Harry Potter an airport security threat
British writer J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, says she had to fight airport security in New York to be allowed to carry her manuscript of the final book of the series onto her flight home to England.
"A large part of it is handwritten and there was no copy of anything I had done while in the U.S.," Rowling wrote in her web diary.
The posting, which appeared on Wednesday, indicated that Rowling had been caught by heightened security measures put in place after Aug. 10 when British police foiled an alleged plot blow up planes headed for the United States.
Those measures meant people were unable to board planes with things such as laptops, liquids and even books.
Rowling managed to work some magic and convinced the security guards she and her manuscript were no threat.
"They let me take it on, thankfully, bound up in elastic bands," said the 40-year-old writer, who considered taking a ship back to England.
Rowling had been in New York for a charity book reading along with fellow writers Stephen King and John Irving — both of whom publicly pleaded with her not to kill off the young wizard at the heart of her books in the final instalment.
The author has said that two main characters will die but will not say who. She divulged in her web diary that she was pondering two possible titles for the last instalment of her wildly successful wizard-in-training series.
"I was quite happy with one of them until the other one struck me while I was taking a shower in New York," she wrote.
"They would both be appropriate, so I think I'll have to wait until I'm further into the book to decide which one works best."
Fans of the Harry Potter series, which has sold more than 300 million books worldwide, are eagerly waiting to find out what happens when young Harry Potter is expected to engage in a final battle with his evil nemesis, Lord Voldemort.
Filming has begun on the fifth instalment of the movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix.
Gervais: 'Extras' Done After Two Seasons
The second season of "Extras" premieres on British television Thursday, and it's looking like there won't be a third.
As he did with his previous series, "The Office," creator Ricky Gervais would like to end "Extras" after just two seasons. The idea, he says, is not to wear out his welcome in people's living rooms.
"At the moment, I don't think there will be another one. [Co-creator Stephen Merchant] and I have always had this thing where we only like to do two series," Gervais tells London's Sun newspaper. "It's like 'The Office' -- people are always asking why we didn't do any more, but we just wanted to leave people wanting more."
The second season of "Extras" -- which will feature cameos by Orlando Bloom, David Bowie and "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe, among others -- debuts Thursday on BBC2 in the U.K. (HBO, which airs the show in the United States, hasn't set an airdate for the new episodes yet). It will pick up where the first run ended, with Andy Millman (Gervais) selling a sitcom to the BBC.
Unlike Gervais' own experience, where he's been given full creative control over his shows, Andy's show quickly gets away from him. "Andy tries to put up a fight, but in the end he backs down as he craves fame so badly," Gervais says. "It really is a case of 'Be careful what you wish for.'"
Gervais, an unabashed fan of American TV drama, thinks he might like to try writing his own dramatic series next. "I've got so many ideas in my head," he says. "... I think I could appear in a drama. I know people may say I couldn't be taken seriously, but I think it just depends on how strong and well-written it is."
Who to launch channel on Sirius
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Legendary British rock band The Who is reaching out to a new generation of listeners.
In addition to this week launching its first world tour in more than 20 years to promote its first new album since 1982, The Who, which rose to fame with rebellious hits such as "My Generation," said it will be hosting its own channel on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.
"The Who Channel," a commercial-free music channel, will launch on Sept 21. Sirius, a subscriber-based satellite radio provider, announced the new channel during a press event in New York attended by all current members of The Who.
The Who has only two of its original members -- singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend.
Two other original members, drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle, died in drug-related incidents.
The limited-run channel will feature five decades of the band's music, exclusive interviews with band members and nightly broadcasts of concerts on the band's current tour.
Sirius will also broadcast shows from The Who's archives, including some never before-heard shows and backstage conversations with the band, including some with the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle.
Townshend and Daltrey are now joined by bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Zak Starkey ( Ringo Starr's son), guitarist Simon Townshend and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick on the new album, as well as in their live performances.
The band kicked off their world tour in Philadelphia on Tuesday with a two-hour set that included a full complement of classic hits and a smattering of new material.
"Endless Wire," The Who's first studio album in 24 years, is due to be released by Universal Music on October 31.
...Jay-Z Officially Unretires
Don't call it a comeback--'cause he never really went away.
Jay-Z has made the rather superfluous announcement that he is returning to the music world he allegedly forsook three years ago, telling Entertainment Weekly he will release a new album, Kingdom Come, this fall.
The revelation negates his 2003 departure from the biz, when Hova announced The Black Album would be his last.
"It was the worst retirement, maybe, in history," he told magazine.
The 36-year-old rapper, born Shawn Carter, also defended the integrity of his retirement announcement, dismissing rampant speculation that the hiatus was never intended to be permanent and was a stunt to increase sales of his last album and create a demand for his return.
"I believed it, yeah," he said of his 2002 declaration. "I believed it for two years."
The rapper's golden years, of course, were slightly more prolific than the average retiree. While "away," Jay-Z performed several one-off gigs, staged an ill-conceived tour with R. Kelly and produced and wrote several hit tracks for the hip-hop set, including a couple on girlfriend Beyonce's new album, B'Day.
In his spare time, he also became co-owner of the New Jersey Nets and president and CEO of Island Def Jam Recordings.
Still, the "99 Problems" singer said the root of his decision to return to the limelight "wasn't like a defining moment."
"Something, when you love it, is always tugging at you and itching at you, and I was putting it off and putting it off," he told EW. "I started fumbling around to see if it felt good."
It must have.
For Kingdom Come, which, fans may be interested to know, the artist likens more to The Black Album than Blueprint, Jay-Z worked with a roster of talent.
He told EW he's teamed up with a slew of bona fide hitmakers, including Timbaland, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, and--wait for it--Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow himself, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
"We met a charity dinner and just really kept in touch," he said. "He sent me these beautiful chords for this song called 'Beach Chair.' I had Dre put some drums on it. It's really, really incredible."
Jay-Z has also announced plans to embark on a two-month international tour this fall, though not just in support of his album.
In between gigs in Africa, the rapper will go on a United Nations-backed trek to visit regions suffering shortages of clean drinking water. The excursion will be filmed for a Nov. 24 special on MTV, Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life.
Jay-Z promises Kingdom Come will drop this fall, but hasn't announced an official release date.