August 24, 2000

7:01 PM

Aw, for the love of Kee-rist, can't anyone quit screwing with stuff?

Columbus plans to shoot parallel versions of the first film -- one for the U.S. market and one for Britain. His plan is to shoot two or three alternate sequences for each film and to give the British film the first novel's original British title, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." The American film will be called, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

posted by baylink (12 comments total)

Who cares!!!??? Who cares! Who cares! Who cares! Who cares!

Sorry, I really needed to get that out of my system. I just got over the pain of seeing the last book be the lead story of every news outlet. Yes, reading is good. But it's a sad day when the literary tour de force of the decade is a kids book.

I'm sure lots of people care, and there is an important reason why the name of the movie is a big deal.
posted by y6y6y6 at 7:26 PM on August 24, 2000

American version
read: dumb down a little.
posted by lagado at 11:25 PM on August 24, 2000

Well, in the U.S. version, King Kong beats Godzilla, and... Oh. Never mind.
posted by harmful at 7:10 AM on August 25, 2000

Why so, y6?

That book sold more copies than any other bestseller this decade. Most of those copies will get eagerly read by a kid who otherwise might continue not to give a shit. Why, exactly, is that a sad day?

But, as the other replies note, my complaint isn't solely about the title; it's the whole "we have to change it for the 'Murrican's -- they won't understand what a crumpet is" thing that just *insults* my intelligence.
posted by baylink at 7:29 AM on August 25, 2000

I'm just surprised that they didn't follow the "translation" of Bridget Jones' Diary and turn it into Harry Potter and the Philosopher's 14 Pounds.
posted by holgate at 8:39 AM on August 25, 2000

...and 18 cigarettes (vvb), 1 boyfriend...

I'm glad the kids (and grownups) are reading these books. They're pretty damned good for kidlit, and hey, maybe they'll be too cool for Harry next year when the dumbed-down movies come out (so the movies flop and we can all get on with our lives), and maybe some of the tykes'll graduate to grownup lit. Wouldn't that rock?

Better a series of reasonably good books than most of the other crazes that have swept the world even just this year (Millionaire / Survivor / Big Brother / Britney / Eminem / bickering over Napster / etc / etc / etc / etc / ad absurdum).
posted by chicobangs at 9:59 AM on August 25, 2000

Now if we could just get 'arry to build a space suit, or stowaway on a moon rocket or something, then we could bridge 'em over to Heinlein.
posted by baylink at 10:51 AM on August 25, 2000

...or maybe time-shift the little buggers and strand them all somewhere in the Amazon Delta, and they can skip to Gabriel Garcia Marquez...

... or send Harry to hell, and turn the kids on to Dante...

... or pump him full of peyote and coax the constituents toward Castaneda ...

... or have Harry & Hermione have a real dysfunctional relationship, and sick the readership on John Gray ...

Oh, the possibilities are so refreshing!
posted by chicobangs at 12:08 PM on August 25, 2000

<brit>
Smartass.
</brit>
posted by baylink at 3:22 PM on August 25, 2000

that's smartarse, baylink. ;)
posted by holgate at 8:08 AM on August 26, 2000

I was wondering if I was *ever* going to get corrected on that. Is it actually a phrase over there, Nick?
posted by baylink at 10:56 AM on August 26, 2000

It's a children's book...if you feel bad because it's being dumbed down, consider the target audience. It's not exactly a great work of art, anyway...
posted by gleemax at 9:52 PM on August 27, 2000