Cultural Trends/Popular Culture
Rowling Follows Oprah in Not Quite Bowing Out
By Krystie Lee Yandoli
Saturday, July 16, 2011
J.K. Rowling's book series has its final movie opening and now the author joins Oprah in the small ranks of self-made female tycoons. These may be two fairytale endings, but Rowling's Hermione is a real boon to little girls.
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(WOMENSENEWS)--Even before its July 15 opening, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" had already sold more tickets in advance than any movie in history with sales already reaching $32 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
This of course is the final installment of the Harry Potter movies, which fans have followed for 14 years through seven works of fiction; the opening of an amusement park in Orlando, Fla.; and now eight feature-length films.
And of course the Wizarding World is finding a way to continue financially. Last week Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling announced in a Youtube video that she will launch a Web site, Pottermore, in October 2011 to sell Harry Potter eBooks, among other items.
The release of the last movie tied to Rowling's work marks a major outlier moment for women's financial achievement.
Forbes named Rowling as the first person to become a billionaire by writing books. She has created an entire industry out of just one simple idea that originated on a coffee house napkin in Edinburgh, Scotland. The International Business Times reports that J.K. Rowling is one of the richest women alive.
Amassing that kind of wealth in a single lifetime--in fact in just a few recent decades--can only be compared to Oprah Winfrey, who also bowed out of her main showcase this year when she said goodbye to her daily TV talk show.
Winfrey may not be hosting her regular spot on ABC at 4:00 pm EST, but like Rowling, she's also continuing her media empire. On July 13, in a Facebook letter, she said that this fall she will become the new CEO of the Oprah Winfrey Network. Forbes lists Oprah with a $2.7 billion net worth as of March 2011.
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Submitted by Janet (1 year ago)
While this may be 'a boon to little girls', photos of Emma Watson, the Hermione actress, show her in almost non-existent, body tight dresses, while her male mates are in suits with shirt and jacket. This fame maintains at least one derogatory view of women vis-a-vis men. Emma says she hardly remembers life before she acted in this series, as she was only 8 and still losing baby teeth, so how does she see and experience life as a girl and woman?