It's hard to believe that, by the end of 2011, the full collection of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books will have been committed to film. It's been a staggering effort on the part of the producers, holding together (for the most part) a cast of talented actors who truly bring Rowling's magical world of wizarding schools, fantastic creatures and ancient evil to life.

This isn't to say that "Potter" has been without change. Michael Gambon stepped into the role of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore out of necessity after the tragic loss of Richard Harris. And by the end of the eight-volume series -- "Deathly Hallows" will be split into two -- there will have been four directors: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and, most recently, David Yates. It's not terribly surprising to learn that Narcissa Malfoy actor Helen McCrory, speaking to Rotten Tomatoes, thinks Yates' time with series has been particularly "special." Her reasoning certainly drives the point home as to why so many fans agree with her however. Read more...

I'm pleased to report that things are back to status quo. Last week's top stories were relatively free of "Twilight" news but we're back on track this week thanks to the barrage of images and news that emerged. We'll get to that in a minute though. First let's wrap up the weekly box office poll.

There was a big voter turnout this week, though nearly all of your votes went to one of the two horror releases: "Halloween II" and "The Final Destination." Rob Zombie's flick edged out "Destination," with 60% of the vote compared to the other's 38%. The remaining 2% is spread across the rest of the choices, with no clear leader among them. Now that that's out of the way, let's see what your clicks favored... Read more...

Ted Kennedy's passing this morning certainly didn't leave the Twitter-Wood feed untouched. I made my best attempt to summarize the spectrum of reactions today some retweets from Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Nealon.

It was also a massive photo-posting day for some reason. And when it came down to choosing between Shaquille O'Neal in a Speedo and Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Conan" sword, which in now housed at his California office, the hairs of choice were not easily split. Click on down there, and you'll find both of them, along with Warwick Davis' commentary on leaving his role as Filius Flitwick to replace Verne Troyer as Griphook the Goblin in "Harry Potter in the Deathly Hallows." Also, the lovely Emma Roberts talks bikinis. It's all in the Twitter-Wood report for August 26, 2009. Read more...

As most magic-loving Muggles know, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- the final installment in J.K. Rowling's seven book series -- will be split into two pieces for its upcoming movie adaptation. There have long been suggestions and assumptions about where that split might lie. Last we heard, director David Yates had "three or four different ideas" about where the break should be.

Now we have what looks to be confirmation, though it's important to remember the old adage that "looks can be deceiving" in this particular case. Joshua Herdman, who plays Slytherin crony Goyle in the films, broke the news in a Q&A held in the UK several weeks ago. "Potter" fansite MuggleNet is quick to point out that "the director and producers have made it clear that they could very well change" the split point, so take all of this for what it's worth. Be warned, there's also a moderate spoiler, unrelated to the split point, in Herdman's comments. Read more...

Cinemash creator Kashy Khaledi has been enjoying himself lately. Clearly. Just look at all of the great classic film send-ups he's delivered for Mean Magazine's Cinemash series: "Training Day," "Dirty Dancing," "Oldboy" and, most recently, "Carrie."

Fan films flourish across the Internet thanks to the ease and popularity of video recording and sharing. Khaledi's Mean Magazine contributions, a partnership with Microsoft, stand out primarily because of the talent populating them: Will Arnett, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Common, Milo Ventimiglia, Channing Tatum, Charlyne Yi... well-known personalities. To celebrate the end of the first "season," Khaledi took some time out to speak with MTV contributor Jenni Miller about the future of Cinemash. And of course, she could resist asking any possible "New Moon"-related plans.... Read more...

Warner Bros. has unofficially confirmed that they will be re-releasing the "Harry Potter" movies on home video in extended form. RopeofSilicon discovered this while looking through the latest MPAA ratings decisions, which included the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Extended Version),” listed with a PG rating. Curious, the site contacted WB and found out that there are indeed plans for “special upcoming releases” of the entire series.

Now the question on every Potter fan’s mind is, will these re-releases actually include never-before-seen footage? It's easy to be skeptical, considering that the movies haven’t been filmed in a way that would allow for much to be left on the cutting room floor -- unlike the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which similarly pilfered extra cash out of fans’ pockets with extended versions that featured more than 30 additional minutes worth of footage in each installment. Read more...

San Diego Comic-Con has sadly preempted some of my daily features here on MTV Movies Blog (sorry Prop-Watch, Around the Blogosphere), but the avalanche of coverage makes this a good week to launch a new one. Every Friday, I'll be running through the preceding week's top stories (Friday through Friday, FYI) on MTV Movies Blog. As you might expect, a lot of the most clicked content for the week relates in some way to San Diego Comic-Con. Don't take my word for it though; let's let the list tell the tale.

Counting down of course...

#10 "Tron Legacy" Panel Report Fresh From San Diego Comic-Con -- Just as the title suggests, one of our writers on the ground at Comic-Con runs through the highlights of the "Tron Legacy" panel. Read more...

Editor's note: A tech SNAFU left Twitter-Wood unpublished last night, so you all get TWO helpings today.

Emmy Rossum tweeted a pic from her seat at the Blink-182 concert last night in Los Angeles, which seems to have worn out her eardrums judging by her morning-after posts. The show was a popular topic for her and other celebs, like "The Hills" star Lauren Conrad who also managed to get in.

Elsewhere in the Twitter-Wood feed, folks are still talking about the moon landing anniversary. Kevin Nealon pondered the topic with some thoughtful space-travel insight. As for everyone else, the topic of the week is San Diego Comic-Con, starting tomorrow, which Richard Kelly is preparing for and Lloyd Kaufman will be roasted at without James Gunn in attendance. Check out details on all of these developments, as well as production updates on "Eclipse" from David Slade and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" from Tom Felton. It's all below in the Twitter-Wood report for July 21, 2009. Read more...

The “Harry Potter” franchise hasn’t just launched the careers of young stars like Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson. It’s also given a swath of venerable British elder statesmen a chance to flex their witch-and-wizard muscles. Over the years, “Potter” films have featured the heavyweight talents of Kenneth Branagh, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Julie Christie, Julie Walters, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Jim Broadbent and others.

However, English-born acting legend Bill Nighy didn’t slip into Hogwarts during the first six films, and he was starting to think he never would. “I was beginning to settle on the idea that I would be the only English actor of a certain age who wasn’t in ‘Harry Potter,’” he told MTV News while promoting the animated guinea pig adventure story, “G-Force.”

Recently, Nighy was cast as Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. Check out the video hear the actor talk about the role and the “serious crash course” he’s embarked upon to get up to speed on “Potter” lore.

Daniel Radcliffe, star of this week's summer mega-hit "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," sat down with MTV's Josh Horowitz last week for a press junket. We've known for awhile now that "Deathly Hallows," the final book in the series, would be split up into two parts for its silver screen adaptation. So Josh is understandably curious to hear what the young actor has to say about potential titles being tossed around for the two-part finale.

I'm not going to spoil it; just watch the video.