'Not One Frame' Of Prometheus Will Be Cut Says Tom Rothman

[bleau]

I know this movie and own it. The director was fired and there were a lot of reshoots. The original director was a lesbian. MTV fired her and made the changes.

Yup, Karyn Kusama. Like The Invasion with Nicole Kidman, Aeon Flux underwent so much shit behind the scenes in post production it's ridiculous.

Yeah thats her. I guess the Studio execs hated the original cut of aeon flux, and made her make changes. Would of liked to of have it on dvd

[SpeedyMaxx]

The Invasion was an unwatchable piece of shit.  I understand Aeon Flux was much the same.  Talented directors on both films, studio troubles, but in both cases I questioned the overall production in addition to the interference.

PG-13 is both restrictive and fluid today, IMO.  Yes, a lot of what was R back in the day might get 13 now.  Or, a lot of what was 13 then might get R now depending on the whims of the MPAA that month.  I think a PG-13 cut could still be quite fierce, and I could take it - they still let a lot of big studio shit slide with violence and intensity here, IMO it's often the smaller films getting f**ked.  But I'd just as soon an R.

[Cvalda]

Unfortunately, Kusama apparently said there will likely never be a director's cut on DVD due to the studio not caring enough and DVD sales being mediocre. Shame.

The Invasion was an unwatchable piece of shit.  I understand Aeon Flux was much the same.  Talented directors on both films, studio troubles, but in both cases I questioned the overall production in addition to the interference.

The Invasion is damn near unwatchable because what ended up in theaters was a studio hatchet job of epic proportions. Original director turned in his cut, which was apparently too subtle and suspenseful and cerebral, and was immediately fired. The film was then shelved for a year. Then the Wachowski's and that hack who directed V for Vendetta and Ninja Assassin were brought aboard to reshoot a third of the film, completely rewrite and reshoot the entire last act, add explosions and car chases, and brutally edit what was left of the original. One of the most egregious studio f**kups in history. Would love to see Oliver Hirschbiegel's original cut that so horrified them with its "artiness" and restraint.

[SpeedyMaxx]

I'm always curious to see what these films are like prior to the studio interference, but I thought virtually all of that film was terrible.  I remember the team vomiting scene being particularly hilarious, and the chubby Asian kid ordering Nicole Kidman around.  "Come, sleep!"

I did like Downfall, mind, which I believe was Hirschbiegel, correct me if I'm wrong.

[Cvalda]

I did like Downfall, mind, which I believe was Hirschbiegel, correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, it was him. Safe to say, his original cut has to be lightyears better than what ended up in cinemas.

[Vickers]

Unfortunately, Kusama apparently said there will likely never be a director's cut on DVD due to the studio not caring enough and DVD sales being mediocre. Shame.

The Invasion was an unwatchable piece of shit.  I understand Aeon Flux was much the same.  Talented directors on both films, studio troubles, but in both cases I questioned the overall production in addition to the interference.

The Invasion is damn near unwatchable because what ended up in theaters was a studio hatchet job of epic proportions. Original director turned in his cut, which was apparently too subtle and suspenseful and cerebral, and was immediately fired. The film was then shelved for a year. Then the Wachowski's and that hack who directed V for Vendetta and Ninja Assassin were brought aboard to reshoot a third of the film, completely rewrite and reshoot the entire last act, add explosions and car chases, and brutally edit what was left of the original. One of the most egregious studio f**kups in history. Would love to see Oliver Hirschbiegel's original cut that so horrified them with its "artiness" and restraint.

Strangely enough, Aeon Flux did really well on DVD as opposed to how it performed in the box office. It actually made its production and marketing budget back but this wasn't enough to convince the studios to release the original cut which, in my opinion, would have been far superior.

Just some of the changes in Aeon Flux:

Spoiler

- Implied sexuality.  As Cvalda said, Aeon's sexuality wasn't black and white.  Her relationship with Sithandra was intriguing.
- Scenes with Aeon's sister were cut and dialogue and reactions between the 2 were cut.  When her sister gets murdered in the film, we don't feel anything because in the theatrical release, there's not much implied history between the 2 of them for us to care.
- In the original cut, when Aeon discovers her sister has been murdered there's a shot of her digging her nails into her skin and drawing blood while in shock.
- Sexual imagery.  There were more shots in the original cut which acted as metaphors to creation and reproduction.
- A darker opening sequence with a moody tone.  In this sequence we see a series of dark traditional paintings setting up the world with a voice-over explaining the events leading to what we see in the film.
- Certain scenes in the film (especially in the first half) are re-ordered in the theatrical release and were quite heavily cut.
- A lot of the action was cut down.  In the original cut there were wider takes and longer takes of the action - you could actually see everything happening.  You could see all the hits and kicks and stunts.  In the theatrical release, everything was so hyper that you often couldn't tell what was going on.
- The original cut overall was more elegant, had more of a "samurai-epic" feel to it, it was darker in tone and relationships between all the characters were more complex.
- Aeon has a moment towards the end of the film where she has a vision that she may be pregnant which adds far more depth to the choices she makes at the end.
- The entire sequence with the Relical crashing to the ground doesn't exist in the original cut.  After leaving the Relical, the film ends with more emotional weight.  The big finale action piece was always meant to be the shootout in the courtyard, which was quite heavily cut down and where it was difficult to tell what was going on half the time.  After that scene, the ending was to explore the revelations and what this could possibly mean for all the characters.  It was intended to leave the audience with questions and it wasn't going to be a happily-ever-after ending either.
- Characters that suffered the most with all the cuts (aside from Aeon obviously) were Oren Goodchild, Giroux (who was in a homosexual relationship with a Monican and this caused a lot of conflict in the group of leaders) and Freya (Trevor's bodyguard).
- The original cut explored more of the world and the environments.  There were a few moments of quiet inbetween as we see shots of the world with just sounds from the city which created a beautiful pace.

[close]

I've also been lucky enough to read the original shooting draft for Aeon Flux (and no, it's not fan fiction - it's the real deal) and I can safely say the original cut would have been a far superior cut.  It just goes to show how much studio interference and the MPAA can affect what can be a potentially great film.

[Cvalda]

I've also been lucky enough to read the original shooting draft for Aeon Flux (and no, it's not fan fiction - it's the real deal) and I can safely say the original cut would have been a far superior cut.  It just goes to show how much studio interference and the MPAA can affect what can be a potentially great film.

Where? If you have it, send me a copy!

[LarsVader]

I've also been lucky enough to read the original shooting draft for Aeon Flux (and no, it's not fan fiction - it's the real deal) and I can safely say the original cut would have been a far superior cut.  It just goes to show how much studio interference and the MPAA can affect what can be a potentially great film.

Where? If you have it, send me a copy!

Also interested. 

[Vickers]

I've also been lucky enough to read the original shooting draft for Aeon Flux (and no, it's not fan fiction - it's the real deal) and I can safely say the original cut would have been a far superior cut.  It just goes to show how much studio interference and the MPAA can affect what can be a potentially great film.

Where? If you have it, send me a copy!

It's a hard copy but I'll see what I can do.

[Cvalda]

It's a hard copy but I'll see what I can do.

Poop There's gotta be a PDF out there somewhere... Hmm--to Google!!!

[T Dog]

Don't want to seem cynical either, but.....
Rothman really comes across like a lying politician when addressing the ratings thing. I hope it's an 18s anyway. But if he's unsure then who knows what the hell they are submitting.

[Mastes1]

Rothman and Scott have both said that they don't know which way the film will go, r or pg13 (yeah as if i believe that anyway) and that says to me that regardless of whether it ends up R rated, we are not going to see tons of gore and peoples heads getting smashed or tons of bad (realistic) language etc because if all that was in the film then there would be no 'confusion' over what rating this would get, it would be a hard R full stop!.

[mastermoon]

The movie should be rated-R, I really hope it is.

[ThisBethesdaSea]

What's more mysterious is that the film hasn't been submitted yet. There's no reason that the film hasn't been submitted and rated yet.

[Mastes1]

What's more mysterious is that the film hasn't been submitted yet. There's no reason that the film hasn't been submitted and rated yet.

Because the film is going to be PG13 and Scott and Rothman know there will be a lot of negativity over the internet on forums etc so we won't hear about the rating until the film is almost on top of us.