Extended Edition discussion thread

[Awaken]

sounds good. who's arm do we have to twist ?

I'm honestly not that bothered by the lack of Kyoshi though. I think it would be a distraction and could serve the second movie better in a way. However the last thing the second movie needs is stuff from the first being dragged into it. Kyoshi should be added back in just so we don't have to waste precious screen time. There is a lot of ground to cover in movie two, a lot !

Edit: he says the comedy and stuff will be in the bonus features. That's not what i want, i want them integrated back into the film proper !

[Timstuff]

sounds good. who's arm do we have to twist ?

I'm honestly not that bothered by the lack of Kyoshi though. I think it would be a distraction and could serve the second movie better in a way. However the last thing the second movie needs is stuff from the first being dragged into it. Kyoshi should be added back in just so we don't have to waste precious screen time. There is a lot of ground to cover in movie two, a lot !

I agree. As a movie, TLA didn't need the KW's (except that Sokka believing that they were being followed ends up being a dead plot thread), however as a fan I was very disappointed that I didn't get to see them, and also I know that it's going to cause problems in the second film if they have to pile on the KW's in addition to setting up the romantic interest between Suki and Sokka. If Suki and Sokka have already met then it'll be a lot easier to set up their romantic relationship, but otherwise it's going to feel too crowded for one film that already has a lot of plot going on.

[Knight_Gambit]

M.Night Say That The Last Airbender DVD "Will have Comedy Scenes, but No Kyoshi Warriors"

"The Last Airbender" didn't win its opening weekend, but it did manage to overcome less-than-stellar reviews on its way to a hefty $70.5 million haul since its Thursday premiere.

While the jury's still out on whether we'll get a chance to see the second chapter of Aang's quest to save the world and unite the elemental nations, one thing's for sure: "The Last Airbender" will arrive on DVD (and Blu-Ray) down the road. When I had the chance to chat with "Airbender" director M. Night Shyamalan, I asked him what we're likely to see on the DVD release of the film — and whether we'll eventually get a "director's cut" of "The Last Airbender."

"All my movies are the director's cut, so that's it," he laughed. "You get to watch it in the movie theaters."

Still, Shyamalan indicated that a few of the "Last Airbender" deleted scenes he described last week will likely find their way onto the home version of the film — with one exception.

"I do want to show some of the scenes I cut out," he explained. "I probably won't show the Kyoshi Warriors because I want to save them for the second movie, because I'm going to have to introduce them all over again."

"There are a lot of scenes I took out that I want to show you," he added.

While he wouldn't go into too many specifics, Shyamalan hinted that some of the more comedic elements of the project should make the cut for the DVD's bonus features, especially after he spent so much time cutting them out the film.

"Actually, some [scenes] that were a little too comic, they're in the DVD," he said.

:: Watch Video :: http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/07/06/m- ... -features/

[BlackInk]

Awesome. I will definitely buy the DVD and see these scenes.

[Timstuff]

M.Night Say That The Last Airbender DVD "Will have Comedy Scenes, but No Kyoshi Warriors"

"The Last Airbender" didn't win its opening weekend, but it did manage to overcome less-than-stellar reviews on its way to a hefty $70.5 million haul since its Thursday premiere.

While the jury's still out on whether we'll get a chance to see the second chapter of Aang's quest to save the world and unite the elemental nations, one thing's for sure: "The Last Airbender" will arrive on DVD (and Blu-Ray) down the road. When I had the chance to chat with "Airbender" director M. Night Shyamalan, I asked him what we're likely to see on the DVD release of the film — and whether we'll eventually get a "director's cut" of "The Last Airbender."

"All my movies are the director's cut, so that's it," he laughed. "You get to watch it in the movie theaters."

Still, Shyamalan indicated that a few of the "Last Airbender" deleted scenes he described last week will likely find their way onto the home version of the film — with one exception.

"I do want to show some of the scenes I cut out," he explained. "I probably won't show the Kyoshi Warriors because I want to save them for the second movie, because I'm going to have to introduce them all over again."

"There are a lot of scenes I took out that I want to show you," he added.

While he wouldn't go into too many specifics, Shyamalan hinted that some of the more comedic elements of the project should make the cut for the DVD's bonus features, especially after he spent so much time cutting them out the film.

"Actually, some [scenes] that were a little too comic, they're in the DVD," he said.

:: Watch Video :: http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/07/06/m- ... -features/

"A little too comic?" For crying out loud... The movie had NO comedy, and the cartoon has TONS of comedy. I have a hard time believing that the stuff M. Night cut out was actually "too funny" for this film, just like I have a hard time believing that the Kyoshi Warriors scenes were "so good that they didn't belong in the movie.

[RockinDMG]

M. Night probably had no clue how to balance a good amount of comedy with an epic story that wants to be dark. He wrote Stuart Little which turned out funny, but that was because of a competent director and editor. The fact that he wrote and even shot the comedic scenes is a tall tale sign that when he says something like, "I lost focus in the middle of production," means that he was out of his element doing something other than a thriller which is meant to have little to no comic relief. The only audiences he has ever tried to please are those who want the hard core thriller stories.

A good example of a franchise that is hilarious at the same time it is dark and creepy is Pirates of the Caribbean. Jack Sparrow, Barbossa's pet monkey, the two Redcoat buffoons, the two pirates with one missing an eye, and even some moments of the more intense action sequences are purposely there to make you laugh while people are stabbing other people and all this supernatural randomness is going on. Hell, even Lord of the Rings and Star Wars have their memorable comedic moments.

[Melon Lord's Revenge]

A good example of a franchise that is hilarious at the same time it is dark and creepy is Pirates of the Caribbean. Jack Sparrow, Barbossa's pet monkey, the two Redcoat buffoons, the two pirates with one missing an eye, and even some moments of the more intense action sequences are purposely there to make you laugh while people are stabbing other people and all this supernatural randomness is going on. Hell, even Lord of the Rings and Star Wars have their memorable comedic moments.

wow? even star wars Star Wars has a TON of comedic moments Star Wars pretty much set the standard on how to balance out comedy and drama in an epic fantasy. So i don't think saying "even" Star Wars fits there, but I'll give you LOTR for sure.

on that note, If M. Night wanted to balance out the tone of TLA he should have gone to his favorite movie and took notes. They even talked about this being like another Star Wars, his Star Wars and he didn't follow the formula.

I was all for the "serious" TLA adaptation but that's easy to say when you look at the cartoon and think about all the slapstick and anime style comedy that wouldn't work in a live action movie, but that certainly didn't mean sacrifice the comedy at the expense of showing any real character development. It's part of what makes you appreciate the funny moments a character has but instead M. Night's characters were always sooooo concerned about...things. Anything, everything at any moment. You can't really get to know the characters beyond that same emotional tone the entire time. Save for a few moments. But the movie needed more than a few moments.

[Timstuff]

Sounds like it could be a case of creator breakdown. From everything we saw before the movie's release, it looked like they were getting it right. Sokka was funny, most of the favorite characters were in there, Katara got to do stuff... But then, it all ended up being chopped out because either Shyamalan got frustrated or Paramount got pushy. Or both. There is no excuse for taking something as funny as ATLA and then adapting it with no humor at all, and that was clearly not Shyamalan's intention with earlier versions of the film. Somewhere along the lines he and/or Paramount decided that the film would be much better without any personality getting in the way of the plot, so we ended up with the mangled mess we have now.

I reaaaally want to see uncut version of the film. I doubt it was perfect, but it was probably at least decent. We would have gotten the Kyoshi Warriors, Sokka's humor, and some actual character development for Katara, so anything it may have added could only have made the film better.

[MessiahONE]

But the problem is that he is NOT going to do any 'extended' version of the film. He will have quite a few deleted scenes in the special features section but no 'added footage'.

Shyamalan is surprisingly accessible post Airbender debacle, so some of us (Nightbender listening?)can somehow reach him and convince him firmly that he MUST do an extended version INCLUDING Kayoshi warriors.
Theatrical release is temporary and DVD is always the FINAL version, so the Suki and co can still be in the film and the fans can still be recharged for the second installation. I have strong a feeling that it was the kyoshi island/village where Aang, Sokka katara, Suki have all have half an hour worth of footage which helps with their character development. So without that period in the final threatrical cut, the whole film came crashing down.
I really hope if such an extended veriosn can actually be a reality. That can bring alot of fans back for this trilogy.

[Timstuff]

But the problem is that he is not going to do any 'extended' version of the film. He will have quite a few deleted scenes in the special features section but no 'added footage'.

Shyamalan is surprisingly accessible post Airbender debacle, so some of us (Nightbender listening?)can somehow reach him and convince him firmly that he MUST do an extended version INCLUDING Kayoshi warriors.
Theatrical release is temporary and DVD is always the FINAL version, so the Suki and co can still be in the film and the fans will still come back for the second installation. I really hope it happens.

You are correct. If any sort of extended edition is to happen, we the fans are going to have to convince Paramount and Shyamalan that it's absolutely necessary and that we, the fans would find it a much preferable option to just buying the theatrical cut. Hopefully we can band together and get a strong push for it going soon with a petition and a writing campaign.