14 Years...

of moneymaking, media and pop culture dominance, introducing a mystical world into an otherwise drab "muggle" one, etc. etc.
I am, of course, speaking of Harry Potter and his creator JK Rowling. Although her history with Harry spans much further back, (in fact, another 7 years for 21 total...what is it with this woman and 7's?), the first Harry Potter book was offered to the world at large in 1997. And, rumors confirmed today that the seventh Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be split into two parts for a film adaptation with part 1 hitting in November of 2010 and part 2 hitting in May of 2011 (hence the 14 years from '97). The article can be found here for further reading. Contrary to the cynics who are claiming a pure money driven motive, I'm actually glad that it's being split. I like seeing film versions be as true as possible. Hopefully, with the extra film, they'll come close to keeping the plot mostly intact, as opposed to some of the other movies. Honestly, I'm hoping for someone truly ambitious, connected, and wealthy actually goes back at some point 25 or 50 years in the future and remakes all 7 books keeping sub-plots, timelines, and characters intact. The chances of that happening are slim to none because Warner Brothers isn't going to give up a cash franchise that easily unless they have some sort of major stake in the new one. I figure that 25-30 years is going to put some kid who was maybe 7 or 8 when this hoopla started at about just the right age itching to see it done better. (As an aside, I'm at work [didn't want to lose the narrative thread I had in my head] and while listening to the next album up in line, the song 7 Days comes on. Maybe I should go play triple 7's for tonight since I didn't win the Powerball yesterday). Seriously, most of the stuff getting remade nowadays comes from people of our generation who grew up and cut our teeth on this stuff and don't want to see it fade. Why else do we see remakes like Dukes of Hazzard, Bionic Woman, Dallas, Knight Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Willie Wonka, etc. Hell, I think the only show they haven't touched is The Waltons and who wants to see that again? Good-Night John Boy. Anyway, done correctly, with a consistent vision (hello gap between 2 and 3, did we hire Trading Spaces to come in and redecorate?) and keeping the books intact, I think it would be good. The 7 or 8 year old with the nostalgia for "his" franchise (because like we owned Star Wars, this kid owns Potter) would be hitting his mid-to late 40s and looking back on what once was. It could happen. Maybe, it should happen. I guess that will have to wait until Christmas of 2011 when the super deluxe special edition of all 7 movies hits shelves just in time for holiday cheer.