The Cutting Room Floor Page 5

The Blockade is Gone

This one is unconfirmed, but came from several sources. As they approach Naboo for a second time, Obi-Wan says, "The war's over, no need for it now" after Panaka says "the blockade's gone". It was deleted because they war had just begun. No great loss, the scene worked fine without it.

Another Moment for Anakin and the Queen

Another scene was deleted from the screenplay entirely, the scene where Anakin and Padme are reunited on board the queen's ship. He explains he can't be trained, she explains they're going to war and it will be dangerous. Deleted probably just to save time.

Maul was More than a Monster

Many readers have commented on how our favorite villian only had a few lines. Well, Maul actually had another line. After Nute says that he thought the battle would be far from here, Maul says "I told you there was more to this...the Jedi are involved." Shows some intelligence, not just a monster. It was also neat to show the dark side sensitivity in Maul, even to the point where he can feel something before Sidious himself.

New Sebulba Lines

In the scene after Sebulba attacks Jar Jar, they cut out these lines --

Anakin - "Fear attracts the fearful. He was trying to overcome his fear by squashing you...be less afraid."
Padme' - "And that works for you."
Anakin - "To a point. (he smiles)"
They seemed to have filmed this part but cut it because they used a guy walking in front on the actors to make the edit. It is interesting to note that these lines about 'fear' were actually given to Maul for his tone poem later on in development. Anakin, is fearful, so these lines may have been omitted to make him more afraid of leaving his mother. Interesting edit.

Food Capsules

Something folks saw in Denver that never made it into the movie: I have a quick cut scene to point out from TPM that is described in the script, and begun, but not ended in the movie. After Qui - Gon and the crew take shelter in Anakin's and Shimi's hovel during the sandstorm, there is a line in the script where Qui - Gon reaches into his belt and offers food capsules to Shimi in order to prevent her from having to use her own probably meager food stores on her unexpected guests. At the point in the movie where this should take place, Qui - Gon can be seen reaching into his belt, ready to offer the food, when suddenly the shot ends. This is, in my opinion, a great candidate for TPM - SE, as it expands upon the compassionate side of the Jedi, a side not often seen in TPM, especially when you consider Obi - Wan uses terms like 'pathetic life - form'...isn't there something in the Jedi code about respecting life in all its forms? Worked on paper, but didn't make it to the big screen.

Anakin's Fighting

On pages 81 & 82 of the Illustrated Screenplay, there is a scene describing a fight between Anakin and a Rodian. Lucas even calls it "A Greedo." After the fight, Anakin's friend Wald warns the Rodian: "Keep this up, Greedo, and you're gonna come to a bad end." Would have tied ANH and TPM together, especially if the Greedo ended up being THE Greedo. It would have been great to see the anger in Anakin, and the beginnings of his darker side.

Anakin's Cut

We've received many emails asking us this question: I'm not sure of this is a cut scene or not, but how does Annie cut his arm? This feels like something that happened and was later cut out to save time - Suddenly, his arm is cut and we do not know why. Well, the answer is in the third draft script, and here it is: During the pod race, Anakin is injured slightly. As soon as the pod race has just been completed, and QUI-GON wipes some blood off of Anakin's arm. "There, good as new." Many readers didn't understand how he got hurt, and to be perfectly honest, it's not easy to tell from the script either, but the injury took plaec AFTER the race in the original drafts, then before in the movie. Definitely should have made it in the final cut. No pun intended. :)

More on Greedo

Here's more on the above Greedo\Anakin fighting sequence: After the Anakin has won the Pod Race, and just before Qui-Gon arrives at Mos Espa to pick up Anakin, Anakin and and a very young Greedo are seen fighting. Qui-Gon arrives and here's how the dialogue goes:

Qui-Gon: What's this?
Anakin: He said I cheated.
Qui-Gon: Did you?
Anakin: No!
Qui-Gon: Do you still think he cheated?
Greedo: Yes. Qui-Gon: Well, Annie. You know the truth...You will have to tolerate his opinion, fighting won't change it.
Anakin and Qui-Gon leave, and Greedo goes over to Wald, a fellow Rodian.
Wald: Keep this up Greedo, and you're gonna come to a bad end.

Oh! I wish this part was still in there. . . would have loved to see the prophecy of Greedo coming to a bad end. And again, the flurtation with the dark side. . .

Jedi Hide

This one is quite interesting, and something I wondered about when first reading the script. In the scene where we are introduced to Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, they fend off a number of battle droids and then are attacked by Destoyer Droids. "The two men sprinted down the hall and took cover in two service niches. An instant later, the destroyer droids appeared at the end of the hall. The droids marched past, firing steadily at the smoke filled area in front of the bridge doors. As soon as they went by, Qui-Gon nodded at Obi-Wan. The two men stepped back into the hall, behind the droids." This scene would have showcased the Jedi's ability to do more than chop, block, and run. It would have brought new meaning to the "A New Hope" scene where Obi-Wan hid from the stormtrooper while shutting down the tractor beam, not to mention an instant familiarity with the character for the audience. Instead we are introduced in the middle of a fight, when we know Obi-wan as an elusive, thinking Jedi, not a fighter. I just thought this would have been an excellent introduction to a familiar charater. Put it back in.

Padme and Sleeping Anakin

There is a cut-scene just before the podrace when Anakin is asleep next to the Pod and Amidala walks over to him. She stoops down, sighs and touches his cheek. He wakes up and says "You were in my dream...You were leading a huge army into battle" "I hope not, I hate fighting" she replies. This brings out the pacifism in Amidala, the ability to see the future in Anakin, and shows that she begins to really care about him. I think these scenes between Ani and Ami were absolutely essential to the development of the characters. I think that with them, the story would have had a much greater critical appeal. Good point.

Eavesdropping Anakin

Seven O'Nine tells us in the novel, when Amidala is talking to the Senate and Palpatine, Anakin and Jar Jar are skulking around and eavesdropping, listening to what she's saying. It's a nice way of framing the sequence, and they thought it was cute when one of the handmaidens invites them in, saying that it's easier to hear inside than behind the door. Funny stuff!

Alternate Versions of the Ending

There was some confusion just after the movie was released here in the US where the film had two endings. One ending had a complete Maul fall to the bottom of the pit, where the other had Maul split in two. Looks like this was one scene that was supposed to be cut and wasn't. Ooops. If you want to read the original postings on the subject click here, or use the search engine to find similar posts. It was determined that the problem was due to ILM and LFL wondering if the splitting of Maul would be to graphic for a PG rating, so both endings were prepared.

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