If you please, let me indulge in a little bit of geekery here. In recent years, fan-following for movies, TV shows and similar pleasures has changed quite radically. (I personally blame the internet.) Where once a fan’s only role was to consume the offered product, they now voice their opinions on it, often quite loudly, and some studios and film-makers are even listening. Back when the original Star Wars films were released, there was a huge cry of outrage when George Lucas (Attention, discussion of plot points in a 30 year old movie follows!) digitally altered the pivotal confrontation of Han Solo by Greedo. You see, Solo shoots Greedo, but in the “new and improved” version, Greedo first fires upon Solo. Star Wars fans the world over were outraged, but what could they do? Very little, apparently, because to this day this is the only version of the film people are able to buy, rent or see in some other way - unless they want the bad picture quality of old VHS tapes. And George Lucas just has a way of alienating the Star Wars fanbase - which is, incidentally, probably the biggest and most vocal fanbase existing today - that is by now legendary. Remember Jar-Jar Binks?
Still, people flocked to theatres to see the new Star Wars films, minding very little that they were absolute rubbish.
Would the same be possible today, with the importance of the internet and the great ways of organizing fans it provides? I would have thought not. Today, the ones making the movies (or other popular entertainment) actually have to listen to their fans. Just take for example the great following that Joss Whedon’s TV show Firefly garnered - even after it was cancelled, fans talked about little else and did everything possible to keep it on the air. Fox didn’t budge, but Universal did. They handed Whedon $50 million to make a movie - Serenity. Sure, the film was a commercial failure, but at least it got made. Similarly, many cancelled TV shows were renewed after fans showed their support - by bothering the studios until they caved.
The most recent example once again is Star Wars themed - and probably the best example to show how much things have changed in just ten years. There is a film called Fanboys that deals with Star Wars fans eager to see Episode One before its release. Why? Because one of them is dying of cancer and it is the only chance he’s got to see the film. But the production company, The Weinstein Company, didn’t like that story. They wanted to cut out the whole cancer subplot and, or so I was led to believe, in general make the movie a silly joke about Star Wars nerds. But guess what? Star Wars nerds - and I use that term in the best possible sense - protested. They protested and protested and protested. They renamed Harvey Weinstein Darth Weinstein. They boycotted other releases by the studio. And they voiced their opinion loud and clear all over the internet. Until recently it was announced that Fanboys would finally be released and that it would be the original cut. Fans - not just Star Wars fans, but all movie fans - worldwide celebrated.
If there is only fan group that is as big and as organized as Star Wars fans, it is probably Harry Potter fans. 10 years with seven books brought millions of people worldwide together. And now that the books are all published and the story is finished, more and more of the fans’ attention is brought onto the movies. The previous installments in the franchise range from abysmally bad (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) to surprisingly good (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), although true fans will both disagree with the notion of a bad Potter film and tell you, that the books are actually much better. (Isn’t that always the case?) But no matter how organized and powerful Potter fans are, Warner Bros., the studio behind the movies, doesn’t seem to mind aggravating them just to make a few more bucks. And Potter fans don’t really seem to mind - they are just happy for every bone they’re thrown.
First, WB announced that the final instalment in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, would be split in two. The reason they gave was, of course, creative necessity. Now, maybe I missed something, but if you can make Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by far the longest book in the series, into a two hour movie, shouldn’t you be able to make a shorter book into a single movie - even if it takes two and a half or even three hours? Of course you should. But you see, Harry Potter has been a cashcow for WB for quite a few years and they are afraid of ending the franchise. And what better way to go out then with a completely unnecessary eight movie that can be produced for a fraction of the cost of a normal movie and will make another billion dollars. Two movies for the price of one - and I thought that offer only applied to DVD buyers.
What was the fans’ reaction to this? Mostly, they were excited. They don’t want things to end either. They are happy, as I’ve said before, for every bone they’re thrown. Who cares that it is virtually impossible to seperate Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two stories? Who cares that they are being ripped off by WB every inch of the way? Who cares that they are being lied to - and the smarter ones (or at least the ones more honest with themselves) know it. Harry Potter fans worldwide have united for a number of things - from ridiculous (on WB’s part) like the photoshopped posters increasing the actresses’ breasts to admirable like the efforts to help the people in Darfur. Only when it comes to what truly unites them, they apparently can’t stand united.
And now WB has done it again. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth film, was slated for release in November of this year. Today, WB announced that they would push it back to July 2009. Why? To make more money - or, to put it into the studio’s terms, “to reach the widest possible audience”. Sure, it’s understandable. For whatever reason (people say it is because of the WGA strike), the schedule for Summer 2009 is rather empty of what is termed “blockbusters”. Sure, they can make more money by building up tension even more. Sure, their profit in 2008 will be through the roof thanks to The Dark Knight, while they have very few promising films for 2009. But aren’t they afraid of the fans’ backlash?
They aren’t. And why should they? What can the fans do? Write angry letters? Voice their disappointment and anger on message boards? Boycott other WB releases? I’m pretty sure that WB would really only care about the last idea - if only there were movies that the fans could actually boycott. Too bad WB’s slate is so empty. Of course, there is one other options: Harry Potter fans could just refrain from seeing the next Harry Potter movie(s). But since they are fans, they won’t. They will flock to theatres just like Star Wars fans did for Episode One. Mabye things haven’t changed all that much. I just wish The Dark Knight had been released here earlier, so that I didn’t have to flock to theatres next week to finally see it. Being a fan is hard.
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