LotR fanedit proposal

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy should have been six movies. Tolkien wrote one massive story divided into six books that was artificially formed into 3 novels by publishers. Unfortunately, PJ tried to preserve this format, and the whole Frodo/Sam/Gollum arc that was and is the heart of the story got subsumed and overwhelmed timewise by the sidequests of the fellowship.

Fortunately there are a number of movie fanatics out there that like to re-edit movies to save directors from themselves. You should see how many Star Wars fanedits there are out there. Anyway, I propose that the Lord of the Rings be overhauled into 6 movies, taking out unnecessary PJ additions wherever possible, and ideally reflect the original intentions of Tolkien. Parts I and II are rather straightforward considering the linear nature of Fellowship. Part III is more problematic, but I would redact quite a bit, adding back the reunion at Isenguard, leave some of the later Gollum stuff, stopping right after the Gates of Mordor. I have a very detailed outline, but I'll get to that later.

Anyway, for this post, I'll be focusing on Part IV. Based on the Extended Edition unless stated otherwise.


IV
Prologue from RotK: Deagul finds the Ring, Gollum takes it.
Smeagul/Gollum argument from TTT. Until "Murderer" accusation
2nd half of prologue. Gollum narrates his changes after murdering Deagul.
Smeagul makes Gollum go away. Sam stews rabbits. Capture by Faramir.

More RotK. Edoras. Legolas "eye of the enemy is moving"
Pipin can't sleep, swipes Palantir.

Elven 'prologue' from TTT about Sauron, cutting in right after Sarmuan stuff.
Mapscene with Faramir, Frodo and Sam 'prisoners', Boromir family reunion flashback.
After the Forbidden Pool, truncated scenes from theatrical version. Off to Gondor.

Discus palantir info. Pipin leaves with Gandalf. Merry laments. Same as movie.

Theatrical version: Arrival at Osgiliath, Faramir shoots Nazgul, no Sam speech.
Escape thru sewers from EE.

Pipin/Gandalf arrive at Minas Tirith. Unchanged until asked about death of Boromir.
Extended death of Boromir from FotR
Continuing with Denethor. Background on city. "Help must come to us"

Tea time, Crossroads scene, now back to RotK.
Aragorn/Eowin great wave dream?
Gollum Reflection scene, stopping right before fight with Sam (though he heard it)

Minas Morgul sequences. Very nicely ties together Gandalf and Frodo storylines.
Osgiliath river attack sequence.
Stairs: "he wants it"
Faramir "fall back to Minas Tirith", saved by Gandalf

Theatrical "go home" scene, reduced however possible.
Denethor/Faramir confrontation.
Shelob's cave sequence, theatrical version.
Gandalf's task for Pipin, theatrical
Sam vs. Shelob, Frodo captured by orcs
Lighting of beacons, ending with silhouette of Aragorn


Massive changes, I know. Almost the entire Gollum arc, Faramir is a main character and a good guy (*gasp!*), two plotlines heavily intertwined and almost aware of each other (unlike the arbitrariness of the film versions), and much faster moving since there isn't half an hour between appearances. Heck, even Boromir gets a heck of alot of screentime, as well he should since the movie is about the consequences of his death.


Anyway, just wanted to put these ideas down somewhere before they were lost. I've got Parts V & VI done as well, I'll post those eventually. And hey, hopefully I'll inspire some aspiring faneditor out there as well...


Lurker

Musings on the upcoming Hobbit Movie

I'm a huge Middle-Earth fan, I've been giving quite a bit of thought on the upcoming Hobbit movies. Now, for quite a while there, it looked like the second movie was going to 'bridge' the timeframe between the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings... certainly there was a great deal of potential there. Fortunately, they've just decided to split the book in two instead. Now the chapters for The Hobbit look like this:

[1] An Unexpected Party
[2] Roast Mutton
[3] A Short Rest
[4] Over Hill And Under Hill
[5] Riddles in the Dark
[6] Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
[7] Queer Lodgings
[8] Flies and Spiders
[9] Barrels Out of Bond

[10] A Warm Welcome
[11] On the Doorstep
[12] Inside Information
[13] Not At Home
[14] Fire and Water
[15] The Gathering of the Clouds
[16] A Thief in the Night
[17] The Clouds Burst
[18] The Return Journey
[19] The Last Stage

Now there are several potential 'climaxes' for the first movie: escaping Gollum, death of Smaug, etc. It was my father who first suggested what now seems obvious to me... What chapter is half-way thru the book? Why Barrels Out of Bond, of course. Bilbo saves the company from imprisonment by the elves by use of his wits. Here the book also transitions from getting to Smaug to dealing with Smaug. Arriving at Laketown is a great place to begin the 2nd movie. And if an Elvish prisonbreak isn't exciting enough, at the exact same time Gandalf and the White Council are driving the Necromancer (aka Sauron) from Dol Gulder in Mirkwood!

Which brings me to my other source of glee: del Toro is going into all the backstory! And what a backstory. The fall of Moria, the war of Orcs and Dwarves, the fates of Thorin's father and grandfather, Aragorn as a kid, Prince Legolas and his father, Saruman leading the White Council, Gloin the father of Gimli, and how the Quest is ultimately about preventing an alliance between Sauron and Smaug. Tons of material to draw from, especially from the appendices from LotR.

Something to think about.


Lurker