NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Audible Inc., the world’s largest seller and producer of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the forthcoming release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - Makers, Mysteries and Magic, written by documentary maker Hana Walker-Brown and journalist Mark Salisbury, and produced by Pottermore Publishing with Audible Originals and Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The audiobook is narrated by Tony Award-winning actor Dan Fogler, who plays Jacob Kowalski in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Releasing on November 16th, to coincide with the opening of the highly anticipated new big-screen adventure in cinemas worldwide from Warner Bros. Pictures, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - Makers, Mysteries and Magic is available for pre-order now, exclusively at www.audible.com/fantasticbeasts.
A global first, this original non-fiction audiobook captures the magic of moviemaking behind the latest installment in the Wizarding World series. With unrivalled access to the film’s cast, director, producers, and other filmmakers, this new audiobook pulls back the curtain on one of the most hotly anticipated blockbusters of the year. Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski) taking listeners on an audio adventure around the backlot of Leavesden Studios, into rehearsals and workshops.
Listeners will hear:
- Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander) describing how this film is a ‘different beast’ in terms of its pace, direction, and stakes, and discussing the development of his character in relation to a whole host of new cast members.
- Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore) on portraying a younger Dumbledore.
- Zoë Kravitz (Leta Lestrange) discussing her character, revealing insights into the Lestrange family.
- Ezra Miller (Credence) and new cast member Claudia Kim (the Maledictus) exploring their characters’ complex journeys and the intense bond they share.
- Fascinating insights into building a magical version of 1927 Paris on a studio backlot in outer London, including what influenced the design of new wands, why puppeteers perform on set with the key cast members, and hidden details and artistic references in the iconic wizarding world wardrobe designs.
Recorded during filming at Leavesden Studios, the audiobook also features interviews with a host of key members of the filmmaking team including director David Yates, producer David Heyman, production designer Stuart Craig, graphic designers MinaLima, make-up artists, prop makers, set decorators, woodworkers and steelworkers, stunt men, extras, the catering crew, and more.
“This whole experience has been an adventure for me and I’m really excited for fans to come along for the ride,” said Fogler. “We made an exclusive, all-access audiobook that takes you to places that no microphone has been before. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it takes to make not just an epic movie but one set in the Wizarding World, this is a must-listen! It covers everything from props, costumes, and acting... to wands and Nifflers! I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.”
“We are thrilled to offer Audible listeners the opportunity to enjoy a brilliant performance of yet another essential component of the Wizarding World,” said Audible EVP and Publisher Beth Anderson. “Dan’s narration and the insights shared by the cast, creators and makers give listeners an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the making of the latest chapter in the Fantastic Beasts film series."
"This genre-bending production is truly an audio first, blending Dan Fogler's warm comic performance with real-life documentary recordings captured on the set of one of the most anticipated films of 2018,” said Senior Commissioning Audio Editor at Pottermore Publishing, Ravina Bajwa. “We are thrilled to be working with the Audible Originals team who have brought creative flair and expertise in original audio storytelling, in order to create a one-of-a-kind sensory experience of life on a film set.”
ABOUT AUDIBLE, INC.
Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is the leading provider of premium digital spoken audio content, offering customers a new way to enhance and enrich their lives every day. Audible was created to unleash the emotive music in language and the habituating power and utility of verbal expression. Audible content includes more than 450,000 audio programs from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Audible is also the provider of spoken-word audio products for Apple’s iTunes Store.
ABOUT POTTERMORE PUBLISHING
Pottermore Publishing is the global digital publisher of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series as well as other audiobooks and eBooks from the Wizarding World. It aims to lead the way in innovative digital publishing and to bring new generations of readers together with long-standing fans, celebrating and bringing to life the stories that first began with the Boy Who Lived.
ABOUT WARNER BROS. CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP), a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, extends the Studio’s powerful portfolio of entertainment brands and franchises into the lives of fans around the world. WBCP partners with best-in-class licensees globally on an award-winning range of toys, fashion, home décor, and publishing inspired by franchises and properties such as DC, J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera. The division’s successful global themed entertainment business includes groundbreaking experiences such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (opening 2018). With innovative global licensing and merchandising programs, retail initiatives, promotional partnerships and themed experiences, WBCP is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.
ABOUT THE WIZARDING WORLD
More than two decades ago, a young Harry Potter was whisked onto Platform 9¾ at King’s Cross Station, and readers everywhere were swept along with him into a magical universe, created by J.K. Rowling. In the years since, the seven Harry Potter bestsellers have inspired eight blockbuster movies, an award-winning stage play, and, more recently, the successful start of the Fantastic Beasts five-film franchise. People of all ages have been enthralled by these extraordinary adventures, set within an ever-widening shared universe, inspired by the vision of J.K. Rowling.
For today’s growing worldwide fan community, and for generations to come, the Wizarding World welcomes everyone to explore more of this magical universe — past, present and future. The Wizarding World also provides fans with an instant, trusted kite-mark of quality and authenticity.
ABOUT FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD
Warner Bros. Pictures’ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second of five all new adventures in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World™. The film features an ensemble cast led by Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim, William Nadylam, Kevin Guthrie, Carmen Ejogo, Poppy Corby-Tuech, with Jude Law and Johnny Depp. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was directed by David Yates, from a screenplay by J.K. Rowling. The producers are David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram. Tim Lewis, Neil Blair, Rick Senat and Danny Cohen served as executive producers. The film reunites the behind-the-scenes creative team from the first Fantastic Beasts film, including director of photography Philippe Rousselot, production designer Stuart Craig, costume designer Colleen Atwood, and Yates’ longtime editor Mark Day. The music is by James Newton Howard. Slated for release on November 16, 2018, the film will be distributed worldwide in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.