Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today’s video is PART 2 of a 4 part series where we’ll be taking a closer look at the storylines left OUT of the Harry Potter films. These are the subplots and storylines from the books that didn’t make it to the big screen due to time constraints. Apparently the upcoming Harry Potter HBO series, which has the goal of creating faithful adaptations of the novels, will allocate 8 HOURS per season, with each season dedicated to one book. With that sort of a runtime, we should be hopeful that all of these secondary storylines make it in.

Anyway, let’s get in to it.

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Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. While the Harry Potter films were able to bring the Wizarding World’s magic to the big screen (and in my opinion, did a good job at doing so) it’s important to note that they were not without their limitations. The truth is that they had a LOT of information to convey, and a very limited amount of screen time to do it- inevitably leading to a fairly substantial amount of information - characters, subplots etc being left out of the films ENTIRELY.

HOWEVER, today I’m going to be putting the spotlight on some of these omitted storylines (some big, some small) from the books, giving them the screen time they deserve. I’ve done a few videos in the style before, one taking a look at the DARKEST aspects removed from the films, and another looking at all of the characters removed from the films, but today I’ll be focusing on storylines.

Hopefully most of these will be included in the upcoming HBO series.

Anyway, let’s dive in.

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Jim's Book & Audiobook available at UPM:

https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/O/Opening-Weekend

And Amazon:

https://a.co/d/7icO1rO

In this video I interview Jim Fredrick, a seasoned veteran of the film industry and former Senior Vice President of Creative Advertising at Warner Bros. With over 35 years in the business, Jim has crafted compelling trailers and unforgettable advertising campaigns for a diverse range of films, from timeless classics like The Shawshank Redemption to one of the most globally cherished franchises of all time—(and one you might have heard of) Harry Potter.

In our conversation, we explore Jim’s journey—from his entry into professional filmmaking to the pivotal moments and mentors that helped shape his career. We also dive into what he calls “The Assignment of a Lifetime”—his role in shaping the magic behind the Harry Potter franchise’s advertising strategy, as well as his opinion of Harry Potter in the modern era.

This conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at how he collaborated with directors, producers, and creative teams to bring the Wizarding World to life for audiences across the globe.

Jim discusses things like the process of creating the first teaser trailers that introduced Harry, Hermione, and Ron to the world, selecting the perfect images for posters, choosing just the right John Williams score to set the tone, and how every detail was meticulously curated to build excitement and anticipation for each film.

We also discuss his new book, Opening Weekend: An Insider's Look at Marketing Hollywood's Hits and Flops, where he provides an in-depth account of his 35-year journey through the world of movie marketing. In the book, Jim offers readers exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes and firsthand accounts of working with studio executives, as well as navigating relationships with famous movie stars and directors.

Before we get into it please note that this interview was not conducted live. I pre-recorded the questions and sent them over to Jim in advance.

Without further ado, I present to you Jim Fredrick.

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