LotR:RotK shocker...

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 13, 2003, 8:56 pm

Apparently Peter Jackson, in post production, cut ALL the Saruman scenes from RotK..

Gone are the Wormtongue/Saruman scenes in the Shire or the encounter on the road.

*sigh* I hate Hollywood.

*edit* Here's a link to a news story about it. Was rather hard to find though.
http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2174054

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » November 13, 2003, 9:03 pm

Meat for the $pecial Edition DVD set - wuwu~~

(edit: which I will buy)

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » November 13, 2003, 11:44 pm

Funny my friend and I were talking about this very thing at lunch today. I kind of assumed he would probably do this and leave the true ending, more like the book, to the special edition... still very sad though, hoped I wouldn't be right.

Marb

noel · Post by **noel** » November 13, 2003, 11:50 pm

This is the year of me being fucking pissed off at Hollywood, movie theaters, and the mainstream movie-goer (who has no taste and just likes explosions). GOD FORBID we have a movie longer than two hours (or whatever). Fuck the idiots responsible for this (likely Miramax) and fuck the idiots responsible for Kill Bill being cut in two (again Miramax).

Gamei · Post by **Gamei** » November 14, 2003, 1:26 am

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=16462

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.

Believe him or not, doesn't matter to me. =p Just thought I'd post that since I'd read it before.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 14, 2003, 2:04 am

I was reading the aintitcool new story posted above and I saw the following

(we don't have the Scouring later, as the book does)

WHAT???

The Scouring of the Shire was one of my favorite part of the whole f'ing book!!

The fact that we see that Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam are truly changed by their ordeal is really expressed in this part of the story.

I haven't even seen the movie and I'm already dissapointed.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » November 14, 2003, 2:12 am

Look. Changes are inevitable when adapting a book like Lord of the Rings to the big screen. Not all of them are really great (the aragorn falling off the cliff thing in Two Towers was pretty fucking pointless), but I would have cut out the scouring of the shire as well. Think about it in movie terms, not in hapless fanboi terms. You've spent 2 movies already leading up to the big culmination, the third movie in which Sauron is defeated and the One Ring is destroyed (SORRY SPOILER

), they win, peasants rejoice, big celebration. The end as far as movies go. It's a wrap. Sharky is fluff, flavour. I'd heard about this before the first movie was even released btw. I heard that Saruman is killed off in a more timely manner.

noel · Post by **noel** » November 14, 2003, 3:04 am

I'm glad to see it's not the studio. I'm kind of disappointed. A lot of shit happens at Orthanc that they could have included which is pretty badass, but I can, from a flow of the film standpoint, accept the omission.

I've said it several times to the diehard LotR fans who have freaked out at every little detail... The movies are tremendously well done, and it's a credit to Jackson and his staff that it's been as close to the books as it has been. I daresay it could have been a great deal worse.

I'll look forward to the DVD.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 14, 2003, 9:17 am

Dregor Thule wrote:Think about it in movie terms, not in hapless fanboi terms.

Wouldn't exactly call myself a hapless fanboi. I've read the book only once and only in the last few years.

Although it would've messed up pacing a bit, I believe it would've held it's own as part of the film pretty well.

Kwonryu DragonFist · November 14, 2003, 1:13 pm

Is Frodo,Gandalf and Gollum still in?

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » November 14, 2003, 2:13 pm

Fishcakes Boy wrote:Is Frodo,Gandalf and Gollum still in?

Yes, but I heard they decided to cut the whole Witch King slaying scene from the battle and release it only as a cut scene in the video game.

noel · Post by **noel** » November 14, 2003, 2:16 pm

Ashur [FoH] wrote:
Fishcakes Boy wrote:Is Frodo,Gandalf and Gollum still in?
Yes, but I heard they decided to cut the whole Witch King slaying scene from the battle and release it only as a cut scene in the video game.

Please tell me that's a joke!

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » November 14, 2003, 4:05 pm

Ditto

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » November 14, 2003, 4:12 pm

It's a joke!

What's sad is we've reached the point of getting used to disappointment where that is even concieved of as plausable by the public.

noel · Post by **noel** » November 14, 2003, 4:14 pm

Yeah I expect the scene where the battle takes place to be one of the best in the film. Especially given the person who takes up arms against him.

I am jonsing so hard for this damn movie. ><

Post by **Sylvus** » November 14, 2003, 4:46 pm

God, those books are some of my favorites and I have read them several times, but I am drawing a blank when trying to remember what you guys are talking about. That's good though, I like to be surprised!

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » November 14, 2003, 4:57 pm

Sylvus - during the siege of Minas Tirith, the old Witch King of Angmar, leader of the nine Nazgul shows up riding a flying fell-beast and basically everyone on the Gondor side goes into a funk because prophecy/legend has it that he cannot be slain by a mortal man. Eowyn (dig it? she's NOT A MAN, BABY!) and Pippin (?) do him in instead.

Keverian FireCry · Post by **Keverian FireCry** » November 14, 2003, 5:02 pm

Jackson announced in an interview around Fellowship release(maybe dvd) that there wasn't going to be the scouring of the shire in RotK. Really though, I do think that the scouring would just seem unnecessary to most people watching RoTK and drawn out. When they spend the kind of money they did on these movies, they need to make the movies watchable by the masses. Im a huge Tolkien fanboi, read the trilogy three times, but I don't expect these movies to cover everything in the books. Another scene from the book they are skipping is the meeting with Ghan-Buri-Ghan, he was awesome. Oh well, I'll love the movie anyhow, Ive loved the other two, and they skipped through a bunch of scenes aswell.

Still as excited for this movie as a little kid during xmas season.

Fredonia Coldheart · November 14, 2003, 5:06 pm

If you watch the commentary on the first extended DVD, Jackson mentions that the scouring isn't going to be in the third movie. That is why Sam isn't given the box of dirt by Galadrial.

Post by **Sylvus** » November 14, 2003, 5:10 pm

Ashur [FoH] wrote:Sylvus - during the siege of Minas Tirith, the old Witch King of Angmar, leader of the nine Nazgul shows up riding a flying fell-beast and basically everyone on the Gondor side goes into a funk because prophecy/legend has it that he cannot be slain by a mortal man. Eowyn (dig it? she's NOT A MAN, BABY!) and Pippin (?) do him in instead.

Ahh yes, now I remember that part. Thanks!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 14, 2003, 6:38 pm

I'm torn between big explosions and small shiny objects when I'm evaluationg the greatness of a movie. ROTK has THE small shiny object in the ring but may be lacking on big explosions and destruction if the scouring of the shire is left out!

Pahreyia · Post by **Pahreyia** » November 14, 2003, 8:50 pm

I just finished reading RotK for the first time about 20 minutes ago. (working at a call center owns). I'm very very pleased to have finally finished it, however, completing the whole 6 parts to the story in under 5 days is a little hasty for so rich a series. I must say though, I will be disappointed to not see the scouring of the shire in the movie. It's comforting to think that there were shots filmed of it, and that the possibility of seeing those scenes in a director's cut or extended DVD makes it worthwhile to wait on that part alone. I can see the reasons that it was cut though, as the story drags a little between the destruction of the ring and the return to the shire.

Good reads, excellent movies.

a definate /salute to Peter Jackson for staying as true to the story as he did.

noel · Post by **noel** » November 14, 2003, 9:00 pm

Ashur [FoH] wrote:Sylvus - during the siege of Minas Tirith, the old Witch King of Angmar, leader of the nine Nazgul shows up riding a flying fell-beast and basically everyone on the Gondor side goes into a funk because prophecy/legend has it that he cannot be slain by a mortal man. Eowyn (dig it? she's NOT A MAN, BABY!) and Pippin (?) do him in instead.

/sarcasm ON

OMFG YOU JACKASSS YOU HAVE RUINED TEH MOVIE FOR ME!!!!1!!!1!!

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » November 15, 2003, 11:38 am

I must say though, I will be disappointed to not see the scouring of the shire in the movie. It's comforting to think that there were shots filmed of it, and that the possibility of seeing those scenes in a director's cut or extended DVD makes it worthwhile to wait on that part alone.

As far as I understand the Scouring was going to be omitted from the outset. The only bits shot were those seen in Galadriel's mirror.
The pieces PJ is talking about having cut are his new version of Saruman's death - from what i gather (spoiler alert) his new death scene took place at Orthanc and involved Wormtongue, hence the comments about losing 8 mins of "Chris and Brad".
Basically don't be disappointed when there's no Scouring on the DVD either

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » November 15, 2003, 1:20 pm

Yep.. more spoiler alert:

From what I understand, Saruman is tossed off Orthanc and impaled on some wooden spike or something of the sort.