While promoting Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Weird Al revealed that he approached Warner Bros. to obtain permission, but that it has been violated. “Whenever it was, like a decade or two ago, I went to the studio just to get a blanket blessing like, ‘Hey, I’d love to do a Harry Potter parody.’ But I think they said no, or they didn’t respond or whatever… But sometimes when you deal with franchises and ask for permission, you know, many people can say no, and they usually do.
It’s worth noting that Yankovic doesn’t need permission, as parody falls under fair use. But since he was the tallest in the world, he decided to ask for permission anyway. Or maybe he doesn’t want another Coolio scene… Weird Al has done parodies of major franchises before, like “The Saga Begins,” “American Pie” spoof on The Phantom Menace, and “Ode to a Super Hero”, a “Piano Man ” a parody of the original Spider-Man movie.
Looks like Weird Al learned something from this. “If I’m doing a franchise, it’s better to do it and ask for forgiveness than permission.”
But Weird Al finally sealed the connection with the Harry Potter franchise, as Daniel Radcliffe finally played the iconic accordion in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. “Maybe that’s what this movie is about… It’s his way of making a parody of Harry Potter,” Radcliffe said. Yankovic tied it all together, saying, “We like to think [Weird: The Al Yankovic Story] is the last film in the Harry Potter franchise.” Now, the showdown between Weird Al and Voldemort is what we need to see. Expelliarmus Accordion!
