In the December 7 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Harry Potter producer David Heyman is ranked as the ninth smartest man in Hollywood.

JK Rowling has donated a signed copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to the Trefoil House, a charity in Edinburgh. The book will be raffled as part of the organisation's annual "Christmas Bonanza".

JK Rowling was awarded for her "Outstanding Contribution to Children's Writing" at the 2007 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards last month. List.co.uk reports that actress Joan Collins presented the award to Rowling. Congratulations, Jo!

JK Rowling's official website has been updated to wish the eldest Weasley sibling, Bill, a happy birthday.

A drawing by Harry Potter actress Katie Leung (Cho Chang) was recently auctioned off in Edinburgh to raise money for the Prince's Trust, a charity which aims to benefit young people. According to The Scotsman, Leung's drawing fetched £960 ($1,974) for the charity. You can read comments from Leung about her drawing by clicking here.

The seventh and final copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling's hand-written collection of wizarding fairytales, is on display in New York this week. The folks over at ABC's Good Morning America in NY managed to get their hands on the manuscript for a few minutes this morning and previewed it live on-air. During the preview, the hosts examined the manuscript, gave details about it, and even read a few pages from it. You can see a recording of the preview here thanks to HPANA. Remember that The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be auctioned off December 13 at Sotheby's in London, with proceeds benefitting The Children's Voice.

The first official image from Ballet Shoes, the BBC One feature-length film starring Emma Watson, can be seen over at Watson's official website. Also at Watson's site, fans can read new info straight from the BBC which sums up the story and clarifies the full cast. Both the image and info are available at this link. Ballet Shoes is slated to air on BBC One sometime this Christmas.

MTV has a new interview online with Toby Jones, the actor who voiced Dobby in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In the interview, Jones gives credit to the CGI wizards over at Industrial Light and Magic for helping inhabite Dobby, and also mentions that he is "amazed and flattered" by how much Dobby has endured despite his absence from the films.

A quick reminder that the seventh and final copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling's hand-written collection of wizarding fairytales, will go on public display this week at Sotheby's in New York. The manuscript will be available on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. It will also go on public display at Sotheby's in London in early December, just before it is auctioned off on December 13. Click here or here to learn more about The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Sun Media has released two new reports from the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD launch which took place earlier this month. In the first report, director David Yates, producer David Heyman and actress Imelda Staunton praise Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint for their professionalism and dedication, adding that director Chris Columbus deserves "huge credit" for casting such "remarkable children" for the trio. The first report also contains quotes from the trio about topics ranging from extra work they did on the Order of the Phoenix DVD to what the HP franchise has meant to them.

J.K. Rowling has been named Entertainment Weekly's 2007 Entertainer of the Year. EW said, "J.K. Rowling is our Entertainer of the Year because she did something very, very hard, and she did it very, very well, thus pleasing hundreds of millions of children and adults very, very much." You can read more of what they had to say by clicking here. Congrats, Jo!

Warner Home Video, Microsoft, and MSN UK launched a new competition for UK residents earlier today to mark the release of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD in the UK. The winner of the competition will be granted a walk-on part in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. To enter, click here and answer the question correctly. A different question will be displayed each week from now until December 20, which means you will have multiple chances to enter.

A regional UK newspaper is reporting that 12 year-old Ashley Whitehead has been cast an orphan in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The article notes that Whitehead is a member of the Showbiz Academy, a talent agency in the UK that teaches acting, singing, and dancing. You can see a scan of the article at this link.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the set of fairytales written by JK Rowling, will be shown on display in New York and London. Jo created seven copies of the special collection - six will be given to family and friends involved closely with the Harry Potter saga, and one will be auctioned off for charity. The auction, which will take place on December 13, is expected to fetch over $100,000. To read more about the public display of the manuscript, click here.

In an interview with MTV, actor Kenneth Branagh chats about the character he played in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Branagh joked that he would have liked to have seen Lockhart make an appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and expressed some disappointment that Lockhart was cut from the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Warner Bros. has released a new behind-the-scenes clip from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which shows some of the wizardry used to create the film's Thestral flight. You can watch the short clip by clicking here.

Katie Leung, the actress who plays Cho Chang in the Harry Potter films, has been voted the "hottest" Scotswoman in the country. Leung topped the female list, whilst the male list was headed by David Tennant (Barty Crouch, Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). The list was compiled and voted on by a panel of experts.

In keeping with tradition, ABC Family in the US will air the first three Harry Potter films as part of their '25 Days to Christmas' special. Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone will air at 7:30 PM on November 30, Chamber of Secrets will air at 7 PM on December 1, and Prisoner of Azkaban will air at 6 PM on December 2. Enjoy!

As we previously told you, Warner Bros. was on location at a Surbiton train station this past weekend to film scenes for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Harry Potter Xperts has let us know that a set report written in German is now online at this link. You can click here to read an English translation of the entire set report.

Additional details on special features exclusive to the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix HD DVD have surfaced at The Look and Sound of Perfect. See below for more about the HD DVD's In-Movie Experience and three web-enabled features (Pick Your Favorite Scenes, Live Community Screenings, Mobile Downloads).