Weird Al Yankovic has no doubt cemented his place in internet history as one of its oldest gems ever since the massive networking system exploded in use and popularity in the 2000s and 2010s. The 63-year-old singer was already a big thing when he first hit fame at the age of 16 in 1976 with a parody song of his family’s Plymouth Belvedere airing on The Dr. Memento Radio Show.
His career as a singer has pretty much been uphill ever since then, not to mention the rise in fame once again with parody songs on YouTube of different artists and their popular hits. If his parody cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It (called Eat it) wasn’t enough to make you chuckle, his once-proposed idea might definitely have!
A Must-Read: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Review – Everything You’d Want From A Weird Al Movie
Weird Al Yankovic Recalls Getting Turned Down Over Harry Potter Parody Request
There’s a very obvious reason why intellectual property law is hitting an all-time high in the 21st Century. People are stealing other people’s ideas left right and center, and it would be foolish of even the most creative of minds to not patent their work accordingly if they want to reap its benefits.
Weird Al Yankovic comes from a time when disputes over the plagiarism of songs were ever-common and legal disputes would arise out of it. He was, however, smart enough to steal the idea but the difference is that he makes parodies, so he’s pretty much exempt from all that legal trouble.
Regardless, it must’ve been quite a bummer for the Straight Outta Lynwood artist to not be granted an opportunity to make a parody of the theme track of one of the biggest and most successful movie franchises ever, we’re talking about the Harry Potter franchise!
As Yankovic recalls while promoting his new biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which is not surprisingly a parody too, he revealed that he had once tried to get his hands (legally) on the theme of the song of the Harry Potter franchise but subsequently got turned down by Warner Bros. He said-
“Whenever it was, about a decade or two ago, I approached the movie company just to get a general blessing like, ‘Hey, I’d like to do a Harry Potter parody.’ And I think they said no, or they never responded or whatever,”
“But sometimes when you’re dealing with franchises, and you ask permission, you know, there’s so many people that can say no, and they usually do.”
Well, it would’ve been quite a treat to listen to a parodied version of Hedwig’s Theme, Weird Al’s creativity knows no bounds!
Weird Al Yankovic Likes To Think His New Biopic Is The Last Harry Potter Movie
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise got a pretty good sending-off in 2011, with the second part of Deathly Hallows giving a much-needed end to the 10-year-long and strong franchise.
Fans would’ve obviously been saddened by the end of their beloved franchise at the time, with some even growing up with the actors themselves. But worry not Potter fans, Weird Al Yankovic (jokingly) has a solution to that.
If you’re a fan of the franchise and are planning on watching the new parody biopic of the 63-year-old internet icon, called Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, then you’ve essentially signed up to watch the latest addition in the Harry Potter franchise, or that’s what Yankovic says.
While promoting his new biopic, the Amish Paradise singer revealed the never got permission to write a parody song of the Harry Potter theme, but jokingly shared that his favorite one from the franchise is Weird: The Al Yankovic Story-
“We like to think that that’s the last movie of the Harry Potter franchise,”
Even out of character (or maybe he still is in character), Weird Al never fails to make everyone laugh. His new biopic is currently available for streaming on The Roku Channel.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
