Barnald

You speak like he's no longer with us. That, or as though he's somehow managed to reverse the aging process.

I don't think it warrants many new ones either.

Is including footnotes on a forum post a new low?

This place probably makes your incestuous Wagnerian operas seem tame.

The PJ of yore died long ago.

If he is having neurological problems, can he know better?

Don't sit on the fence, Nick - tell us how you really feel.

I hate to be the one to post this, but... https://variety.com/2026/film/news/lord-of-the-rings-movie-stephen-colbert-warner-bros-1236698684/ It's never been more over, guys.

They're going to market it around Gollum, in the mistaken belief that he's incredibly popular.

Your memory is unfortunately correct - Jim stated that nothing was written/recorded for this scene (which really does boggle the mind).

I'm inclined to agree with this. If it was another actor, I'd be more doubtful, but Armitage was deeply involved with these films, and sounds like he knows what he's talking about. He's evidently familiar enough with the BOTFA TC to know what was and wasn't in it. And I don't see why he'd be referring to the solely-known scene between himself and Thrain (at the start of the DoS EE), given it clearly would have no obvious place in this film. That he says a performance 'which again got cut' seems to suggest as much. Sometimes we only hear about things from one source/interview. I remember Boyens on an Empire podcast referring to a 'lovely little scene' between Dain and Bilbo that might feature in the EE (obviously it did not). Are we aware of another reference to this scene, outside of that interview?

Speaking of Thrain and deleted scenes, my searching of these forums reminded me of something I'd completely forgotten about. In 2015, while giving an interview that touches on the Extended Edition of Battle of the Five Armies, Richard Armitage said this: Very interesting. I know there's a fair few issues and inconsistencies in these films, but the Thrain arc always felt a particularly curious one. There's no pay-off at all in BOTFA. It always felt obvious to me that Gandalf should bring up his meeting with Thrain at the walls of Erebor, that Thrain said he loved Thorin and that he warned Thorin should not enter Erebor, just to piss off Thorin that bit more. Maybe after this, during his 'brooding' moments alone or on the throne, Thorin recalls a chat with his father, or maybe, in his madness, the 'ghost' of Thrain appears to him? Sher's no stranger to Shakespeare, after all. I don't mind to go off-topic, but I guess I'm putting this here so I remember it. And who knows, maybe Shore scored it?

Well you jest (?), but he did score the palantir scene, so who knows what he might have got up to, alone, in the bitter watches of the night?

There's also new music for the added introductions to Beorn scene (which is fairly substantial). I'm going back a ways here, but I get the impression the opening Azanulbizar flashback was intended to have something different to what we hear in the final product, a good chunk of which sounded tracked to me (though I may be wrong about that, in both respects). EDIT: Jay was the source, but I can't find his original post about it.

For the purposes of the film, it makes complete sense to streamline this process and have one hunt post Bilbo's party, since that is the one that matters; only then does Gandalf have grave concerns over the ring, only then is there real urgency, only then is Gollum captured and 'properly' interrogated (with a means to getting important information out of him). Have Gandalf mention to Aragorn that there were sightings in Mirkwood about half a century ago, that the Elves took up the trail. Perhaps you could mention that he was captured and let loose, much to Gandalf's regret (you could even show brief flashbacks). Then, in the present, show Gollum back in Mirkwood, the Elves spot him, give chase, spiders intervene, Gollum hides in Dol Guldur (you know the rest of this theory, I've spoken of it before). To twice show in detail Gollum being tracked around Mirkwood, across more than half a century... I just don't see how that works in a 2.5-3 hour film. You want him to get to Mordor relatively quickly (say halfway through), because that is way more interesting.