Potterverse update

The Hollywood Reporter reports that it’s tough to say how the whole Harry Potter Lexicon case will go because fair use is complicated. No, really?

The U.S. news program 20/20 will air a special featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the life of J.K. Rowling in November.

Daniel Radcliffe is seeking a mysterious Aussie who caught his eye at a film event Down Under. Shockingly, there seems to be no shortage of mystery women. He claims it was all a joke.

Speaking of Radcliffe, his latest film My Boy Jack aired on PBS’ Masterpiece last weekend. Yes, it might have been more convenient if we told you about this before it aired, but it will probably be repeated throughout the week. In this article, Radcliffe and co-star Kim Cattrall (also known as Samantha on Sex and the City) discuss growing up, Harry Potter and, you guessed it, sex (in the city, anyway).

Harry Potter fans behaving badly, part whatever

It’s been a while since we checked in on the Harry Potter Lexicon case, but yesterday’s developments plumb a new low – RDR Books requested a copy of Rowling’s notes for her own encyclopedia, claiming:

…David Hammer, lawyer for RDR… says that the notes are requested in order to “test the merits” of J.K. Rowling’s claims that she is going to write an encyclopedia and that part of the reason for suppressing the HPL would be to suppress potential competition. RDR asked for “copies of any prepatory materials that Ms. Rowling has drafted or authorized to be drafted, including notes, outlines, drafts, marketing proposals, etc.”

And I ask again: Are these people for real? Has she not out and out said several times that’s she’s writing one? Rowling and the WB’s response:

JKR/WB object to what it sees as RDR’s “pattern of writing the Court whenever it wishes without first making any effort to meet and confer, let alone giving sufficient advance notice of its intended communication with the Court”…. JKR’s “overwhelmingly sensitive” notes would serve “no legitimate purpose other than to harass Ms. Rowling. Rather, the burden of producing these notes far outweighs any benefit to RDR in obtaining them.”

You can catch up on other recent developments on Fandom Wank, thanks to the seemingly tireless Cleolinda and friends.

Yet more on the HP Lexicon

There’s a post from Steve Vander Ark over on the Lexicon blog, an email from the past where he discourages other fans from publishing an encyclopedia and acknowledges it as illegal (but he planned to “plan to petition Jo to allow the Lexicon to work with her to create the ultimate Harry Potter encyclopedia.”) Again: Classy.

The piece de resistance is perhaps a video of Vander Ark at the Prophecy 2007 conference. (“Jo has quit; she’s done… we’re taking over now!” and “Jo has every right to write her seventh book… but I have a real problem with her claiming from now until 2017.”) The sentiment is something we’re familiar with here in Star Wars fandom, but when one is planning to take your fandom project and sell it without permission for $25 a pop, it sounds a lot more sinister. The 501st you’re not, bud.

See it all over at Fandom Wank, since that’s where I’m stealing links from anyway.