The director of the upcoming horror movie "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" has reportedly been threatened with violence due to his adaptation of the beloved children's stories. Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who is taking advantage of the expiration on the copyright to A.A. Milne's books, is said to have angered fans of the original stories with his unique take on the characters. Although Frake-Waterfield had originally hoped for a limited theatrical run, the film has already earned nearly $1 million in two weeks of release in Mexico, leading analysts to predict it will be one of the most profitable movies of all time.
A Copyright Loophole for Winnie the Pooh
A.A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh" books were long held by Disney under copyright. However, Frake-Waterfield's film takes advantage of the fact that the copyright on the original books has expired in the US, 95 years after their first publication. This has opened the door for other filmmakers to create adaptations of the classic stories.
The Horror of Blood and Honey
Images of "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" first surfaced last year and quickly went viral. The film features a sinister, human-sized version of Pooh and Piglet that menace a young woman relaxing in a hot tub. The trailer confirms that the movie is definitely not aimed at children. Frake-Waterfield has said that some people have called the police over the film, while others have issued death threats against him.
A Surprising Success
Despite the controversy surrounding the movie, "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" has already performed well at the box office in Mexico. Some analysts have even predicted that it could have the highest budget-to-box office ratio since the success of "Paranormal Activity" in 2007. Frake-Waterfield, who had initially been worried about the reception to his film, is now joking about the controversy, saying that "other people didn't [believe in the idea]... and now it's doing all right." The movie is set to be released in the UK on March 10.
A Copyright Loophole for Winnie the Pooh
A.A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh" books were long held by Disney under copyright. However, Frake-Waterfield's film takes advantage of the fact that the copyright on the original books has expired in the US, 95 years after their first publication. This has opened the door for other filmmakers to create adaptations of the classic stories.
The Horror of Blood and Honey
Images of "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" first surfaced last year and quickly went viral. The film features a sinister, human-sized version of Pooh and Piglet that menace a young woman relaxing in a hot tub. The trailer confirms that the movie is definitely not aimed at children. Frake-Waterfield has said that some people have called the police over the film, while others have issued death threats against him.
A Surprising Success
Despite the controversy surrounding the movie, "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" has already performed well at the box office in Mexico. Some analysts have even predicted that it could have the highest budget-to-box office ratio since the success of "Paranormal Activity" in 2007. Frake-Waterfield, who had initially been worried about the reception to his film, is now joking about the controversy, saying that "other people didn't [believe in the idea]... and now it's doing all right." The movie is set to be released in the UK on March 10.
