Quick Takes - Oct. 14, 2011

Harry Potter’s world

The magical world of Harry Potter is being meticulously reassembled at a former aerodrome 20 miles northwest of London.

The collection of sheds and sound stages is where the eight films were shot over the course of a decade, and starting March 31 they will be home to the official “Making of Harry Potter” studio tour.

The vast Great Hall, where hundreds of Hogwarts pupils dined, celebrated and were divided into houses by the mysterious Sorting Hat, will be the centerpiece of the Warner Bros. tour, but there will be plenty more to delight Potter fans.

Reerected sets will include the cupboard under the stairs where Harry was forced to sleep by his miserly relatives, the Dursleys; the imposing Ministry of Magic; headmaster Albus Dumbledore’s book-lined office; and Hogwarts’ classrooms, common room and a dormitory,

—Associated Press

‘Hurt Locker’ suit thrown out

“The Hurt Locker” has defused a bomb, with an L.A. judge throwing out a case filed by a U.S. serviceman who claimed the 2009 best picture Oscar winner had appropriated his story.

Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver had filed suit in winter 2010 against Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, claiming that the film, which Bigelow directed from Boal’s screenplay, used significant details from Sarver’s life in portraying the adrenalized bomb-disposal expert Will James (Jeremy Renner).

Boal had spent time with Sarver when reporting an article for Playboy; the writer was embedded with Sarver’s unit in Iraq and also interviewed him back in the United States.

On Thursday, however, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen dismissed Sarver’s claim.

—Steven Zeitchik

Big Boi will avoid jail time

Grammy-winning OutKast rapper Big Boi has reached a deal on drug charges that allows him to avoid jail time.

Big Boi appeared in a Miami courtroom Thursday as prosecutors outlined the deal that includes three months of drug testing, community service and $2,000 in donations to charities. The 36-year-old rapper’s real name is Antwan Patton.

He was arrested getting off a cruise ship in August. Authorities said he was in possession of ecstasy, a cigarette roller with marijuana residue and the ecstasy ingredient MDMA.

—Associated Press

Swank ‘regrets’ Grozny trip

Double Oscar winner Hilary Swank said Thursday that she “deeply regrets” attending a birthday celebration last week in Chechnya for a leader accused of orchestrating torture and other human rights violations.

Swank, 37, was one of a number of celebrities who traveled to the Chechen capital Grozny to attend a glitzy opening ceremony for a skyscraper complex that coincided with the 35th birthday of regional strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.

“I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights,” Swank said in a statement.

She added she was unaware of Kadyrov’s policies that human rights groups say promote fear, abductions and executions of those involved in Chechnya’s Islamist insurgency.

—Reuters

‘Lone Ranger’ rides again

“The Lone Ranger” is back in the saddle.

The big-budget film starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the title character will restart production Feb. 6, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Walt Disney Studios halted work on the modern retelling of the popular 1949 television western in August, citing budgetary concerns. The filmmakers had been asked to reduce the $250-million budget to reach the $200-million figure Disney had wanted to spend.

After settling a dispute over the film’s budget, Walt Disney Studios set a new release date of May 31, 2013. The movie previously was scheduled to reach theaters on Dec. 21, 2012.

—Dawn Chmielewski

Finally

Music director: Daniel Barenboim has been named musical director of the famed La Scala opera house in Milan, effective Dec. 1.

News team: Former “Nightline” anchorman Ted Koppel will join Harry Smith and Meredith Vieira as correspondents on Brian Williams’ newsmagazine “Rock Center,” which premieres Oct. 31 on NBC.

Shows ordered: The CW has given full-season orders to freshman dramas “The Secret Circle” and “Hart of Dixie.”

L.A. Phil change: Pianist Yefim Bronfman fractured a finger and has canceled his appearances with the L.A. Philharmonic at Disney Hall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and in Santa Barbara on Sunday.