Harry Potter has got to end sometime, and by "sometime" I mean in less than three years when the second cinematic half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sees release. And some people would like to still have a career when that happens, thank you very much. To that end, Rupert Grint -- a.k.a. Ron Weasley -- has taken a role in an indie film called Cherry Bomb, which sounds about as far from Harry Potter as you can get without developing an erotic fixation on horses.

The film, written by acclaimed playwright Daragh Caville, focuses on three teens who set out for a wild weekend of drugs, sex and crime only to see it escalate into something far more serious than they imagined. It co-stars relative unknowns Robert Sheehan and Kimberley Nixon, and is set for release next year.

While Daniel Radcliffe has tried more extreme methods of branching out (mainly by taking that infamous role in Equus, which is coming to Broadway per the above link) and Emma Watson hasn't done very much at all (she voices a character in this year's The Tale of Despereaux, but that seems to be it), Grint has spent what spare time he has toiling away in indieville. Cherry Bomb was preceded by the reasonably well-received and much less racy Driving Lessons, about a troubled boy's friendship with a retired actress.

After presenting The Spirit at last month's New York Comic-Con, Lionsgate feels good enough about Frank Miller's solo directorial debut to move it from its January 16th dead zone of a release date to Christmas Day, 2008. So instead of going up against Mall Cop, starring Kevin James as a wacky security guard, and the Notorious B.I.G. biopic, The Spirit will face off against Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories, the supposedly ultra-heartwarming Marley & Me, The Tale of Despereaux, and the aftershocks of Twilight and The Day the Earth Stood Still.

"Adult" Christmas counterprogramming has not traditionally fared too well. Last year's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem actually did okay, but remember Black Christmas? No? What about Darkness? The move is indeed a vote of confidence, but it might up throwing the film to the wolves. The key is to position it as a prestige picture rather than a throwaway. There's been enough fanfare around the promotional materials released thus far to make that look like a possibility. If Lionsgate can put it on people's radar in advance as a Christmas Movie to See, rather than have it randomly show up to compete against the holiday heavy-hitters, it could work.

Take a look at the trailer for The Spirit here.

I'm not sure what it is about these animated features (Easy paycheck? No make-up? They can work in their pajamas?), but everyone who is anyone shows up to lend their voice. Case in point: Universal has snagged one helluva cast for The Tale of Despereaux, based on Kate DiCamillo's award-winning children's book.

Story interwines the fates of three misfits: a banished mouse, a rat who loves the light and a young servant girl with cauliflower ears. Joining the pic's cast are -- deep breath -- Justin Long (as the mouse, Despereaux), Dustin Hoffman (as the rat), Tracey Ullman (as the young girl), Kevin Kline (as a cook for the king who is also banished), Robbie Coltrane (as a palace jailer), Ciarán Hinds (as the devilish leader of the sewer rats), Christopher Lloyd (as an old, blind mouse), William H. Macy (as Despereaux's father), Stanley Tucci (as a genie) and last, but certainly not least, is Sigourney Weaver (as the narrator).

Mike Johnson (Corpse Bride) will direct, while Gary Ross (Pleasantville) will pen the script. Currently, Universal is eying a late 2008 release. Though its cast isn't as grand, Pixar hits theaters this summer with their own mouse tale, Ratatouille.