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HBP delayed til July 2009, part 2 |
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 Aug 17 2008, 05:31 PM
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Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes' best customer
Posts: 1,011
Joined: 8:39pm November 3, 2006
Location: Spying for the Order of the Phoenix
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QUOTE(SarahW @ Aug 17 2008, 04:11 PM)  I read the first 12 pages, then gave up - sorry if I repeat too much said in the intervening 35 odd pages!
Not a problem in the slightest. You've actually tried to put together a reasoned and thoughtful post on the subject instead of just whining or ranting.
QUOTE WB have moved the film to protect their year on year performance. It isn't because they think they'll make more money in the summer than in the winter, but because they want a large sure-fire blockbuster in 2009. The writers strike means that they have very little in the way of big films due next year, so they're holding HP6 back to fill the spot, and give them one guaranteed large blockbuster for 2009.
WB must have known for ages how empty the 2009 cupboard was. The minute they saw how well the Dark Knight performed, they should have ordered a freeze on all HBP promotion, while they considered their options. They should not have released the teaser trailer, the photos (not the latest ones to try to calm us down) and let EW go ahead with their latest spread. It was not just unnecessarily thoughtless to the fans, it made WB look downright incompetent - which they are. Not because they 'did me wrong' by moving the release date, but because they handled it so badly and with no interest in those who contribute to their shareholders profits.
I completely agree here, if it's true what you say about WB having a dearth of decent blockbusters in '09.
QUOTE However, this might backfire on them. Not so much because of the protests - they couldn't care less about the fans. That's not cynical, just realistic. (Not their fans by the way - who do they think they are?  Harry Potter has the fans, WB are a bunch of greedy, incompetent fools in suits - their fans indeed!). They're no doubt hoping it'll all blow over. They don't care how many protests are made, or petitions are signed. The only thing that'll get to them will be if their predicted windfall in July '09 doesn't come off, or they lose money.
And the fact that they expect a decent windfall in July after they've done this is ridiculous, but probably entirely realistic seeing as we the fans will see the damn thing anyway.
QUOTE The next would be for any companies with tie-in merchandising to sue WB for breach of contract, and they lose great chunks of that Dark Knight profit. It's ok for fans to lose money on flights/arrangements etc, but them? Oh No!
That would be loverly.
QUOTE Most likely is that people just won't care as much by July 2009. I don't mean people here. The fact that we've got user names on a Harry Potter Website indicates that we're more interested than most. That said, I've only seen the films once each at the cinema (I'm more a fan of the books) and was so unimpressed by the ridiculously abbreviated Order of the Phoenix, I was in two minds as to whether I'd see HBP at all.
I think we disagree on the quality of the OotP movie, and I was completely stoked for HBP. XD
QUOTE(MrCynical @ Aug 17 2008, 04:22 PM) If I could just put in a belated defence of WB. This hasn't got anything to do with the writer's strike. What they are worried about is that there is a very real possibility of an actors' strike between now and next summer. They aren't stating that openly as the reason for delaying HBP because showing fear would encourage the Screen Actor's Guild, but think about it. The films for next summer will be getting filmed between now and the Spring. If there is an actors' strike then WB could potentially be left with nothing to show next summer. That's the real reason HBP has been delayed - WB want to have a film waiting that they can show even if the actors do go on strike, so that the actors union won't have the same leverage against them.
An Actors' Strike? Do you have an actual source for this, or is this speculation? It sounds plausible, but I'd like to see for myself.
This post has been edited by Harry's Horntail: Aug 17 2008, 06:10 PM
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We'll miss you Sirius...   "Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?"-Ron Weasley |
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Aug 17 2008, 06:40 PM
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Just Through the Brick Wall
Posts: 15
Joined: 6:22pm January 28, 2005
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I believe I have read 49 pages of posts in the previous thread on this topic and a few ideas stand out to me as troublesome:
- We should be grateful to WB for making the films at all.
- Many fans don't believe they can wait one week to see the film
- Nothing fans can do will make any difference anyway.
- We should help WB past the financial hardship a poor 2009 would create.
First, and let me add the disclaimer that I am not a huge fan of the movies, weren't other studios clamoring for the opportunity to adapt the books? If the WB hadn't made the films, surely the films still would have been made. And perhaps we wouldn't have had to be "grateful" for the really poor CGI effects [*cough* Firenze *cough, cough*] in the first movie. You know, the one before they could count on us to go see them whenever they planned to show it? Perhaps we wouldn't have been thought too young and/or too unintelligent to tell the difference between a blond Draco and a blond Dudley. Perhaps we could have had movies that didn't edit out so many subplots that explain things like who the Marauders were? Perhaps we could have had the two film split of Goblet of Fire some suggested post-Kill Bill.
Second, one week? We who waited three years between books can't wait one week in order to make a statement? Surely, as was suggested, we can find other things to do. Perhaps, for the sake of those who find all this silly, we could promote additional HP Alliance events. I would guess local news media looking for filler on that weekend would be interested in parties that are a multi-part protest.
Third, where did this defeatist attitude originate? We are a huge group of fans. Mere signing of the petition and lodging protests got WB to release still shots. Even if we couldn't get WB to change the release date back, wouldn't an organized, relentless effort make WB and every other disconnected corporation re-think how it views its customers?
Which leads to, why on earth does anyone think we have to help WB through this potential "poor" year? I don't get to tell my employer, "Thanks for the offer of hours to work, but I anticipate I'll need the income worse later, so I won't work until then." No, I have to take the income when it's offered and then budget for leaner times. Plus, wasn't forcing the television and movie companies to feel a little financial crunch part of why the writers' strike got settled? The television companies presumably had to experience this more immediately, given the time frame of their business. Wouldn't we be slapping the writers' faces by accepting we have to help WB through?
I like the idea proposed that fans unite in boycotting the movie for at least the first week. I really like the idea that we boycott WB altogether. Don't go see their movies, don't buy their DVD's, don't buy their merchandise. I found a list of their movies here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Warner_Bros._films
and here:
http://www.imdb.com/company/co0026840/
I know Wikipedia's a controversial source and Imdb isn't always accurate, either, so if someone knows of better sources, perhaps they could post them.
Additionally, a list of other WB owned assets can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asset..._by_Time_Warner (scroll down a ways)
Why not avoid all things WB? Maybe watch CW 50% less. It doesn't look like that one would be hard to do, but to each his own! Don't download WB films from places like Netflix or iTunes. Personally, I really wanted one of those fan-designed "Mischief Managed" t-shirts for my birthday in two weeks, but now? Meh.
The argument has been made that WB doesn't owe us anything. They have a product, fans want it, they have no obligation to do anything other than provide that product whenever they choose. I don't buy that. They really want our money. They'd really like more of it than we've given so far. I think they entered into a "gentlemen's" agreement with us when we went to multiple showings, when we bought the DVD's, when we went to successive films even when the previous ones could have been better. I think they owe us respect and huge shiploads of gratitude for seeing them through other "poor" years. If they've put all their eggs in a Potter-fan shaped basket, then I think we need to jostle those eggs a bit. Won't someone stand up and be the Bjo Trimble of this generation?
JMO,
Beth
This post has been edited by jillily: Aug 17 2008, 06:58 PM
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