Harry Potter and Capitalism

Being the huge Harry Potter fan that I am, naturally, I'm excited that the last book will be made into two movies. My friend Greg and I have been hoping they would do it because they have done nothing but gut the heart out of all the books with the movies they have produced. Lengthening the last one may allow them to finally get it right. I'm not holding my breath on that one though cause they still have the same screenwriter which I can't stand!

Every interview I've read with the creators of the movies since they made this announcement mentions how this strategy will better serve the story. They keep touting it like it's a creative decision when EVERYONE knows the real reason is MONEY. Let's be honest Warner Bros. you're just looking for a way to stretch the Harry Potter franchise for another movie. Call a spade a spade for goodness sakes.

I say this with such conviction because if they really were concerned about the integrity of the story they would have made Goblet of Fire into two movies. Instead they truncated it much to the detriment of the story. I'm somewhat surprised that capitalism didn't rule there too. I guess they weren't willing to spend the money then.

So why are they willing to spend it now? In two words - THE END. It's the last book in the series and there will be no more. This is their last kick at the can. They want to squeeze every last penny out of this franchise cause they know it's going to be a very LONG time before anything of similar populairity comes along. None of the other kids fantasy franchises, save Narnia, have been as lucrative.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy it's happening. I'm just angry that it's happening now rather than before they totally destroyed the heart of the books. The damage that they have done to the story is irreperable. I'm not so sure that having two Deathly Hallows movies could even redeem them.

That's the lovely thing about capitalism it doesn't care about the product it just cares about how to get the most money out of something. Many of my friends will disagree with me but in truth the American movie companies were the worst choice for a studio to produce the Harry Potter books. They don't care if the integrity of the story survives their massacre they just want to make the movies cheaply so the profits will be greater.

The thing that ensures movies are never as good as the books is the fact that the people making them don't care about the story. They just want the cheapest method of turning it into a movie. They aren't fans.

I think part of the reason Lord of the Rings was so successful was because Peter Jackson and his wife and collaborator were all true fans. They were committed to making the story they had envisioned while reading the books. His passion for the books wouldn't allow him to cut corners where the story was concerned. Sadly, for Harry Potter, no such fan within the production team exists.

I think that a British studio would have done a better job with the story. It's not a guarantee but I think they would have at least felt a duty to do it right whereas WB only feels a duty to their bottom line.

I hate capitalism in this regard.