Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
■ Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, her ex-husband Marc Anthony and her current boyfriend Alex Rodriguez have raised more than $35 million for Puerto Rico hurricane relief. A spokesman said in a statement Tuesday that the two singers and the retired baseball superstar raised the money in donations, pledges and their own contributions. About $9 million was raised during the Oct. 14 benefit show One Voice: Somos Live! A Concert for Disaster Relief, which the trio hosted. Most of the rest came from corporate donations and pledges. Lopez and Anthony’s parents both came to the United States from Puerto Rico, and Rodriguez’s family is from the Dominican Republic. The two singers were married in 2004 and divorced in 2014. Lopez has been dating Rodriguez since early this year.
■ A new British Library exhibition is tracing the history of magic to mark the 20th anniversary of the publication of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. With the orphaned boy wizard as guiding force, the exhibit, which opens Friday, has broken records for advance sales at the London library. More than 30,000 tickets have been snapped up so far. The exhibit, “Harry Potter: A History Of Magic,” looks at magic and the nature of belief, revealing that many of the things fans of the series thought were imaginary were actually based in fact — or folklore. “I’ve taken liberties with folklore,” Rowling says in a video that opens the show, which features rare books and manuscripts from around the world, together with cauldrons, broomsticks, crystal balls and potion manuals that offer insights into Rowling’s inspiration for the Harry Potter books. It also includes Rowling’s outline for the book, her personal drawings of characters and a map of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. “There are some rich historical traditions behind the magic in the Harry Potter stories, which J.K. Rowling was aware of,” said Alexander Lock, one of the exhibit curators, who added that he was impressed with Rowling’s ability to layer information and offer depth. “They go into the stories and make them so rich.”
■ Bill Pullman is a bit of a klutz when it comes to holding on to a film award. The Independence Day actor was the recipient of the Excellence in Acting Award at the Woodstock Film Festival in Kingston, N.Y. The Daily Freeman reports that after being handed the award, Pullman placed it on a shelf attached to a lectern on the stage. As Pullman began to speak, he jostled the lectern, causing the award to topple to the floor and break in two pieces. After being handed the broken award, Pullman held a piece in each hand and said, “I’ve got two awards tonight!” The artisan who made the award later repaired it.