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A former Warner Bros Studio worker who stole almost £37,000 worth of Harry Potter merchandise to sell to fans on eBay has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Adam Hill took more than 1,000 items – including wands, ties, badges and key rings – from the studio’s stockroom over a four-month period.
The 35-year-old advertised the goods on a personal eBay account, then posted them to buyers from a local post office, St Albans Crown Court heard.
He even began using the company’s own franking machine at the studio in Leavesden, Hertfordshire , to send the stolen merchandise from the work post room.
But the thefts were discovered in March 2018 after colleagues noticed Harry Potter stock kept appearing and disappearing from under Hill’s desk.
Show all 10 1 /10Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 10. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald JK Rowling gifted herself a whole new world to explore with the Fantastic Beasts franchise, with five films to dial back and explore the Wizarding World as it stood in the early 20th century. While the first, and far superior entry, took place in New York, The Crimes of Grindelwald shifts the action to Paris.
And, for the majority of the film, it continues in the spirit of originality and creativity, with new beasts for Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) to tame and magical delights to be uncovered. All this good will is swiftly undone, however, in the film’s closing chapter. What follows is a baffling series of expositional conversations and meaningless connections, dragging The Crimes of Grindelwald down into the murky depths occupied by the Star Wars prequels.
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Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The Harry Potter franchise’s greatest weakness, perhaps, was its need to mature at the same pace as its audience. And as that audience plunged into awkward adolescence, so too did the movies. The Order of the Phoenix may have its ardent supporters, but it most acutely represents the lag between the franchise’s bright-eyed, whimsical beginnings and the epic weight of its conclusion.
In the attempt to adapt the longest Potter book into the shortest Potter film, the rush to maturity looks all the more thorny. Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling) is suddenly transformed into a chain-wearing thug, while the plot works overtime to sidetrack Harry (Daniel Radcliffe)’s inevitable confrontation with Voldemort with a handy political metaphor.
Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I Splitting the last Potter book into two films was, inevitably, the right decision in order to save audiences from a rushed conclusion to one of the most popular franchises ever. Yet The Deathly Hallows Part II could only shine if The Deathly Hallows Part I was willing to take the fall and act as pure set-up to its successor.
It’s arguably the most emotionally unsatisfying of the series, following Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) as they attempt to evade Voldemort’s clutches and destroy the Horcruxes, the artefacts containing the Dark Lord’s soul, the keys to his final destruction.
The film trades on conflict between the trio, as Ron’s jealousy (as influenced by the locket) serves only to prefigure his eventual future with Hermione. Even the film’s animated history lesson isn’t enough to make this film memorable.
Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The franchise’s second instalment certainly has its standout moments – it introduces both all-time legend Dobby into the game and lets Kenneth Branagh steals scene after scene as the vainglorious Gilderoy Lockhart. However, its bloated 161-minute runtime can make it tough work.
Director Chris Columbus returned with as much enthusiasm as he expressed in The Philosopher’s Stone, delivering thrills in Aragog, the basilisk, the petrifications, the Whomping Willow, and the Quidditch matches. That isn’t enough, regrettably, to fully distract from its rather dry narrative, which delivers endless plot twists about the dark history of Hogwarts and the truth behind Tom Riddle’s diary.
Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Another of the adolescent-stage films of the franchise, The Half-Blood Prince could just as easily have fallen prey to The Order of the Phoenix’s tonal awkwardness, but there’s a much keener sense of the wider stakes here – Severus Snape (Alan Rickman)’s machinations make for particularly gripping viewing, culminating in a face-off that still has the propensity to shock years later.
What’s crucial, however, is the sense of balance that’s also brought to this film, as the students of Hogwarts find moments for the old magic: a Butterbeer shared with friends, or a game of Quidditch. Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) provides a light sense of comic relief, alongside the now-infamous “Hermione’s got nice skin” moment between Ron and Harry.
Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II Director Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves faced the ultimate challenge with The Deathly Hallows Part II: to satisfactorily conclude a story 10 years in the making. Few would argue against their success, since the film is actually the highest rated of the entire Potter series (at 96 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes), although its reliance on narrative tricks and deceptions have made it slightly less appealing on repeated viewing.
That said, there are some bold creative decisions here that save The Deathly Hallows Part II from simply feeling like a procession of notable character deaths, including the decision to relegate some of those deaths to offscreen. It’s a film that knows how to manipulate its audience, but also knows when to show restraint.
Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them The Harry Potter series became the Wizarding World with the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a film that incites instant curiosity for its cinematic frontier: 1920s New York, divided between the slick Art Deco design of MACUSA, The Magical Congress of the United States of America, the smoke-filled speakeasies (complete with goblin jazz singers and bartenders), and the dark corners inhabited by the Second Salemer witch hunters.
In one film, screenwriter Rowling and director Yates were able to establish both a visual and thematic depth to their world that feels equal to the universe of Harry and his friends. Add to that, they found an empathetic protagonist in Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, a magical zoologist with a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire At this point, the Potter series was four films in, so a change of pace had become essential to the franchise’s survival. The Triwizard Tournament fulfilled that need magnificently, allowing the introduction of a more global perspective thanks to Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) and Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski), alongside a neat sequence of set pieces, from deadly mermaids to dragons.
The Yule Ball also remains a visual delight. It’s an almost comically elegant backdrop for Ron, Harry, and Hermione’s youthful angst over dates and relationships. Add to that, the film boasts both Brendan Gleeson’s brilliant performance as Mad-Eye Moody and the film debut of Robert Pattinson, as Hufflepuff’s tragic hero Cedric Diggory.
Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone “You’re a wizard, Harry.” And, with that, thousands of childhoods became instantly filled with wonder, never mind the looming disappointment of realising a letter from Hogwarts was never going to turn up in the post. As tempting as it may be to ridicule The Philosopher’s Stone for its badly aged special effects (poor Fluffy) and objectionable child acting, there is no replacing the magic conjured in our very first look at Hogwarts, a soft glow emanating from its many towers.
The film is a sugary sweet delight that rightly deserves its place as a modern children’s classic. It relishes in its air of joy and fantasy – and that cannot be underestimated, no matter how epic the series’ conclusion.
Every Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts film ranked 1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban The franchise’s biggest risk is also its biggest triumph. As unexpected as the move may have been to hand the reins over to Alfonso Cuarón, fresh from his sensual coming-of-age tale Y Tu Mamá También, The Prisoner of Azkaban has become the ultimate Harry Potter movie. Cuarón could subtly warp the look and feel of this word to progress towards maturity, without disrupting what had been established in the first two films.
It’s the most successful in doing so of the entire series. The balance between light and dark provides risk without sacrificing enchantment. The Dementor is the most frightening creation of this universe, while the Patronus is the most beautiful.
And yet it’s still a film grounded in character, and Cuarón does not allow the pain haunting the likes of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) and Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) to be lost in the visual fray.
In the internal investigation that followed, bosses found that Hill had sold 1,040 items worth £36,945. When his car was searched, 12 more parcels of Potter goodies were discovered, all ready to be posted out to unsuspecting fans.
Officers from Hertfordshire Police searched Hill’s home in the town of St Neots, Cambridgeshire , where they also seized Harry Potter ties, badges and key rings as well as more envelopes and packaging.
Jan Muller, prosecuting, said: “In a significant breach of trust, Adam Hill had the audacity to steal thousands of pounds of merchandise from Warner Bros in plain sight of his work colleagues; but they reported him after growing suspicious of the items constantly piling up under his desk.
“Subsequent scrutiny of Hill’s eBay and PayPal accounts revealed orders and payments received for goods which were found packaged up ready to send to buyers, giving him no option but to admit to his crimes.”
After Hill pleaded guilty to theft by employee in November, he was sentenced on Friday to 14 months in prison suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to do 250 hours unpaid work.
