Sometimes when you have conflicting information, it’s nice to go directly to a source who can cut through the spin and let you know what’s really going on. Yesterday, we reported that Warner Brothers had confirmed Gary Oldman would reprise the role of Sirius Black for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Well, this seemed like a no brainer. Oldman’s an outstanding actor and has been the best part of the fantasy series to date. Besides, if you know the plot of Book 5, Oldman’s involvement is necessary.
All of this was quite the surprise to Gary Oldman’s manager Douglas Urbanski. Mr. Urbanski emailed us yesterday (and I’m sure several other sites. We aren’t gonna pretend to be that special) and denied that Oldman was involved at all. I called Mr. Urbanksi today for confirmation and he shed some much needed light on the subject. (I’m paraphrasing for the most part. We were both in cars during the conversation).
He let me know that he thinks someone at Warner Brothers misspoke yesterday when the released the information that Gary was signed on. He didn’t think it was intentional but a mistake. Urbanksi mentioned on several occasions during our discussion that there has been “no conversation” from Warner Brothers and that he and his client were surprised by the press release. As of now, Gary Oldman is “not involved” and hasn’t been approached by Warner Bros. Urbanski contacted Warner Brothers about the press release and WB eventually released a statement saying no contract has been signed. Urbanski doesn’t want people to think Gary was holding back from signing a contract or that he had backed out of the deal. To this point, “no contract exists” and none has been offered.
Besides being a very nice guy, Mr. Urbanski obviously has to look out for his client here. If Warner Brothers keeps saying that Gary Oldman will be in the film, this would hurt his chances of landing another role. Mr. Urbanski also didn’t want Gary’s fans to think that Oldman was attempting to get out of the next Harry Potter film. He reiterated that he had great respect for Warner Brothers and looked forward to dealing with them in regards to Batman Begins (which he thinks will begin filming next year according to what he has heard) and, hopefully, Order of the Phoenix.
Don’t completely give up hope, Sirius fans. Urbanksi didn’t say it was out of the question for him to still be involved with the sequel. It could be done in “ten minutes” if they received a satisfactory contract. Thanks, Douglas, for helping clear that up.
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