Many fans will remember the scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where Dudley’s gang torments Harry. Many will not know that one of the actors in that gang, Christopher Rithin, who played ‘Dennis’ is one of the nicest people out there.  This webmiss had the fortune of being “twitter friends” with him a few years ago, but we have since lost touch. Fortunately for us, Hannah Kimi was able to catch up with Chris to see what he has been up to! You can read her full interview here.

He currently creates an online web series, Outside the Box, on YouTube.

“It’s been a while since the Harry Potter days”, says Rithin, “we’ve all matured and we’re doing new things. A piece of me will always belong to ‘Potter’, but I’m having fun tackling new characters. I think people will find Clive [the main character from OTB] a lot different to Dennis. He spends his time being nerdy and inventing pointless gadgets. He hasn’t got time to bully people .”

He even has his own company with a friend, Wolfpack Productions Ltd:  “I co-own ‘Wolfpack’ with my business partner, Jay Oliver Yip.” he smiled, “It’s a chance for us to create our own content, write our own stories and show the best of our work to the world.”

Awards season is fast approaching and nominations are being announced.  Many Potter alumni are being recognized for their current work. Read on to see who is nominated for what, so far.

2015 Golden Globes
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

• Michael Keaton (Birdman)
• Bill Murray (St. Vincent)
• Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
• Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes)
• Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)

Critics’ Choice Awards:
BEST ACTOR

• Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
• Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
• Michael Keaton – Birdman
• David Oyelowo – Selma
• Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

• Jon Favreau – Chef
• Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Michael Keaton – Birdman
• Bill Murray – St. Vincent
• Chris Rock – Top Five
• Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street

Screen Actors Guild Awards:

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (6 nominees)

• CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison – “HOMELAND” (Showtime)
• VIOLA DAVIS / Annalise Keating – “HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER” (ABC)
• JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick – “THE GOOD WIFE” (CBS)
• TATIANA MASLANY / Sarah/Cosima/Alison/Rachel/ – “ORPHAN BLACK” (BBC America)
• MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
• ROBIN WRIGHT / Claire Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)

Harry Potter: The Exhibition is headed to Paris in April of 2015. From April 4 – September 6, 2015 fans can see props and more from the films at the La Cité du Cinéma. A rough translation of the press release from WB France may be read below:

Christmas comes a little early this year! If you are among the millions of fans that the judgment of the Harry Potter saga was orphaned and dream to plunge in the heart of fabulous world created by JK Rowling, get ready to be amazed by the exhibition to be devoted to it. Majestic, playful and exotic, it will be held at the Cité du Cinéma de Paris, April 4 had 6 September 2015. If it still takes a little wait before the doors opened, there is however no time losing to book your admission ticket. Tomorrow at 10 am, visit www.ticketmaster.fr and with the usual distributors (Fnac, Auchan …) to relive the adventures of the famous wizard and discover the backstage of octalogie to global success.

Whether you are a fan of the first hour or simply curious Muggle to discover the world of Harry Potter, this exhibition is for you! Hosting the first French event dedicated entirely to the survivor, the City Cinema is about to enchant its visitors with area of 2,000m², which allow the public to soak up the magic of their heroes by browsing two film sets redeveloped colors the saga.

The program of festivities: introduction to the art of potions, Quidditch and visit full of surprises between the iconic setting of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and the following album, in the way like 9¾ , the Hogwarts Express, Hagrid‘s hut or dormitories Gryffindor. Open your eyes over your journey, round glasses Harry the Marauder’s Map and Nimbus 2000 are a must not to be missed.

By stage in the capital, this traveling exhibition invites viewers to better understand the scenes of the films that have transcended the cinema, bringing together an impressive panel of costumes, accessories and authentic decor elements. So that the immersion is complete, the techniques and skills used so that the magic operates will be explained in detail to visitors.

Having attracted over 3 million visitors worldwide, stopping in Chicago, Boston, Toronto, Seattle, New York, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo and Cologne, Harry Potter: The Exhibition will take up residence in the City of Light to spring. “The audience will be captivated by the size of the collection,” says Karen McTier (Executive Vice President WarnerBros Consumer Products.) Confident: “We are pleased to offer a unique Harry Potter experience more.”

An ideal experience for young and old, to live with family or friends and, above all, giving free rein to his imagination. To best prepare your arrival, some practical information are required:

– The exhibition will be open from 10:30 am to 19h Monday to Friday from 9:30 am to 20h on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and during school holidays. Nocturnes until 21:30 every first Friday of the month.

– The input is from slots and must be booked in advance, the last access will take place 90 minutes before the closing of the exhibition, the rates of 19.99 € for adults / € 15.99 for children (4-14 years) / 65 € for families (max. 2 adults and 2 children).

– Audio guides available, limited to a day.The perfect gift for a magical Christmas!

And do not forget the scenes of Harry Potter also visited throughout the year in the UK, thanks to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. The theme park dedicated to the famous wizard welcomes you with plenty of entertainment for young and old and a new attraction: the Dark Arts section. Enjoy now the promotional rate of 17h and 18h niche for you in the adventure and visit ‘Hogwarts in the snow.’

Practical info and reservations here: http://mywb.fr/ZULLMa

Thanks to SnitchSeeker for the tip.

This afternoon it was revealed that BBC One would be producing a TV series based on Robert Galbraith’s novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling. As we all know, Robert is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling that was outed last year, which led to the heightened popularity of the novel (which was already a great seller.) Jo herself revealed the news on her Twitter account by saying:

My friend @RGalbraith‘s first novel is going to be a TV drama on @BBCOne. He’s very excited, but expressing it with characteristic silence.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 10, 2014

This will be the second of Rowling’s books to be adapted for television. As we reported a couple years ago, BBC would also be producing a three part mini series for her first post-Potter novel, The Casual Vacancy. That will be aired some time next year.

Earlier this week, Pottermore announced that Christmas is coming early to the site with #PottermoreChristmas. Starting on December 12th, and for each day leading up to December 23rd, there will be new content made available on the site. These new tidbits will be released at 1pm GMT (8am EST). Many news outlets are reporting, incorrectly, that there will be 12 new stories. The site originally posted:

With wonderful writing by J.K. Rowling in Moments from Half-Blood Prince, shiny gold Galleons and even a new potion or two, make sure you don’t miss out – just visit pottermore.com and answer our rhyming riddles to unwrap a #PottermoreChristmas surprise every day.

But after the major news outlets (meaning not Potter fan sites) started getting the story wrong they decided to clarify by saying:

As true Potter fans worked out straight away, our 12 days of festive surprises and accompanying rhyming riddles refer to new potions and Moments in addition to several new entries by J.K. Rowling that will be posted on pottermore.com between 12th and 23rd December. Sorry to disappoint fans, but there will not be a set of 12 new short stories, one for each day of Christmas. Even Pottermore wouldn’t be that generous.

You may remember, back in October, we reported that Katie Leung’s two-part special One Child would be premiering this month. Well, today is the day! At 9pm ET/PT, tune into SundanceTV for Part 1 of the two-night special.

SundanceTV’s latest original scripted drama “One Child” will have its world premiere as a two-night special event on Friday, December 5^th and Saturday, December 6^th at 9pm ET/PT, each night featuring a two-hour episode.  The mini-series stars Katie Leung (Harry Potter), Emmy® nominated actress Elizabeth Perkins (“Weeds”) and Donald Sumpter (“Game of Thrones,” The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and is penned by Guy Hibbert, known for his work on Five Minutes of Heaven and currently working on Eye in the Sky, starring Aaron Paul and Helen Mirren.  This riveting dramatic thriller plunges into the heart of contemporary China – in all its contradictions – and takes a fresh, cross-cultural look at what it means to be family.

“One Child,” following the summer’s critical success for SundanceTV’s “The Honorable Woman” starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, tells the story of a young Chinese-born woman, Mei (Leung), adopted at birth by a couple in the UK, who suddenly gets called back to her native Guangzhou by her birth mother.  Her son Ajun – and the brother Mei never knew existed – has been wrongly accused of murder and is facing execution. The real killer is a rich Chinese ‘princeling’ with a well-connected, wealthy father who has corrupted the witnesses into lying.