[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: Jim, you opened your book with being fired from your job?
Jim Fredrick, Author/Editor/Professor At Chapman University Dodge College: Yeah, cold open it’s called and it was a cold moment.
Actually, I have to admit it wasn’t my original idea. A friend of mine, a pretty famous producer who is really good with storytelling, knew I was a trailer maker for a long time said:
Boy, you should start your book like you would a trailer with a cold open, kind of grab the audience by the collar and shake them up a little bit before you really start telling your story.
And it was certainly, when you get fired from a job, it’s quite a moment in your life. It really plays with your confidence, your ego. It was at that point in my career where I’d basically ended my career as a film marketing executive in the studio side.
I did go on to teach for 15 years after that and do other things but I thought it might be just fun to start at the end of this journey that I’ve had in film marketing and working for Warner [Brothers] and Castle Rock and starting as a trailer editor. I just thought now we’ll go back in time after I get whacked, so yeah.
Film Courage: There’s also sort of a phoenix rising from the ashes experience hopefully most people have after they’ve been fired (not that I would know anything about that) but you can get back on your feet and reclaim your life.
Jim: Absolutely, yeah. This came at the end of a very stressful 35 year period of making movie campaigns. I started as an editor so I was on one side of the desk for about 10 years and learned the process of that and then was hired by…(Watch the video interview on YouTube there).
About:
After starting his career in 1983 as a trailer editor and producer at famed advertising boutique Intralink, Jim Fredrick went on to serve as president of marketing at Castle Rock Entertainment, senior vice president of creative advertising at Warner Bros. and executive vice president of marketing at Sony Screen Gems. In 2011, he founded his own company, Jim Fredrick Motion Picture Marketing.
Across a span of 35 years, Fredrick’s roles as a trailer maker and studio executive allowed him to craft advertising campaigns for a range of movies, from such iconic cinematic gems as The Shawshank Redemption to the widely beloved Harry Potter franchise. He has helped produce more than 196 film marketing campaigns.
His memoir, Opening Weekend, explores the intricacies of the lesser-known business of film distribution and marketing, unraveling the complex mechanisms through which movies are sold to discriminating audiences. Replete with triumphs, setbacks, and the relentless spirit that drives the creation and promotion of cinematic masterpieces, Opening Weekend promises an enthralling glimpse into the previously untold world of Hollywood movies.
BUY THE BOOK – OPENING WEEKEND:
An Insider’s Look at Marketing Hollywood’s Hits and Flops
CONNECT WITH JIM FREDRICK:
Chapman.edu/our-faculty/jim-fredrick
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