So, what can be cut from OOTP/

[Pilgrim Grey]

I finally have my own copy of OOTP again, and re-reading it I was kinda struck by how inconsequential a lot of it is. There are vast amounts of exposition and sort of "world expanding" stuff that works great on the page, but wouldn't be necessary on the screen (and let's face it, the films haven't exactly been known for including absolutely everything). So the adaptation of OOTP, I think, while it will be heavily truncated, won't necessarily be missing anything more than the previous films.

There is the problem that we don't know exactly how important some of the seemingly extraneous stuff is, but I think it should be pretty easy to cut it back to the bare bones:


Harry and Dudley get attacked; Harry gets the Peck of Owls
The Advanced Guard break Harry out of Privet Dr. and fly him to Grimmauld Place (although haven't we had reports that the flight is a "chase"? Maybe these two could be combined so that the Guard rescue Harry from a whole bunch of Dementors and they have to fight them off as they fly)
Introduced to Kreacher and the Order in Grimmauld Place; re-introduced to Sirius as more of a friend or brother; re-introduced to Fred and George and the joke shop. Mrs Weasley and the Boggart. Sirius gives Harry the communication Mirror, promising that the two can talk whenever he wants.
The Ministry - Harry is tried, Dumbledore gets him off, introduction of Umbridge and the Statue of Magical Brethren, Harry sees The Door
Hogwarts Express - Ron and Hermione are prefects, Harry sits with Luna, Ginny and Neville, everyone's kinda edgy around him. Re-introduce Cho. Introduce Thestrals
Umbridge's speech where she announces that she's also High Inquisitor, Hagrid isn't back (or maybe he is, we still don't know whether Grawp is going to play a part in Book 7, so he could possibly be cut). Hermione talks about OWLs
Harry dreams about the Department of Mysteries Door.
DADA - Harry shouts at Umbridge about Voldy, gets detention. Umbridge says that Voldy isn't back and that Harry is lying
Harry starts the DA, Cho joins and he asks her out. She kisses him under the mistletoe.
Quidditch - Ron becomes Keeper, plays badly against Slytherin. Harry, Fred and George are banned for life.
In the Common Room - Fred and George set off their fireworks throughout the schhol, Harry goes to bed, dreams about biting Mr Weasley
Christmas on the Closed Ward - Mr Weasley is in St Mungo's; Harry, Ron and Hermione see Neville's parents.
After Christmas, Dumbledore arranges for Snape to teach Occlumency.
Care of Magical Creatures - Hagrid shows the class Thestrals; afterwards he tells Harry, Ron and Hermione about Grawp (or not)
Harry and Cho go on a date, it starts OK but he mentions meeting Hermione (and Ron) and she gets angry and storms off
Harry goes to Occlumency, still angry about Cho. Snape sees the memory of the two of them together and Harry gets even madder. There's a commotion upstairs, Snape goes to investigate, Harry sees Snape's Worst Memory. Snape catches him and screams at him.
Walking back from Occlumency, Harry sees Fred and George caught by Umbridge, they break out and fly away.
Harry keeps having dreams about The Door, he mentions to Ron and Hermione that the Occlumency seems to have made them occur more frequently. Hermione thinks that he should talk to Snape about it. Harry refuses. He realises what he's been seeing.
Exams - maybe just a montage or something of the various exams. In History of magic, Harry falls asleep and sees Sirius captured
Harry explains to Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville what he saw. Luna kinda strolls up, having been playing with the Thestrals. They go down to the Forest, but are followed and caught by Umbridge. She gets taken away by Centaurs.
Big battle in the Ministry. Introduce Bellatrix. Sirius appears and dies. Voldy and Dumbledore show up, they fight. Voldy possesses Harry then flees.
Harry trashes Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore explains about the Prophecy. Harry tries to use the mirror, but it doesn't work. He smashes it.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna sit together on the train on the way home - Harry isn't alone.


So, have I missed anything? Is there anything that really needs to be there that isn't? Or is there stuff there that really isn't necessary, or that could be done in a more succinct way?

The way I see the film being structured is basically Umbridge Takes Charge - all the changes she tries to make in Hogwarts, and all the terrible things she does to Harry. So that could basically be the main thread of the film, with all the major plot points (Harry's Dreams, Cho, the DA) happening around that. If the mirror is introduced early on, however, it curtails Umbridge's evilness, so that Harry begins to sort of rely on his conversations with Sirius as a lifeline - this would also serve to make Sirius more prominent in the story, so that his death has impact.
Things like the sacking of Trelawney and the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes could just be sort of referenced - the films are good at doing that: just having throw-away lines or short scenes of Fred and George making the Skiving Snackboxes and stuff.

EDIT: things in bold are new additions.

[Telchar II]

Nice one, PG! I have to admit that OOTP has a certain momentum when outlined as you have done.

On the general flabbiness -- I will have to reread myself. If memory serves, JRK herself said that OOTP needed some editing.

But I do want to see the boggart turning into everyone that Mrs. Weasley loves. To me, that's a rather shattering scene. And very much a foreshadowing of book 7 -- unless it's Molly who's killed, trying to prevent what the boggart showed her.

Come to think of it, that could be another prophecy (of sorts) that only gathers force when it is acted upon. Not quite self-fulfilling, if it is Molly who dies, but along the same lines nonetheless.

[Pilgrim Grey]

Good point Telchar, I forgot that scene when I was writing. And you're right, not only is it a nice emotional scene, it really increases the foreboding - up till then we hadn't really seen any of the fear that the Order has about what is to come. It's like what Mr Weasley says in GOF about the Dark Mark...

Anything else I've missed?

[Elwen]

Neat outline - I'd suggest that the trial scene could be cut. It is actually a little inconsequential - nice in the book, but all that is new then can be introduced in other ways, and later - including (arguably) the ministry. :)

[Pilgrim Grey]

I'm not sure El, I could see it being a really tight introduction to a lot of things quickly - there's Fudge completely ignoring V's return, his meddling at Hogwarts, possibly an appearance by Lucius Malfoy, a first sighting of Umbridge and the Statue of Magical Brethren (admitedly I've always had a soft spot for JKR's imagery there), and I can forsee a lingering, sinister shot of the hallway leading down to the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. I'm sure all those things could be worked in in other areas, but I think it would actually add time, and make things a bit more convoluted.

[Lanen]

It's always possible, of course, to just chop out the Harry-Cho romance, since it doesn't add to the plot (except to show Harry being a bit of an idiot around girls). A quick reference would do it - but I expect they'll keep it in for the 'love interest'. I think you're right, PG, unless Grawp plays a big part in book 7 there's no reason for him to be in the plot - they'll just have to write Hagrid out altogether.

Let's face it, it is impossible to put a book this complex with this many subplots on the screen without losing a fair bit. Still, I'd like to see the movie you've just outlined, PG! :D

[Elwen]

Well, the romance is in - so much is clear - Dan Radcliffe has been talking about it for a while...

PG - I can see your point....

I am just so con cerned that we get another rushed scene at the beginning liek the totally botched Quidditch world cup in GOF.... they REALLY should have cut that whole scene - the information it conveyed (and the confusion it created in any non-readers) simply wasn't worth the special effects in those scenes - the SFX weren't even very good....