No magic fix: ‘Harry Potter' stars banned from driving
LONDON — Emma Watson and another actress from the "Harry Potter" films were each banned from driving for six months Wednesday after being caught speeding in separate incidents.
Watson, 35, who played Hermione Granger, the friend of boy wizard Potter in the hugely popular movie franchise, was banned for driving at 38 miles (61 km) an hour in a 30-mile zone in southeastern Banbury last July.
Zoe Wanamaker, 76, who played Quidditch teacher Madame Hooch in "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone," was banned for six months for her offense.
She had been caught driving at 46 miles an hour in a 40-mile zone of the M4 motorway in southeastern Berkshire last August.
The cases were dealt with separately by a lower magistrates court in the town of High Wycombe.
Neither of the stars attended the hearings, at which they were each fined £1,044 ($1,400).
Watson, who was stopped while driving her blue Audi, has been studying at Oxford University. Her lawyer told the court that although she was a student "she is in a position to pay the fine." — Agence France-Presse
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
'The Cosby Show' star Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies by drowning at 54
File photo of "The Cosby Show" star Malcolm-Jamal Warner at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards at the Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. (Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP) LOS ANGELES/SAN JOSE, California - Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Bill Cosby's son Theo on the 1980s television hit "The Cosby Show," died at age 54 on Monday by drowning, a law enforcement source confirmed to Reuters. Warner was vacationing in Costa Rica with his family, media reported. The Central American nation's judicial investigation department (OIJ) confirmed that a U.S. citizen with the last name Warner had drowned after being pulled out to sea by a rip current. He was declared lifeless at the scene by Red Cross lifeguards, the department said. Representatives for Warner did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "The Cosby Show," which aired from 1984 to 1992, was a groundbreaking show that portrayed a successful Black middle-class family. Cosby portrayed a doctor, and Warner played his only son. — Reuters
GMA Network
a day ago
- GMA Network
‘Harry Potter' movies to be screened in select PH cinemas this August
Potterheads are in for a magical treat this August! On social media, SM Cinema announced that all eight films from the beloved 'Harry Potter' franchise will be screened on August 16–17 and August 30–31 in select SM Cinema branches nationwide. According to the post, fans can watch the first four installments — 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,' 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,' 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,' and 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" —on the weekend of August 16 and 17. Meanwhile, the other four movies, namely 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,' 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,' 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2' will be screened on the weekend of August 30 and 31. Tickets are priced at P275 per movie for Metro Manila cinemas and P230 for provincial cinemas. Tickets are available via SM Cinema online and select SM Cinema ticket booths nationwide. Here are the participating branches SM Aura SM Bacolod SM Bacoor SM Baguio SM BF Parañaque SM Bicutan SM Calamba SM CDO Downtown SM Cebu SM Clark SM Dasmariñas SM East Ortigas SM Iloilo SM Lanang SM Laoag SM Legazpi SM Lipa SM Lucena SM Mall of Asia SM Manila SM Marikina SM Marilao SM Masinag SM Fairview SM North EDSA SM Pampanga SM San Mateo SM San Pablo SM Seaside SM Southmall SM Sta. Mesa SM Sta. Rosa SM Sucat SM Tarlac SM Megamall SM Grand Central Based on J.K. Rowling's best-selling books, the 'Harry Potter' film franchise follows the titular character Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), and his friends as they navigate life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and battle the dark wizard Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). It has been adapted into a television series under HBO, with its production now underway. —Jade Veronique Yap/CDC, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
4 days ago
- GMA Network
'I thought I was going to die': Pinoy sailor recounts Houthi attack in Red Sea
A view shows the sinking of what is said to be the Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier MV Magic Seas that was, according to Yemen's Houthis, attacked following an alleged exchange with the captain, off southwest Yemen, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 8, 2025. HOUTHI MEDIA CENTER/Handout via REUTERS Filipino seafarer Cocoy was off-duty and resting in his cabin when the captain's voice boomed over the intercom of the cargo ship: "We are under attack". The 38-year-old realized what sounded like a "knock" from inside the vessel was gunfire being exchanged by ship security and Houthi rebels swarming the ship in small boats. The July 6 assault on the Greek-owned Magic Seas broke a months-long lull in attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Red Sea shipping, which began after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Crew members scrambled to reach the "muster station" at the center of the ship, considered the safest place should a projectile strike the vessel. "There was panic, but we knew we had to move. It's like we were on autopilot," said Cocoy, who asked to be referred to by his nickname as he undergoes a debriefing. "(The crew) were in a daze, but they were all rushing to do their assigned jobs for our safety protocol... maybe I looked dazed too," he told AFP. "There were speedboats from the right, left and back of our ship," he said, relaying what the ship's security team had told him. "There was also a bigger boat with around 15 crew who were attempting to board our ship, but luckily, our armed guards were able to stop them." Of the 22 aboard the ship, 17 were Filipino . The group huddled inside the muster station for nearly five hours as the ship's three armed Sri Lankan security guards tried to stave off the attack. "I lost count of how many hits we took," he told AFP of Houthi projectiles. A Houthi spokesman would later claim that five ballistic and cruise missiles and three drones had been employed in the attack. One would breach the hull. "The flooding had started so we decided to abandon the ship," Cocoy said. "We deployed our lifeboat, all 22 of us, and left our main vessel." Filipino sailors make up as much as 30% of the world's commercial shipping force. The nearly $7 billion they sent home in 2023 accounted for about a fifth of remittances sent to the archipelago nation. While a seafarer for more than 15 years, it was Cocoy's first passage through the Red Sea, and what he called a case of "really bad timing". "During the gunfight, the faces of my wife and child flashed before my eyes. I kept thinking... will they survive without me?" he said. "I thought I was going to die." After abandoning ship, Cocoy and his shipmates spent three hours floating in the Red Sea before being picked up by a Panama-flagged container ship. "They were the longest hours of my life," he said. The Magic Seas was no longer within their sight as it sank beneath the waves. 'We were just lucky' A day after Cocoy's ordeal, another vessel crewed largely by Filipino sailors, the Eternity C, was attacked and sunk. Ten of those aboard were rescued. Another 15 are dead or missing. It was the deadliest such assault since three people were killed in a missile attack on another ship in March last year. On Wednesday night, eight Filipinos rescued from the Eternity C landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The Iran-backed Houthis said last week they had "rescued" an unspecified number of the Eternity C's crew and taken them to a safe location, prompting charges of kidnapping by the US government. Maritime news journal Lloyd's List reported six Filipino seafarers as "believed taken hostage". The Philippine government has so far offered no information about the possibility of either hostages or negotiations. "I feel terrified for the (missing) Eternity C crew," Cocoy told AFP. "We were just lucky, because all of us survived... I pray that many of their crew can still be located alive." Cocoy, who is plagued by nightmares of the attack, said he is unsure if he will return to the sea. "What happened to us was not normal," he said, urging shipowners to find routes that avoid the Red Sea. "It's something that no one should ever experience." —Agence France-Presse
