Role Call: March Movie Madness

by · March 8, 2015

This week, we find a handful of Hogwarts professors and wizarding baddies taking the limelight with appearances, screenings, and new trailers! Take a look at what the Potter cast has in store for us in our first March Role Call!

Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Sir Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart) and Nick Moran (Scabior) will make appearances at the Jameson Dublin Film Festival this month! Beginning March 19, the 13th annual festival will host special guests to help promote the art of storytelling through the screening of over 130 films, including films starring other Potter cast.

Jim Broadbent‘s (Horace Slughorn) short The Phone Call and Nat Tena‘s (Nymphadora Tonks) 10,000 Km are slated to play on March 21 and 22, as well as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, starring Expo Patronum special guest Nick Moran on March 24.  Nick will also make an appearance at a special screening of the film he wrote and directed, Telestar, on March 25.

A Little Chaos can be seen on March 28 and Cinderella will be shown on March 21. Sir Branagh will also be accepting the Volta award alongside acting legend Julie Andrews. The Volta is an award given to those who have made “a significant contribution to the world of film”. To learn more about the festival and see what films are being screened, visit the website here.

Rickman’s film has also been given a U.S. release date and a new trailer! You can view the trailer below and check out the film when it debuts in theaters March 27 and in the UK on April 17.

Dame Maggie Smith gave Downton Abbey and Dowager Countess fans a lot to talk about this past week when she indicated she would not return to the series after the next season. Turns out she was just having a bit of a laugh, according to her publicist! However, her latest film, The Lady in the Van, is giving us other reasons to smile. Sony Pictures UK released the first trailer via Twitter, which you can see below. See if you can spot another cast member from the Potter films – she’s a bit shorter than you might remember!

We finally have our first real look at Ralph Fiennes in the upcoming James Bond flick, SPECTRE! Take a look at the behind-the-scenes featurette, which shows director Sam Mendes talking about the story and Ralph’s involvement!

Jamie Campbell Bower and Sir John Hurt will be voicing characters in the new Thomas the Tank Engine film, which will also star Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne! According to the Guardian, the film title will be Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure and will release on DVD and video on demand in September with a short theatrical run. Hurt will voice Sailor John while Bower will portray sailing vessel Skiff. Hurt expressed his feelings on his new role, saying,

Sailor John was something of a departure from what I usually do and a lot of fun to play.

Isabella Laughland (Leanne, Half-Blood Prince) will be taking on one of the best known Jane Austen characters in a new production of Pride and Prejudice. The actress will portray Elizabeth Bennet in the Sheffield Theatres production that will include a multicultural cast rather than the standard all-white cast. Artistic director Daniel Evans had this to say regarding why they threw out traditional casting:

We’re not doing an all-white production of Pride And Prejudice — and I’m really proud of that. We want to be adventurous! A bit like Elizabeth Bennet.

John Williams, the man who brought us the Harry Potter theme we love so much, will be composing the score for Steven Spielberg’s latest film based on a real life spy thriller, Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks. The film is slated for an October 16 release.

That’s it for this week’s Casting News! We’re excited for all of the success the cast of the Harry Potter films are finding outside of Harry’s universe and can’t wait to meet some of the cast next month as we get up close and personal with them in London at Expo Patronum! We still have more guests to announce, so now is the time to purchase!

If you still haven’t made up your mind to attend the biggest Harry Potter event in the UK, you should check out a few of the reasons you should be hanging out with us! Tickets are still available but they are flying out faster than you can say Accio Ticket! Learn more about how you can join us in London by clicking our banner below and we hope to see you there!

MN Live Banner