You can catch your first glimpse of one of the deleted scenes to be available on the ROTS DVD over at OS. 3 pics are available, as the entire Bail Organa Alliance scene was played before an audience at Comic Con.

Looks very nice.

http://www.starwars.com/community/event/con/f20050712/indexp5.html






click for larger version->

"It's been a wonderful Summer of Sith, and I'm pleased to be able to tell you that we have more Sith to look forward to this Fall," said Sansweet. "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith will be released on DVD later this year."

Though exact details regarding content and release date are yet to be revealed, Sansweet did drop some hints as to what to expect. "You can expect many of the features that we've had on our past Star Wars DVDs, including an engaging commentary from those most in the know, a brand new long-form documentary, and a load of shorter documentaries that will take you behind the scenes and show you the making of Episode III."

Sansweet shared with the audience one of the eagerly anticipated deleted scenes. As with the Episodes I and II DVDs, George Lucas has overseen the completion of several scenes cut from the theatrical release of Episode III. The one shown at Comic-Con is one that can be definitely appreciated by a fan audience, for it chronicled the birth of the Rebel Alliance.

"It takes place in Senator Bail Organa's office, and we meet Senator Mon Mothma, who, as we see in Return of the Jedi, is the leader of the Rebel Alliance."

Birth of the Rebellion

Is it still unclear whether the Rebellion scenes will actually be re-incorporated into the film or just be available on the second disc?

The deleted scenes will be canon to me... after all they were meant for the film, they just didn't fit...

Oooh....Fantastic!

Can't wait for these scenes!!! That one pic of all the rebel alliance members...droool.

Isn´t it so that most of the cut-scenes from all six films either made it into the comic adaptions or novelizations? In that case, as long as they don´t contradict anything in the actual movie, I consider them part of it, just supplementary material.

I would definately say that they are cannon, as they don't contradict anything later on in the film (or GL wouldn't put then in I guess)
They certainly look fantastic, and it's a shame they'll only be deleted scenes and not incorporated into the show (a'la LOTR), but I guess that would mean JW rescoring parts of the score, and GL doesn't seem to be interested in Extended Editions like Peter Jackson and Howard Shore, which is a crying shame.
Maybe one day eh? We'll get all these scenes cut back in, as well as the cherished original versions.
Not likely though, is it...

They don't need to be reincorporated... they would just slow the film down and make the middle of it tedious. Especially all the Rebellion scenes - there was a whole sub-plot with Padme and the rebellion. They were cut for a reason. Though, of course, I can't wait to see them, I don't think they need to go in the film.

fair point (great picture BTW) but I think the cinema version is the one where GL has to take the most care because that's for the general, cinema-going public. The same could be said about the LOTR extended editions. I mean, who watches their cinema versions now, you only put on the extendeds (I gave my cinema versions away). And what Star Wars fan wouldn't want to see more scenes added back into the film (provided they were edited in neatly, not the hatchet job the special editions were)
I totally see your point, but I still think a good chunk of SW fans would be perfectly happy with the scenes added back in, like they should have done with AOTC and TPM.

Don't think anyonle else mentioned this, so:

If you listen to the audio-version of Sansweet's presentation, available for Hyperspace members, you get to hear the deleted scene being played. It sounds really good!

Really cool. Looks better than I expected. I hope this deleted scene isn't half-assed like AOTC's unfinished deleted scenes.. those were terrible..

Would it be safe to assume that our Comic Con connections captured this deleted scene on video and will be posting a link to download in the coming week?

Are you kidding me? You didn't even like the movie.

uh-oh! which one is it john kerry? you like the movie or hate it!?

I'm going to edit the good deleted scenes into ROTS as soon as the DVD comes out, Ill be sure to torrent it up here.

thanks for the update 4 months in advance

Now for the announcement of "a reshot and reinserted Qui-Gon Force voice scene, shot with an impersonator and voice modification - no yeyo for Neeson!"...

I wonder if this segment will be added now that her family had a cameo in ROTS, if only to make it more clear who they are.

I saw this scene. It's long and boring. Not quite the dramatic punch you'd hope for. Great reason it was cut.

I only give a shit about Qui Gon's voice being reinserted. If we get that as a deleted scene, or not at all, I'm done.

I didn't say I didn't like EIII, I was just really disappointed in it.

The Rebel Alliance scenes were one of the story points that was sorely missed in EpIII by me - they really were the reason Palpatine could manipulate Anakin against Padme and Obi-Wan.

Since it seems Liam Neeson wasn´t interested and they couldn´t do it any other way, I think this is unlikely.

Well, we know Liam hates the prequels and doesn't really want anything more to do with Lucas.

Of course it won't be on the DVD in any form.

I agree, I haven't seen anything to back up this theory that Neeson hates the franchise and doesn't want anything to do with it.

He seemed pretty happy at the Episode III Premiere...

The thing is the scene is unneeded. Everything we need to know, we are told. Besides the scene is badly written - I'm happy it was cut.

The more and more I think about it, and read on here, I begin to realize that anyone involved in the SW movies HATES them.

IF its true that Liam hates the PT (of course Ewan likes them I guess) then you can add him to an already long list of SW haters. Harrison Ford wanted to be done with them, Mark Hamill has had his beef with Lucas. Carrie Fisher is too strung out to really know wtf she feels. Billy Dee Williams (if C3 was any indication) has forgotten all about these movies. Lucas couldn't wait to get finished with them. Hell, I even read in the new Playboy that Ewan's uncle (Wedge Antilles) told Ewan NOT to take the part because for the rest of his life, he'll have fans swarming him, sending mail, coming to his house to ask him about some question about button placement in his X-wing on Dagobah. Hell, half the fans here can't decide if they liked Ep3 or not, and I think more than half don't really like the PT at all.

The only one who does like these movies...: Rick M, because now he's a celebrity in this SW universe, and I'm sure has so much money, he's just happy as a clam.

Ok, off the box... sorry to go off topic...

McCallum is retarded, he is the one who killed the PT. Kurtz was the true mastermind behind Star Wars.

true dat.

howard kazajiian or whatever looked like he had noo imagination at all. You could almost see the dollar signs in his eyeballs from that Empire of Dreams documentary. He's the kind of guy that is the epitome of what Lucas was talking about when he said movies are being controlled by money and corporations.

eeek, sorry..


the scene looks like a cool thing to see, but they don't need to be put back in. Of course, they were obviously cut for a reason and yes the would definitely slow down the film. but i want to watch them for the same reasons i watched all the other deleted scenes, Anakin vs. Greedo and all.

You're wrong and here's why:

Anakin Skywalker joins with the force in ROTJ...how did he do that? The answer is given in that scene.

I guess I'm just the type of person who doesn't need answers to everything... Anakin was the Chosen One. He fullfilled his duty, he brought balance to the Force. That was his ticket to immortality. Perhaps the cutscenes disagrees with me, but I think it works fine without it.

The thing about the scene that I do like is how Yoda becomes Qui Gon's apprentice. Yoda finally realises he cocked up and gives himself to Qui Gon's teachings. That whole concept was disregarded in the final cut, and I was quite dissapointed that it was. It's only remnants is Yoda's line "Failed, I have". To have that followed up by his reflection (on his loss in the fight and his failure to the Jedi Order) in the cutscene would be nice. But the whole "Whills" thing isn't needed.

I really thought I read after ep one that lucas had liam under contract to be available to for the rest of the prequels, I would say I was apprently wrong but I really though I remembered reading about how lucas had a tendency of doing that to people because he never knew when he would need to bring them back in. IMO neeson is a jackoff, most people would kill to be part of the most successful franchise of all time and to be somewhat immortalized as being the most wise of all the jedi. I mean it really is quite a pivotal point that the entire jedi order was out of touch and needed to understand people like qio gon and anakin more, hence their blindness and downfall

You can say what you want about it not happening or not being needed, but in the end it's just odd for Qui-Gon's "role" to be reduced to a twenty second scene where he's mentioned in passing as opposed to a scene where he's got Yoda on the verge of crying and reveals the secret of the Force. The weakest part of the entire movie was the rushing at the end, with deciding where to send the children, Yoda telling Obi-Wan about Qui-Gon, and then Bail putting the droids in Antilles care. The Qui-Gon scene would have provided an explanation for not only the rest of the saga, but also make the ending feel less tacked on in regards to that plot point.

Exactly. Lucas says all the time how the answer is love. Love is what saves Anakin and the galaxy - compassion. Well, that Qui-Gon scene would've enunciated that theme (and made Anakin's redemption make sense).

It's too important a scene to leave out. It will be back in. I'm just worried how the music editing will fare if it does get thrown back in. The music as it exists in that scene is perfect. I'm scared to have it butchered.

One thing I don't get: if Neeson hates Star Wars and Lucas so much, why did he agree to be in the Vanity Fair cover shot? A paycheck?

Lucas and co-editors ruled out the scene at an early stage and rather had Yoda deliver the essence of the message in a smart and destilled fashion to a surprised Obi-Wan. It was a choice based on streamlining the narration and not on argueing with Liam. Thats it.

There's a difference between doing publicity and showing support for something rather than doing additional work. Politics compels people to make public appearances, but has no bearing on whether or not they will work with somebody again.

Most of the people in the Vanity Fair cover hate Lucas. If people think that the cast of Star Wars is all cozy with George, then I've got a BatBoy for you to try and catch.




Even Rick McCallum went on public record siting scheduling conflicts, Sweden.

Additionally, Lucas wanted the scene so bad, he even had Ben Burtt do a VO and try to modulate it to match Neeson, but it just didn't work.

Look I don't give a shit what anyone else believes, but the truth is, even if Neeson was stuck in the mountains of Tibet for 6 weeks, he still coulda phoned in the VO. Besides, those lines are five hours of studio work AT BEST.

OK, I'm having a hard time following this: what exactly is your line of thought here? Are you expecting Neeson to do the lines, or not? And if not, you're "done"? What does that mean?

The screenplay is a pretty official source. Would the scene have made it that far if he never intended to use it? And then be carried over to the novelization, graphic novel, etc.?

To say an actor doesn't choose his roles is just stupid. Sure, the agent finds the work for the actors, but it is their decision wether or not to take the part... The agent get the audition, the actor does the audition, the director chooses the actor, the actor signs the contract (or doesn't). For most beginners, ANY job they are picked for they will take. But for high-listers like Neeson who most likely get straight up offers rather than audtions, they don't NEED to take any job they can get because they probably have a whole list of projects they're wanted for.

Neeson has done nothing to suggest he doesn't like the franchise... He was at the Episode III premiere signing autographs for fucks sake! Would someone who doesn't want anything to do with the series be going to the premiere of a film from the said series that he's not even in?

And even if it is the case that he doesn't like the series I believe he has more professionalism than to just refuse to do the ADR session. Guiness has been on record saying that he didn't like doing the first film but he continued with the sequels because he's a professional. Neeson is a professional too and if he were asked to do the recordings he would have.

I really hope you're right, but from what I've been told by folks around town, is that Neeson's been doing the "publicity thing" only, and that he has no interest in further working with Lucas.

So basically what you're hearing is that he's just being a stubborn arse, but doesn't want people to think that and is using the publicity thing to create a false image of himself (which is what everyone in hollywood does anyway...).

Yeah, I hope I'm right too... But if Neeson is just gonna be a dick then Lucas should just hire a soundalike and tell everyone that Liam is an unprofessional cunt and rub it in his face.

I've never understood why people who work for George have such a profound hatred for him that they wouldn't do something as simple as ADR work.

He seems like a pretty nice man, and most people say the same. In my opinion, you've got to be a real arrogant piece of shit to refuse something as simple as an ADR for a beloved movie franchise.

Ben Burt apparently left with some bad feelings towards Lucas & Co.

I'd thought that a while ago...

...could be because McCullum mentioned something in an interview (around AOTC time) that it was the editing of the 1st half of AOTC that was to blame for "the fans" not enjoying the movie as much as it was a different style of editing, or something to that effect....

McCullum is a bit off-base with alot of his "comments" so I don't quite know why that would bother anyone, but that could be a reason.

______________


I'm not saying the Lucas "empire" are nice people, or honest or whatever...I'm just saying, as an actor...as a professional...if you're asked to do a job, for money...you do it. Especially something as "high profile" as StarWars, regardless of your feelings.

If you're not contracted, then you have less of a moral obligation to do something, for sure...which is probablly why Neeson isn't bothering with it. Whether he was asked or not to do it, we'll probablly never know.

I can't discuss this with the benefit of deep insider knowledge (mainly because it seems to me that the real question is how Liam Neeson handles his career, and not how someone might think things are generally done), so I'll have to come at this another way.

On one hand, seeing that Lucas has spared no expense to get all of the details right (except for where Dooku's blade bit into Anakin's arm...ahem), it seems pretty clear to me that Lucas would have wanted Neeson to do the lines, so it apparently came down to Neeson either being unwilling or unable to do them. That sums up most of the above, yes?

On the other hand, if we do hear Qui-Gon's voice at the end of ROTS, then it sort of raises the question of why neither his voice nor his ghost shows up at any point in the OT. Obviously the character wasn't even thought of while Lucas was putting those movies together, but since we now have the completed saga to look at, and we know his relationship to Anakin, it does make for a dangling thread.

This is something that the EU has had issues with as well; what kind of realistic danger could ever be portrayed if you had Yoda, Obi-Wan or Anakin giving warnings from inside the Force every ten minutes? But if you didn't have that happening, how could you explain their silence? The Bantam books dealt with it by implying that the ghosts eventually had to "move on," and that their contact with the outside world would cease (seems to me that Yoda could have hung around for at least the 3 or 4 years that Obi-Wan did, but no one sought my advice).

So rather than get into the questions regarding a Force ghost's shelf life, I think it's entirely possible that Lucas decided that enough hints had been dropped in the PT for people to make their own minds about how a Jedi joins the Force, and instead opted to leave Qui-Gon's exposition out (or "silent," as it were).

For those who don't want to make up their own minds, there's always the EU.

The reason I htink qui gon voice wouldn't have showed up in OT (besides not being a thought in lucases head yet) is because force ghosts only appear to those who they had a relationship with in life. Obi nor yoda ever had a scene where they talked to a force ghost, and luke didn't know him.

hey can we argue now and act like lame little cunt boys

All of these rationalizations are fantastic, but the bottom line is this:

Lucas tried to have Ben Burtt record the V.O. for that scene, because he desperately wanted it in the movie. No amount of digital modulation would work, so Lucas had it chopped (official Steve Sansweet quote).

This debate has nothing to do with running time choice. Now with Lucas wanting to cater to fans and having the ability to drop any amount a change on this very crucial V.O.


There's only two simple scenarios as far as I see:

Official Rick McCallum statement: Liam was busy and his schedule didn't permit the ADR session.

Result: Liam's voice will appear on the DVD, reincorporated into the film.

Unofficial: Liam has no desire to work on Star Wars again, either due to lack of interest, or dislike for Lucas and/or the franchise.

Result: No Qui-Gon as portrayed by Liam anywhere on DVD

I thought the Liam sound-alike used in the dream/flashback of the animated Clone Wars, Season Two was pretty convincing. Did they ever think about going that route?

Haven't heard Sansweet's take, but here's what McCallum had to say about it in a recent chat:



I take that to mean that they had Burtt doing temp tracks, as they often have done on various anamatics, with the final lines to be dropped in later. If Lucas "desperately" wanted the scene in the film enough to do it without Neeson, he could have gone with any number of soundalikes, inlcuding the actor who voices Qui-Gon in the Clone Wars cartoon. I suppose it's remotely possible that Lucas was either unaware of such options or too cheap to pay for them, but the notion that Burtt was meant to be doing an impression of Neeson for the final film seems deeply silly to me.

Dude, Rick's the John Kerry of filmmaking.



When you're a director, you wouldn't go for a soundalike unless perhaps the execs. pressured you. You'd want the real deal or nothing else. I guarantee you if Christopher Lee had died before filming his scenes in Sith, Lucas would have completely cut him from the film (instead of using a lookalike or digital double), and rewritten the opening crawl to say something like:

"The Republic, scoring a decisive victory, resulting in the death of the evil Count Dooku, now faces a new threat -- the sinister General Grievous."

It wasn't that Ben Burtt was sitting around in a chair doing bad Liam impersonations into Mr. Microphone. He had the best audio tools to work with, and there was experimentation with pitch, gate, modulation, etc. in order to try and match Liam's voice electronically, but the voice over never sounded right to Lucas.

Agreed. However...



And this is a more understandable practice than hiring an actual voice actor because...?