Harry Potter

Hard-core Harry Potter fans who devoured the books, camped out for the movies and trekked through the theme park now have a new way to relive the boy wizard's adventures. PHOTOS: Making of Harry Potter studio tour Debuting Saturday, the Making of Harry Potter behind-the-scenes tour at theWarner Bros.studios in England will let wizards, mudbloods and muggles pull back the curtain on the movie-making secrets of the most successful film series of all time. Located 20 miles outside of London, the three-hour self-guided tour will take visitors past sets, props, costumes, models and special effects exhibits from the eight "Harry Potter" movies.

The "Harry Potter" series, which has conquered mediums from hardcover books to movies, is finally available in e-book format. The books by J.K. Rowling can be purchased on Pottermore.com for $7.99 for the first three books, $9.99 for the last four installments, or $57.54 for the series. "Today is a great day for 'Harry Potter' fans and e-book readers alike," said Charlie Redmayne, chief executive of Pottermore. "Not only is this phenomenally popular series available in e-book form for the first time, but across an extensive range of devices and platforms, thanks to unique collaborations with leading online retailers.

"Awake,"whose first hour has been available online since mid-February, finally makes its television premiere Thursday on NBC. I have been waiting for this moment since last summer, since the pilot first went out to the press. Notwithstanding a certain stylistic chilliness and my sense of it having been pitched on the back of"Inception," it promised to be one of the year's best and most interesting new series. Having seen four episodes now, I'd say the promise has been largely kept. Jason Isaacs, a soulfully aging actor whom hundreds of millions know as Lucius Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" movies but whom I tend to think of as the star of Showtime's excellent and insufficiently celebrated "Brotherhood," plays Michael Britten, a police detective who has survived a car crash that has and has not killed his wife, Hannah (Laura Allen)

Not even the biggest television event of the year could shake 2012's winning streak at the box office, as ticket sales were up for the fifth consecutive weekend this year. Despite the pull of the Super Bowl, three new films held their own at the multiplex on what is traditionally one of the slowest weekends of the year for the movie industry. "Chronicle," a found-footage adventure about teenagers with superpowers, took the No. 1 spot with $22 million in domestic receipts, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox. The horror film "The Woman in Black," the first movie from "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe outside of the popular franchise, wasn't far behind with $21 million.

Universal Orlando will debut the "Cinematic Spectacular" nighttime water show this spring as part of a new entertainment lineup at the Florida theme park that includes an upgrade to one ride, a re-theme of another attraction and the addition of a nightly parade. PHOTOS: New attractions coming to Universal Orlando this spring and summer "Cinematic Spectacular" will celebrate a century of Universal Studios movie memories with a nighttime water show that features film clips projected on 30-foot-by-30-foot waterfall screens and colorful fountains that rocket 100 feet into the air along with laser lights and pyrotechnic displays on the Orlando theme park's central lagoon.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Thursday "Harry Potter," Emma Stone and Katy Perry take multiple trophies at the People's Choice Awards.  ( Los Angeles Times ) In case you missed the telecast, here's the best and worst of the People's Choice Awards. ( Los Angeles Times ) Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift and the Foo Fighters are slated to play the Grammy Awards. ( MTV ) Meanwhile, rumors are swirling that Adele might join the Grammy lineup too. ( Los Angeles Times )

If you serendipitously end up in an elevator with Steven Spielberg, make an impression. British actor David Thewlis did, though it may not have been quite the one he wanted. In 1994, Thewlis was leaving an award ceremony in New York after accepting a prize for his lead role in Mike Leigh's working-class dramedy "Naked. " He found himself riding down with Spielberg, who had just received an award for "Schindler's List," and the two had a brief, unremarkable exchange. But a few months later, Spielberg called him with an odd request: The director wanted Thewlis to play a man who turned into a dog. "Is it something about my character in 'Naked' that makes you think I'd be good in that?"

The New York Philharmonic has named a new executive director to tackle huge financial shortfalls at the nation's oldest orchestra. Orchestra officials announced Wednesday that Matthew VanBesien will succeed Zarin Mehta as the Philharmonic's top administrator. Mehta, brother of conductor Zubin Mehta, is retiring. VanBesien, a 42-year-old Missouri native, is currently the managing director of Australia's Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He started his music career as a French horn player for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

To say Gary Oldman has had an up-and-down career is like saying Sid Vicious was a slightly influential musician. In nearly three decades of acting, Oldman has had landmark turns — as Lee Harvey Oswald in "JFK," as the pimp Drexl Spivey in "True Romance" and, of course, as a certain tragic punk rocker in "Sid & Nancy. " He's also had years of career inactivity and disappointment — not to mention a tumultuous personal life that included a child custody battle and, at one point, a self-confessed alcohol addiction.