Castium Revelio: Reveal Your Secrets, Christopher Nolan!

Chris Rankin frequently describes his turn as the prefect we all wanted to smack at least once, Percy Weasley, as a cameo role. But within the fandom, he's a clear favorite, giving frequently and generously of his time to Potter-related events and interacting regularly with admirers on social media. He's resided for the past decade in Wales and sat down in December with WalesOnline for a chat and a valiant attempt at a tricky Harry Potter pop quiz.

Percy was quite a nice part because it's small enough that it doesn't completely consume your life. I mean, it does because it's Warner Bros. and 'Harry Potter', and it's still here now and still going, so it has consumed my life, but in the best way possible. There are always new people discovering it and discovering you - although it's a different me; it's a 36-year-old and not a 16-year-old me.

It may be surprising to hear that Rankin actually asked for the role of Percy, but even at 16, the actor knew a sure thing when he saw it. "I was calculating," he said. "I was 16, ginger-haired, and a prefect."

 

Rankin says he enjoys sharing the Potter experience with people all over the world as both part of the cast and a fan himself.

It's been a huge amount of my life, and the wonderful thing about 'Potter' is that it's a huge part of other people's lives. So often you get people who you meet at events or come and see me at the stage door, and they'll say 'Harry Potter' got them through a really tough stage in their life or a dark place. The people I've met through the 'Harry Potter' community have really supported me. I don't know what the hell I would be doing now if I didn't do that. I'm very grateful.

You can read the entire interview at the link above and find out how Rankin did on the quiz below.

 

 

If you're a Blu-ray collector, you're familiar with the Criterion Collection, which releases what it considers to be classic and contemporary masterworks on disc. The collection includes several Wes Anderson movies, with the previous notable exception of The Grand Budapest Hotel. You'll be happy to hear, however, that the movie, which starred Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) as the unforgettable M. Gustave, will be among the Criterion Collection's April additions. You can preorder the Blu-ray ahead of its April 28 release on Amazon.

The 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards wrapped up recently in Los Angeles, California, with a few alumni projects picking up star-studded statues.

Best Picture honors went to Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, on which David Heyman (Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts producer) coproduced, and Fleabag, which featured Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley) and Ray Fearon (Firenze) in guest-starring roles, took Best Comedy Series.

Christopher Nolan's Tenet is finally getting a bit less hush-hush, and in the recently released official trailer, we get our first glimpses of stars Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory), Sir Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart), and Clémence Poésy (Fleur Delacour). Their characters still have yet to be named, but we can at least derive a bit more from the trailer. Tenet is slated for a July 17 premiere.

 

 

 

 

Poésy was also spotted Tuesday by Just Jared in the front row at the Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 fashion show in Paris, France, rubbing elbows with Pharrell Williams, Eva Green, and G-Dragon. As you do.

Elsewhere on the fashion front, when designers have anniversaries, lots of cool, famous people show up, and Paul Smith's 50th was no exception. The likes of Bill Nighy (Rufus Scrimgeour), Sir Ian McKellen, Susan Sarandon, Jon Hamm, Niall Horan, and Stanley Tucci were in attendance for a preview of Smith's autumn/winter 2020 collection.

Game of Thrones fans will never forget the Red Wedding... no matter how much they might want to. We're not alone, however. David Bradley (Argus Filch), the actor behind Walder Fray, orchestrator of the evening of gratuitous violence, can't forget either, as he told the Sun. "All I had to do was remember a four-page speech, which I had to do 70 times in one day, introducing everyone and welcoming everyone with bread and salt," he noted with obvious sarcasm.

After that, I just had to sit back and drink fake wine while they got on with the business of massacring all those people. I just had to sit there and enjoy it. For Walder Frey, it would be like watching a floor show. He just enjoyed it. [...] When the Red Wedding landed in my letterbox, I thought, 'Oh, this is going to be a little bit different!' Even when we filmed it, I thought, 'This is going to stir up a few feelings because I'm getting rid of a lot of favourite characters,' but nothing prepared me for the reaction after it came out.

The Instagram account of Family Guy producer Gary Janetti has proven popular for its satirical Prince George memes, and that popularity hasn't escaped the attention of HBO Max. Deadline Hollywood reports the streaming service has greenlighted The Prince, a new animated comedy series that will feature the vocal talents of Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxime) as Queen Elizabeth, Orlando Bloom as Prince Harry, and Alan Cumming as George's butler, Owen, among others. HBO Max says the series will be a "biting, satirical look at the life of Prince George of Cambridge, the youngest heir to the British throne, as he navigates the trials and tribulations of being a royal child."

Filming began Tuesday on It Snows in Benidorm, a new project from Spanish director Isabel Coixet. The movie features Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) and is set for release November 13 in Spain. We'll keep you posted on whether or not the film will make its way to the US or UK, and in the meantime, you can check out the official synopsis below. While Spall's character hasn't been specifically named, judging from the synopsis and other cast members, he'll likely be appearing in the role of Peter Riordan.

Peter Riordan is a lonely, manic, and methodical man, obsessed with meteorological phenomena. When he is given early retirement at the Manchester bank where he has worked all his life, he decides to visit his brother, Daniel, who lives in Benidorm. Upon arrival in the city, he discovers that his brother has disappeared and that he was the owner of a burlesque club where Alex works, a mysterious woman who exerts a powerful fascination on him. Peter and Alex try to find out what happened to Daniel, helped by a policeman obsessed with Sylvia Plath's presence in the fifties in Benidorm. The city of Benidorm, with its incredible geography of coves, skyscrapers, and its peculiar mixture of British vacationers and Spanish retirees in pursuit of a well-deserved carpe diem is another character of this romantic thriller in which a man discovers that life, the true life, you can start at any time, even when we thought it was no longer possible. But if it snows in Benidorm, anything is possible.

If you live in the UK, you can get a little wild today with David Tennant (Barty Crouch Jr.) and some gorillas! The actor narrated BBC One's Spy in the Wild wildlife documentary in its five-episode debut in 2017 and returns for a second series that begins today. Episodes will take viewers up close and personal with gorillas singing while partaking in a meal, monkeys enjoying thermal pools, and bald eagles awaiting a spectacular feast, among other animal adventures. If you miss out, you can watch online with the BBC iPlayer.

Elsewhere in Tennant news, Deadline Hollywood reports that AMC's streaming service, Acorn TV, has acquired the North American rights to Tennant's UK Channel 4 drama Deadwater Fell. The four-part series is expected to premiere in April, and we'll let you know as soon as a definitive date is announced!

AT&T is closing up shop on the Audience Network, Variety says, and that has the channel's original series - including Mr. Mercedes, starring Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody) in limbo. The Audience Network will now serve as basically a big commercial for the content featured on HBO Max. Mr. Mercedes wrapped up its third series in November 2019, and there's speculation it, Loudermilk, Condor, and You Me Her could be transferred to HBO Max. We'll keep you posted!

As we previously let you know, Toby Jones (voice of Dobby) and Ciarán Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore) are starring in a new production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London, England, and it's getting rave reviews so far! Jones portrays the titular character and Hinds features as Professor Serebryakov in the play, which will continue through May 2. You can purchase tickets online and check out the trailer and a few first-look images below.

 

 

Jones also sat down Tuesday with the Guardian for a chat he thinks you're absolutely going to hate.

Why are people so interested in what performers have to say? Actors talking about acting has to be one of the most appalling things to read. I mean, it makes you scream! It's just... well, it's not something you can sort of really describe.

Of course, it's never boring to hear what gifted actors have to say about what drew them to their craft. For Jones, whose parents were actors, it was the art-reflects-life aspect. "It teaches you to learn - to watch, you know, to see patterns and rhythms in the world," he said. Jones also says he's thrilled - pragmatically so - to be portraying Uncle Vanya.

It's on the very, very short list of roles I've really wanted. It was the first Chekhov I read; it was the first Chekhov I saw. But I'm hesitant to say it's the role of a lifetime because that cuts off my supply of future roles.

In other Jones news, his BBC Two dark comedy Don't Forget the Driver, which he cowrites with friend Tim Crouch, has been renewed for a second season. Jones stars as beleaguered bus driver Peter Green. Six more episodes have been ordered, and we'll let you know as soon as an air date is released.

David Heyman was recently in attendance at the Producers Guild Awards as a double-nominee for Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and Marriage Story, and he joined his fellow nominees in sharing a few production tales at the event's annual breakfast.

The Hollywood Reporter says the producer had a story about Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino's efforts on behalf of the movie.

As we were nearing the start of production, we still didn't have Hollywood Boulevard locked down. That was pretty nerve-racking. Quentin volunteered to go down to speak to the City of Hollywood. [...] He's incredibly persuasive and incredibly passionate. He talked about how much this means to him - this story and Hollywood Boulevard itself. He persuaded them, and we were able to shoot.

Alexandre Desplat's (composer, final two Harry Potter films) score for Little Women - which starred Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) as Meg March - has been garnering plenty of praise and award nominations, and according to Billboard, we have Ziggy Stardust to partially thank for that. Desplat says director Greta Gerwig suggested "Mozart meeting Bowie" for the score, something he took to heart.

I think energy, pulse, melodies, joy and rhythm because Mozart has a lot of rhythm. And Bowie, of course, there's something pop about the art direction of this film. The way they dance - they don't dance like they would be in a period movie, with every movement tailored like it's 1867. [Gerwig] took the challenge of making them dance differently and have fun and be excited like kids nowadays would dance if they were 15 or 13. There's a youth about Mozart because we know Mozart was a child all his life, and for Bowie, there's something extravagant about him that we see in their characters - they went to be different, they all want to be artists... except for Meg, maybe.

Johnny Depp (Gellert Grindelwald) has never been one to turn down the chance to rock out or support a worthy cause, and the actor was on hand recently at Servite High School in Anaheim, California, for a Sweet Relief Musicians Fund fundraiser event. The actor/musician joined in on such tunes as "Taking Care of Business" and "Dancing with Myself," and you can check out footage from TMZ below.

 

 

DC fans were stunned and elated last week to see Ezra Miller's (Credence Barebone) Flash from the DCEU have a run-in with Grant Gustin's version of the character from The Flash television show on Crisis on Infinite Earths. Miller subsequently took to his Instagram stories to hilariously commemorate the unusual meeting of the two speedsters. His band, Sons of an Illustrious Father, shared the post on Twitter.

 

 

Dear Gay Nerd Twitter, Love Sons pic.twitter.com/NjS6OiH9bI

— Sons (@SonsOAIF) January 16, 2020

 

As MuggleNet previously let you know, Colin Farrell (Percival Graves) serves as narrator for the virtual-reality feature Gloomy Eyes, which tells the tale of a lonely zombie and his love for a human girl. HTC Vive's Viveport Developer Stories recently released a new video containing behind-the-scenes footage of Farrell at work.

 

 

 

 

All Creatures Great and Small, the memoir of country veterinarian James Alfred Wright (under the pen name James Herriot) that has twice previously been adapted for television, has a new incarnation upcoming. Considering the book's last foray into TV was in 1978, it's certainly due, and this new adaptation - produced by Sir Colin Callender (producer, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) – will include a six-part series and Christmas special. There's no projected air date just yet, but the series will air on PBS's Masterpiece with a fresh cast of which Callender approves.

This is an exceptional cast made up of a wonderful mix of exciting new and established talent. [...] We're thrilled to be bringing James Herriot's beloved characters back to life with Sam [West, Howards End], Anna [Madeley, In Bruges], Callum [Woodhouse, The Durrells in Corfu], Rachel [Shenton, Hollyoaks] and Nicholas [Ralph, The Ring].