Yesterday, J.K. Rowling announced that there would be a spin-off to the Harry Potter series. It will be a film based on an earlier spin-off book, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. This new endeavour comes after two failed attempts at non-Harry Potter material. Her first experiment, The Casual Vacancy, was panned by critics. Rowling then wrote a detective novel under a pseudonym which was rejected by publishers and then sold poorly until it was leaked she had written the book.
Many may say that Rowling
is only revisiting Harry Potter due to the lack of success she has had in her
other projects. In true SpontaneousWriting style, though, here are 6 outlandish
reasons which would explain the turn of events:
She’s
In Debt To The Mob
How could an unemployed,
single mother working on a rickety typewriter churn out a children’s classic? Maybe
Rowling got talking to a Russian/Italian/Other nationality mobster at a local café who secured her a
publishing deal. Maybe the same mafioso now has a child who’s only just
got through Goblet of Fire and, to
avoid any upset for said child, has demanded Rowling get back to the
series. Stranger things have happened.
She’s Discovered Harry Potter Fan Fiction
When Rowling first
stumbled across fan fiction she was quite flattered. Many attempts were generally well-meaning but
inept (especially the muckier stuff). Maybe she then started finding well-written
stuff – engrossing, engaging and witty novellas. Things were made worse when
she saw the commenters’ adulation. In
retaliation, she decided to write more Harry Potter works.
She's Distracting The World
It’s no coincidence that
the news of Rowling’s new book comes only days after the G20 summit’s disappointing
close. It’s common knowledge that national powers use fiction to distract the
public from world problems. Beatrix Potter, George Lucas, Stephanie Meyer –
these and other authors have all been used for public good. It’s felt that a
new Rowling creation would divert attention from the current economic crisis and
get it moving again.
She Wants Street Cred
The digital age is very
weird. The best way of getting attention these days is to either be the hot new
thing or classic and retro. Up until recently, J.K
Rowling fell into the former crowd – first people went crazy for her books, then
they were rabid for her films. A whole generation adored her yet, after the
last Potter film was released, there was only sporadic attention for her novels.
Rowling realised a valuable life lesson: if you’re not trending on Twitter you’re
not anything. Rowling, being too impatient to wait until she’s retro-popular
decided to write this film. Unfortunately, she hasn’t considered the success
of Twerking and 1960s Spiderman.
She Wants A Chair With Her Name On It
J.K. Rowling has done
many things in the literary world (children’s classics, political satire, detective
mysteries). Rather than dabble in science fiction or pen a zombie romance
trilogy she’s struck upon a new goal: the director’s chair. Rowling knows she
has to start small, though - screenwriter, then executive producer then director.
She knows that one day soon she’ll be standing alongside those other greats:
Hitchcock, Spielberg and Jonathan Frakes.
She
Was Bored
It’s the situation that
eventually faces everybody. You’ve got time off, you’re hanging around the
house and you realise you’re bored. When you’re a successful writer, gone from
rags to riches and gained money/adulation/prestige what are you supposed to do?
Most of us would just stare at the ceiling or lose a few days/weeks on the
Internet. J.K Rowling, as a bit of a
joke, decided to call a meeting with some film executives instead. To continue
the joke, she made some vague comments about doing a Harry Potter spin-off
film. She didn’t expect them to go for it with such enthusiasm and now she’s in
a bit of a sticky situation. She also
has to learn how to write a screenplay and everything. But, hey, at least she’s
not bored anymore!
So there you have it.
Half a dozen reasons why J.K. Rowling might be making a big return to the Harry Potter franchise. Based on the law
of averages, at least one of these will be half-right, if not all of them. Only
time will tell.
Featured Image: Warner Bros.
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