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.”

It is being reported that actor and martial artist Dave Legeno (who is best known to us as Fenrir Greyback) has passed away while hiking this weekend.  He was found in Death Valley in California by another group of hikers and it is suspected that his death was caused by the extreme heat.  Temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit there so heat exhaustion is always a risk. An official cause of death has not been released by authorities.

Our thoughts are with his friends and family during this difficult time.

Frank Dillane, who we first met as Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is set to star in a new film titled Maestro. The film, directed by Catherine Jarvis and based on a book by Peter Goldsworthy, is about a young aspiring pianist who moves to Australia and is taught by an eccentric teacher. The film will hopefully begin filming this Spring in northern Australia and Vienna, Austria.

The story follows a talented pianist named Paul (Dilane), who moves to an exotic outpost of 1960’s Northern Australia where he is forced to learn from the only piano teacher his father can find — the enigmatic Herr Keller. Keller, a Viennese refugee with a mysterious past, is known to the locals as “Maestro.” Casting is underway for the role of Herr Keller.

Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Weasley in the Potter films and son of Brendan Gleeson, will be starring in the upcoming film Dredd, which opens on September 21st. Dredd is based on the Judge Dredd comics and also stars Karl Urban (Eomer in Lord of the Rings).

The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One- a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called “Judges” who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd (Karl Urban) is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge – a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of “Slo-Mo” experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.

Today the filmmakers have sent us the brand new poster from the film, but rather than upload it here I thought you would all benefit from visiting the Dredd Official Facebook page to see it yourself and learn more about the film.

Thanks to the makers of the film for the poster an information!

John Hurt, who we all know as Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter films, will be receiving this year’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema at the BAFTA awards! Hurt says of the award, “I know that film means a great deal to me but I had no idea that I meant so much to film. I feel very honoured.” They Harry Potter series took home the same award last year.

Universally acclaimed for his acting talent, Hurt’s vast range of distinguished performances has shaped an impressive career spanning six decades. He has starred in a variety of remarkable film roles working alongside some of the most important figures in the industry including Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton and Steven Spielberg. The legendary characters he has portrayed include Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Rich in A Man For All Seasons – a film which won seven BAFTA Awards and six Academy Awards – and Max in Midnight Express, for which he won the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor.

John Hurt also won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor in 1976 for The Naked Civil Servant, which was followed by a British Academy Film Award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance in The Elephant Man in 1981.

Throughout an impressive career he has received a further four BAFTA nominations (one for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Alien) and two Academy Award nominations. His most recent film roles have seen him starring as Ollivander in the Harry Potter series and Control in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – both films are BAFTA-nominated this year.

Tim Corrie, Chairman of BAFTA, said: “John Hurt is an actor it is both exciting and fascinating to watch. He has extraordinary screen presence and brings utter conviction to every role he undertakes. He is one of a kind, an iconic figure, and BAFTA is delighted to take this opportunity to honour his outstanding contribution to cinema.”

The award will be given out on February 12th, during the BAFTA awards ceremony.

ABC and ITV has announced the cast of their new television show TITANIC which, obviously, is about the famous sinking ship of the same name. A couple Harry Potter stars have been announced as having parts in the series. Geraldine Somerville, who plays older Lily Potter, will be one of the main stars, though it is not known who yet. Toby Jones, who does the voice of Dobby, will also have a role. Finally, it is rumored that Maggie Smith will also have a role in the series.

Titanic begins filming on Monday, May 9 in Budapest, Hungary, and this four-part miniseries will premiere in simulcast on Global and ABC in spring 2012. According to an article:

April 2012 sees the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the HMS Titanic. To mark this significant centenary, BAFTA winning producer Nigel Stafford Clark (Bleak House, Warriors, The Way We Live Now) has created Titanic, written by Julian Fellowes, the Oscar winning screenwriter of the hit costume drama Downton Abbey as well as Gosford Park and The Young Victoria. Jon Jones (Going Postal, The Diary of Anne Frank, Northanger Abbey) will direct; Nigel Stafford-Clark and Chris Thompson (Love Actually, No 1 Ladies Detective Agency) serve as the producers for this miniseries.

Titanic is the extraordinary re-telling of that doomed voyage, cleverly weaving action, mystery and romantic plots featuring fictional and historical characters, before coming together in an explosive and unforgettable finale. Titanic will focus on different characters ranging from steerage passengers to upper class guests. Each point of view will culminate in a cliff-hanger as the ship begins to flounder, building to an explosive conclusion which draws together each of the stories. Viewers will be taken on a heart wrenching journey through Titanic’s last hours, as the drama reveals which of the characters they have come to know so well will survive…and who does not.

Produced in association with ITV Studios and Shaw Media who are partnered with Deep Indigo Productions and Lookout Point in the UK, Sienna Films Inc in Canada and Hungary based Mid Atlantic Films to produce this UK-Hungary-Canada co-production.