Luna Lovegood Open Auditions

January 12th, 2006- Announcement of Open Call Castings: It was announced. Thousands of girls hearts leapt as they read about the open casting call in London, England, for the part of Luna Lovegood in the Order of the Phoenix. Fiona Weir, casting director, states, We've visited schools up and down the country and we've met some brilliant girls. But holding an Open Call is just a way of us making sure that there isn't anyone that we might have missed. 14-year-old Evanna Lynch, who had applied earlier using a demo tape, just got a letter from Warner Brothers saying they couldnt offer her the part a day before the open auditions.

January 14th, 2006- Day of Luna Lovegood Auditions: The day had come. 15,000 Luna Lovegood hopefuls lined up outside of Central Hall Westminster, Storey's Gate, in London. Thousands of girls turned up to be seen, and some of them even camped overnight to be first in the queue. Lizo from CBBC Newsround reports, But when I walked out of the tube station at 8.30am on Saturday, the first thing I saw was a queue stretching out of sight into the distance. Undoubtedly the most amazing part of the day was meeting so many Harry Potter fans. Thousands of them. Despite the fact that people were queuing for hours on end the atmosphere was wonderfully friendly. As the girls came up to the front of the queue, they were taken in groups inside to be shown to Fiona Weir. Only one or two out of fifty girls that were taken in moved onto the next level. Evanna Lynch was undoubtedly chosen.

January 17th, 2006- Down to 400 Girls: Fiona Weir announced to Newsround that they were down to 400 girls. "We really didn't have a particular look in mind and saw many fabulous girls from all points of the UK and Ireland. According to Warner Bros. the girls who have reached the next round have a wide range of accents, backgrounds and ethnicity. They came from all over the UK and Ireland ranging from Renfrewshire to West Sussex, and County Clare to Newport.

February 2nd, 2006- Evanna Lynch Chosen for Luna Lovegood: Evanna Lynch, who's from near Drogheda in Ireland, was chosen from more than 15,000 other girls at the open casting call. Evanna told Newsround that it was a "dream come true" for her to get this role. I thought it was some awful joke or they were testing me," said Evanna. I've been a Harry Potter fan for years and years." From the beginning, she said she had to go to the auditions, "I knew if I didn't I probably would regret it for the rest of my life." Evanna Lynch also apologizes to all who disagree with Warner Brothers choice of Luna Lovegood but also, I promise to work hard to do a good Luna!

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