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J.K. Rowling attends Potter premiere
J.K. Rowling (pictured) said she was sad, but relieved, to have completed the final Harry Potter book as she greeted fans at the European premiere of the latest movie in the young wizard saga. Hundreds of fans, dozens of whom had camped overnight to secure a spot in front of a London cinema, waved flags, placards and scarves as Rowling and the film's stars arrived at London's Leicester Square. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final volume in the series, will be published on July 21.
"Finishing it was very, very emotional. It was a combination of relief and sadness really," she said.
Fans pleaded for clues, seeking to learn the answer to the most hotly anticipated plot twist: Will Harry die?
Rowling said details are a secret from even her own family. "I'll want to know what the people in my house think of it," she said. Leicester Square was draped in green and gold for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to imitate the movie's Ministry of Magic.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opens in the United States on July 11 and in Britain the following day.
How Katie wins friends and influences people
Katie Holmes (pictured right), Rosie O'Donnell and Anna Nicole Smith's baby daughter, Dannielynn, are among the boldface names on OK! magazine's list of "most influential" celebrities.
The list of 19 famous faces, which appears in the magazine's latest issue, on newsstands on Friday, was separated by editors into six categories: beauty queens, style setters, entertainers, newsmakers, survivors and body shapers.
OK! named Holmes, the 28-year-old wife of Tom Cruise and mother of their 1-year-old daughter, Suri, a beauty queen because of her "refreshing girl-next-door look" and sporty cropped haircut.
Holmes is striving to recommence her acting career with an impressive role in the movie version of the 1982 Broadway musical Nine.
Paul Newman donates $5,000 to drama club
Ypsilanti High School drama teacher Michelle Peet checked her mailbox on Monday and discovered the color of money.
Paul Newman (pictured right), once a budding actor himself, had donated $5,000 to the school's drama club as part of its ongoing fundraising effort.
Inside an envelope was a check that will help defray costs associated with the drama club's upcoming trip to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Club members are scheduled to perform a 90-minute show there.
A brief note accompanied Newman's check: "The enclosed contribution is sent with every good wish for continued success in your worthy endeavors."
Since January, the club has been soliciting donations via a mass letter-writing campaign that included Newman and other celebrities.
Newman's many acting honors include an Academy Award in 1986 for The Color of Money, a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2005 for the movie Empire Falls, and a Golden Globe in 2006.
Agencies
(China Daily 07/05/2007 page18)
