"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Crosses One Billion in Global Box Office

The Magic Continues as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” Crosses the Billion-dollar Mark at the Worldwide Box Office

The film’s hugely successful release in China pushes its global box office take past the billion-dollar milestone

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearly two decades after first enchanting movie audiences, the first of the Harry Potter blockbusters, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” has crossed $1 billion at the global box office. The announcement was made by Andrew Cripps, President, International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

    “We are thrilled to see ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ delight a new generation of audiences. The popularity of the film with moviegoers in China, who are discovering it for the first time, proves that the appeal of these stories is truly timeless and universal.”

The 4K 3D restoration of the beloved Wizarding World film opened in China on August 14, 2020 and has taken in an estimated $1,001,260,000 worldwide to date and still climbing. It is now the second film in the film series to reach the billion-dollar milestone following “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2,” which was released in 2011 and has grossed $1.34 billion globally. It is another benchmark for the enduringly popular film franchise, which has now earned $7.74 billion.

Andrew Cripps stated, “We are thrilled to see ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ delight a new generation of audiences. The popularity of the film with moviegoers in China, who are discovering it for the first time, proves that the appeal of these stories is truly timeless and universal.”

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” tells the story of a boy who, on his 11th birthday, learns that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. Invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. At Hogwarts, he finds the home and the family he has never had.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films/1492 Pictures/Duncan Henderson Production of a Chris Columbus film, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Richard Griffiths, Richard Harris, Ian Hart, John Hurt, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.

The film was directed by Chris Columbus from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the beloved novel Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. David Heyman produced the film, with Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan and Duncan Henderson serving as executive producers.

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 1st to 8th, 2016 - Update #28

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NEW YORK COMIC CON 2016:

From Newsarama:  Creator Robert Kirkman at "The Walking Dead" NYCC panel.

From BleedingCool:  Kate Beckinsale says that Marvel is doing something with "Blade."

From BleedingCool:  More from DC Comics' "Rebirth" NYCC panel.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  The Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, John Boyega thriller, "The Circle," has a release date, April 28, 2017.

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JAMES BOND - From Vulture:  Maybe Daniel Craig isn't ready to stop being Bond.

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CELEBRITY - From Guardian:  In a video, Robert DeNiro says that he'd like to punch Donald Trump in the face.

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BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  "The Girl on the Train" will likely be the winner of this weekend's box office.

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COMICS-FILMS - From Variety:  Forest Whitaker joins Marvel's "Black Panther."

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MOVIES - From IndieWire:  How Mel Gibson helped Nate Parker on "Birth of a Nation."

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Amy Adams returning for "Disenchanted," the sequel to "Enchanted."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  "Blade Runner 2049" is the name of the "Blade Runner" sequel.

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POLITICS - From TheDailyBeast: Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone says that the administration of President Obama is the worst for whistleblowers.

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MUSIC - RollingStone:  Bruce Springsteen talks about a number of subjects in this interview, including Black Lives Matter.

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MOVIES:  From WarofthePlanet:  The website for next year's "War for the Planet of the Apes."

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COMICS-FILM - From YahooSports:  Some people are complain the Marvel-Netflix's "Luke Cage" is too Black...

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COMICS-FILM - From YahooMovies:  The DVD release of "Suicide Squad" to contain a cut of the film with 13 extra minutes.

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MUSIC - From RollingStone:  The songwriter, Rod Temperton, died last week in London at the age of 66.  He may be most famous for his collaborations with Michael Jackson including naming Michael's record-setting LP, "Thriller" as well as penning the title track and two more songs for the album.

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Disney has set a release date for its live-action 3D remake of "Mulan," November 2, 2018.

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MOVIES - From SlashFilm:  The Oscar-winning film-scoring team of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will score Peter Berg's film, "Patriots Day."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Chloe Moretz will join Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton in a remake of Italian horror master, Dario Argento's "Suspiria."

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TELEVISION - From SlashFilm:  A teaser has been released for the upcoming "Twin Peaks" revival on Showtime next year.

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MOVIES - From YahooNews:  Finally, Nate Parker, director of the buzzy "Birth of a Nation," is saying what he should have said a long time ago about the "rape charges" he once faced.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 9/30 to 10/2/2016 weekend box office is "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" with an estimated take of $28.5 million.

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CELEBRITY - From TheWrap:  Kirk Douglas celebrates his 100th birthday early Saturday, October 1, 2016 at the 95th anniversary of the Motion Picture Television Fund.  Douglas' actually birthday is December 19th.  I have a feeling that he will live past 100.

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ECO - From TheGuardian:  Leonardo DiCaprio takes his new documentary film, "Before the Flood," to the White House to screen for President Barack Obama.

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CRIME - From YahooNews:  The 6-year-old boy who was shot at Townville Elementary in South Carolina on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 has died of his injuries.

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MOVIES - From YahooNews:  New image of Emma Watson and Dan Stevens from Disney's live-action "Beauty and the Beast."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Lee Daniels, the Oscar-nominated director of "Precious," is making a movie musical about his life.

TEASER:

From YahooMovies:  First trailer for "Jackie" with Natalie Portman.

From Deadline:  First teaser for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" which lands in 2017.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 22nd to 31st, 2016 - Update #54

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda (of the Broadway smash, "Hamilton") to headline Disney's "Mary Poppins" sequel.

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PIXAR - From YahooMovies:  Is that a lesbian couple in "Finding Dory."

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MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Dan Aykroyd, who co-created "Ghostbusters," praises the all-female remake.

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MOVIES - From TheGuardian:  Before he died, Stanley Kubrick apparently wanted to make a war film and a children's film.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Dwayne Johnson confirmed to star in Shane Black's "Doc Savage" film.

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COMICS - From Vox:  "X-Men: Apocalypse" is what happens when a superhero franchise runs out of ideas.

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SPORTS - From ThePostGame:  Notable college and professional athletes killed during military service.

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TELEVISION - From YahooNews:  LeVar Burton on why the "Roots" reboot matters.

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ECO - From RSN:  Actor/activist, Mark Ruffalo, on why Los Angeles is toxic.

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BLACK LIVES MATTER - From Truthout:  Malcolm X predicted the progress of racism in the United States.

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COMICS - From YahooMovies:  Jeremy Irons, who plays Alfred, Batman's butler, also has criticism for "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

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COMICS - From CBR:  On the reveal that Captain America is an agent of Hydra, Marvel legend Stan Lee says "I think it's crazy, but it's a good idea."

From CinemaBlend:  Director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) doesn't think Hydra Cap is a big deal, either.

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COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Jeff Bridges has apparently joined "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," the sequel to "Kingmans: The Secret Service."

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COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Actors Adam West and Burt Ward, star of the 1960s "Batman" television series have something secret planned for later this year.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The Memorial Day weekend, 5/27 to 5/29/2016, weekend goes to "X-Men: Apocalypse" with an estimated take of $65 million.

From YahooMovies:  Did Disney seriously believe that "Alice Through the Looking Glass" would be a hit.  They got lucky with the first one, Tim Burton's mediocre "Alice in Wonderland."  It was a fluke.

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TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  Meet Malachi Kirby, the young British actor playing "Kunta Kinte" in the "Roots" remake.

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MOVIES - From IndieWire:  A list of female directors ready to direct a blockbuster film.

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MOVIES - From YahooNews:  "Transformers: The Last Knight" offers a cryptic tease for Memorial Day.

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MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  John Carpenter, who defined the slasher film genre with 1978's "Halloween" is not a fan of the original "Friday the 13th."

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Sam Mendes who directed "Skyfall" and "Spectre" said he will not return for the next James Bond movie.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Dylan O'Brien was apparently nearly killed in an on-set accident during filming of "The Maze Runner: The Death Cure."  The film is now scheduled for release in 2018, although the start date for resuming of production is unknown.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Robert Rodriguez has a star for his "Battle Angel Alita."  James Cameron is producing.

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MOVIES - From TrackingBoard:  Amy Schumer heads to a male friend's bachelor party in "Who Invited Her?"

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CELEBRITY - From TheWrap:  Johnny Depp-Amber Heard divorce turns ugly real quick.

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COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Sony's animated Spider-Man film may involve Miles Morales, the African-American/Latino teen who is Spider-Man.

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Cute Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliot," "Fantastic Four") is rumored to be contention to play James Bond, which means that they are going  young for the next Bond, as Bell is 30.  Actually, Bell almost looks like he could be current Daniel Craig's son.  Meanwhile, Craig may not be finished with the franchise...

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MOVIES - From GameSpot:  More striking images from "Alien: Covenant" set.

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MUSIC - From YahooCelebrity:  15 children that are not biologically his (although he claimed them) are fighting over B.B. King's estate.

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COMICS - From YahooMovies:  See photos from the Ellis Island premiere of the first X-Men movie back in 2000.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Harry Styles of the boy band, One Direction, has cut his signature locks for the movie "Dunkirk."  This link has a photo of Styles from the set.

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CELEBRITY - From People:  Amber Heard files for divorce from Johnny Depp.

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MUSIC - From YahooNews:  New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton:  "so-called rap artists who are basically thugs."

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COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Wesley Snipes wants back as Blade.

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STAR TREK - From YahooMovies:  Secrets from the "Star Trek Beyond" set.

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OBIT - From Variety:  The pioneering CBS News correspondent, Jeanne Parr, died at 92, Friday, May 20, 2016.  She was also the mother of actor Chris Noth ("The Good Wife," "Sex in the City").

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MOVIES - From OliverStone:  Oliver Stone posts his commencement speech to the Class of 2016 at the University of Connecticut.

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OBIT - From TheGuardian:  The actor Burt Kwouk has died at the age of 85, Tuesday, May 24, 2016.  He was best known for playing Inspector Clouseau's manservant, Cato, in the Peter Sellers' "Pink Panther" movies.
  
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BLACK LIVES MATTER - From ProPublica:  Crime prediction software targets black people - of course.

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MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  John Carpenter will return to executive produce a new "Halloween" film, the tenth sequel to the original "Halloween" that was released in 1978.

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MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  Images from the Prometheus sequel, "Alien Covenant."

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TELEVISION - From DeadlineTV:  Showtime is prepping a documentary on legendary "Saturday Night Live" alumnus and actor, John Belushi.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  It's the 36th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," specifically May 23rd.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Actor Elijah Wood says child abuse on Hollywood is kept secret by power players.

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MOVIES:  From CinemaBlend:  Karl Urban freely talks about why the super-excellent sci-fi comic book film, Dredd, was a box office flop.  He blames marketing.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Get your first glimpse of Emma Watson as "Belle" in Disney's live-action "Beauty and the Beast," which is due March 17, 2017.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  "The Angry Birds Movie" won the 5/20 to 2/22/2016 box office weekend with an estimated haul of $39 million.

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AWARDS - From Variety:  Ken Loach wins the Palme d'Or at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.  The win, for his film "I, Daniel Blake," is his second one.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Anthony Mackie talks playing Dr. Martin Luther King for HBO.

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Shane Black, the legendary screenwriter of "Lethal Weapon," talks about his new film, "The Nice Guys."  He also talks about the "Lethal Weapon 5" that almost was, and, of course, Mel Gibson.

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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  40 most anticipated movies of Summer 2016.

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COMICS - From ThePlaylist:  11 reasons why "Captain America: Civil War" is better than "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  The third trailer for Pixar's "Finding Dory."

From YouTube:  The first trailer from FOX for the film "Morgan," directed by Luke Scott, the son of Ridley Scott.

Emma Watson's United Nations Speech "We Want to End Gender Inequality..."

(photographic image is courtesy of UN Women.)

From The Huffington Post and Reader Supported News:

The following is an unedited version of the speech delivered by Emma Watson, the British actor and UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, at the launch of the UN Women's "HeForShe" Campaign on Saturday, September 20, 2014, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

'We Want to End Gender Inequality - And to Do That We Need Everyone to Be Involved'
By Emma Watson, Reader Supported News

Today we are launching a campaign called HeForShe.

I am reaching out to you because I need your help. We want to end gender inequality - and to do that we need everyone to be involved.

This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN: we want to try and galvanise as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality. And we don't just want to talk about it, but make sure it is tangible.

I was appointed six months ago and the more I have spoken about feminism the more I have realised that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.

For the record, feminism by definition is: "The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes."

I started questioning gender-based assumptions when at eight I was confused at being called "bossy," because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our parents - but the boys were not.

When at 14 I started being sexualised by certain elements of the press.

When at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn't want to appear "muscly."

When at 18 my male friends were unable to express their feelings.

I decided I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word.

Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.

Why is the word such an uncomfortable one?

I am from Britain and think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights.

No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality.

These rights I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky ones. My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn't love me less because I was born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn't assume I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These influencers were the gender equality ambassadors that made who I am today. They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are. And we need more of those. And if you still hate the word - it is not the word that is important but the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have been afforded the same rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been.

In 1997, Hilary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women's rights. Sadly many of the things she wanted to change are still a reality today.

But what stood out for me the most was that only 30 per cent of her audience were male. How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?

Men - I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too.

Because to date, I've seen my father's role as a parent being valued less by society despite my needing his presence as a child as much as my mother's.

I've seen young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear it would make them look less "macho" - in fact in the UK suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20-49; eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I've seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don't have the benefits of equality either.

We don't often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can see that that they are and that when they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence.

If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted women won't feel compelled to be submissive. If men don't have to control, women won't have to be controlled.

Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong... It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum not as two opposing sets of ideals.

If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we are - can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It's about freedom.

I want men to take up this mantle. So their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too - reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves.

You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on stage at the UN. It's a good question and trust me I have been asking myself the same thing. I don't know if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care about this problem. And I want to make it better.

And having seen what I've seen - and given the chance - I feel it is my duty to say something. English statesman Edmund Burke said: "All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing."

In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt I've told myself firmly - if not me, who, if not now, when. If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you I hope those words might be helpful.

Because the reality is that if we do nothing it will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly a hundred before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work. 15.5million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children. And at current rates it won't be until 2086 before all rural African girls will be able to receive a secondary education.

If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists I spoke of earlier. And for this I applaud you.

We are struggling for a uniting word but the good news is we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen to speak up, To be the he for she. And to ask yourself if not me, who, if not now when.

Thank you.

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