WB Prez' Statement to Fans: Move 'Never Intended to Upset our Harry Potter Fans'
HBP Film
Alan Horn, the president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros., has issued another statement about the move of the Half-Blood Prince movie to July 2009; in this statement he addresses the fans directly (as far as we know, this statement has only been sent to fan sites) and says that the decision to move the film was “not taken lightly” and “never intended to upset Harry Potter fans.” He also says, “We know you have built this series into what it is.”
The full text is below:
‘Many of you have written to me to express your disappointment in our moving “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to Summer 2009. Please be assured that we share your love for Harry Potter and would certainly never do anything to hurt any of the films. Over the past 10 years, we have nurtured and protected each film, and the integrity of the books upon which they are based, to the best of our ability. The decision to move “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was not taken lightly, and was never intended to upset our Harry Potter fans. We know you have built this series into what it is, and we thank you for your ongoing enthusiasm and support. If I may offer a silver lining: there would have been a two-year gap between “Half-Blood Prince” and the much-anticipated first part of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which opens in November 2010. So although we have to wait a little longer for “Half-Blood Prince,” the wait from that film until “Deathly Hallows” will be less than 18 months. I am sorry to have disappointed you now, but if you hold on a little longer, I believe it will be worth the wait.’
“we share your love for Harry Potter” No they don’t, they only have a love of money. If they couldn’t have got the film ready in time then why the hell release the teaser trailer, especially saying to be released this year? I’d have understood if they hadn’t left it so late which just screams of trying to slot it into a Summer timeframe to make more money rather than worrying about getting the film right. All I can say is that the longer they wait the more audience they’ll lose. Kids are growing up and aren’t as interested anymore (especially after reading the books and knowing how the story ends), the people they’ll have to appeal to is the true fans, the majority of whom are much older and see the transparency of WB actions in cashing in and treating the fans so poorly. I wish New Line had been given the rights to these films. JK should have spent a lot longer choosing who would produce the films and been more careful (or maybe she never wanted the films to be as great as the books and she knew WB would give her that).