New News regarding theatrical and EE of RotK

[Elfhelm]

Apparently PJ gave an interview and made a reference to the EE of RotK having this scene, in particular:

The showdown between Gandalf and Saruman at Orthanc.

He said he cut it from the movie but it will be in the EE, so that ends all specualtion about whether the theatrical will be as big as an EE. He said the theatrical release is about 3 hours long, not including credits.

[azalea]

Originally posted by Elfhelm

...he cut it from the movie...

That stinks!!!!!

[cassiopeia]

I fear greatly for the ROTK. Who's guessing the battle of Pelennor Fields is going to go for half the movie.

How are they going get the Palantir? What will happen to Saruman? I thought Saruman was going to fall on a wheel, and Legolas was going to shoot Grima.

[Kalimac]

The information came from an email Peter Jackson sent to Harry Knowles at AICN. Here it is:

Saruman thing you describe is a muddle of half-truths. We have decided to save the Saruman sequence for the DVD. It's a great little scene. 7 mins long. Chris is wonderful, as usual. Brad is in about 6 shots. It was a film maker decision - nothing to do with the studio. The problem is that the sequence was originally shot for The Two Towers, as it is in the book. Since The Two Towers couldn't sustain a 7 min "wrap" after Helm's Deep, we thought it would be a good idea to save it for the beginning of the Return of the King. The trouble is, when we viewed various ROTK cuts over the last few weeks, it feels like the first scenes are wrapping last year's movie, instead of starting the new one. We felt it got ROTK off to an uncertain beginning, since Saruman plays no role in the events of ROTK (we don't have the Scouring later, as the book does), yet we dwell in Isengard for quite a long time before our new story kicks off. We reluctantly made the decision to save this sequence for the DVD. The choice was made on the basis that most people will assume that Saruman was vanquished by the Helm's Deep events, and Ent attack. We can now crack straight into setting up the narrative tension of ROTK, which features Sauron as the villian. It was a very similar situation to last year when we decided to take a nice Boromir/Denethor flashback out of The Two Towers, and put it in the DVD. It was causing us pacing problems in the theatrical version, but with the Extended Cut just coming out now, fans can see this great little scene. Thank God for DVD, since it does mean that a version of the movie, which has different pacing requirements, can be released later. The Saruman sequence will definately be a highlight of the Extended ROTK DVD. We have a lot of great DVD material this time around. As we crafted the movie, we reduced it from an over 4 hour running time, down to 3.12 (without credits - about 8 mins long). This was done by us. There were no studio cutting notes. We now have a movie with a pace that fells ok for it's theatrical release. One more week to go. We are nearly there. Will we still be standing? It's going to be a close run thing. Cheers, Peter J

And, before you ask who Harry Knowles is . . he is a big movie fan who has insider knowledge about the film industry. He was Peter Jackson's invited guest to the set of Lord of the Rings . . he is the one who wrote 11 chapters of spoilers from his visit on the set. You should also know that Christopher Lee's website has responded and indicated that the scene was cut . .

[Artanis]

I would have loved to see that scene in the thetrical version of RotK, but I can also well understand PJ's reasons for cutting it.

But cass has a very good point

about how Gandalf is going to get the palantir.

[azalea]

Well, I have to admit I'm very disappointed, but at least I've found out ahead of time so I'm prepared. If I hadn't known, I'd definately be wondering as I was watching in the theater, because of how much it's been discussed here!
I think it could have been in TTT just fine, with or without cutting some of the Helm's Deep buildup. I mean, seven minutes is nothing! I see how he thinks it would have been a "letdown" after the battle, but I think he could have included it and had the same type of ending as they ride away from Isengard, with no problem for the audience.

[jerseydevil]

All I can say is that jackson is an idiot and a hack. I wish someone who actually cared about the movies and didn't want to just do an action movie had done it.

I love this line from the quote above...

It was a very similar situation to last year when we decided to take a nice Boromir/Denethor flashback out of The Two Towers, and put it in the DVD. It was causing us pacing problems in the theatrical version, but with the Extended Cut just coming out now, fans can see this great little scene. Thank God for DVD, since it does mean that a version of the movie, which has different pacing requirements, can be released later. The Saruman sequence will definately be a highlight of the Extended ROTK DVD.

In other words - thank god for DVD because we can have two versions and make twice as much money. The Lord of the Rings fans will need to get TT and RotK on DVD as soon as it comes out and will then spend money to see all the stuff that I took out and put into the extended version.


He just didn't want to reduce down the action sequences.

[cassiopeia]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
All I can say is that jackson is an idiot and a hack.

*nods* I'm beginning to agree with you there, JD. Escpecially after he made this comment: nor can he [Frodo] give the ring that he's carrying around his neck to Sam because Sam would not destroy it. He knows how powerful this thing is. Sam would have thrown the Ring into Mount Doom. Tolkien was even thinking of writing this! Has PJ actually read the book?

I wonder if we are going to see the palantir at all in the ROTK.

[gdl96]

When did he say that? If he did say that, I'm sure it was taken out of context.

JD, I don't see a problem "The Lord of the Rings fans will need to get TT and RotK on DVD as soon as it comes out and will then spend money to see all the stuff that I took out and put into the extended version." People will by the DVD anyway, whether it has extra footage or not. But PJ has put out excellent EE DVD's so far, with extra movie footage AND hours of documentaries. Isn't that how it works? I don't know about you, but if I really liked a movie, then I usually at least consider buying the DVD so I can own it and watch it whenever I want.

[cassiopeia]

gdl96: The link's here (SPOILERS): here

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by gdl96
JD, I don't see a problem "The Lord of the Rings fans will need to get TT and RotK on DVD as soon as it comes out and will then spend money to see all the stuff that I took out and put into the extended version." People will by the DVD anyway, whether it has extra footage or not. But PJ has put out excellent EE DVD's so far, with extra movie footage AND hours of documentaries. Isn't that how it works? I don't know about you, but if I really liked a movie, then I usually at least consider buying the DVD so I can own it and watch it whenever I want.

There is a difference in putting out the DVD with extended footage - it is ANOTHER to put out the non-extended one in August and then put out the EXTENDED version in November. I don't disagree with them putting out the exteneded version - my complaint is that people go out and need to get the non-extended one right away and then will buy the entended one.

The movie studio knows that the Lord of the Ring book fans will do that - otherwise they would only release the extended version or release them at the same time - like MOST movie are done. They are counting on the double purchase by people. That is what I have a problem with. I have even a larger problem when I see that people are blind to their reason for releasing the movies this way.

Are they releasing a new edition of Matrix Reloaded in a couple of months? No - they're not. This one they have released has a ton of extras.

Also - the Lord of the Rings extended edition - has a lot of the same extras that the non-extended one already had. So how many people bought the non-extended one and are now going to get the extended version?

If you have any questions as to whether I buy dvds or not - you can check out my DVD Collection

[Black Breathalizer]

The only thing wrong about this news is that, in hindsight, PJ could have put Sarumans death scene in TTT EE where it would have fit better instead of waiting to include it in the ROTK EE. The only reason he originally plotted it differently was so Christopher Lee would be in all three theatrical releases.

[Elfhelm]

Of course, there's always the insane alternative. He might be changing his mind about the Scouring as a sequel. In which case this scene would have to be revisited. One can only hope.

[Elfhelm]

Now they are quoting Christopher Lee saying he won't be at the premiere.

[Elf Girl]

Look at this.

http://www.syfyportal.com/article.php?id=1184

Thoughts?

I mean, if it's true, we're talking loss of the Palantir scene, the Saruman-your-staff-is-broken scene, any more of the Ents. What else is their? A lot of bloody battle. Now why am I not surprised at that?

[Elf Girl]

O, sorry, it's been posted. Close!

[Valandil]

Wait... I want to play in a thread just before it gets closed!!!

La-la-la-la-LAHHHH!!!



Wait... NO! Don't close it ye.......

CLUNK!

[Elfhelm]

The right thread for this discussion!

By now it's all over the net, so it's not much of a spoiler anymore.

[Sheeana]

I'm not too fussed... he sucks as Saruman anyway. And don't try and tell me he's a good actor, this is the guy from the Hammer horrors, for godsake.

[Elf Girl]

Originally posted by Valandil
Wait... I want to play in a thread just before it gets closed!!!

La-la-la-la-LAHHHH!!!



Wait... NO! Don't close it ye.......

CLUNK!

Spammer.

*thinks a moment* No, wait, I'm a spammer for starting this thread.

And I'm spamming now!

*runs away*