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Theories Behind the New Harry Potter Film’s Delayed Release Date
15-Aug-2008
Written by: Ivana Cheong
The public is surprised and confused by the delay of the new film.
By now, news of Warner Bros. pushing back the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 21 to July 17 has spread worldwide. Every time a release date moves, all sorts of theories arise, and this time, it’s no different.
An obvious cause is the recent film industry strikes. According to BBC News, Warner Bros. wanted to ensure the studio has a major "tent pole" release next summer. Studio president Alan Horn also cited the recent Hollywood writers' strike and the effect it had on movies that were to have opened around that time.
But, as the L.A. Times wrote, “nobody has floated a more preposterous theory” than Roger Friedman, the showbiz writer for FOX News. He believes that the reason for the push was because they fear the association that Daniel Radcliffe has with the play, Equus.
Radcliffe and the rest of the Equus cast will bring the British play to Broadway this year. Since his stage debut last year, the Harry Potter main man has gotten plenty of controversy over the nudity he sports on stage.
Friedman says, “Radcliffe appears naked in the play, on stage, and has sex in it as well. That's not the image Warner Bros. wants associated with bespectacled Harry, who remains chaste and virginal. Indeed, posters for Equus are up all over New York, of Radcliffe's naked torso superimposed on a horse's head. This is not the sort of thing that's taught at Hogwarts. For the movie to open on Nov. 21, Radcliffe would have to do publicity entailing answering questions about blinding horses and having sex with them vs. flying around and making potions.”
The L.A. Times says that the theory is “hilariously New York-ocentric, as if Middle America were really riveted by what was happening on one stage in midtown Manhattan,” saying that by now, opposite sex relationships are no stranger to the Harry Potter plot.
The Times says that a better explanation for the move could be found in the Warner Bros.’ release schedule. Summer of 2009, the studio only has one big release, Terminator Salvation. Putting Half-Blood Prince in the summer could add more potential to the weak summer. According to Warner’s distribution chief, Dan Fellman, it also takes off the pressure from the jam-packed fall schedule, which has more movies than most studios release in an entire year.
Lastly, The Dark Knight has earned the studio more money than expected, thus they can afford to move Half-Blood Prince into the next year. As the Times says, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
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