Jean Fink, a 51-year-old Los Angeles artist who also works as an administrative assistant, was so distraught after a night of fitful sleep that she dashed off a scathing message to the man who'd betrayed her. "I can't breath amymore [sic] because you just ripped out my heart," she wrote in an Aug. 15 email. ...

Kerry McGee, a 24-year-old office administratoPhase of r from Townsville, Australia, says Mr. Horn's attempt to create a positive spin on the delay "put fuel on the fire." In response to Mr. Horn's apology she sent 30 angry letters to Warner Bros. in bright red envelopes — an allusion to "howlers," a magical kind of hate mail in the Potter world that screams loudly at the recipient and explodes violently if left unopened.

The Journal features a fine collection of other strongly and/or wrongly worded e-mails, as well as a referral to some of the fan reaction videos that have arrived on YouTube. We've sampled a selection below for your review, but be advised that the raw frustration and geekery on display may be disturbing to some viewers. All we need now to close this particular circle of hell is a reaction video from Horn — let's hope he survives long enough to deliver.

[YouTube video courtesy of Tristian Crider, lorinjj, tomasdacorta, xxToxicInsanity, snapiekins, lovesallbooks]

• Voldemort Hath No Fury Like Angry Harry Potter Fans [WSJ via Hero Complex]

“The release date change does not alter the production schedule for this or future Harry Potter films. Post-production on Half-Blood Prince was completed on time, and the studio’s release plans for the two-part Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will not be affected by this change. We know Harry Potter fans are eagerly anticipating seeing the final chapters unfold onscreen. In fact, the good news for them is that the gap will now be shortened between Half-Blood Prince and the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Indeed, ecstatic Potter fans around the world rejoiced at having to wait another 11 months for the series' next installment — particularly those at MuggleNet, where glowing reactions ranged from "I AM SO PISSED RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE NO IDEA. 2008 is officially the "WORST YEAR EVER" to creatively spelled calls for a Warner Bros. boycott. And of course, feel free to sign the inevitable angry petition for an earlier release date.

Now Variety reports that Disney is moving its own animated fall tentpole Bolt — which would have opened opposite Potter on Nov. 28 — back to July 17 as well. Universal and Will Ferrell, meanwhile, which previously had that day to itself for Land of the Lost, were last spotted scouting downtown window ledges at lunch. Send our apologies if you see them.

• 'Half-Blood Prince' moves to July [Variety]

We think this falls into the "content is king" model evinced recently by Alan Horn, Barry Meyer and the higher-ups at Time Warner — as in, "This content is kind of terrible... Do we really have to release this?" At least that's the impression Horn apparently left with LAT BFF Patrick Goldstein:

Horn was honest about his assessment of the film. "I think it's a well-made picture, but while it's funny in spots, it's very English," he said. "I don't think it's broadly commercial. It feels like a film that deserves a spirited release, but not a wide one. Joel has an 800-screen deal, which we'll honor, but we might not be willing to spend the marketing money he wants us to."

Horn shrugged. "I guess I'm in a shocking state of equanimity," he said. "The filmmakers have every right to do what they think is best in support of their movies. But we have the right to do what's best for Warner Bros. Sometimes the pursuit of those interests results in a disagreement. For now, we're preparing to release the film in October, but I don't see it starting out on 800 screens. If Joel is thinking there is someone out there willing to spend twice as much money as we're willing to, I'm sure he will pursue that."

Director Danny Boyle's Indian adventure Slumdog Millionaire is apparently also on the block after a $5 million acquisition last year by Warner Independent, but Horn insists Warners isn't backing up the dump truck just yet: "I'd like for us to find a way to release movies like Slumdog Millionaire, but we keep coming back to the same question — can we really do it justice?" Translation: "Throw this negative in Joel's moving truck on your way off the lot, will you?" Sure, Alan — anything for you, babe.

• Warners' films: Movie overboard! [LAT]

And while we can't and/or wouldn't argue any of these points, a ceremonious Warners rimjob also seems untimely. After all, what did Meyer do with his Speed Racer faxes on opening weekend? That and a few more pressing questions after the jump.

1. What about Speed Racer? Warners' legacy is one of adventurous flops and sturdy gambles, not messianic cultural events like TDK. If the point is a "content" state-of-the-union, then it's worth noting that the studio also dropped the summer's biggest bomb. For which, by the way, we love them; Where the Wild Things Are isn't likely to fare much better, but it is nice to know it's there.

2. What about Warner Independent and Picturehouse? The slimmed-down New Line earns a cursory mention, but its return to genre-junk roots is one of Time Warner's signature (and slightly desperate) content revisions since the AOL merger. And the axed Picturehouse — which had a strong summer of Mongol and Kit Kittredge after winning three Oscars in February — was all about "content" that's hit and missed just as regularly as the mother ship.

3. What about Get Smart? Again, the sturdy gamble is the thing: A hit that's grossed $200 million worldwide, will land equally hard on DVD and VOD and has sequels on the way. Screw TDK, really — Bewkes needs more like this, and he needs them recognized.

4. Did you know that Charlie Sheen makes $800,000 per episode of Two and a Half Men? A bit of rehash of an earlier question here at Defamer, we know, but a phenomenon we've come to now grudgingly accept knowing that T&HM is the flagship of a $4 billion television empire. Not that we get it; feel free to continue discussing below.

5. Whither questions and actual answers about new media revenues? Just because Tim Arango is writing all about Warners' precious "content" doesn't mean Bewkes can get away without answering his own query, "[T]he consumption of entertainment products is growing rapidly... The question is how do you offer it, and how do you get paid for it?" And this guy wonders why TW stock still hovers around $16. Come on, Jeff.

• Holy Cash Cow, Batman! Content Is Back [NYT]

And while the release has now been postponed indefinitely and Horn assures us that Jonze is staying on the project, tell us if Horn's comments after the jump read as one of the less emphatic endorsements you've seen from a studio boss this year:

"We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film," Horn said. "We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. We obviously still have a challenge on our hands. But I wouldn't call it a problem, simply a challenge. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right. ... The jury is still out on this one. But we remain confident that Spike is going to figure things out and at the end of the day we'll have an artistically compelling movie.""

Goldstein brings up a good point that for better or worse, Warners gambles (or used to, anyhow) on directing talent more aggressively than most studios are prepared to do, but that for every Christopher Nolan franchise reboot there's a Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain) or Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Invasion) lurking in the distance. The worst thing Horn and Robinov could do, though, is nudge Jonze somewhere toward the middle — somewhere ostensibly "safe," where the edge and the bloom wear off in short, mediocre order, leaving everyone dissatisfied.

Which, of course, is where it's headed considering Warners' recent hard right turn. Thanks a pantload for the pep talk, Horn.

• Can Spike Jonze save 'Where the Wild Things Are'? [The Big Picture]

THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY: Nikki Finke has spent the last two days trying to make something out of the Weinsteins reportedly falling two months behind on their residual payments to the Directors Guild of America. Gasp! Or something: An anonymous, "prominent Hollywood helmer" notified Finke that arbitration could start within "twenty days" if the matter isn't resolved. Harvey Weinstein himself followed up to say he knew nothing about it and that he was looking into the third party that handles the payments. The DGA itself acknowledged the delinquency Wednesday, and it didn't quite sound like the meltdown Finke was praying for:

"The DGA has had a long and productive working relationship with The Weinstein Company and its predecessor. It is sometimes the case, with various companies, that residuals payments are late. We are working directly with TWC to resolve this issue and see that our members receive prompt residuals payments."

So! Scandalous! Now Finke is actively soliciting dirt on other studios who've fallen behind: "I would like to shame them into paying up," she wrote Wednesday. But don't call her a gossip. SCORE: We doubt Harvey Weinstein has ever "honestly misunderstood" anything in his career, and we certainly don't doubt his financial woes. But if the DGA's happy, we're happy.

THINKFILM: Its corporate parent CapCo may have staved off its SAG woes on the set of Nailed, but blogger AJ Schnack issued a "breaking" (if vague) news alert Wednesday that the troubled distributor should brace itself for a flurry of non-payment lawsuits from numerous directions. Variety followed up today with specific litigation in the works and a spirited defense from CapCo boss David Bergstein, who's introducing a new European sales arm in Cannes as we speak:

"I come from a distressed asset background, not the film business," Bergstein said. "When you're dealing with any distressed asset, whether it's a single film or a company, it takes you the first year just to straighten out those issues. You can't have problems for five years and expect them to go away in five minutes."

Variety also notes Bergstein is staying in Cannes on a yacht — named Pegasus. SCORE: Just another schmogul. We love ThinkFilm, but it's not looking promising.

PICTUREHOUSE/WARNER INDEPENDENT: Still dead, but as observed by a deeply skeptical Patrick Goldstein, Warner Bros. president Alan Horn is still trafficking in primo denial about his studio's outlook for specialty film distribution:

"We haven't thrown in the towel. ... If there is a specialty movie that interests us or we find something we want to buy, we'll still do it. But marketing is marketing is marketing. I don't think you need a specialty label to market a specialty picture. The tools just aren't that different. Take Juno. In my view, its success wasn't a function of whether it was at Fox or Fox Searchlight. What made it a hit was the movie itself, not the marketing."

Wow. Like, WOW. We presume Horn is thinking of his own low-budget hit Michael Clayton, which succeeded despite a marketing effort worse than Crystal Pepsi's. Apply the same logic to WB's bomb Speed Racer, though, and he's kind of on to something. SCORE: We're with Goldstein — stick to the franchises, fellas.

"If Superman had done twice what it did, the whole summer would have looked different," said Mr. Robinov. "It's as much about perception as reality. Even with the failure of a movie like 'Poseidon,' we've had much smaller movies we've lost as much on."

Mr. Horn agreed. "I've seen movies that cost $15 million lose as much as $20 million," he said. "But when event movies don't perform well, it is very high profile."

It's a point well-taken, for any hack studio exec can easily fritter away tens of millions of dollars promoting the megabudgeted revival of a supposedly-can't-miss superhero franchise like Superman, but it takes a true visionary to select just the right $15 million labor of love on which to suffer an eight-figure loss.

• After Big Flops, Warner Hopes for 'Sleeper' Hit in Smaller Films [NY Times]