'Harry Potter' fan rebellion of 2008

Here's a short story I have in Saturday's Los Angeles Times:

Call it "Harry Potter and the Revolt of the Muggles."

A day after Warner Bros. announced that it would be pulling the sixth "Potter" film off of its Novemeber release schedule and instead releasing it next July to take advantage of skimpy competition in the summer, fans of the massively popular franchise were lighting up the Internet with their rage. Thousands of fans signed online petitions, others organized boycotts and assorted protests, and a vast number expressed their reaction with tears or clenched fists.

At Petitionspot.com, more than 12,000 fans had signed a demand that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," in post-production in London, be returned to the long-promoted November date. In comments posted, it was clear that Warner Bros. Chairman Alan Horn had, for a day at least, replaced Voldemort as the main villian in the hearts of "Potter" fans, who often call themselves Muggles, which means a nonmagical mortal in the Potter parlance.

Fans such as 25-year-old Brooklyn resident Patrick Allen promised marches on the corporate offices of Warner. "They are doing this for no other reason than to make more money," he wrote in an e-mail to The Times. "This is ridiculous, and I assure you that the millions of Harry Potter fans who have been looking forward to this release will not stand for it. We don't want to be pacified. We want the movie, as promised, this November."

The "Potter" films, based on the books of J.K. Rowling, have grossed more than $1.4 billion in the U.S. alone. As of press time, Rowling had not commented publicly on the postponement. Warner Bros. this summer released "The Dark Knight," now the second-highest grossing film ever, and "Half-Blood Prince" will now be released in that same mid-July slot next year.

There is a lot of anger over this move, and it's going to be interesting to see if there's a backlash against Warner. Denise Martin here at Hero Complex gave you the rundown Thursday on the early tumult, and it's just getting worse today. The problem is, what can fans really do? Certainly they could boycott the film, but I have to wonder if they will hold on to that kind of resolve between now and next summer. Also, some of the youngest fans of the movies just want to see it so badly that they will line up no matter what.

Where is J.K. Rowling on all this? David Heyman, the producer of the "Potter" films, told me during my set visit this year that he and Warner Bros. consult with the author and the key decisions about the franchise (she was, for instance, in favor of splitting the final book into two films, Heyman told me, and that move would not have been made without her assent).

There's so much fan-love for the franchise, Warner Bros. probably assumes that it can do this now, take some heat and then come back next summer with a massive success in a fairly wide-open summer because of the recent writers strike (so many films were postponed or called off that next summer will be the lagging indicator of that Hollywood shutdown).

That said, Warner Bros. might be playing with fire here by putting money ahead of its faithful consumers. As I said, there are a lot of angry people today. Here some e-mails I've gotten:

Geoff,

Horn's move makes no sense. Because The Dark Knight is so successful, he's going to space out the next Harry Potter movie because it's a guaranteed success? He's worried that he'll have a strong fiscal 2008 but fall short in 2009. Maybe a smart move for WB's stockholders but without loyal audiences, Warner Brothers wouldn't have anything to give their stockholders. Horn and Warner Brothers should focus on making better films instead of manipulating the numbers and manipulating their audiences/customers in the process. If I knew there was a chance that my seeing the latest Batman movie would delay the next Harry Potter film, I would have waited for Batman to come out on DVD or skipped it all together. Knowing this kind of blatent disregard for the movie goer is going to be the standard business practice for Warner Brothers will give me no option but to boycott future Warner Brother films.

Sincerely, Richard Lohrey

This one from Francois Tuvul:

You love your money not your fans! and we're not your fans we are Harry Potter fans, if it weren't for JK Rowling you would have never make a penny off Harry Potter!!  Bring it back to November 21st or we'll boycott your movies! We have 10,000+ signatures http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/harrypotter6/signatures/pg/1 And this from Allison Cardinal: Mr. Boucher- I think in the interest of two-sided journalism, it would be interesting if you went to a couple of dedicated Harry Potter fansite - my favorite being Mugglenet.com - read some of the comments that were posted about this article (not against your writing, but against the statements of WB) and write another article about how exactly the fans are responding to the WB's bull... attitude towards the series and the fans. Not only has the WB and David Heyman failed to produce films that merit the money it makes (and thankfully Hollywood hasn't also been blinded by the crappy film-making and awarded it any kind of acclaim it most certainly doesn't deserve) but it can't even keep 12 year olds happy. I, for one, would love to see the fans get a voice for once instead of the guy with a big paycheck and a publicist. Sincerely, Just a HP fan who mourns the day JKR gave rights to these people

And one Joanne Munie:

Hey Geoff,

Thanks for printing that article in the LA Times. It gave me a huge laugh
to hear what WB President Alan Horn had to say, wish I could believe a word
of anything that fell out of his mouth, but I don't.
It is much appreciated that the press is getting this story out -- I for one
am a very unhappy Potter fan today. I will go see the movie, but the luster
has worn off for me now. This was my favorite book and now I'm so
disappointed I can hardly stand it.

Thanks!
Joanne

Tony Tribby in Virgina had an interesting take:

Hi Geoff,

Next time you are speaking to a movie studio rep who is whining about money they lose to people downloading their films off the internet, you might want to point to actions like this as one of the reasons why.

Yes, they are a business, but they also must be aware that a large share of the revenue they reap from vehicles like the Harry Potter franchise is based on the intense loyalty of the fans--who can also choose to walk away when they are so blatantly reminded that, to the studio, all they are is a source of revenue. This move is going to chill the excitement of those fans, and I'd wager the resulting loss in repeat viewings is going to offset whatever revenue gains they expect to pick up by moving the film to next summer.

I also expect to see a petition soon where people will at the very least pledge to boycott the movie on opening weekend.

Tony Tribby
Alexandria, Virginia

These are just a few of the e-mails; there's a huge crush of them in my queue. Thanks for writing in, and we'll keep on top of this.

-- Geoff Boucher

RELATED All Hero Complex coverage of "Harry Potter" and the "Great Muggle Rebellion of 2008"

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Comments

[Sarah]

I'm from the UK and this film was due to premiere at our Royal film performance of 2008 (proceeds going to charity). That performance has been scrapped, now considering that advertising packages (for tickets to the premiere) cost between $9,000-$14,000, and tickets to the ajoining cinema (not even the one with the actors in) cost $400, and late night screenings $100.

Now the charity won't get this money, Warner Brothers are basically making a large donation and than asking for it back. isn' that an Awful thing to do? Plus the charity have to find a film last minute which won't raise nearly as much money (tickets usually cost $100, Harry Potter was an exception), and they have to refund everybody who has already purchased a ticket. This is not morally right!!!

[Viurre]

WB obviously does not care what fans want. They only do what they want. Harry Potter films have a solid fan base, and can guarantee a certain amount of money made whenever they are released. If any films should be boycotted by HP fans, it should be "anything else WB comes out with in the next year," not HBP (not that I think a real fan would anyway). And I mean anything. Plus, send WB a snail mail Howler. Or ten. Physical mail is harder to ignore. Anyone who feels like this is whining is obviously not a fan. WB is just a fan of money.

[steve lubbesmeyer]

May be this will all work out for the better, maybe while the movie is on the shelf it will catch on fire. Better yet, I would like to help the energy crises by collecting all the hp movies and books and burning them to make electricity. It might help relieve the evil poison that is inflictiing our childrens minds.

[Isaac]

Yes! An opening-weekend boycott sounds perfect. Because fans will obviously HAVE TO SEE IT ANYWAY, they can, but while still doing damage to WB. HBP definitely was not my favorite book, but it still pisses me off that they think they can jerk around with the people who pay their checks.

[Sarah]

WB sucks. It's one thing to move a movie back a little, but 6 - 9 months is completely ridiculous!

[Harrison]

The Answer is simple
BOYCOTT BATMAn
If the movie plummets in one week, Warner Brothers wil understand

[harry]

If you were smart (mad fans), the day of the movie release just find the torrent on line and post it on the fan sites so all the fans can download it and really hurt the WB bottom line. It will be on DVD eventually and like my wife said who cares I already read the books.

[Big Bob]

Has JKR been interviewed regarding this Warner tactic? I for one would be interested in hearing her reaction. Bluntly (IMHO), if anyone can make Warner reverse it's position, that person would be JKR.

[Jackie]

No 'Clone Wars' tonight. Body of Lies, Towelhead, Rockn'Rolla...who needs it? Oh I'll be at the "Half Blood Prince" 12:00 show but I'll give up the other stuff...EASY. I've got cable.

[Kelson]

They're not pushing back the filming schedule for Deathly Hallows, right? So delaying the release of this film won't change how old the stars are when they film the final chapter.

And really, by Hollywood standards they're still younger than most "teenagers" anyway.

[Judith]

It's really very simple how to get Warner Brothers attention. Quit going to ANY of their movies or buying any of their DVD's.......NOW !!!!! That will start getting their attention first. That is if they got any coming out here in the very near future. Then when Half Blood Prince comes out............don't knock each other down to go the first night in the theatre or the second night either. Let them wonder if it was wise to hold it back til 2009. Or, just take the lumps/grumble and wait til 2009. Cause unless there would be MASS loss of revenue/movie goers/DVD sales to the Warners movies, all the petitions in the world won't win by what is fair as opposed to their greed for money.

[lynnb.]

i will absolutely boycott all warner bros. movies. this is terrible, and i can't believe so many children and adults (like myself) are being put through this. It's like saying "the wedding cake is baked, but we'll freeze it for a year". Unacceptable mr. warner bros.

[Kitty]

Screwing over generations of Harry Potter/ JK Rowling fans is the stupidest thing WB could do. And they will, no doubt, pay for it in the long term.
What a bunch of total wankers.

Boycott and petition on. They should hear all the fans' displeasure.

[Rhonin]

Idiots. This is just the publicity they were looking for before they release the film. Wanna bet it releases in November??

[Roger]

As an average fan of the series (I loved the books, the movies are just OK) this is enough to make me not see it. In fact, I will download it off the internet and I never do that.

It would be different if they never gave the November date, but they did. This just shows how greedy WB is and, as a consumer getting screwed over, I choose to screw them back by downloading their movie rather than paying for it. I love the big screen experience and never download movies but I feel WB deserves this. You can't blatently screw over fans for more money and not expect backlash.

[Rhonda Michael]

I have to say that while I understand the fact the WB is a for profit entity, I also realize that it is the consumers that brings in that profit. What I would like to hear is what J.K. Rowling thinks about this. It would be interesting to see if she agrees with the idea of a push back or not. As much as I hate to say it, I am reminded of how the gas prices are like this in a way. We yelled and fussed about the prices going up on gas but at the same time we continued to pump away and fill our tasks even when it cost $50. People are disappointed and need a venue to voice their concerns, and yes most will go see the movie. To some people it's just a movie but to others this is what they have grown up with. With the end of the books and only 3 more movies left to view it is an end of an era for those who have been with the series since it came out.

[kb]

I don't know what they are smoking over there at Warner, but whatever exec made that decision will go down in the history books for killing off the Harry Potter film franchise. morons.

[Alex]

Ahh, bib-dribblers and spoon-clangers unite! Stamp your foot, hold your breath and cry rivers of useless tears: you will *not* boycott anything, you *will* see the movies, the studio will not suffer because 10,000 crybabies won't get their toys this holiday season.

That is the fact of living with the capitalist beast called globalization; we're all consumer whores and we ain't gonna give up anything no matter how many times corporations do what they want. So shut up and merely change the release date on your iCal program.

[Harry]

We will be boycotting everything WB!

Please join us at http://hpagainstthewb.110mb.com or http://myspace.com/hapagainstthewb

[Gene Surber]

This totally sucks! Shame on you Warner Bros! i know a little girl who has been waiting all year for this film, excited because it was to release on her birthday. And you put money before the fans of Harry Potter???!!! i promise that i WILL NOT go see this movie in the summer. i will instead order it from Netflix and watch it at home, period.

[Kat]

To those saying that WB wont even blink if 12,000 less people see movie 6, what you have to remember is that people like me normally see the film 20-30+ times opening weekend. For movie 3 I saw it at every available time slot for my theatre!! Sounds crazy I know, but some hard core fans do that and here's one fan that will NEVER pay WB another pound if I can avoid it. I feel disgusted for having encouraged loads of non-Potter mates to go see the movies with me, sometimes in groups of 40! NEVER AGAIN WB...NEVER AGAIN!

[LemonFaerie]

I am a 40 year old mother of three, and a huge HP fan. I am a daily regular on The Leaky Cauldron.org and part of a group of about 40 people who met there and have become friends through our Harry Potter obsession. We are all furious by this decision. The rage is building, not lessening. WB has seriously underestimated the power of the firestorm they have created with this move.

We are organizing and coming together to plan strategy. There are already facebook and MySpace sites up to fight this. We'll have lists of everything related to WB, their partners and their subsidiaries, merchandise, TV shows, events, magazines, everything to avoid for the boycott. The movie itself will be boycotted for the first full week by all of the members and boycotted completely by many, to make sure that WB does NOT see the huge profits they are anticipating from this film. We plan to hit them where it hurts: their wallets. They cannot betray the biggest and most loyal fan base ever in this manner and not feel the repercussions of their actions.

For all of those people who think that the serious HP fans need to "get a life" or "live in the real world" let me explain something: For many of us, the "real world" SUCKS. Harry Potter is our escape, the place we are happiest and where we can retreat from the things we are dealing with in our "real lives" for a space of time. Many of us have been looking forward to this film as the only bright spot in a horrible year. They have yanked that away from us, AFTER the dates were set, AFTER they finally gave us the trailer with the proper release date listed on it, AFTER the set pictures and promotions finally began. They even canceled the charity screening. All for the sake of making a few more dollars. It is reprehensible.

HP fans will NOT suck this up and go see it anyway. Oh, sure, some of them will. But this move was the last straw to a lot of people who were pretty upset with WB already, for holding the trailer and set pictures so long, etc. Money drives all trains, that is true, but WB is going to find out this money train is not going to be as full as it would have been if they hadn't angered their fandom. We are not just boycotting HBP, we are boycotting ALL WB films, plus the ones from their other, smaller companies like New Line. Those of you who think that a fan rebellion will have no impact are being naive. Where does their money come from? The fans! The 12,000+ signatures on that one petition are just a small part of the fandom. Remember the Christmas backlash when stores wouldn't allow their employees to say "Merry Christmas" or to put up "Merry Christmas" signs? They caved pretty darn quick when people started avoiding them to go to other stores with a Merry Christmas message. The same thing can and will happen here. This is market driven and we are the market. The consumers have the real power here, if they will just grab hold of it.

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Horn: yanking a movie millions of people are dying to see 98 days from it's release date is NOT the way you show your fans you "love us." Trying to "pacify" us now with pictures we are far too angry to appreciate anymore is a mistake. It just makes us angrier. I won't even look at them, or the articles or anything else, so the effort is wasted. You have screwed up. Big.

[Kevin]

Are they going to make enough to offset the bad publicity? Rule number 1 is to keep the golden-egg-laying goose happy.

[Raging_Anon]

I think it's more an issue of Stephenie Meyer than Warner Bros. I assume it's fine now to say that Meyer has stripped the Harry Potter franchise of what dignity it had left so her precious half-baked Twilight movie could get released at an earlier date. I call a Rowling/Meyer conspiracy. Twilight also looks like a bad Direct-to-DVD or ABC Family original movie and shouldn't be getting a wide release like this in the first place.

[Pie-piem]

Though HBP isn't my most fave movie to watch(coz there's spoiler for us,Ron&Hermione shipper),but i was really shock to hear this news.Not just bcoz we'll have to wait 8 months,but what i can't accept is if DH would be delayed too.More than 3 years await?