When we visited the set of “The Alienist: Angel of Darkness” in Budapest, Hungary last year, we were blown away by the passion and detail that was poured on the set as well as the costumes of the actors.

The period drama TV series is based on the 1994 novel of the same name by Caleb Carr is set in the mid-1890s New York City and deals with corruption, sexism, racism, anti-immigration, crime and violence — pretty much what we are still dealing with these days in the 21st century.

As Dakota Fanning, who is portraying Sara Howard, told us in a recent virtual interview in Los Angeles, “A lot of things are relevant if you watch the show. You can see and will be struck by the parallels. There is also the fight for women’s rights, injustice, and anti-immigration in this series. It shows young people that a lot of things have not changed. There are still the same conversations going on. It is what it is. The only way to change our future is by examining our past and through television and the movies, we are not only entertained and have a suspenseful mystery but we are still able to ask the hard questions.”

What is fascinating about this season are the steps that women are taking to be independent in their jobs. Your character is starting this agency but nobody wants to hire her. Can you talk a little bit about how important this reflection is?

I think that’s been the most interesting thing about “The Alienist” and now “The Angel of Darkness” are, the similarities to things that we are seeing in the world right now; a lot of the conversations with women and women in the workplace and women’s rights and all that.

In “The Alienist,” you see Sara being the first woman to hold a position in the New York Police Department and then here, you see her with her own detective agency which was definitely unheard of. And you also see the way in which Luke and Daniel’s characters view her differently from the beginning when she’s an equal from the start.

She’s no longer having to prove herself to her own team which I think was a change and seemed sort of an evolution in that and you see her have her mentees that are working at her agency seeing this sort of example that she’s setting for other young women during this time.

We still see that now with female-owned businesses and the importance of female mentors to younger women. What I also love about this show in general is mixing the real historical figures in with the fictional aspects to seeing Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Suffragette movement and getting that sprinkled in throughout the series is really something that I’ve always enjoyed getting to see the real characters.

I have added some movie stills of Dakota Fanning from Viena and the Fantomes. Hope to get more soon.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness story continues with Dakota Fanning and Luke Evans. Catch an all-new season 2 premiering on July 26th.

Hello there, I hope everyone is keeping safe.

Just a small update here to know how everybody is. I really hope you and your families are fine and safe.

Situation here in my country is a few better, but my personal situation is still the same. I must admit that I am afraid of this virus, maybe because I am a risk person, so, I feel safe at home.

I am still working on the site, trying to upload all the stuff that I have inside my hard disks (a lot). Hope everyone is enjoying the updates and hope to make some great moments to the people who are bored at home. So, if you want to make some suggestions, ask for stuff to be added first…or just to talk, please, feel free to contact me.

Also, I really want to keep my site and I am trying my best; but with this situation, it is so difficult so, if you want to help to maintain this site online, please, feel free to go here to donate. Every little bit helps! I need to pay host monthly so, every single dollar would be a great help to me right now.

Thanks to everyone who visit the site. I would like to send you a big hug to you all.

Anne

J.K. Rowling’s immensely popular book that started it all — “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” — will be read by a lineup of celebrities chapter-by-chapter, in a series of free videos and audio recordings to be doled out over the next several months.

Rowling’s Wizarding World announced seven readers for the special event on Twitter today: Daniel Radcliffe, Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni and Eddie Redmayne, with more to come. Each will read different sections of the beloved fantasy (known as “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” outside the U.S.), with its themes of family, friendship, courage and overcoming adversity, for families and fans around the world.

All 17 chapters of the book will be released between now and mid-summer. Videos will be posted weekly on harrypotterathome.com, with an audio-only version available for free on Spotify.

Kicking off the series of video readings will be Harry Potter himself: Daniel Radcliffe, who will read the book’s first chapter, “The Boy Who Lived,” streaming today on Wizarding World (at this link) on Spotify (at this link).

The special series is part of Harry Potter at Home, an initiative developed by Wizarding World Digital and Rowling’s agency, the Blair Partnership, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of partners including Warner Bros., Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Pottermore Publishing.

The initiative includes an open licence to teachers allowing them to post recordings of themselves reading Harry Potter stories on educational platforms and networks and a dedicated hub of information and activities at harrypotterathome.com. In addition, Amazon’s Audible currently is making the audiobook of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (narrated by Jim Dale) available to stream for free via Audible Stories. [Source]