Hell has no fury like a nerdlinger scorned. Warner Bros. is finding this out with a quickness thanks to vexed Harry Potter obsessives angered with the studio for pushing back “Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince” from a November 2008 release to summer 2009. Most believe the reason for such a push back is the fact that WB has a lack of mainstream tent-pole films scheduled for next summer, i.e. capitalistic reasons that have nothing to do with the magical wonder of Harry Potter.
Fans are apparently outraged and casting all kinds of evil Wiccan spell on Warner Bros. for this economy over “art” scheduling change. So much heat and fan indignation has hit WB, that their president Alan Horn (pictured above; he’s been in the press a lot lately) has responded and written fans a letter of explanation apology. The letter is rather hilarious and much like Horn talking down to a 15-year-old kid holding a baseball bat while he’s unarmed. Our favorite part is “Please be assured that we share your love for Harry Potter and would certainly never do anything to hurt any of the films.” Oh, lol. The rest continues as such.
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.
Gee, this is surely going to satisfy all those pissed off fans, huh? Worth the wait? Oh shit dude, it better be or Potter-ites are going to come to your house and crucify you personally. First off, you’re the chief responsible for pushing back Spike Jonze’s “Where The Wild Things Are,” secondly you’re the guy that wants to sell off Guy Ritchie’s “Rock N Rolla,”cause it’s too British and not commercial enough. So now you have the geeks (Potter), the fanboys, (Richie) and the hipster indie crowd (Jonze) all calling for your blood. Oh, let’s not forget they geeks also hate WB because they didn’t dot their I’s and cross their T’s legally and now Fox is suiing “Watchmen,” potentially fucking up the release (if they pay out the ass, that’ll threaten Snyder’s chances at a longer cut). Dude, you’re persona non grata right now. We’d lay low if we were you. Take that to heart and maybe hire extra security while you’re at it.