The author of the Harry Potter series was honored today as one of Scotland's most influential women as part of a charity evento to assist disadvantaged women:

They were honoured at the Action for Children Scotland Woman of Influence Awards which celebrates women who have had a major impact on Scottish society.

Normally only one woman is honoured, but this year ten have been recognised to mark the tenth anniversary of the awards.

Hundreds of guests gathered in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow city centre for the ceremony, which was hosted by radio presenter Fred MacAulay.

No word on whether or not Jo attended. Congratulations, Jo!

Yesterday, we celebrated David Thewlis' birthday, and today March 21, another marauder actor turns a year older!

Join us in wishing Gary Oldman, know to Potter fans for his portrayal of Sirius Black, a very happy 52nd birthday!

Emma Thompson, who plays Professor Trelawney in the Potter films, was on the set of Deathly Hallows recently, said Clemence Poesy in an interview with Tatler Magazine.

But in Paris, she adds, 'the French are too snob' to admit to recognising anyone. 'And I'm proud of that!' So proud that when Emma Thompson -- a heroine of hers -- was in make-up for Harry Potter the other day and she felt a goosepimply 'Aaaah!', she 'didn't say anything. Because I'm French! I won't admit it!'

Thompson had said before that she would not reprise her role in the final installments of the series.

Are you looking forward to seeing Trelawney in the final film? Thanks to Keith!

A couple new photos of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park have been passed along to us today from visitors vacationing down in Orlando, Florida. New, is the picture of a Butterbeer cart in the middle of Hogsmeade Village.

- A look down Hogsmeade Village with Butterbeer cart in the center
- Outside the entrance to Hogsmeade Village (you can see steam rising from the Hogwarts Express just inside)

Local firefighters were called when a fire broke out last night on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Close to 100 crew members were on hand, and no injuries were reported when a "mock battle" scene got out of control. Watch commander Tony Smith said:

"I think they are filming some stunts for the last scene. There is a big battle scene involving a lot of pyrotechnics and explosions.

It's hard to say how much damage was caused, because some of it may have been planned as part of the filming.

Perhaps they got much better footage than they expected."

Thanks to Brandon for the tip!

Infinitus 2010 has officially announced that the Harry Potter parody -- Harvey Putter -- will premiere at the convention July 16 at 7 p.m.

Infinitus guests will be the first to see the long-awaited feature-length Harry Potter film spoof “Harvey Putter and the Ridiculous Premise” starring Bryce Cone, Sunny Williams and Joe Scheibelhut. For fans by fans, the film also features Kiran Shah (“Lord of the Rings”, “Chronicles of Narnia), MuggleNet webmaster Emerson Spartz and music by Wizard Rock bands such as The Remus Lupins, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls, and Draco and the Malfoys.

Keep an eye on the Harvey Putter website for more information on DVD pre-orders.

As it is midnight in the U.K, join us in wishing David Thewlis the best on his 47th birthday!

Thewlis plays Professor R. J. Lupin in the Potter films and will reprise his role in Deathly Hallows.

As we learned yesterday, Universal will be announcing the opening date for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park this Thursday.

Our friends at Dolphin World of Travel have sent along information regarding booking travel to the theme park after the opening date is announced. As you can guess, many people will be trying to book tickets to the park around the grand opening. They tell us:

If anyone plans on attending the Grand Opening they need to call us to pre-book with us so they will get their pricing guaranteed and be placed on our call-back list. This is not an official booking, and they don’t need to pay at this time, but the people who are already on the list will get priority over those who wait to call after the announcement. Once the announcement is made, our agents will be calling each person in the order that they contacted us. Even if someone has pre-booked with us before today’s date, they need to call us as soon as possible to make sure they are on the call list. This is of the utmost importance!

So please book soon! To do so, click here!

WB screened some "raw and unfinished" footage from Deathly Hallows tonight at ShoWest. Alan Horn, president of WB, introduced the 4-to-7-minute-long clip, according to a report from Collider.

Collider:

The footage started with Voldemort walking in the forest with all of his followers around him. He was looking for Harry. While I assumed the footage was going to be just from the first Harry Potter movie coming this November, I think the opening was from part 2 and it was from the big climatic battle between Harry and Voldemort!

Cinemablend:

The footage shown came from all sections of The Deathly Hallows, so it's impossible to tell where they will split up the two movies. We saw little bits of everything, from the seven Harry Potters escaping from the Dursleys house (totally surreal) to the attack at Bill and Fleur's wedding to the escape from Gringotts on the pale dragon and even Hogwarts on fire. With unfinished effects it's hard to really say how it all looks, though some of the most effective moments were the simplest-- Ron and Harry's fight in the tent, Harry visiting his parents' graves, running away from the Snatchers in the woods, Harry defiantly telling Voldemort that he stays alive "because I have something worth fighting for."

One odd moment-- one of the final shots was of Hermione riding a broom, by herself, escaping from a fireball that's likely the curse that Crabbe and Goyle set off in the Room of Requirement near the end. Did Hermione ever ride a broom by herself in the books? Is this a change that will mean something bigger, or just something convenient so the movie doesn't have to bother explaining that Hermione isn't good on a broom?


If anyone was lucky enough to be there, please let us know! Thanks to Mariene, Thomas and Alex!

Potter fans will finally know when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park will open. On Thursday, March 25 at 12 pm ET the opening date will be revealed as well as special details about The Forbidden Journey ride.

In a new video released by Universal Orlando, fans get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the content that will be used throughout the theme park. Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, James and Oliver Phelps, Michael Gambon, Robbie Coltrane and Stuart Craig are all feature.

Be sure to log on to MuggleNet next Thursday for complete coverage of the event! For all we have on the theme park, check out our Wizarding World section.

Orlando's Local 6 news has posted a new video showing increased activity at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.

They speculate that "corporate bigwigs" previewed the park this week, and that J.K. Rowling herself may have been there, as well. Theme park employees were dressed in Harry Potter-esque outfits and were seen carrying props into the park.

Could this mean an opening date is nearing? Thanks to Mark!

Speaking at the UK premiere for Remember Me, Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the Potter films, talked about Deathly Hallows and revealed for the first time how they will be aging the characters for the epilogue.

"There's a lovely moment at the end of the film where we're all 35 years old, Dan and I are very excited to see each other as old men!"

"They're doing it with prosthetics, with me at least. No digital enhancements, it's all real stuff. I'm hoping it's going to be flattering, we'll see!"

He also mentioned the benefit of splitting the book into two films saying, "One of the great things about the last one is that we've managed to split it into two films. We have all the freedom to stick to the books exactly and revel in them and enjoy every page."

The video footage can be seen here courtesy of Digital Spy.

Earlier today Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games sent us a sneak peak at the eagerly awaited LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1 - 4 video game.

Unlike previous videos, we get an exclusive insight into gameplay elements and introduced to some of the 100 characters that will feature in the final game.

The opening cutscene also gives us an insight into what we can expect from the many locations and iconic settings that players will explore throughout the game.

The video, which is over 2 minutes in length, can be seen here.

If like us, you can't wait for this game, be sure to visit our Video Games section to learn more and share you thoughts on this video in the comments.