The Bearded Trio

I was nine years old, galloping down the carpeted stairs of my childhood home in Farmington Hills, Michigan. It was 1982. I was intent on getting a snack, but it was just a quick snack. The kind of snack that wasn't worth going all the way to the record player to lift the needle while you were out of the room. I wanted that music to already be playing when I returned to my bedroom with that coveted snack. "Heroics of Luke and Han" was coming out of my primitive little record player, from the soundtrack album Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980). As I started my sprint back up the stairs, my mom called to me. I think I defied the laws of gravity in stopping, waiting to hear about either the speed of my movement or the questionable nutritional quality of my snack. "I just wanted to say how nice it is that you're listening to classical music!" my mom declared to me, also hearing the bombastic music from my bedroom.  I paused for an indignant moment before ...

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter Yesterday, I was lucky enough to visit the Harry Potter Studios Tour just outside London and I had high expectations as I've heard so many good things about the tour.  I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed.  Everything about the tour was magical.  From the moment you enter and realise how well they are organising the visitors to the exhibition itself.  It was all professionally done.  It was almost like they had hired skilled wizards. The Harry Potter Studio Tour is incredibly popular and the amount of visitors and crowds I feared would spoil the experience.  I needn't have worried.  They ship you into the tour around fifty or so at a time.  They've done something clever here.  When you enter the first room, you are treated to a tour guide telling you what to expect and then you watch a short video.  After this room is the Great Hall and the rest of the delights that ...

There's nothing like going to see a good movie and it's even better when it involves a good soundtrack being played live by a world class orchestra.  That's why our ninth idea for a Christmas gift is just that. Last week I had the privilege to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff thanks to CineConcerts.  The venue was packed full of Muggles and Harry Potter fans who were all being encouraged by the conductor to cheer when their favourite character appears on screen.  The atmosphere was wonderfully magic being surrounded by fellow Potter fans. Before the show started a show reel was being played on John Williams and how he came to compose the music for the first three films in the Harry Potter series.  It felt right seeing the maestro himself on the big screen. The whole movie is played with subtitles but the centre stage is the full orchestra who expertly play the John Williams score in time to the movie...

The soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by John Williams is actually one of my favourite scores from the maestro.  So imagine my reaction when I was contacted by CineConcerts asking if I would like to see Harry Potter in Concert at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff?  Of course I jumped at the chance and had high expectations for this worldwide tour. Once we found our seats near the front of the stage I wasn't alone in my anticipation.  The buzz in the arena was electric and infectious.  A large screen dominated the front of the arena, along with the stage where the full orchestra would assemble in a matter of minutes.  Before that though, while the muggles still found their seats, a behind the scenes featurette played on the big screen which included interviews with the master himself, John Williams. The orchestra followed by the conductor appeared on stage to a welcoming audience.  Justin Freer, the conductor for the evening en...

Highly Collectable Sloth, Hermione Granger and Chase McCain  LEGO®  Minifigures Access Their Own Corresponding Adventure World and Unique Battle Arena Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today the release of three new expansion packs, avaliable in the UK on Friday 12 th  May, for LEGO®  Dimensions™ , the LEGO® toy and videogame hybrid.  The Goonies™  Level Pack, the  Harry Potter™  Fun Pack and LEGO®  City  Fun Pack will broaden the selection of the world’s most popular entertainment brands available for the game, allowing players to customise their experience by mixing and matching favourite characters and universes with full compatibility. LEGO® minifigures included in the expansion packs come with special, golden Toy Tags which unlock a Battle Arena within the Free Play Adventure World of the corresponding entertainment brand. Each Battle Arena has four different gameplay modes and comes with its own traps, spec...

I love the Harry Potter movies and it comes with an added bonus (well at least the first three anyway) of having a John Williams soundtrack.  But what would happen if some clever folks such as the ones over at Eclectic Method took a bunch of sounds from the Potter movies and made a techno track?  Well wonder no more.  Check out the video below. Rob @thebeardedtrio The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more. THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

Listening to a John Williams soundtrack is always a treat but imagine listening to one of his masterpieces performed live by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the movie playing on  a 40-foot screen?  Well that's exactly what happens if you go and see Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in concert.  You will be able to relive the magic of not only the film which was directed by Chris Columbus but the incredible soundtrack by John Williams.  The orchestra is conducted by Justin Freer who is also the producer of this worldwide tour as well as Founder and President of CineConcert . We were lucky enough to interview Justin Freer who reveals his favourite John Williams piece and the challenges involved in performing a John Williams soundtrack live while the movie plays on the big screen. The Harry Potter Film Concert Series is coming to the UK.  Does it make it extra special to be performing at the home of Harry Potter? Absolutely, I thin...

“Hey, you guuuys!”  LEGO®  Dimensions ™ Expansion Packs Based on  The Goonies ™,  Harry Potter ™ ,  and LEGO®  City  Announced for May Release Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today revealed details around three highly collectable new expansion packs for LEGO ®   Dimensions™ , the LEGO ®  toy and videogame hybrid that will be available in the UK on the 12th of May 2017.  The Goonies™  Level Pack, the  Harry Potter™  Fun Pack and LEGO ®   City  Fun Pack will broaden the selection of the world’s most popular entertainment brands available for the game, allowing players to customise their experience by mixing and matching favorite characters and universes with full compatibility. In addition, LEGO ® minifigures included within each of these expansion packs come with special golden Toy Tags which unlock a free play Adventure World of the corresponding entertainment brand, as well as a Battle Arena tha...

Star Wars fans are a talented lot.  When the new trailers hit the web for Star Wars The Force Awakens , it wasn't long before they took their talent and mashed up the original trailer with other movies and franchises.  Here's ten of the best Harry Potter Marvel's Avengers Game of Thrones Firefly Disney The Prequels Toy Story Halo Star Trek Jar-Jar Binks And to bring balance to the Force here's the original The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Williams THE BEARDED TRIO ON FACEBOOK THE BEARDED TRIO ON TWITTER THE BEARDED TRIO ON GOOGLE+ THE BEARDED TRIO ON PINTEREST CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON STEVEN SPIELBERG CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON GEORGE LUCAS CLICK HERE FOR FACTS ON JOHN WILLIAMS

I was a late comer to the world of 'Harry Potter.'  Only last year did I actually get around to catching up on the movies.  But I loved them.  So much so that I decided to start reading the books.  I thought I would read ' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' and see what all the fuss was about.  Well I couldn't put it down and was amazed at how well written it is.  J.K. Rowling, lets be honest, is a talented writer.  She brings so much atmosphere to each scene and builds a world that you genuinely don't want to leave. I know it's been said so many times when it comes to films versus books, but in the case of Harry Potter I genuinely think you should read the books.  They are so much better.  As good as the films were, the books bring a whole different dimension with so many extra scenes. However, because Rowling builds this whole world around you, inevitably there's a whole cast of characters, each one important to the story th...

The third instalment of the Harry Potter film art book series from Titan Books, Harry Potter: The Character Vault takes a behind-­‐the-­‐scenes exploration of fan favourite characters from the Harry Potter films. With extensive profiles of all the key characters, this gorgeous coffee table book is the ultimate guide to the diverse cast of Muggles and wizards found in the Harry Potter film universe. Featuring concept art, behind-­‐the-­scenes imagery, costume designs and film stills, fans can track everyone – from Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, to Dolores Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy – as they evolve throughout the film series. Harry Potter: The Character Vault follows Harry Potter: The Creature Vault and Harry Potter: Magical Places from the Films – also out from Titan Books – creating a compendium of wonderment that fans to immerse themselves in the magic of the films. A comprehensive collection of the films’ beloved ...