They had better not cut the Scouring of the Shire!

Man, they must be tempted to do that. I mean... it's a part of the story that's after the Quest of the Ring. Most first-time readers that aren't big fans of LOTR seem to find this part not a real part of the core story, and too anticlimatic. It's like how in the film version of Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, they cut out everything after the Wizard's departure... except I've gotten used to that when watching the film.

But they had better not cut the Battle of Bywater, and the passing of Saruman, etc. etc. etc.!

My word! I never thought of that......I hope you are wrong. PJ better give the Hobbit's their due!

This is a far-fetched fear.

But my, what a fear!

Hadn't thought of that, but I disagree with you: it is NOT far-fetched.
They might even have Saruman killed in the Ent attack...
Or worse, in a "Jedi" duel with Gandalf: battle of the Istari!
What a Hollywood moment, isn't it!?
And as a last scene, Gandalf will marry Galadriel... (she gave him the wedding ring, didn't she?)

Blasphemy!!!

Juntel, that is grounds for banning!



Hehe.......

Hehe...

Well, when I saw the movie Dune, in which Paul was making rain fall on Arakis at the end (!!!), I then learned how corrupted even a great tale can become when put on screen...

So... how do we contact PJ to let him know of our concerns...?


(BTW, one of the first post I made here at Entmoot was about my favorite scene in LofR, and I said it was when Saruman was killed in "The Scouring of the Shire".... so I do want THAT scene to remain!)

The movie stars, that is. According to various sorces, our man Lee is done filming, and he didn't film for very long. That would indicate that only the Orthanc films were filmed.

Myself, I think not. Like Sean Bean, I believe he'll return to do more scenes such as the parlé and, I hope the shire bits (or at least part of it). And, the fact that the Green Dragon (or whatever it was) set building was burned indicates to me that we will see the Scouring.

Then again, it is very secondary to the story, and is sort of a second cycle of conflict and climax, which can become very confusing to the casual viewer.

Eek! Blasphemers!
Absolutely the Scouring needs to stay in. It needs to be shown, if for no other reason, because the nonfans need to see that the hobbits as a race are capable of it, and that the courage of the Fellowship hobbits is not just a fluke, so to speak. Also, that is where Sauruman finally gets his comeuppance and he deserves every moment of his punishment for being such a bloated polyp in the colon of ME( no offense intended). I hope PJ doesn't drag Gandalf away from his vacation with Bombadil for some lame ol' Jedi duel sort of thing. Jeez, PJ might, too, now that I think about it, since all the evidence seems to indicate that Tom will be a no-show in this movie.
This might seem like an inappropriate place to mention this, but the thought just occurs to me: do you think they cut Bombadil for fear that some nonfan would think he was doing some heavy drugs back there in the woods or something? I ask because I remember all the fuss made about Jar-Jar being such a poor role model (I still can't get over that-ROTFLMAO). I mean, I can't speak for the moviegoers of other countries, but here in the US they seem to think that every last man, woman and defenseless child will be corrupted by the material seen in some movies. I am sure you all know the sort of outcry so often heard by those who seem more interested in controlling the lives of others than in permitting free will and a little common sense.

I was just thinking of that this morning! (Great minds think alike ) I'm re-reading LotR, and I had just gotten to the part where the Ring is cast into Mount Doom. Then I stopped reading to come online. Of course I've read it many other times, but it almost seemed to me that the story was over, but I knew there were nearly 100 more pages left. I hope PJ doesn't stop the movie there. Nonfans might groan "There's more?" when the movie doesn't end at Mount Doom, but that scene is essential to the story. As mentioned, it shows that the Hobbits are quite capable of acting on their own, and that evil can come even to the Shire.

Would they be tempted to cut the Grey Havens too? That would be a more definite ending, showing a ship with the Ringbearers, Gandalf, and the Elves go across the ocean, if they don't stop at Mount Doom.

the grey havens would be a nice end point, even though the books allow Sam to return to Bag End before closing. The image of a small ship sailing into the sunset(with accompanying musical score), cutting back to the faces of those left behind in ME, would close the movie quite nicely. I guess great minds really DO think alike

Well... so much time passes between Bywater and the Grey Havens... it's a long, long transition described in only a few words, like between the first two chapters in Book I.

Now... after a third reading of LOTR I finally realized the full scope of the importance of the scouring to the story. Think about it. The first time around, I didn't realize the significance of Elrond wanting to send a messenger back to the Shire... (Merry or Pippin I don't remember) Then there's Sam seeing the Party Tree destroyed through the Mirror of Galadriel... and of course, the presence of a pipeweed import at Isengard. In other words, if people pick up those details, they would KNOW that the story doesn't end at Mount Doom.

Right you are. Plus, aren't there several incidences of brief visions on Frodo's part, which could be viewed as referring to the Havens and such?

Yeah, but if they cut out the Scouring, they'd probably cut out all the clues too . For the sake of drama, do you think that Sam should be on the ship with Frodo? I know he goes later, but that's not a part of the actual story and is buried in the Appendices somewhere, along with the fact that Legolas and Gimli also go. Hmm... your last post has given me ideas about new topics...

Such as how much of the appendices are included?

No, but I'll do that one now

Actually, for the sake of the good ol' Hollywood-style drama that we've come to know and love, I think that Sam should stay behind when Frodo leaves. I mean, can't you just see it now? The tearful farewell as Sam begs his master not to leave, etc.

I have personally always thought that "Well, I'm back" was the perfect last line of dialogue...

In written form I agree with you wholeheartedly, IP. Great ending. I just meant my suggestion for the movie, if one wanted to pack a real emotional wallop. It would be more in keeping with all of this business of punching up the emotional content for the masses(as if it needed any help!) ;0

Yeah, for a book it's good, but no director would end his movie that way

I'm almost certain we won't see the scouring of the Shire and I doubt we'll see the departure to the grey havens. Excuse me while I go into the corner and cry.