What the fuck is going on with the new Harry Potter movie? This is a question you have to ask, since Gary Oldman’s manager has been making it pretty clear that the actor is, as of now, not in the movie, despite what Warner Bros and the press are saying.
This is kind of a big deal, as Oldman’s character, Sirius Black, plays a major role in the fifth story, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. But Oldman’s management company says that not only has the actor not been hired, that he is about to become completely unavailable to the production. From the Douglas Management Group website:
There are currently no plans for Gary Oldman to appear in the upcoming Potter film. We confirm that no negotiations are taking place. We confirm once again that Mr. Oldman is actively seeking other employment.
The public comments of the Potter producers are puzzling and also misleading.
Today we take the further step of noting that it does not look likely that Mr. Oldman will once again play the role of Sirius Black. For reasons known only to the producers of the Potter film, Mr. Oldman has not been engaged. As we approach the beginning of March we are in the "window of commitments" wherein virtually any job accepted would render Mr. Oldman unavailable for this film. The producers, we presume, are well aware of how this all works. While one does not want to jump to wrong conclusions, there is a growing sense that it was never the intention for them to have Mr. Oldman return.
So what’s the story? Why wouldn’t the producers want Oldman back for the fifth film, when they even brought him back for a brief cameo in the fourth? There is literally no way to write Sirius Black out of this story – he’s just that important to the events and to the future of the series. The Harry Potter films have been remarkably well done for four movies now – let’s hope the streak doesn’t come crashing to a halt on five.