WB Responds to Fan Freakout Over 'Harry Potter' Delay
Warner Brothers President Alan Horn has issued an official statement in response to the backlash over the moving of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November to July. Apparently we were all way off, and the decision was not made because of money. It's more about rationing out our dwindling supply of nature's most precious non-renewable resource, child wizard movies:
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.
Alan Horn
President, Chief Operating Officer
Warner Bros.
Why does this sound so much like a parent explaining a divorce to a kid? "Don't worry, Daddy still loves Mommy, and would never do anything to hurt her. We've tried to the best of our ability for the last ten years, but it just isn't working out. We never meant for this to hurt you. And look at it this way: now you'll get two Christmases! Only one will be much later, and unfortunately your mom's new friend 'Chad' will be at one." If I cared about Harry Potter movies, I would not feel better about this.
WB's Alan Horn Addresses Harry Potter Fans [ComingSoon]