Rowling starts Harry Potter At Home for housebound families
J.K. Rowling is hoping a dash of Harry Potter will help families confined to their homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
The author has launched an online initiative, www.harrypotterathome.com, which features quizzes, games and other activities. For the month of April, Rowling also has partnered with the audio publisher-distributor Audible and the library ebook supplier OverDrive for free audio and digital editions of the first Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” (The U.S. edition is called “Harry Potter’s and the Sorcerer’s Stone”).
Rowling’s British and American print publishers, Bloomsbury and Scholastic, will contribute materials to the Potter website and to their own websites.
“The teachers, parents and carers working to keep children’s lives as normal and happy as possible while we’re all on lockdown deserve a bit of magic,” Rowling said in a statement Wednesday. “I hope these initiatives will give children and even adults a happy distraction during their enforced stay-athome time.”
Oprah loves new rap song: Lil Yachty, DaBaby and Drake’s new rap song “Oprah’s Bank Account” is one of Oprah’s favorite things. No, the song hasn’t officially made the media mogul’s annual list, but when asked what she thought of the song, Winfrey exclaimed to The Associated Press: “I love it. I love it. I loveeeeee it! Yes, I love it!”
“Oprah’s Bank Account” was released last month and will be featured on Lil Yachty’s new album, “Lil Boat 3,” to be released this year. The song is currently No. 23 on Billboard’s rap songs chart. In the 9-minute music video for the song, Lil Yachty, as the character Boprah, is dressed like Winfrey and hosts a talk show, where Drake appears as his guest. Lil Yachty also interviews DaBaby in the clip.
More movie delays: “Wicked” fans are going to have to wait even longer to see Stephen Daldry’s film adaptation of the popular Broadway musical. Universal Pictures on Wednesday announced that another handful of theatrical release dates are shifting due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has bumped “Wicked” off the calendar entirely for the moment. The studio said that “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which was unable to be finished for its planned summer 2020 release, is being pushed back a year to July 2021. “Sing 2” will now come out on “Wicked’s” original date of Dec. 22, 2021.
Songwriters Hall Of Fame postpones gala: Mariah Carey, The Isley Brothers and the Eurythmics, among others, will have to wait a year before they get inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Hall has rescheduled its annual gala to June 10, 2021. It was originally to happen June 11, but the coronavirus has wrecked most springtime and summer gatherings.
April 2 birthdays: Singer Emmylou Harris is 73. Actress Pamela Reed is 71. Country singer Buddy Jewell is 59. Actor Christopher Meloni is 59. Country singer Billy Dean is 58. Actor Clark Gregg is 58. Actress Jana Marie Hupp is 56. Actress Roselyn Sanchez is 47. Actor Pedro Pascal is 45. Actor Adam Rodriguez is 45. Actor Michael Fassbender is 43. Actor Jesse Plemons is 32.