Celebrity Reputation Management

The next film in the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, has delayed its debut from Nov. 21, 2008 to July 17, 2009. The film follows Harry Potter, a young and talented wizard played by Daniel Radcliffe. Rumors are now circulating that the movie was delayed due to Radcliffe’s involvement in the play Equus, in which he appears naked and even has a sexual fixation on horses. FoxNews’s blogger Roger Friedman has suggested a rediculous theory on why the movie’s debut was pushed back:

“Radcliffe appears naked in the play, on stage, and has sex in it as well. That’s not the image Warner Bros. wants associated with bespectacled Harry, who remains chaste and virginal. Indeed, posters for ‘Equus’ are up all over New York, of Radcliffe’s naked torso superimposed on a horse’s head. This is not the sort of of thing that’s taught at Hogwarts. For the movie to open on Nov. 21, Radcliffe would have to do publicity entailing answering questions about blinding horses and having sex with them vs. flying around and making potions.”

This ignores reality, though. Radcliffe was in the play this time last year and no one raised concerns. In fact, Radcliffe recieved praise for his acting skills in the play and the increased media attention probably served him well. A more likely scenario is this: The summer of 2009’s summer schedule was thin because of last winter’s writers strike, and the fall schedule was already full. Or, more simply, they thought there was more money in it.

Frankly, this rumor is only going to grow. Radcliffe will likely get some bad press because of the whole thing, and could probably use some “Celebrity Reputation Management“.