Repost: Why J.K. Rowling Should Walk Away From Harry Potter Forever

[Author’s Note, November 26, 2018] Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has been out for a few weeks now and has been cleaning up at the box office. Too bad the reviews are trashing the movie. It got me thinking about this old piece I wrote three years ago when the first Fantastic Beasts movie had been announced. I’m republishing it here for your enjoyment.

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The other day, J.K. Rowling gave an interview with Matt Lauer about her charity Lumos and mentioned she probably wouldn't write another story about Harry and the gang, although she wouldn't foreclose the opportunity altogether. I don't know whether Rowling will ever return to Harry Potter but I do know that she shouldn't. In fact, I think she should relinquish all rights to the Potterverse before she messes it all up.

Okay what? Messes it up? J.K. Rowling is a goddamn international treasure and I should be strung up by the neck for thinking such heretical thoughts, right? Well maybe, but first let me say that I have nothing but admiration for Rowling's skill and artistry. The books and films stand as towering achievements in their respective fields and the world is undoubtedly a better place with Harry Potter than it would be without. And that's exactly the problem.

We revere authors and creators of valuable intellectual property. We assume they know what's best when it comes to their work. And sometimes that's true! George R.R. Martin certainly believes it. The general sentiment is that his voice is the only one worthy of steering the Game of Thrones ship. The same probably would have been said about J.R.R. Tolkien and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But as fans, I think we've been burned by too many Special Editions/ Director's Cuts/ sequels/ prequels/ sidequels/ reboots/ and preboots to feel anything but trepidation when a creator remains involved for too long with their own work. I get it. It's your baby, and it's hard to walk away from something that you poured your heart and soul into. But I'm a firm believer in the Death of the Author, and I've stated on this blog several times that when a work takes on a certain level of cultural importance, it transcends the law and becomes the property of society at large, not just the creator. That was the original intention when copyright protections were baked into the Constitution. Remember too that history is replete with authors who aren't the best judges of their own work; George Lucas is a prime example of how far from grace one can fall simply by sticking around for too long. And I want Rowling to avoid that fate.

All evidence indicates that she's not stepping away. She's released several short stories and updates on the lives of the main Potterverse characters and is even writing a trilogy of screenplays for Warner Bros featuring the tertiary Potterverse character Newt Scamander (to be played by Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne) in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. There is limitless money to be made from the Potterverse, so I think it's just the beginning of a huge tidal wave of stuff with J.K. Rowling at the helm.

Obviously the law allows Rowling to do whatever she wants. Copyright law, particularly in the U.S., isn't equipped to consider the cultural importance of works like Star Wars or Harry Potter. The result is that all art, regardless of quality, is treated the same, which can be a good thing because it prevents systemic discrimination. The downside to that approach is that financial reward becomes the only measure of success. And that just makes it harder to let go. It's easy to convince yourself that you and only you are capable of maintaining the integrity of the work over the long haul. It becomes even easier if there's a lot of money to be made by doing it. The law incentivizes you to stay. And because copyright terms last for so long (life of the author plus 70 years), Rowling's great great grandchildren will be able to profit from her work.  And I think it's a shame to keep something like that so closed-source.

To my eyes, the seams are already showing. Three years ago, Rowling publicly stated that she wished she had killed Ron out of spite and that Hermione really should've ended up with Harry. The fact that she admitted this publicly is problematic enough - it shows a tone-deafness to the effect her words have on the fan-base (which is surprising considering her generosity to her fans). It also suggests that she might not have a full grasp of what makes the story work (i.e. that Harry's arc isn't about romance). 

So what should Rowling do? Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think she should follow in George Lucas' footsteps. During an interview in January for his bizarre animated film Strange Magic, Lucas mentioned that he originally envisioned writing and directing Episode VII himself as the first of a new trilogy of Star Wars films. Ultimately, he decided to spend that time with his family instead, so he cut the cord and sold Lucasfilm to Disney. It was a remarkable bout of self-awareness from a man who has typified anything but for so long. When asked if he was involved with the new film, Lucas said that he knew nothing about the story, had seen no footage, and was looking forward to watching it in a theater... as a fan. When you're the author of something popular, knowing when to walk away is a valuable trait, and even though he took some hard knocks getting there, Lucas finally learned it. 

Rowling should walk away from Harry Potter the same way Lucas walked away from Star Wars. She can retain the copyrights to the main story if she wants, but license or sell everything else to Warner Bros for a whole new universe of books, films, and TV shows (she would make a small fortune either way). She can even stay on as a figurehead or elder stateswoman who gets approval over story and design decisions. After all, who wouldn't want to see a series set at an American wizarding school? Or a Quidditch version of Miracle on Ice? Or a trilogy of films about the adventures of the young Dumbledore brothers? 

This would give Rowling the clarity to focus her busy schedule on her Cormoran Strike series (which is being adapted into a BBC television series... my wife is so excited) not to mention her charity. Lucas and Ridley Scott (Prometheus, yecchh.) are poster boys for what happens when you overstay your welcome. It's never a bad idea to go out while you're still on top. 

Sherlock Holmes Enters The Public Domain And George R.R. Martin Does A Happy Dance: Why Longer Copyrights Might Be Better For Artists

Eight months ago, I wrote this article describing why it would be a good thing if Sherlock Holmes entered the public domain. The premise of the article was that long-living copyrights are harmful to artists; they stifle innovation and creativity and incentivize large copyright owners to pursue legal action against even the most minimal use of their copyright. By shortening the copyright lifespan, the monetary value of  properties like Sherlock, would drop, making them less appealing and thus motivating artists to create new works instead. Simultaneously, copyright lawsuits against infringers would drop, keeping smaller independent artists out of court.

Well, last week I got my wish. According to a federal judge in Illinois, Sherlock Holmes and all elements of his character created prior to 1922 are now in the public domain, which means that anyone in the U.S. (but not the U.K.) can write their own personal Sherlock fanfic and profit from it without paying the Conan Doyle estate it's traditionally hefty fee. So, happy Greg, right? Well maybe not. A strange thing happened on the way to victory... I sort of changed my mind.

George R.R. Martin's hatred of fan fiction had something to do with it. In a recent interview, Martin said this in response to a question about his refusal to license Game of Thrones for use in fan fiction:

 [O]ne thing that history has shown us is eventually these literary rights pass to grandchildren or collateral descendents, or people who didn't actually know the writer and don't care about his wishes. It's just a cash cow to them. And then we get abominations to my mind like Scarlet, the Gone with the Wind sequel. 

I've always admired Tolkien and his immense influence on fantasy.  Although I've never met the man, I admire Christopher Tolkien, his son, who has been the guardian of Tolkien's estate who has never allowed that. I'm sure there are publishers waiting in the wings with giant bags of money just waiting for someone to say, "Yes, go ahead, let's write Sauron Strikes Back." I hope I never see Sauron Strikes Back written by some third-rate writer who leaps at the opportunity.

His reasoning makes sense to anyone who has created something worth stealing: he wants to protect the integrity of his creation. Which is pretty easy while he's alive. He can approve or deny any licensing request that he thinks might dishonor the work. But what about after he dies? How do you ensure that the people who become guardians of GoT can protect it the way he wants? Part of the answer, I think, is to make copyrights indefinite, preventing them from entering the public domain. This would effectively turn them into business assets (much like trademarks). For some artists, this could be beneficial.

For the record, I still believe it's important to prevent unnecessary infringement lawsuits and spur innovation - remember, the Constitution supports the protection of copyright for the public good, not just for personal financial gain. For those reasons, I would still support shortening copyright durations. But Martin's words made it clear to me that these aren't the only issues that matter. Isn't artistic integrity something the law should be protecting as well? After all, artists don't just create for the money or recognition. They are driven to create because they have something to say. If an artist can protect the integrity of the work over time, that gives the work greater meaning. Conversely, if copyrights are shortened, the meaning behind the work suffers. For Martin, shorter copyrights would mean those "third-rate writers" would be granted unfettered access to GoT that much sooner. You can see how unappealing that would be for him.

Martin's not alone either. In the late 90's, Disney was on the verge of losing the rights to some of Mickey Mouse's earliest films. In order to prevent them from entering the public domain, Disney lobbied Congress to extend copyright durations. Their efforts paid off in 1998 when Congress passed the Copyright Term Extension Act (referred to derogatorily as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act), which extended the lifespan of all copyrights in the process: individual copyrights were lengthened from life of the author plus 50 to life plus 70, while works of corporate authorship were extended from 75 to 120 years. Time, however, catches us all, and Disney's copyrights will start expiring as early as 2017, so you can bet good money that they'll put the full-court press on Congress to extend copyright terms again. As long as Disney stands to lose its most valuable commercial asset, copyright terms will continue to grow. And the longer Disney has the power to lobby, the more likely copyrights will eventually gain perpetual life. In the not too distant future, Disney may have the right to Mickey Mouse in perpetuity.

But is this inherently a bad thing? I'm not so sure. There are numerous examples of long-term guardianships protecting the integrity of their properties. There's Christopher Tolkien refusing the license any of his father's work for film or television (the elder Tolkien sold the film rights to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings back in 1969). There's the Conan Doyle estate ensuring that all filmic versions of Sherlock meet the owners' high standards. There's also the Broccoli family maintaining a tight control over the James Bond film franchise for the last 50 years. Say what you will about the quality of any individual work, but no one could argue that these owners have anything less than the integrity of the source material at heart.

In any legislation there are trade-offs, with different issues being important to different stakeholders. For some, protection against big corporations is the most salient issue; shorter copyrights make sense for those people. But for someone like Martin, who has created a sprawling world that is financially viable and popular enough to have imitators, it makes sense for the law to protect the quality of the work. That could mean Martin and his heirs own GoT forever.

So maybe, just maybe, I was wrong about the value of longer copyrights. But no matter what, this isn't an issue that can be settled in a single blog post by lil ol' me.