Buy clothes Charlie Bucket couldn’t afford
My best-dressed friend Jen sent me a link to Kitson, which has started selling a line of exclusive, and expensive, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-related merchandise.
I certainly don’t lay any claim to the idea of Golden Tickets or t-shirts, but I was a little giddy to see that three of the slogan shirts feature dialogue from the script (as opposed to Roald Dahl’s book, or the original movie). The shirts in question are:
“I’m sorry. I don’t speak American.” (Spoken by Mr. Salt.)
“Chewing gum is really gross. Chewing gum I hate the most.” (Spoken by Willy Wonka.)
and
“I love de Chocolate!” (Spoken by Augustus Gloop.)
Okay, the third one is a bit of a stretch, because Augustus says similar things in every version of the story. So I’ll just claim the “de,” since I wrote out his German accent. The fourth slogan shirt, “There’s no know where they’re going”, is also in the script, but it comes directly from Chapter 18 of Dahl’s book.
Obviously, there will be a ton of Charlie-related products over the next few months, so I won’t point out every promotion. And to anticipate the first question in the comments section, no, the screenwriter doesn’t get any piece of the merchandise.
But if Kitson wants to send me a t-shirt or two, I’ll take a men’s large. Not XL. L. Cheers.
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May 7th, 2005 at 10:01 am
Are t-shirts in the US usually that expensive?
Would be nice to see men’s versions of some of those (there’s only one Golden Ticket one), but it looks like it is mostly a woman’s website (with a small men’s section…)
I’m assuming you got some official crew clothing from the production… What kind of thing was there? I’ve only seen caps and fleeces, but I’d imagine that there are things that don’t filter this far down the chain….
May 7th, 2005 at 10:28 am
Just for info’s sake, John is correct that the screenwriter of an adaptation generally doesn’t get a piece of the merchandise, but the screenwriter of an original film does get a 5% stake in the company’s share of the merchandise money.
At least…they’re supposed to. Accounting tends to create trouble.
May 7th, 2005 at 4:11 pm
Good lord, Craig. Really? The screenwriter of an original gets 5% of the merchandising? I’m embarrassed to admit I had no idea.
I guess Go is the only one of my movies that wasn’t based on something else, and it didn’t exactly lend itself to tie-ins. But from here on out, I’ll only write originals with tremendous merchandising potential. And I’ll hire really aggressive accountant types.
May 7th, 2005 at 9:39 pm
Kitson is way expensive, but it’s great to see your lines on shirts! And Dahl’s as well.
May 7th, 2005 at 9:49 pm
I also noticed a lot of children’s books available for pre-order while at work today. Including a hardcover edition of the novel with color illustrations and candy page borders.
A storybook, novelization, sticker books, joke books, and more.
My shelves are to be flooded with it soon!
May 8th, 2005 at 2:27 pm
Mr August,
Who exactly does Mr Salt say the line “I’m sorry I dont speak American” to?
May 8th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Ethan:
He says it to Mr. Teavee, Mike’s dad.
May 9th, 2005 at 6:25 am
Mr August,
Which of the 5 kids in the story did you have the most fun writing their dialogue for and why?
May 17th, 2005 at 10:33 pm
I SO wish that I could get that sweet brown shirt with the creme wonka logo and “I want my golden ticket” on the back … but over 50 dollars is too much to spend on a t-shirt, even if it is for one of the greatest movies that will come out.
Haha, you for sure is what will make this movie so wonderful.
June 6th, 2005 at 7:06 pm
Hot Topic has cheaper shirts of Charlie. 16.00
http://www.hottopic.com/store/nodePage.asp?LS=0&BRAND_ID=63
I like “Life was never sweeter” myself.
June 7th, 2005 at 11:53 am
Ok John, I get the hint. I give up.
July 22nd, 2005 at 6:01 pm
I have a Wonka logo tee that I got a few years back. I bought it because I liked the book and the movie (and a play I saw when I was 7 or
My husband says I should sell it because they’re so in demand right now and no one else has the kind I have anywhere. Not for sale, anyhow. I don’t want to and I won’t because it’s not about the price or $$. It’s about the love of a good story, and I bought the shirt to show that. I don’t like that everything has to be about financial value. Love a story any story, from any point of view- it’s your choice to enjoy whichever version you like-that’s priceless.