...it seems the head of Universal Orlando was having an open Q&A lunch session with his staff a few weeks ago when he was asked if Universal had any plans to pursue either the Harry Potter franchise or Lord of the Rings for possible future park projects. Bob Gault’s answer was that “<b>Disney</b> has Harry Potter wrapped up” and that Universal was instead checking into Lord of the Rings.
I don't know, something just doesn't sit well with me having Disney be the place for a Harry Potter ride. J.K.'s stuff can almost be thought of as the anti-Disney brand of magic, with a completely different feel and tone. The first big fan gathering, Nimbus - 2003, was held there this past weekend, but it still doesn't seem like the ideal place for a ride. I don't know why, it just feels like these two shouldn't mix.
Disney and Harry Potter are completely different kinds of magic, fantasy, and imagination. I would NOT want to see HP mix with Disney-it doesn't belong there.
And aren't the HP characters now cpoyrighted to Warner Bros? I'm suprised Bros. would consider letting Disney using 'their' characters.
We have a 'Warner Brothers' thing (Movie World) here in Queensland (the state immediately north of here) which is really dodgy. They have a Harry Potter thing. Strange it is at Disney.
But don't forget, Harry is teaching the children to READ again. Because before Potter, THERE WERE NO BOOKS BEFORE ROWLING STARTED WRITING.
It is true.
For this reason, Disney owes a debt to Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling. Rowling's creation is wholly original and deserves a place everywhere.
[At this point, Loomis chokes on his own sarcasm and dies.]
[Just for making a sarcastic remark about a fellow friend who died of sarcasm, Sulley, a fellow friend of a sarcastic victim, has now died of sarcasm.]
What would this wretched world be like without Disney?
Damn...two folks gone, choking on their own sarcasm.
Talk about eating your own words...hehehehe...hehe...he...uhem.
Back on topic. If WB ihas the copyright on the characters then I'd imagine we'd be seeing the HP rides and characters at Six Flaggs Theme Parks rather than Disney, no?
There might be an exclusive licence agreement between Disney and the publishers of the book or even Warners. Maybe Disney has the exclusive right in the US to engage in all Potter related theme park enterprises.
Most likely the case...
And yes, I'm back from the dead...
Must be a kinda magic.
(NB: I am actually reading Harry 5 at the moment. And I do enjoy them a great deal. I just think they are given way too much importance, given how derivative they are of previous things. Then again, everything is I guess).
i have a bad feeling that around when the 4th movie will come out, Warner Brothers will sell their Harry Potter rights to Disney just the same way they did it with Pokemon ( i miss Pokemon, that was cool). last year when i was at Disney MGM Studios waiting outside the Great Movie Ride, i could hear some of the Harry Potter music playing outside. maybe Disney will close the Great Movie Ride down for a while to add new movies scenes in it like one from Harry Potter and maybe one from Lord of the Rings.
Calm down guys - not only will Disney not obtain Harry Potter rights for five, but we probably won't even see a five from Warners. They keep claiming that Order of the Phoenix will roll out on the silver screen in 2007, but they forget that they only bought rights to the first four. They have <i>option</i> on five through seven, but not if JKR doesn't want to sell them, and since they've been treating her horribly (outside of the public eye of course) I seriously doubt she'll sell. Not like she needs the money either....
Jake Lipson wrote:Calm down guys - not only will Disney not obtain Harry Potter rights for five, but we probably won't even see a five from Warners. They keep claiming that Order of the Phoenix will roll out on the silver screen in 2007, but they forget that they only bought rights to the first four. They have <i>option</i> on five through seven, but not if JKR doesn't want to sell them, and since they've been treating her horribly (outside of the public eye of course) I seriously doubt she'll sell. Not like she needs the money either....
I'm not sure about this Jake, look at the small print inside your OotP book:
"Harry Potter names, characters and related indicia are copyright and trademark Warner Bros. 2000"
Sounds to me like J K Rowling has relinquished the rights to everything Harry Potter already to me. Most books characters etc are copyright to the writer - not the publishing company and certainly not a third-party.
All in all, that little legal text is quite disturbing...
