The Importance of Saving Goblet of Fire
by Andrew Lee and Robert Lanto
“Bad news, Harry. I’ve just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She – er got a bit shirty with me. Told me I’d got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about staying alive. Just because I told her I didn’t care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first.”
– Oliver Wood (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
First they cut Madame Hooch, then they cut Cho Chang and Oliver Wood from PoA. Now you’re telling me they’re going to cut Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to a (rumored) two and one-half hours?! I don’t understand what Warner Brothers is trying to pull here, they must be stopped from butchering a legendary magical novel. Thus, it is important that we be heard, we must voice our opinions before its too late. Why? Ultimately, we are the fans of the books and movies and if we don’t voice our dissatisfaction with the way the Harry Potter franchise is being managed, we can expect much nastier surprises when the Order of the Phoenix movie enters into production.
The two most important campaigns (at this moment) are the Save Oliver Wood Campaign and the Save GoF Campaign. The unfortunate part is that it would appear that Saving Oliver Wood has fallen on deaf ears. With the movie ending production, the odds of Wood making an appearance now are low unless the special effects teams plan to add Sean Biggerstaff in the background during the Quidditch rounds. Ironically, Wood could appear in Goblet of Fire during the pre-Quidditch Cup scene, but if the movie is really going to be that short the odds are that this scene will be cut.
This brings me back to why the Save GoF Campaign (Goblet of Fire) campaign is so important. The amount of material in GoF is too much to be contained in two and half hours. Just the first half of the school year (up to a little after the Yule Ball) can easily cover two and half hours. Do they expect us to believe that all the character development and introductions can properly be done in that short amount of time? Assumingly Cho Chang’s belated introduction and Cedric Diggory’s (who plays a key role in GoF) expanded role can make any fan nervous that they don’t become another Penelope Clearwater (Hello Ms. Clearwater!).
The obvious questions is what can we do? Well the easiest thing is to tell absolutely everybody you know who likes Harry Potter to sign the petitions. The more signatures they can get, the more the campaign will be be noticed. Though signatures may not be enough, there are approximately 53,000 signatures for the Save Oliver Wood Campaign and no word from Warner Brothers. That is why it is important to mail the letters (email and postal) to Warner Brothers and anyone who will listen. The community needs to make such a fuss that Warner Brothers will have to at least make an official statement about the status of Goblet of Fire.
Website owners can also make a fuss. Post the campaign buttons on your site and provide direct links to the campaigns. Those who enjoy using message boards should keep other fans informed as to what is happening. Of course, we need to keep in mind that we all have to be civil about it. We cannot go around swearing in our letters or threatening Warner Brothers. Being hurtful or using colorful language may get you noticed but will negatively affect the campaigns. Ultimately, the importance of what the organizers are trying to accomplish will only be lost in a slue of derogatory statements should we head down that dangerous path.
Ultimately, we remain faithful that an answer from Warner Brothers will come before the end of the year. Whether we get our longer movie(s) or not the important thing is that the community comes together as a whole to voice their collective opinion. If all else fails to work well be seeing you during the Save The Order of the Phoenix Campaign.