There’s a rumor going around (well, okay it seems to be an article, with Daniel Radcliffe chiming in) that “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is being edited to avoid the failure of “Grindhouse.”
This is a bit like deciding that because 2 lb. bags of Licorice don’t sell particularly well, that it’s best to not try and sell 2 lb. bags of chocolate.
Is there anyone who can seriously explain to me the logic here? “Grindhouse” is a rated R film that appeals largely to young men, and film geeks. It being a 3 hour long film could dissuade people from going to see it. “Harry Potter,” on the other hand, is the movie equivalent of crack cocaine wrapped in bacon. You couldn’t stop a large number of people from going to see it if you paid them.
And listen, I do understand that you will never be able to make a faithful reproduction of a book in film form unless it’s a very short book (see “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”), and that streamlining is important to getting a movie out. As long as you’re true to the story, you can cut a lot (see “To Kill a Mockingbird” with Gregory Peck), and if you’re not true to the story it doesn’t matter how long the film is (See the 2 and a quarter hour version of “The Scarlet Letter”, starring Demi Moore).
All the same, if this is your rationale, then you’ve missed something important…