The upcoming Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection Blu-ray box set will cost you a pretty penny ($349.96 worth of pretty pennies on Amazon), but it’s got some exclusive special features you won’t find anywhere else.  One such feature is a conversation between author J.K. Rowling and screenwriter Steve Kloves, who penned all of the movies except for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  A clip from their conversation has gone online, and now I wish I could watch the whole thing.  I’m not sure I’d pay $349.96 to watch the whole thing, but at least we know there’s going to be worthwhile content in this set.

Hit the jump to watch the clip.  The Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection Blu-ray box set will be available to own on September 7th.

Having spent the last decade or so scripting the Harry Potter series (save for Order of the Phoenix), Steve Kloves is likely looking forward to never typing the words “Expelliarmus” or “Muggle” ever again. Kicking off the process of moving on, Kloves entered into talks to write and direct a live-action reboot of The Jungle Book. Now comes news that the in-demand scribe is in discussions to do the same for an adaptation of William Landay’s best-selling legal thriller Defending Jacob. Set in Massachusetts, it tells the tale of an assistant district attorney who is compelled to defend his teenaged son when he’s accused of murdering a fellow student. He’s driven by love to believe in the boy’s innocence, even as evidence of guilt continues to pile up. Hit the jump for more.

After spending the last decade writing all but one of the feature film adaptations of the Harry Potter series, it’s understandable that screenwriter Steve Kloves took a bit of a breather following the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.  The Wonder Boys scribe did an incredible job penning adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s series that were faithful to the spirit of the books, yet different enough that they felt fresh and exciting.  Kloves had flirted with the idea of penning an adaptation of The Stand with Harry Potter director David Yates post-Potter, but the two ultimately decided the gig wasn’t for them and subsequently bowed out.

Now comes word that not only is Kloves penning a live-action iteration of The Jungle Book, but he plans to direct the project as well.  Hit the jump for more.

File this one under rumor for now, but apparently Warner Bros. is happy with what they’re seeing from Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and is already on the hunt for a screenwriter to tackle a sequel. Think McFly Think (via The Film Stage) reports that WB has put together wishlist of scribes that includes Steve Kloves (all the Harry Potter movies except Order of the Phoenix), Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans), and Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark). While it wouldn’t at all be surprising that WB is getting a move on with a sequel (they’re contractually obligated to keep making Superman movies lest they lose the character rights), the report at this time is unfounded.

We’ve yet to see even a teaser trailer from Man of Steel and they’ve only released one official image thus far, so we’re pretty in the dark on the pic. We know that Christopher Nolan shepherded the film into production with a script by David S. Goyer, and we’ve got Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Supes. I like Michael Shannon as General Zod, and the rest of the cast filled out nicely (Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, etc.) so I’m hoping for the best. Man of Steel opens June 14th, 2013.

The Harry Potter film franchise came to an end this summer with director David Yates’ brilliant concluding chapter Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.  As an avid fan of the books, I thought the film hit all the right notes and Yates captured our farewell to these beloved characters with nuanced grace.  I’m currently in Orlando, Florida at Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter for the Blu-ray/DVD release of the franchise’s final installment, and got the chance to sit down with Yates for an extended conversation.

The director talked about what he’s been doing since the last film hit theaters, his impressions of Universal’s Harry Potter theme park, his reaction to Warner Bros.’ decision to pull all Harry Potter DVDs from the shelves after the end of this year, his opinion on post-converting past Harry Potter films to 3D for their eventual theatrical re-release, and he also revealed why he decided not to take on the feature film adaptation of Steven King’s The Stand, and gave an update on his Al Capone biopic. Hit the jump for more.

While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 brought the most successful film franchise in history to an end this summer, it appears that the two most influential creatives involved will be reuniting once more. Screenwriter Steve Kloves (who wrote every Harry Potter film except Order of the Phoenix) and director David Yates (who helmed the final four Potter films) are apparently teaming up to tackle a multi-film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel The Stand. Hit the jump for the details.

I’m letting everyone know right out of the gate that I’m cheating a little on this week’s “Top 5.” As you may know by now, every week I do my best to condense all of our weekly coverage into what the editorial staff deems our “Top 5″ stories. This week, I find that we have a plethora of coverage for various titles. As a result, after the jump you’ll find that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, John Carter, and Final Destination 5 all have multiple links. Also included in this week’s installment is The Dark Knight Rises teaser poster and Matt’s take on Netflix’s announced price increase. Hit the jump for brief recaps and links to each.

It’s not easy to adapt a book.  If it were, we’d have better movies.  Also, it’s next to impossible to adapt a series like Harry Potter, which has so many fans invested in every scene that choosing what to use and what to omit is like walking through a minefield.  And that’s the reason why Steve Kloves needs to be congratulated. As the screenwriter of all the movies except Order of the Phoenix, he’s done the impossible, and made it look easy.

A few days ago, I was in New York City for the big Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 press junket and I was able to sit down with Kloves for an almost thirty minute interview.  If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter franchise, I promise you this is a must-watch interview.  He talks about how he writes, does he read message boards, has JK Rowling told him any secrets that haven’t yet been revealed, what is he happiest with in the series, what mementos did he manage to keep, deleted scenes, is he nervous to write another franchise, and so much more.  In addition, he also talked about what it was like to work on the script for Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man.  Again, I can’t recommend this interview enough.  Hit the jump to watch.

Despite being a bad movie, Jaume Collet-Serra’s Unknown raked in $130 million worldwide off a $30 million budget.  Collet-Serra’s been linked to a reimagining of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a remake of Le Cercle Rouge, and possibly the 300 prequel Battle of Artemisia.  Now Variety reports that he’s in talks to direct Warner Bros’ adaptation of the anime/manga Akira.  You may recall that director Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) left the project in late May and that Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves handled the latest draft of the script.  Warner Bros. is now envisioning the film as a $90 million tentpole.  However, we previously reported that WB was planning on splitting the six-volume manga into two films so I’m not sure if the $90 million is supposed to cover both movies or just the first one.

However, even if Collet-Serra does come on board, Warner Bros. still faces the issue of casting the two lead roles of Tetsuo and Kaneda.  The futuristic story has been reset from Neo-Tokyo to Neo-Manhattan and the broad overview of the story is that Tetsuo is the leader of a biker gang who has to stop his mutated friend Kaneda from destroying the city.

Earlier today I got to sit down with screenwriter Steve Kloves for an extended video interview.  While some of you might not recognize his name, I promise that you’ve seen his work as he wrote all the Harry Potter movies except Order of the Phoenix.  And with the final Harry Potter movie arriving in theaters next weekend, in the coming days you can look forward to a really in depth conversation about bringing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 to life.

However, during the interview we also talked about another movie that he worked on that a lot of you care about: The Amazing Spider-Man. Hit the jump for more.

Warner Bros. has hired Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves to do a polish on the script for the Hughes Brothers’ adaptation of the Japanese manga Akira.  For those unfamiliar with the manga and the 1988 anime adaptation, the story centers on teenager Shōtarō Kaneda and his quest to stop his friend Tetsuo from destroying Neo-Tokyo.  Per Variety, “the latest version of the script was penned by Albert Torres (Henry Poole Is Here), with earlier drafts by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and Gary Whitta.”  The problem is that “polish” is a very flexible word when it comes to script work and there aren’t any details on what Kloves’ polish will entail.  However, since Kloves has done strong work on the Harry Potter films (he wrote all of them except for Order of the Phoenix), he seems like the right guy to take a crack at helping to condense the six-volume manga into a live-action feature film.

As we reported yesterday, Warner Bros. won’t greenlight the film until they can attach a major star to play Kaneda.  Strangely, Vulture’s story said that Warners was courting Brad Pitt for Kaneda (he passed on the role), which could mean that the script has re-tooled the character to be significantly older.

With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 getting released next week, Warner Bros. is holding a big press junket today in London and I’m across the pond covering.  Before going any further, you’re probably wondering if the film is any good.  I’m happy to say, it’s great.  And fans of the books are going to love it because it’s the first movie that has the time to tell the entire story, not just the highlights.  More of my thoughts here.

Anyway, just a few hours ago I got to sit down with Harry Potter producer David Heyman and we discussed a number of subjects during my ten minute flip cam interview.  If you’re curious about Deathly Hallows deleted scenes, if there will be more Potter movies, what’s up with Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity (Heyman is producing), and a lot more….hit the jump!

A new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 featurette has been released, and it is fantastic. It cleverly opens with powerful scenes from the earlier movies, and then punctuates the glimpses of the new film with interviews with director David Yates, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). This featurette focuses on the large scale of the film, and how powerful a finale it will be. With the film’s release only a few weeks away, this featurette is eye-catching, engaging, and should definitely peak interest. No matter how you felt about the first six films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is looking like it will be quite a ride. For the featurette and more, hit after the jump.

Daniel Radcliffe could easily be a diva.  After all, Radcliffe is twenty-one, a multi-millionaire, and he’s famous in every corner of the globe because director Chris Columbus cast him as Harry Potter almost ten years ago.

But he’s not a diva.  In fact, he’s as far from that label as possible.  Here’s an example of who Radcliffe is:  While on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows earlier this year outside London, I was waiting with a few other online reporters for Radcliffe to arrive for an interview.  He was running a bit late (he is in almost every shot of the movie!) and when he finally showed up, he had run to meet us and after catching his breath, he apologized because he felt bad for making us wait.  I’ve done a lot of set visits when someone is running late, but I’ve never seen the main star run to do an interview and then apologize.  But that’s who Radcliffe is.

During the interview, Radcliffe talked about the final installment and what it meant to him, is he comfortable being known as Harry Potter for the rest of his life, what was his reaction to reading The Deathly Hallows for the first time, and so much more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what he had to say:

While many great books have been made into successful movies, more often than not, movie adaptations of popular books meet with fan scorn.  After all, a book has the time to tell its story, while a movie has two hours to do everything.  That usually means the fans leave the theater disappointed, because no matter how great a movie is, fans often feel like the movie is missing something important.

That’s why it’s so amazing to watch what director David Yates has done with the Harry Potter franchise.  Because as the director of Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, he’s made movies that have been embraced by both the critics and fans.   It really is quite an accomplishment.

As most of you know, Yates is helming the final two installments of Harry Potter, as Warner Bros. decided to break up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two films.  A few months ago, I got to visit the set of Deathly Hallows while production was still underway at Leevesdone Studios outside London. During a break in shooting, I was able to participate in a roundtable interview with Yates. During the interview, Yates talked about how shooting had been going, how he has added some new scenes into the story that weren’t in the book, his thoughts WB converting the movie into a 3D release, and a lot more.  If you’re a fan of the Harry Potter franchise, you’re going to love hearing what he had to say: