Opening Weekend

The early days of Castle Rock were the most creatively fulfilling years of my life, and Jim Fredrick was a big part of that. He ran our marketing department and even made our stinker films look good. If you want to know what it takes to market a film, Opening Weekend is a must-read." - Rob Reiner

"Opening Weekend is the preeminent book on film marketing and what it takes to persuade and beguile the moviegoing audience. This oral history of Jim’s adventures is an honest, entertaining account of his career creating advertising campaigns for a wide variety of films, including The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Happy Feet, and the Harry Potter franchise. It's a must-read for moviegoers of all ages, as well as film students and scholars."- Alan Horn, former chairman of the Walt Disney Studios and president/COO of Warner Bros.

"Long before reading his book, I told Jim to title it Putting Asses in the Seats. Wisely, he ignored me. Having now read it, I have to say Opening Weekend perfectly captures the anxiety, exaltation, and soul-crushing dread of film marketing. Whether it be the hair-pulling frustration of failing to sell a great movie, or the moral colonoscopy endured trying to sell a stinker, this book gives both the show biz pro and the civilian movie lover an inside look at the incredible, multimillion-dollar crap shoot that is big-time moviemaking. When I finished Opening Weekend, I said a quiet prayer, thanking God I work in television." - Chuck Lorre, television producer