is premiering on Jan. 1 — and it shows stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in conversation in the Gryffindor common room. The program was taped at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

The reunion will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the eight-movie series that began with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which was released in November 2001. “The retrospective special will tell an enchanting making-of story through all-new in-depth interviews and cast conversations, inviting fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time,” reads its logline.

All eight “Harry Potter” movies are currently streaming on HBO Max.

“Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” will feature talent from the movies, including — according to the press release — Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Tom Felton, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, Matthew Lewis and Evanna Lynch.

J.K. Rowling, the author of the iconic book series, will not be interviewed in the special, but will be shown in archival footage about the movies. Because of her anti-trans comments, which have been condemned by the core cast — Rowling has become a figure of instant, and seemingly permanent, controversy in the passionate and vast “Harry Potter” fandom.

Earlier this week, HBO Max released a short trailer that didn’t include Radcliffe, Watson or Grint, but teased other alumni — like Coltrane (Hagrid) and Lewis (Neville Longbottom) — receiving their invitations to attend the reunion.

“Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — The Making of Harry Potter. The special is executive produced by Casey Patterson of Casey Patterson Entertainment (which was behind “A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote”) and Pulse Films (“Beastie Boys Story”).

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I don’t take the in game heights of the characters seriously at all tbh. I mean aside from the fact all the students are same height even if they’re not in the same year, Dumbledore’s nearly as tall as Hagrid 🙄

I’m with you all the way, the heights are not literal. Dumbledore is a tall man for sure, but Hagrid obviously should be towering over everyone. Hell even in the films his height was downplayed because, y’know, Robbie Coltrane isn’t a giant and as we know from the Lord of the Rings movies, it can be difficult and awkward to CGI a different height onto a character and have it look natural. Programming limitations are what they are, and it’s a long established pattern that everyone in MC’s year will be the exact same height as them, and that no one will ever actually grow. It’s just one of those willing suspension of disbelief things. For my Pokemon fans out there - does Pallet Town really deserve to be called a “town” when there are three buildings there, including your house? When you can walk the length of the town in eight seconds? Course not, but we can assume that in reality, the town is much bigger. We can assume likewise that in reality, the HPHM characters have all different heights just like ordinary humans always do. 

[padfootsstars]

So we're all excited about the PJO TV adaption. I scavenged the internet to look up actors to play the Olympian gods (including Hades). This is part 1. The other 6 gods will be included next time.

Pierce Brosnan as Zeus. He is exactly what I picture Zeus to look like (minus the beard). Just put in a fake beard and voilà, our most hated Olympian.

Ezra Miller as Papa Poseidon. Ik y'all want Logan Lerman to play Poseidon but, dude, Ezra fits PERFECTLY. He could also play Hermes tho. But I prefer Poseidon. Lemme know about y'all's opinion!!

Papa Patty (Patrick O'Connell) as Hades. Patrick, according to me atleast, looks like a perfect Hades. Y'all need to see his Instagram. Most will know him as Billie Eilish's dad. (I really wanna give Billie a role but she doesn't do acting😭)

Angelina Jolie as Hera. No, I do not have anything against Angelina. I'm only choosing her cuz she looks like she could nail a Greek chiton and braid aka Hera's sad excuse for fashion.

Emma Watson as Athena. Who else to play the Smart Mama than our dear old Hermione Granger. She looks a lot like my picture of Athena, just put in some grey contacts.

Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson as Ares. Do I actually need to explain?

Robbie Coltrane as Hephaestus. Now now, I'm not calling Hagrid ugly or something, I think Hagger is a right old cutie. But I can only think of Robbie when it comes to Hephaestus. He already nailed the shaggy beard outfit once, why not again?

[jfpisadearqueerdeer]

Top Ten Best Casted Harry Potter Actors... in No Actual Order

1. Maggie Smith as Professor Minevra McGonagall

Maggie Smith perfectly captured the strict but loving character that we all know and love & managed to make me wish I had her as a teacher in school.

2. James and Oliver Phelps as Fred and George Weasley

The Phelps twins may not be truly ginger, but they could have fooled me, and, well, true hair color doesn't really matter as much when their spirits match the chaotic glory of the Weasley twins'.

3. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

From the very beginning, it was clear that Rupert Grint was the PERFECT casting for Ron Weasley, despite the fact that Ron's character got screwed in the movies.

4. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid

While he is unfortunately not ten feet tall, Robbie Coltrane some how perfectly captured the lovable character that is Rubeus Hagrid, Harry's true best father figure throughout the books.

5. Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood

Okay. I know. Luna is a DIRTY BLONDE. But Evanna Lynch IS Luna Lovegood. Between perfectly capturing Luna's outside of the box lifestyle and all of Luna's odd little quirks, Evanna Lynch almost made me fall in love with her and Luna.

6. Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander

Yeah, I know the Fantastic Beast movies aren't Harry Potter movies, but how could I not include Eddie Redmayne? I mean, look at that face 🥰 Somehow, Eddie is the perfect casting for a character that isn't even in the books.

7. George Harris as Kingsley Shacklebolt

Kingsley has got to my favorite character with the least scenes. I mean, he says Dumbledore's got style, but I say that he's got more because, well, his outfits are amazing. And he has some iconic and overlooked scenes in the book.

8. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black

Gary Oldman was the absolute perfect casting for Sirius Black with his insane way of being able to go from looking like an actual serial killer to just looking like the cool fun uncle. Plus, the hair.

9. Warwick Davis as Professor Filius Flitwick

Warwick Davis's first look in the films is absolutely amazing and it was a travesty when his look changed after the second (?) movie. He's just such an adorable old man. I love it.

10. Literally No One as Charlie Weasley

Because Charlie Weasley is an aroace icon and aroace is one of the invisible identities, of course he wouldn't be casted at all.... that's it, that's the punchline. I'm still fucking mad about this.

[geekcavepodcast]

Robbie Coltrane, “Harry Potter” Hagrid actor, dies at 72

This one hits especially hard for fans of the Harry Potter film franchise: The Hollywood Reporter says Robbie Coltrane, who not only played Hagrid in the popular series but also appeared in two James Bond movies, has passed away at a hospital in Scotland.

His TV credits also include Flash Gordon and Blackadder.

Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans.