Watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this weekend (liked it, but for whatever reason it didn't involve me nearly as much as the others), it occurred to me that the Harry Potter franchise has been cast better than just about any film series I can think of. Employing nearly every great British actor, what I see on the screen almost always matches what I had in my imagination reading the books. Well Potter fans, the perfect casting continues. Naomi Watts has just signed on to play Narcissa Malfoy in next year's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Narcissa Malfoy is the wife of Lucius Malfoy, mother of Draco Malfoy, sister of Bellatrix LeStrange and Andromeda Tonks, and the cousin of Sirius Black. Should it make me sad that I didn't have to look that up?

Narcissa is described as a tall, slim, pale, blue-eyed blonde. She's also quite snobby -- when Harry meets her, he considers her to have "a look that suggested there was a nasty smell under her nose." Watts just couldn't be a better fit for this part, although I wonder if Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow were considered too. I'll take Watts over all of them for one reason: Mulholland Drive. She's one of my favorite actresses, and always interesting to watch. The Narcissa character made her first appearance in the fourth Harry Potter book, Goblet of Fire, but she didn't make it into the film adaptation. I'd imagine they locked Watts down for Deathly Hallows too -- haven't read it yet, but I hear she plays an important role in that one. Joseph Fiennes (brother to Voldemort himself, Ralph) and Stuart Townsend have also signed on for the sixth Potter film, although it is not yet known what roles they will play. Feel free to voice your guesses below.

Will the overlap between the fans of the Harry Potter book series harm the popularity of the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory movie debut this weekend? The Wall Street Journal suggests that this could be the case, with people certainly making their way to bookstores in the pre-midnight hour on Friday night instead of going to the movie theater as they await their pre-ordered Half-Blood Prince.

It is interesting, as Warner Bros. is the studio behind both the Potter films and Charlie, so you might have thought they'd realize the impact a film of this size could have, especially with the popularity of some of today's recent remakes. So howabout you, fair Cinematical readers (okay, the tanned ones too) - will you be doing double duty this weekend, or choosing Wonka bars over Muggles?