Names and faces

Monday, February 3, 2014

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is having second thoughts about ending the series with heroine Hermione Granger paired up romantically with Ron Weasley. The hugely successful author told Wonderland magazine she chose the red-haired Ron for Hermione for very personal reasons that had little to do with literature. She told the magazine she “wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment” and said the couple might eventually have needed relationship counseling. The soon-tobe published interview was reported in The Sunday Times, which also quoted actress Emma Watson, who played Hermione, expressing doubts about the viability of her character’s relationship with Ron. She told the newspaper that many fans doubt Ron could have made Hermione happy over time. Many fans had hoped Harry and Hermione would become a couple.

Dylan Farrow has renewed molestation allegations against Woody Allen, claiming the movie director sexually assaulted her when she was 7 after he and actress Mia Farrow adopted her. In an open letter to The New York Times posted online Saturday, Dylan Farrow recalled several events from her childhood. In a letter to op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof, she said she was moved to speak out because of Hollywood’s continued embrace of Allen. “That he got away with what he did to me haunted me as I grew up,” Farrow wrote. “I was stricken with guilt that I had allowed him to be near other little girls.” Representatives for Allen and his former partner Mia Farrow didn’t return requests for comment. The New York Times reported that Allen declined to comment. He has long maintained his innocence. “For as long as I could remember, my father had been doing things to me that I didn’t like,” Farrow said. “These things happened so often, so routinely, so skillfully hidden from a mother that would have protected me had she known, that I thought it was normal.” Allen was investigated on child molestation claims for a 1992 accusation, but prosecutors elected not to charge him. Leslee Dart, Allen’s publicist, said in an email Sunday that the director called Dylan Farrow’s allegations “untrue and disgraceful.” Dart said Allen has read the letter and plans to respond soon.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 02/03/2014