Miffed Star (Christopher Lee) Boycotts Rings Premiere

Stuff.com ^ | 11-14-2003 | Tom Cardy

[Starbug]

Miffed star boycotts Rings premiere
14 November 2003
By TOM CARDY

Veteran British actor Christopher Lee is boycotting The Return of the King world premiere in Wellington after learning all his scenes as the evil wizard Saruman have been cut.

Lee, 81, said he had expected to appear in seven minutes' worth of climactic scenes in the final Lord of the Rings film. "Of course I'm very shocked, that's all I can say," he told Britain's ITV television channel. Asked if he would attend the premiere, Lee said: "No, what's the point of going?"

Most of the film's main stars, including Sir Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin and Liv Tyler, are to attend. Lee said he could not say more because he had signed a confidentiality agreement. "I still don't really know why."

Lee was a friend of author JRR Tolkien and reads the book at least once a year. A Lord of the Rings spokeswoman in Wellington said Lee had been invited to the premiere, but was not expected to attend because of his age.

Details of the cuts were revealed on the Internet last week in e-mail correspondence between director Peter Jackson and American Harry Knowles, who runs a film news website. Jackson said he had planned to open The Return of the King with a scene involving Lee and the character Wormtongue, played by American Brad Dourif.

"The trouble is, when we viewed various Return of the King cuts over the last few weeks, it feels like the first scenes are wrapping last year's movie . . . We felt it got Return of the King off to an uncertain beginning."

[BradyLS]

Aragorn falls over a cliff, floats downstram, washes up on shore, dreams of Arwen, horse wakes him, he rides back to Helm's Deep. Several invented scenes were also built around the invented absence.

I dunno, Gandalf already did the died-and-came-back-to-life trick earlier in the film. Jackson's decision to have Aragorn repeat it just cheapened it. JMHO.

[Sloth]

Oh, yeah... I'd forgotten about that contrivance. I concur, though it was kind of humorous seeing Aragorn mistake his horse's kiss for Arwen's... I guess we know what elves smell like now.

[BradyLS]

See? You even forgot it was in the film! I, unfortunately, cannot forget. Not after knowing what was left out to keep it in.

[Mamzelle]

Gee, this doesn't sound like Lee. Besides, how can ROTK make any sense without explaining what happens to Saruman? And we've already been told that the Scouring won't happen.

[SuziQ]

I have seen screen caps with both Pippin and Aragorn with the Pilantir!

Yeah! Someone posted them just a couple of weeks ago!

[Ignatz]

Misquote is retracted by both ITV and BBC

Those responsible have been sacked!

[XJarhead]

On a completely unrelated note, I read somewhere recently that Christopher Lee can trace his ancestry back to Charlemagne. I'm not one who normally cares much for the whole royalty thing, but that's kinda cool.

[Hegewisch Dupa]

Dumping the Scouring of the Shire really bums me out. I understand everything isn't (nor should it) make the trip from the book to the film; that being said, the Scouring of the Shire is one of my fave literary thingies ever, and a huge reason to have the damn story in the first place.

[metalboy]

I don`t get this freggin` movie. A midget finds a ring and he wants to burn it. What tha matter wid him? Pawn that thing like da NiGgaz do BOY! Yo Booyyyyy!!!!! Ay Booooyyyyyy! My man should git his head togethar and get himself PAYD! boyyyyyyyyyy! That 100% m__fin GOLD and would get him some hard scratch down at tha hood fence yo boy!WASSUP? WAAAASSSUP!?? WASSUP WID DAT?