Inverse

Apparently the resolution of the Sauruman storyline will NOT appear in the Theatrical release, only in the DVD EE:

http://www.theonering.net/perl/newsview/2/1068240351

(Originally from AICN, but AICN's server seems to have fallen over and died.)

caiman

I was just about to post this. I really feel that in this particular case, pacing should be sacrificed for plot coherence. They need to show what happens to Saruman. Plus, what are they gonna do about the Palantir? Poeple who haven't read the books are gonna be left wondering where the hell Saruman went, and where this little shiny orb came from.

Unless PJ can gloss this over with clever editing, this might be a big mistake. I can hear the uproar from the diehards already.

I'll be anxiously awaiting the ROTK EE. I consider the EEs the definitive versions of the films anyway.

Daytrip

me too, the theatrical releases are just to hold me off till the EE comes out........i'm not really looking forward to ROTK without the scouring of the shire

Giles

well that don't make any gawd dang sense considering EW accidently showed a production still of the demise er, resolution of Sauruman.

RocShemp

I'm sure they'll simply add a scene where one of the characters (probably Gandalf) states that they accuire the Palantir shortly after the events of Helm's Deep and the Drowning of Isengard. Sucks to have it cut down but it's doable.

But did they say they cut it fown from and OVER 4 hour movie? Wow! That's gonna be one heck of an EE!

Giles

the current running time for the of ROTK is at 195 minutes. some additional editing may or might not occur before release. Anyone know when the LA premier of the film is happening?

Jepthah

Yeah, news is spreading like wildfire. Obviously an early PR effort to the fans.

As unhappy as I was that this scene didn't make TTT, I got over it. I am less happy now about this.

However, since I really think that PJ's decisions on these films have been 98-99% right in almost every way, I do have faith that he did not make this decision lightly. If he really wanted to fight the studio about it to include it in the theatrical cut he would have done so.

Being a writer and having editing experience myself, I can imagine his difficulty working this long, dramatic scene in to the beginning of the film successfully. I am sure his editing and narrative bases will be covered somehow as to the Palantir and the reunion with Merry and Pippin. I will just miss the scene and then enjoy the rest of the film which will be great, then anticipate the extended cut.

jasonbird

So the extended cut will be over 4 hours?



Jason

jough

I guess we'll find out in a month.

tor_greg

I just feel sorry for all the inevitably confused viewers.

Inverse

Here's a link to the inevitable Internet petition to protest it:

http://www.petitiononline.com/smanrotk/

dbmottle

I could really care less about what gets edited out of the theatrical version. I will only see ROTK once or twice in the theater but will watch the EE dvd for years to come. So as long as everything is in the EE, I will be happy.

Kaffe_02

The theatrical release is just going to be a teaser for the EE for me

Jason

I figured getting rid of Saurman ands resolving the whole Isengard thing would be the first order of business in ROTK.

gcribbs

At this point I will trust that Peter Jackson knows what he is doing. I also plan on buying the EE anyway so I will see the final full version

jough

We'll find out in a month what will and won't be in the film. A petition will do nothing, and if it would change the final cut of the film, I would lose all respect for Peter Jackson as a filmmaker. You cannot cut your films based on what some small group thinks.

Josh-da-man

Ugh. This does not sound good at all.

Surely there's some other stuff he could cut out?

(I still say it was mistake to not end TTT with Shelob, like the book did.)

Pauly

This is terrible news. Its bad enough that saruman was completely wasted in TTT, bad enough that the fans already had gotten used to his being downsized anyway with the omission of the scouring, and now this??? Bad move, pete.

Pauly

Well guess what, it was THE FANS that made Jackson remove Arwen from the Helm's Deep battle in TTT after word of it reached the Net. Hopefully outrage at this Saruman news will do the same.

yecul

Big Fing Deal.

Would it have been neat to see? Sure. Can I wait to see it on the EE? Definitely.

If they were to keep every scene that I wanted then absolutely nothing would have been cut.

drunkrob

I was wondering how they would include the end of the book in to the movie as it is a big change in pace as the climax takes part earlier on. A lot of people will be wondering what the hell is going on when the movie contines for another 30 mins plus. Personally I want it there but I can see why it might not be.

Lara Means

And why is that? Peter completely f'ed up TTT. It sure has hell isnt the same quality 'Fellowship' was. I don't mind not having Shelob in TTT, but not resolving Saurman's story? The only main villian in these damn movies that we could actually see. Peter said that it didn't fit in TTT and it didnt fit in RotK. So, wouldnt that mean that it also doesnt fit in the RotK EE? That is just crap filmmaking right there. Thats the problem. Can someone explain to me why a 7 minute scene of Galadriel doing a retarded recap of everything that has happened sofar for all the idiots in the audience is kept, but a 7 minute scene of a great and important character, Saruman, is cut? Maybe we should assume Saurman and Grima are still hiding in Orthanc's bathroom. Waiting for the big bad trees to go away. Besides, how would the Palantir be washed out? The water didn't come close to the opening where it was held.

Dr. DVD

I too think this is a bad move, but, I trust PJ to know what he is doing. In all honesty, I remember it being about a year ago this time where there were reports that Elrond, Galadriel, and Arwen were all at Helm's Deep, so you never know.

al_bundy

I have to agree with PJ on this. Cinema is a different media than print and a faster pace is needed to keep the attention of the audience. If the movies were like the book then it would people to sleep with a slow pace and tons of useless scenes.

The Saruman scene is for the EE to please the diehard fans. The theatrical release is for the general audience who probably has not read the book.

Ian11

After seeing the EE of FOTR I've always approached the theatrical versions as the "rough cuts" of the film. As long as the "Voice of Saruman" chapter finds its way back into the EE I'll just have to be patient.