Bad News For "The Return of the King" Fans (spoilers)

[Khephra]

Saruman Not In King

Peter Jackson, director of the upcoming third Lord of the Rings film, The Return of the King, told the Ain't It Cool News Web site that he reluctantly excised Saruman (Christopher Lee) from the last film in the trilogy. "We have decided to save the Saruman sequence for the DVD," Jackson told the site.

Jackson added, "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 seven-minute '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. ...

more............

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2003-11/10/11.25.film

[Minstrel Boy]

1. oh, this makes me very sad...

I remember reading Christopher Lee speaking very proudly of his work. At the time FOTR was released, he said he wished only that he lived long enough to see it released.

;(

Though, on the bright side, I guess this gives him reason to carry on until the DVD's out.

:-)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

2. Fair enough. Without 'The Scouring of Shire' Saruman's superfluous

I will miss the godlike Christopher Lee, though.

[Nevernose]

8. He will be in the remake of "The Last Unicorn" next year, though

As King Haggard, as well as Episode III and whatever "May Day" is. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314301/

[Screaming Lord Byron]

11. Cool. His career is coming to a close in grand style.

[Khephra]

15. May Day

Is the thematic follow-up to "The Wicker Man".

[Screaming Lord Byron]

17. Sweet.

[Khephra]

20. It start Sean Austin as a door-to-door missionary

Who encounters Lee's character in the suburbs.

Like I said, it's thematic.

Same director and writer as Wicker Man. It has to be one of the films I'm most eagerly awaiting these days.

[DrWeird]

3. Do they still kill him with the big spiky wheel?

nt

[Screaming Lord Byron]

6. I think that whole Round Spiked wheelie dealie thing was a plant.

by Jackson to confuse the unwary. theonering.net by any chance?

[MrMonk]

4. So what happens?

Does Saruman disappear from the story?
Did Jackson drop the Scouring of the Shire?
I'm not saying that Jackson has committed heresy, but he has wiped out an thematically critical thread from the overall story.

[WilliamPitt]

5. It'll be in the DVD

You'll find out when it is released.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

7. Jackson says no Scouring of the Shire.

[THUNDER HANDS]

9. good

I was so disappointed when the book ended on that note. I was hoping the book would end when ...well...

You know the part I'm referring to.

[MrMonk]

12. That is just wrong on so many levels.

[goobergunch]

10. And what about the Palantir? (n/t)

[VelmaD]

13. I saw this coming...

when Galadriel didn't give Sam the Mallorn "seed" and soil from Lothlorien as part of the gift scene in FOTR.

Part of me is furious about the things that get left out in adaptations of books to film and part of me unerstands that these books are just too long to fit everything in. However, leaving the Scouring of the Shire out of the films just bugs the hell outta me. It brings hom ethe consequences of war in a way that ending with Aragorn being crowned King will not.

[THUNDER HANDS]

16. but that part of the book is so short

It's like Tolken was just waiting for the story to end. He kinda rushed through it, I thought.

[VelmaD]

18. Difference of opinion on this one

I guess. I think the end of ROTK drags ass in a serious way so maybe it just seems longer to me. I'm in the middle of re-reading the trilogy yet again so we'll see what I think this time.

[ThorsteinVeblen]

14. Cool

Jackson has already committed to the structure of releasing the "full" versions of the films on DVD.

There is such a thing as "reality" when your movie is being shown in tens of 1000's of theatres around the world.

Those DVD releases are going to be awesome and it's great that Jackson is committed to following the story so closely. If it was any other director, they would've pared down the story much more.

[geniph]

19. That is my favorite frigging scene in the book!

Dammit. Dammit. Oh well, I'll just wait for the extended-release DVD. Dammit, Peter!