Alan Horn, the president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros., has issued another statement about the move of the Half-Blood Prince movie to July 2009; in this statement he addresses the fans directly (as far as we know, this statement has only been sent to fan sites) and says that the decision to move the film was “not taken lightly” and “never intended to upset Harry Potter fans.” He also says, “We know you have built this series into what it is.”
The full text is below:
‘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.’
It still doesn’t make it right. Like he said, WE, as fans, have built this series to what it is, and this HAS hurt us. I don’t know how I feel about WB now, and don’t know if I intend to view their movies anymore.
I’ve accepted that this is what is gonna happen,and I can deal with it.BUT-I still think Mr Horns’ appologies are disingenuous AND he’s full of CRAP!!
Evil Jim
People have made way too big a deal about this. I looked forward to Half-Blood Prince this November, moreso than any other movie released this year, and the move to next summer doesn’t bother me at all. There’s nothing coming out next summer that I want to see anyway, so having Harry Potter coming out in July will soften the lackluster summer season which so far consists of Transformers 2 which should be another choppy special effects driven, heartless film and… G.I. Joe. Yeah. Once again, glad to have Potter to look forward to next summer, and I trust that David Yates did just as good of a job as he did on Order of the Phoenix.
I think everyone should calm down about it. It’s not like the majority wasn’t going to do anything but complain about cuts and changes anyway so I’m not so sure what the big deal is.
I think WB is being irresponsible by moving the release date, but the summer date will hype the movie up a little more. The studio haven’t been promoting the film as rigorously as the previous films. We didn’t get a trailer until about 3.5 months before the films; there’s still no poster. The last film was hyped by the DH book release, and the DH movies have the “last movies” factor. The least grossing HP film was released during the summer, and the highest grossing during fall.
while it sounds hollow to some now, I just KNOW that next August, after we’ve all seen HBP, we’ll all be saying “thank goodness DH.1 is only 15 months away!
I don’t really understand how moving the date helps them make money, but there’s not much we can do about it. I think that coming out with all these apologies makes WB feel better, but as fans it doesn’t help. I don’t think its right but hopefully we wont be disappointed come July
What a bunch of BS. Alan Horn just digs himself a deeper hole every time he talks. Of course they didn’t do it to hurt HP fans. They did it for the almight dollar.
I am upset because I have been waiting since filming started to see this film. I have watched the count down clock and have even planned my reading to conincide with the release of this movie. And now even though they see it as an eight month delay, it is a year. We won’t see it for a year.
And what about the other HP concerns. EA was planning to put out their game. What do they do now. Entertainment Weekly had HBP as their cover story this week and all the media lead up was there in place. Does Alan Horn realize that they have stopped their own momentum by doing this.
I don’t see a silver lining. I was prepared for that wait. I understand the logistics of making these special effects heavy movies. I could have waited.
I am sorry too, Alan Horn. You just don’t get it! Obviously!
idk how 2 feel rite now….im dissapointed but i guess it might make the movie better than it should of been if its moved….idk