All Choked Up
Filed under: Anglophilia > Harry Potter
This is enough drama for a book!
As we mentioned yesterday, Harry Potter author J.K Rowling appeared in a New York City courtroom on Monday to fight the planned release of a 400-page Harry Potter Lexicon, an A-Z guide derived from a fan website.
Sources inside the court report that Rowling became quite emotional on the stand and came close to tears.
When asked what the Harry Potter books meant to her she had to ask for a glass of water to regain her composure and said, “I really don’t want to cry because I’m British. It means setting aside my children and everything. These characters meant so much to me, and continue to mean so much to me, over such a long period of time. It’s very difficult for someone who is not a writer to understand. The closest I can come is to say to someone, ‘How do you feel about your child?'"
How's the other side going to top THAT testimony?!
Rowling put on a show!
Good luck to the other side. Hope y'all have the cash to fight this legal game! Mommas fight for their children and J.K., who is worth a billion, has plenty to throw into the battle.
[Image via WENN.]
sup?
first bitches!
wakaka?
Damn you tori
boo hoo
blah
First
Lol, what a performance that musta been! JK has always seemed a bit crazy to me..
go JK!
13th?
fourth
sup!
I agree with her. The encyclopedia she wants to write isn't going to line her pockets. She wants to donate the money. The other group just want to ride her coat tails for some cash. she wrote the story she has the right no say no
1st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
who cares about this? shes filthy rich!!
SO basically, she's angry because someone is taking her pieces of literature and publishing literary criticism about them?? This is no different than a book dissecting Grapes of Wrath or something like that. This woman is amazing.
firstttt??
No one should make anything about Harry Potter for profit without JK Rowling saying so, it's only fair…She created everything from nothing, writing is really hard and making a whole fantasy world makes it even harder.
She worked really hard for it so she can do what she likes with the Harry Potter franchise because it's hers.
IM ON TEAM ROWLING….JUST LIKE ANYOTHER JOB SHE PUT ALOT OF WORK INTO HER BOOKS, REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY MILLIONS SHES WORTH
thats like those people that think their dogs are the equivalent of children…. NO THEY ARE NOT! THESE ARE MAKE BELIEVE CHARACTERS and in no way do they compare to real children!!! Goodness Gracious!
She looks classy. I saw her on "w e a l t h yR o m a n c e.c o m " last week. It is said she is very picky about guys on that site.
Re: meg –
Somebody is making money off the back of her tailcoat…She worked damn hard for the whole book series.
I'm trying to be a writer and if I made something and someone went and used my creation without permission I would be peed off, it's not about the money it's about the principal.
I don't blame her one bit for being pissed off. Someone ripped me off before as well and had the nerve later to trash the work from which it came. I know the fan is doing the book thing as a thing of flattery and fondness for the author and her books, but still that's Rowling's job to give definitive background information and insight into her own literary creations not the fan, unless the work is sanctioned by the author.
WTF IS WRONG WITH BRITISH PEOPLE? WHY CAN'T THEY CRY IN PUBLIC? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH SHOWING THAT YOU ARE HUMAN?
I LOVE HER…AND I'M GLAD SHE CRIED. SHIT!
She has every right to be emotional! Harry Potter is her intellectual property and nobody else has the right to make money off of her work. If it were entirely criticism it would be one thing, but from what I can tell this is mostly just a condensation of JK's material with nothing new added. Besides, she wants to do her own encyclopedia and donate the money to charity, which is way better than what this joker is trying to do.
so she should win because she has money? what happened to truth and justice fucko?
Cant british people cry??
She's insane, and her books are a sham. THEY SUCK!
I understand. it's not about $money, but a pride that comes from very very hard work being recognized. I personally am not a fan, but i wish her well in this endeavor. very sad indeed
Im surprised to see you on JK's side perez. not to take a swipe at you becuae i do generealy enjoy your site. But all you really do is make comments on the creativity (or lack thereof) of others.
oh like she doesnt have enough money come the fuck on greedy cow !!!
I understand her position. Harry Potter is her, no one else. she brought these characters to life. Someone else writing a dictionary type thing on the books is not doing anything original, and is copying right from her work. It does not matter that she is extremely rich. Many things have been written on Harry Potter and she does not go after those.
I support JK 100% and would be just as upset as she is.
Fans of JKR would say that it is perfect.
I just see a woman very ambitious and manipulative.
As a writer I can understand where she's coming from. When you create characters for your stories they do almost become a part of you…so I doubt she's really putting on a show or anything, alhough I still find this lawsuit going a little too far.
Re: meg – You're an idiot cunt
she's right, its her idea. she should at least collect from it if she doesnt win.
How many times is this greedy woman going to sue? She has billions and every time anyone wants to complement her work by further publicizing it she sues them! I love Harry Potter but this woman needs to remember she was not always a famous and wealthy writer. I understand that it would upset her if someone was trying to take credit for her work but they are fully giving her all the credit!!
UMM.. I DONT KNOW IF ANYONE HAS NOTICED, BUT SHE IS ONLY IN THIS BATTLE FOR THE MONEY. AND SHE ALSO PALNNED TO COME OUT WITH HER OWN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POTTER… SHE IS ALL ABOUT THE $$.. ONCE YOU MAKE $$ YOU WANT MORE $$$$.. COME ON PPL! IF SHE CARED SO MUC, SHE WOULDNT MIND PPL COMING OUT WITH POTTER STUFF, SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD THAT PPL CARED ENOUGH TO DO THAT… ID LIKE TO SEE HER MAKE HER OWN ENCYCLOPEDIA AND GIVE IT AWAY FOR FREE.. THEN SHE CAN SHOW THE WORLD SHE DOESNT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT MONEY.. LYING BRIT
lauren you are a stupid cunt who has obviously never creating anything from scratch.
Try making something out of nothing, then watch someone else take it and use it because they don't have the talent to create something original on their own.
Then see how you feel. She has money and fame because SHE WORKED HER ASS OFF and EARNED it, she didn't ride on someone else's ideas. Just because she has earned some success does not mean that now some lazy, talentless hacks have the right to leach off of her. If you had an ounce of originality or creativity in yourself you would be able to see that.
what she is soooooo deep now, please,i can't go on i am british, what a crock,laughing all the way to the bank can the british do that, i think so geeves
Re: Gia Jolie –
ta her books do suck. read the twilight saga by stephenie meyer, the first one came out in 2005 and she's been publishing one a year since but they are AMAZING. its WAY better then harry potter….
Re: Silvia –
british people dont have souls, so they dont cry and they dont have humor….
i'm kidding of course. plus twilight is way better, i love robert pattison even if he is british.
Re: Kathy –
She's not doing it for money!!
When she creates an encylcopedia she is giving all profits to charity.
The reason she is suing is because she feels like someone is ripping her off.
Re: i –
Purlease, Twilight is a series for hormone induced teenage girls….The characters are boring and Mary Sue-ish.But each to their own.
And this thing about British people not crying is a load of bull.
Re: Kathy –
Youre so stupid, cant you read ? She's willing to make her own encyclopedia to give the money to CHARITY, she wont keep it for herself, you just dont know what youre talking about
Re: gitchiegitchieyaya –
The money isn't the point it's the principal…Someone is riding her tail for profit.
Re: gitchiegitchieyaya –
So you think anyone should be able to use her intellectual property because it's become really really popular?
I love Harry Potter and I've been waiting forever for J.K's HP Encyclopedia to come out and I think it's terrible that some fansite is trying to negate her efforts with their own publication of HER brainchild. Even if she wasn't donating the profits to charity, it isn't their concept to write about and it isn't fair for them to steal from her.
She came from nothing and worked her bum off for what she has. If other people want success like her, they should write their own damn books.
Re: SJD –
SJD-this is really random but thank you for that description of the Twilight Series! They're like horniness for kids. People need to quit comparing them to Harry Potter.
why won't this bitch stop showing up already. i personally think she is a publicity whore. after the book was over she should have just dissapeared i peronally hate her. she's an ass
If the people who are trying to release this encyclopedia are THAT big of Harry Potter fans…they should just step aside and let the author of the damn books write an encyclopedia about the characters SHE created. She's been talking about writing one for ages, it's not like JKR got the idea from them.
And I really think that people need to stop comparing Twilight and Harry Potter lol. It's ridiculous. The books have nothing in common besides the fact that they're both well written and successful stories. Just because YOU think Harry Potter is trash does not mean it is and just because someone might think Twilight is trash does not mean it is either. Just because you may not like one or the other doesn't mean that it's garbage; take your head out of your ass.
Re: Miry –
I read all three Twilight books and I'm not trying to say that just because my taste is different then that makes it crap I'm just saying I read all three of them and I just found the main characters boring especially Edward…The characters were just didn't actually have any personality.
And lets be honest it is a bit slusshy but I'm guessing thats the kind of thing teenage girls want now days…I'm not saying it's crap i'm saying it's hormone drivel with characters I really don't like.
So, I believe the person has every right to publish it. There are several books ou there on Harry Potter already. Why didn't she fight them? LOL Besides, she even used the Lexicon when she needed help…& when she publishes her own encyclopedia, it will have even more information & her fans will buy it in the millions.
I support JK all the way!
Let nothing taint her hard work!
I get it. I get wanting to make money off of your own brainchild; that's just natch. I get not wanting a bunch of nerdy slimeballs profitting off their obsession. Also natch. It's like Renoir not wanting people to copy his paintings in water-proof marker and sell them "in addition" to his paintings. She's in the right.
But……come on, the characters are like your children? I get it, my dad's a writer, but really? Crying about it? You write about Hagrid the fucking Gatekeeper and werewolf people, it's not freaking Jane Eyre.
Re: Miry –
No one called Twilight trash. Maybe you need to get your head out to read right =)
Wow, what an idiot! She has done nothing but prove to the court that she is more concerned about $$$$ than her own children.
"I really don't want to cry because I'm British" really cracked me up! What the hell???
Aw, good for her.
She's a Leo, and Leos rock the house.
I am not an expert, but according to BBC news: JKR is trying to extend copyright
law, to exclude 3rd party reference books from writing about the Harry Potter series. If JKR is successful, reference books will be banned, and copyright law will be extended further. People should be aware that 3rd party reference books are not breaking any laws in regards to copyright.
who in their right mind would EVER go against the author of Harry Potter. ever? Really who do they think they are? This is ridiculus that Rowling even has to stoop to these losers' levels who haven't done shit.
How would it even be legal for this fan site to put a book out based on JK's work ? If anyone is going to do an HP encyclopedia it should be the woman who wrote the books, and its not like the idea on her part is anything new.
That would be like someone coming along and taking the middle out of your Resses Cup and going on their sweet way. You would sure as hell wanna kick their ass!
Tears or no tears.. no one should be able to put into print her CR work. This is just like the Anne Rice fans who went bonkers when she bitch slapped them with a bit of reality.
you know, it really disgusts me that she would even care. Why should she be such a bitch about somebody making money off of HP? it was done by a FAN that probably poured their heart into it. She has her billions, good lord get over yourself woman.
She's an insincere rich bitch. I hate those people. I want to run on the beaches of Malibu because I am shallow. I have to drive their in my sensible car first tho.
Re: Kathy – yea except for the fact that she's donating all of the proceeds to charity. Why don't you look at the facts of the case before you open your mouth. She doesn't need any more money, and she doesn't want it. This is about principle and, oh yea, the law. He's stealing her characters and her words for his own profit. Anyone who says that's not violating copyright needs to stop being so ignorant and get a fucking clue.
I can`t believe she is this greedy, she should be `proud` of her child inspring another colletible for the fans. Enough with the dramz already, shame on you, Rowling.. remember when you were poor and a struggling writer, think of this as another achievement of your influential power. Stop counting dimes and pennies!!
Team Rowling all the way!
Re: Carla – he didn't pour his heart into anything. Have you ever been to HP Lexicon? It's basically her words jumbled up and summarized. There's nothing that he added, and very minimal commentary. I'm a huge fan of hers and of Harry Potter, but in no way would it be right for me to do something like that. It has nothing to do with being a fan.
Newsflash: The defense just had Steve Van der Ark cry too.
Re: Hello Kitty –
The difference between JKR and Anne Rice is that Anne Rice went apeshit over her fans writing fanfiction that was not in any way designed to be profitable. JKR didn't have a problem with the Lexicon being online, as it was not making money there. She DOES have an issue with it being published, as for one it was without her permission, and two, it's making money off her work. Aardvark didn't do a thing to make it his own, he just regurgitated JKR's in the first place.
what pisses me off is the “I really don’t want to cry because I’m British." comment. Does she think she is in a Hugh Grant film living up to the American sterotype - how pathetic! Piss off JK. Arrgghhh. BTW, I'm British.
she's so greedy… Her last installment of the HP saga cost £17.99 and it's a children's book!
Even if you bought it cheap, JK and Bloomsbury took their fare share of of the RRP and the retailers took the hit.
You do realise that whenever she wins a lawsuit she gives the money to charity, right?
The fact is the guy is ripping off an idea that she had for a book where the proceeds were going to charity. Every time someone buys his version rather than hers they're rewarding him for plagiarism and taking money away from a good cause.
People, people! Look at the facts of the case before calling JKR a greedy bitch. The so-called 'work' Aardvark put into the Lexicon was basically printing off the website (most of which was contributions from OTHER users who so far have yet to be acknowledged or compensated), putting binding on it and trying to sell it for profit. At least JKR's book is going to go to charity.
Plus, why is it okay for people to steal her intellectual property just because she's rich? What kind of stupidity is that? This isn't a Fair Use issue, it's an IP issue and the fact that so many people are willing to overlook this and boil it down to "Boohoo, widdle Steve is getting picked on by the big bad JKR" is saddening. The fact that this has even gone to trial is a joke.
Oh puleeeze! JKR stopped being creative when the big bucks started rolling in. Anyone that has read her books AND seen the movies can see where things got sucky with her.
If only I had her money. Yes, I'm jealous.
Re: meg –
You idiot. It's completely different than a book analyzing Grapes of Wrath. This book doesn't add new analysis or commentary–he's just rearranging Rowling's words! There are tons of books analyzing the Potter books in publication and Rowling has no objection to those.
Re: lj;jkl – Ugh. You're an idiot. Do you even know what this is about?
Re: Kathy –
Kathy, evidently you can't read. The profits from her planned encyclopedia will to towards charity, like all the other companion books she has written. Way to be a moron.
Re: No to JKR –
*sigh* This book is different from all the other books about Harry Potter. The authors of those books added their own analysis and research. The Lexicon is almost entirely direct quotes from Rowling's novels. He didn't even add anything to it. It's like if I decided to publish a book called "The Best Quotes in the Harry Potter Books" and just have it be a list of my favorite HP quotes. I didn't write any of it, and I'm trying to sell it.
Re: anonymoustoday – Oh, for fuck's sake, reference books will not be banned if she wins. Please oh please stop the stupid.
What WILL happen if she LOSES, though, is that anyone could then publish a collection of excerpts from the Harry Potter books without adding analysis or commentary and call it a reference book. Free money that you didn't even have to write anything for. She'd better win, or things are going to suck for authors.
Yay! I'm done with the smackdowns. I know the world is full of ignorant people, but the comments for articles about this case are full of lulz.