Our partners at Omelete were at the international press day for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (a film that has received intense love from trusted critics which makes me wish that I could see it right now), and they received confirmation speculation that Bill Nighy, who had already noted that he would be in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", would play Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour.

I held off on reporting that rumor not because I doubted its veracity as much as I wanted to leave the door open for Nighy playing Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna Lovegood's father and a small but pivotal role in the final "Harry Potter" book.  Nevertheless, I think Nighy will be fantastic as Scrimgeour and I look forward to his performance (although, if in a radical plot change, he's bitten by a werewolf, he must say "I'll be fine.  I ran it under a cold tap.").

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" opens July 15th.  Parts 1 and 2 of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" are set to open on November 19, 2010 and July 15, 2011, respectively.