According to an article due out in Forbes Magazine’s November issue titled “Holding Up Hollywood; Special-effects makers love the ‘free’ Linux operating system”, special effects for the Harry Potter movies are created using the Open Source OS: Most of Hollywood’s big special-effects and animation companies now use Linux. DreamWorks, maker of Shrek and Sinbad, boasts …read more!

According to The Scotsman, actor Ewan McGregor “refuses to read the [Harry Potter] books to his children, Clara, 8, and Esther, 2, because they do not make good bedtime reading.” He opts instead for Lemony Snicket.

Emma Thompson will appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday, November 12th. According to the site, she will be speaking about “Love Actually”; there is no indication that she’ll speak about PoA. Please see the site for times. Thanks, Marie!

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live will feature guest Alan Rickman on November 12th. Please see the site for times.

The new Peter Pan trailer features plenty of Jason Isaacs’ chilling wickedness as Captain Hook. Thanks for the link, Laurie.

The Dutch translation of OotP, entitled Harry Potter en de Orde van de Feniks, will be released on Saturday, November 22. The cover, which we first saw back in July, was designed by Ien van Laanen and Anne Lammers. Thanks, Alexander!

Several TLC readers have reported to us that ex-soap actress Michelle Ang has auditioned for the part of Cho Chang in Goblet of Fire. We suggest that you take this with a grain of salt, as you have with previous rumors – Ang is five years older than Daniel Radcliffe, which, while possible, seems like …read more!

The Bushnell Instant Replay Binoculars (as featured by Popular Science) can capture 30 seconds of play and cost $600. Thanks for the link, Roger.

We’ve got some hi-res versions of the pics that have appeared this week from the movie – enjoy! Check out the gorgeous background in the Snape-Trio pic, and the first real clear shot of Lupin’s face in the Gambon pic. I left the one of the dementor-hand ridiculously huge so that you can see all …read more!

A recent study suggests that Harry Potter readers are far less stressed than Oprah viewers. New York Times best-selling author Hale Dwoskin, who commissioned the American telephone survey, says adults who said they are fond of the fictional character were 50% less likely to take medication to ease anxiety than Oprah fans. He also suggests …read more!