by Stone Marshall | Jul 18, 2016 | Awesome Book News, Minecraft News |
Empower yourself by rebelling against linearity.
The first open-world game I ever played was GTAIII in 2001, and my friend and I were blown away by this relatively new genre. At the time, I couldn’t believe that a game could incorporate so many things I liked into one package, and I loved how it was up to me to decide how to proceed. Since then, the open-world genre has exploded with new features and innovations, and it’s still gaining popularity! In fact, you can say it’s the standard. Here is my list of the 12 best open-world console games. 
Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One)
Sporting three dynamically different main characters in a huge open world with gorgeous visuals and a virtual cornucopia of things to see and do, what’s not to love? GTA V is one of the few open-world games where the side missions are as interesting and fun as the main missions. In addition, players can literally spend hours off the beaten path doing everything from playing golf to robbing banks to simply messing around with the game’s A.I. and physics. This three-year-old game is so popular that a wide variety of mods are still being made and released every month.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-crackdown.jpg
Crackdown (Xbox)
Microsoft decided to make an open-world game where players fight crime instead of perpetrating it, and thus Crackdown was born. It’s really cool how players start off as a slightly-enhanced agent and end up as a freakin’ crime-fighting superhero! Minor RPG elements let players augment their character to suit their play style, and nearly everything in the city can be used as a weapon. As if that weren’t enough, the drop-in, drop-out online co-op play literally doubles the fun as two people can rain destruction down on their enemies.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-just-cause-2.jpg
Just Cause 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
I didn’t know what to expect with Just Cause 2, but it only took a short while for me to become completely addicted to the vast array of possibilities this game has to offer. Thanks to the innovative parachute and grappling hook combo, I’ve done incredible stunts in this game that I still haven’t been able replicate in other games. Add in a huge world full of cities, towns, and open areas as well as a great physics and destruction engine, and the result is a unique gaming experience that I will never forget.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-red-dead-redemption.jpg
Red Dead Redemption (PS3, Xbox 360)
If ever there was an open-world game begging for a sequel, it’s Red Dead Redemption. This fantastic game is set in the Old West and it features a classic storyline as well as excellent gameplay. In addition to the main mission, players can engage in bounty hunting, animal hunting, playing cards, taming horses, dueling, and herb collecting. It also has a deep morality system where players’ actions are deemed “good” or “bad,” and townsfolk react accordingly. There’s also several traditional multiplayer modes, like deathmatch and CTF, but my favorite is forming a posse and wreaking havoc.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-batman-arkham-city.jpg
Batman: Arkham City (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U)
Of all the open-world Batman games, Batman: Arkham City is still my favorite. The second game in the series has all the good qualities of the original, like the free-flowing combat system and deep stealth mode, and adds the vastness of Arkham City to the mix. As a result, there’s much more to see and do than what’s found in Arkham Asylum. Moreover, the developers added a plethora of Easter Eggs, and they even included hidden storylines that are triggered by activities like investigating where Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered or playing the game on certain days of the year.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-fallout-4.jpg
Fallout 4 (PS4, Xbox One)
Fallout 3 was awesome, Fallout New Vegas was okay, and Fallout 4 is a masterpiece! I could easily fill several pages with the numerous features and abilities players have in this game. Fallout 4 has everything from exploration to character customization to weapon crafting to fort building to forging alliances, etc., and this doesn’t even touch on the main storyline. If I could only play one game for the next two years, it would be Fallout 4, and I’m confident that in that time I still wouldn’t be able to access all of the content.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-minecraft.jpg
Minecraft (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
Featuring true sandbox-style gameplay where players can literally build the type of game they want to play, Minecraft has become a bit of a global sensation. The ingenious design lets players follow simple rules to explore, mine, and craft buildings, or they can choose to go deeper and create their own platforming game, make puzzles, create their own A.I., fight monsters, and much more! It’s even possible to hop online with a friend and explore the blocky world together. This is the type of game that makes young players aspire to become engineers.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-the-witcher-3.jpg
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4, Xbox One)
This is by far the best game in the series as it combines excellent controls, beautiful visuals, and an engaging story with a huge, open world full of characters with their own agendas. I’m glad that combat received a huge upgrade as players don’t have to fight with the controls and can now focus on creating the most effective use of weapons and magic. Also, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt actually makes side quests important for not only achieving money, training, and new gear, but also for discovering the world itself. This game has the potential to offer a significantly different experience on each playthrough.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-spider-man-2.jpg
Spider-Man 2 (PS2, Xbox)
Spider-Man 2 has the distinction of being one of the first open-world superhero games and one of the first non-gangster open-world games. Despite the fact that it was based on a movie, it still turned out to be really good. It was the first Spider-Man game to truly impart the feeling of what it might be like to fly through the sky the web-slinger. I also liked the open combo nature of the combat system that lets player string together their own combos instead of having to remember long combo strings.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-far-cry-3.jpg
Far Cry 3 (PS3, Xbox 360)
As one of the earlier open-world games that actually features an intriguing story, Far Cry 3 is… ahem… by far the best game in the series. Not only does this game have an extensive skill tree, but it also sports extremely deep crafting and weapon customization. I also really like the stylish and deadly stealth takedowns because they add another layer that can be woven into combat. Even more handy is the ability to use a variety of vehicles, ranging from cars to boats to gliders. All of this takes place on one of the most serene and gorgeous island environments ever seen in a video game.
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-ACBF.jpg
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (PS3, PS4, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii U)
I’ve played every Assassin’s Creed game, and none of them gave me the freedom that I found in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. This iteration takes the established gameplay from its predecessors, adds in new moves and features, and lets players take to the woods as well as the high seas. It’s really cool to perform a quest in a large city, then jump in my pirate ship and sail to small islands, towns, atolls, jungles, and forts in order to explore them and find additional missions. I also love the advanced naval combat as it adds a huge amount of variety and even lets me commandeer ships. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!
image: http://www.gamerevolution.com/images/misc/best-open-world-games-elder-scrolls.jpg
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3, Xbox 360)
Anyone looking to delve into a seriously gigantic world full of fantasy lore and mystical creatures will surely fall in love with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It’s extremely fun and remarkably easy to simply ignore the main quest line and spend dozens of hours exploring the vast world of Skyrim. In addition, there are numerous factions to ally oneself with as well as other ways to customize gameplay. Toss some menacing dragons into the mix, and even Daenerys Targaryen wouldn’t know whether to jump for joy or cower in fear.
Read more at http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/12-best-openworld-console-games#wOtGttKWhLuIYm8X.99
12 Best Open-World Console Games
by Stone Marshall | Jul 16, 2016 | Awesome Book News |
Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones ain’t afraid of no ghost in this female reboot of the 1984 supernatural comedy franchise.
When the fledgling team of paranormal investigators in Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters reboot post details of their first supernatural encounter online, one of the comments it elicits is: “Ain’t no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts.” It’s a clever wink at the kneejerk hostility engendered among self-appointed guardians of the beloved ’80s comedy franchise, long before the new movie was publicly screened. The unfunny mess that hits theaters Friday, like a big goopy splat of ectoplasm, will no doubt make those naysayers feel vindicated. But the fact is that an estrogen-infused makeover, particularly one with such a comedically gifted cast, was a promising idea. Sadly, that’s where the inventiveness ended.
The high curiosity factor, the stars’ popularity and moviegoers’ deep affection for the property should generate decent opening numbers for Sony. But despite the teasing hint of a sequel in a post-end-credits coda mention of Zuul, the malevolent demon who possessed Sigourney Weaver in Ivan Reitman’s 1984 original, the afterlife this time around looks evanescent.
The trajectory from the character-driven laughs and raucous physicality of Bridesmaids through the odd-couple antics of The Heat to the well-oiled action-comedy heroics of Spy in theory makes director Feig an ideal fit — particularly since all three of those films were elevated by their warmly knotty depiction of female friendship.
However, although the new Ghostbusters follows the template of the original by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the witless script by Feig and his co-writer on The Heat, Katie Dippold, has no juice. Short on both humor and tension, the spook encounters are rote collisions with vaporous CG specters that escalate into an uninvolving supernatural cataclysm unleashed upon New York’s Times Square. It’s all busy-ness, noise and chaos, with zero thrills and very little sustainable comic buoyancy.
There’s some knowing amusement in a rep from the Mayor’s office (Saturday Night Live regular Cecily Strong) keeping a lid on public hysteria by using the ghostbusters’ gender to discredit them as “incredibly sad, lonely women.” But those expecting a clever feminist spin or any other sharp 21st century twists will be disappointed, and the upgrade to new-generation VFX yields nothing remarkable.
What’s most surprising is the curious shortage of chemistry among the four leads, who never quite appear comfortable as a unit despite their overlapping screen histories. Kate McKinnon fares best of them, injecting consistent freshness into her off-kilter line readings and screwy reactions as eccentric engineer Jillian Holtzmann, who builds the team’s anti-ghost gadgets — from familiar proton blasters to new improved gizmos. And Leslie Jones, despite being stuck playing a streetwise stereotype, has choice moments as Patty Tolan, a transit worker who brings her vast knowledge of New York and her funeral-director uncle’s hearse to the job. (Yes, it gets ECTO-1 license plates.)
But there’s a hole in the movie where its anchoring central friendship should be — between Melissa McCarthy’s Abby Yates and Kristen Wiig’s Erin Gilbert, a bond that dates back to high school and is gradually rekindled after an extended chill. While the actors worked together effectively in Bridesmaids, there’s minimal evidence of a connection in their scenes here, which are often flat and sagging under the weight of dead air. Concept suffocates comedy at almost every step.
All the supernatural mayhem of the first movie — and to a lesser extent its 1989 sequel — was supported by the terrific rapport among four distinctly drawn main characters. Bill Murray’s deadpan drollery, Aykroyd’s earnest enthusiasm, Ramis’ geeky awkwardness and Ernie Hudson’s relaxed everyman vibe intersected in appealing ways that made it a hoot to watch how the team approached each fresh menace.
Those predecessors go unmentioned here, but one of the reboot’s biggest problems is that its four leads seem more like female variations on the original models than fully formed characters in their own right. This is especially limiting for McCarthy and Wiig. McCarthy puts her signature, aggressively irreverent spin on impassioned science nerd Abby, and she scores a few laughs — this is not one of her abrasive misfires like Identity Thief or Tammy. But you feel the strain. Wiig’s Erin is introduced as a stiff academic who has distanced herself from her early paranormal dabbling; naturally her starchy suit makes her the first to get slimed. Then zany Erin starts to peek through but somehow never gains much traction.
The failure to reinvent the leads to any satisfying degree is arguably preferable, however, to the overhaul of the supporting players. While the original movies had Annie Potts’ deliciously unflappable Janine Melnitz, this time around, the ghostbusters hire a hunky dolt named Kevin as their assistant, played by Chris Hemsworth in an ingratiating but wooden performance that sucks the comic energy out of his every scene. (It further undermines Erin’s credibility that she gets all goo goo-eyed and silly around him.)
As revealed in Sony’s second trailer, Kevin also inherits some of the plot functions of Rick Moranis’ character, Louis Tully, and Weaver’s Dana Barrett in the original, though that possession thread never really catches fire. An elaborate production number conducted by Kevin, which owes a debt to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, looks like it might have been fun but survives only in glimpses spliced into the end credits.
There’s also a villain of sorts, a bullied outsider named Rowan (Neil Casey) who is harnessing the power of dead spirits in a sinister plan to exact revenge on humanity. As an adversary, he’s ineffectual, and his pressure-cooked apocalypse is merely assaultive sound and fury. It doesn’t help that in place of iconic Manhattan monuments and buildings, we get fictional locations or generic studio facsimiles of the real thing, mixing vintage signage with prominently placed corporate brands.
Moranis is the sole surviving principal from the original Ghostbusters who doesn’t turn up in a cameo, the best of them saved for the credits. Also reappearing is the blobby, hot dog-gorging Slimer, who gets a lady friend in the Mrs. Potato Head vein; and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, who appears incongruously alongside some kind of steampunk ghoul version of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Those and other nostalgic nods to the progenitor only serve as a reminder of the charm that’s lacking here, sacrificed to bland, effects-laden bloat and uninspired writing, making this a missed opportunity.
Distributor: Sony
Production companies: Columbia Pictures, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Charles Dance, Michael Kenneth Williams, Matt Walsh, Neil Casey, Cecily Strong, Karan Soni, Zach Woods, Ed Begley Jr., Michael McDonald
Director: Paul Feig
Screenwriters: Katie Dippold, Paul Feig, based on the 1984 film directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
Producers: Ivan Reitman, Amy Pascal
Executive producers: Paul Feig, Jessie Henderson, Dan Aykroyd, Tom Pollock, Joe Medjuck, Ali Bell, Michele Imperato Stabile
Director of photography: Robert Yeoman
Production designer: Jefferson Sage
Costume designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Editors: Brett White, Melissa Bretherton
Visual effects supervisor: Peter G. Travers
Special visual effects: Imageworks
Casting: Allison Jones
Rated PG-13, 116 minutes
‘Ghostbusters’: Film Revie
by Stone Marshall | Jun 24, 2016 | Awesome Book News |
Twenty years ago audiences turned out in movie theaters in droves to see aliens torch several national landmarks. Powered by a series of catchy ads and posters that showed the White House engulfed in flames as a spaceship hovered overhead, “Independence Day” was the film to see in the summer of 1996. It blew past other hits such as “Twister” and “Mission: Impossible” to become the year’s highest-grossing film, established Roland Emmerich as his era’s “Master of Disaster,” and made Will Smith a star.
Now, the aliens are back in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” For many moviegoers the first film remains the embodiment of blockbuster entertainment, but there’s no denying the fact that in the years since we first made contact, tastes have changed. Superhero movies are now the driving force at the box office. The question is, will moviegoers still show up in force for a movie without a costumed hero?
Right now, Fox, the studio orchestrating the invasion, is banking on an opening of $50 million when it hits theaters on Friday. It’s a solid start, but it won’t be enough to displace “Finding Dory” from the top of the box office heap. The Disney smash is looking at a second weekend of roughly $70 million after it shattered records for an animated film debut, opening at $135.1 million.
Fox spent a hefty $165 million to get the flying saucers out of dry dock and will launch the picture across 4,067 locations. Smith did not return for the sequel, but Emmerich is once again in the directing chair. He brought back original cast members such as Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, and added newcomers such as Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher to the mix. The monuments getting atomized have also changed. This time Big Ben gets the White House treatment.
It’s shaping up to be a crowded weekend at the multiplexes, with four new wide releases entering the fray. “Free State of Jones” will try to bolster mainstream cinema’s IQ level a few points when it debuts on Friday at 2,815 locations. The historical drama about a Southern farmer (Matthew McConaughey) who leads an armed rebellion against the Confederacy is a big bet by STX Entertainment, a newly launched studio that hopes to make the kind of mid-budget films that major studios have largely abandoned in favor of comic book movies. It cost $50 million to make and will try to prove that there’s an audience for dramas in the height of popcorn season. The studio did defray some of its risk on the film, bringing in a number financial partners, including IM Global, which will handle international rights for the picture. “Free State of Jones” should bow to roughly $12 million domestically.
Sony will counter with “The Shallows.” Just as “Independence Day: Resurgence” seems like a throwback to the days of Irwin Allen, the film, which pits Blake Lively against a shark, calls to mind another ’70s era hit, “Jaws.” “The Shallows” is a much smaller gamble, however, with the potential for more modest rewards. It carries a $17 million price tag and is looking at an opening of $7 million when it debuts on roughly 2,800 screens. The film is one of the first greenlit under Tom Rothman, Sony’s new film chief, after he took over the studio in 2015.
Lastly, Amazon Studios will offer up “The Neon Demon,” Nicolas Winding Refn’s blood-splattered look at the world of fashion. The horror film debuted to mixed notices in Cannes, with some critics digging the fever dream atmosphere, and other reviewers finding it to be a forgettable strut down the runway. Broad Green will handle the theatrical rollout. “The Neon Demon” should debut to between $2 million to $3 million in more than 700 theaters.
Box Office: ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ No Match for ‘Finding Dory’
by Stone Marshall | Jun 20, 2016 | Awesome Book News |
Scenes in movies are deleted for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they don’t fit structurally, sometimes the movie’s runtime is already too long, but normally these cuts are small and don’t have an overwhelming effect on the plot. Occasionally, however, large, expensive chunks of a movie are gutted entirely and not only alter the movie, but wholly change the storyline.
The deleted scenes listed here fit into the latter category. Not only do the sections removed do away with entire plots, subplots, and actors, but they cost a boat-ton of money, resulting in millions and millions of dollars being virtually thrown away. Often, these lost treasures are relegated to the bonus-features section of a DVD, but on occasion they are lost to the ages with the creators unwilling to acknowledge their existence.
Here are The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed.
***All figures adjusted for inflation***
11. The Goonies – The Octopus Scene
For years people debated the existence of footage of an Ed Wood-esque monster attacking the children. When The Goonies was released on home video, it did not include this scene. However, when the television rights to the movie were eventually sold, distributors demanded that some of the more “adult” material be removed from the story, which resulted in a lack of footage. Their solution was to re-edit in the lost footage of the octopus attacking the kids back into the third act.
However, the octopus is still mentioned in the theatrical cut of the movie by Data, in the final scene, where he states “The Octopus was very scary.” Little information about the actual cost of the octopus footage exists, but with principle photography lasting 5 months, it is assumed that it took at least two days to capture the footage with the underwater unit, which would have cost the production $550,319.32 when adjusted for inflation.
10. The Wizard of Oz – The Jitterbug Dance
Deleted Scenes Wizard of Oz The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
Immediately prior to the monkeys capturing Dorothy, there was supposed to be a scene featuring The Wicked Witch unleashing her “Jitterbug” upon them. This creature was to be a blue and pink mosquito-like creature that, after stinging them, made them break out into a six minute long song and dance number that took 5 weeks to rehearse and film. This was one of the first major pieces cut in the editing room due to the length of the picture.
Although the music to the song exists, and was subsequently released in 1995, no known footage exists other than a cheaply shot home movie by Harold Arlen, the composer of the movie. It has been reported that this scene set production back $1,013,678.57 when adjusted for inflation.
9. Dr. Strangelove – The Pie Fight
Deleted Scenes Dr. Strangelove The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
The final scene in the movie was supposed to have the world leaders’ conversation break down, resulting in the greatest pie fight ever recorded on film. Although studio executives were not a fan of this, and insisted that Kubrick shoot it in one day, crew members place the actual filming time between one to two weeks. Each day, at least 2,000 Fortnum & Mason pies were brought to the stage, and were subsequently thrown, smashed, and made into sand castles. The footage was dropped after JFK’s assassination due to the dialogue, which included the line “…our President has been struck down by a pie in the prime of his life.”
Many sources incorrectly claim that this footage has been destroyed. Though it has never been screened for the public, Production Designer Ken Adams speaks about watching the footage at the BFI several years prior to his death. This scene took 1-2 weeks to film, so with principle photography taking 3 months, we estimate it set the production back $2,108,153.54 when adjusted for inflation.
8. Gangster Squad – Theater Shooting Scene
Deleted Scenes Gangster Squad The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
On July 20th, 2012 a horrendous tragedy occurred in Aurora, Colorado when a man brought a gun into a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 people and hurting 70 others. Prior to this, an almost finished version of Gangster Squad featured a crucial scene that took place in Grauman’s Chinese Theater, where gangsters attacked the audience with tommy guns. Ruben Fleischer and company agreed that this was no longer in good taste after the shootings in Aurora and pushed the film’s release back four months to make time for reshoots. Glimpses of the footage still exist on the internet in the form of the first released trailer.
This costly move set Warner Bros. back “several million” and forced a large section of the film to be completely retooled at the last second. With inflation, this set production back at least $2,060,313.32.
7. Back to the Future – Eric Stoltz Scenes
Deleted Scenes Back To The Future The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
It’s not often that a main actor gets replaced once production on a movie has begun, let alone 5 weeks into it, but that was the case with Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly in Back to the Future. From the beginning, creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale had insisted that Michael J. Fox should star in the role, but the head of the Universal, Sid Sheinberg disagreed to such a degree he proclaimed that if he was wrong, he would let them reshoot all his scenes… and that’s exactly what happened after Sheinberg watched the dailies.
Very small bits of this footage can be viewed in bonus content on recent Blu-ray releases. This reportedly cost the studio $4 million at the time, which is now worth $8,984,805.31 when adjusted for inflation.
6. Little Shop of Horrors – The Alternative Ending
Deleted Scenes Little Shop of Horrors The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
When filmmakers screen their movies for test audiences, they fully expect that they may have to re-edit a scene here or there. Occasionally, they may even have to shoot a pickup shot to replace one that’s not well received. Unfortunately for director Frank Oz, two test audiences loved his movie, but despised the original ending, in which a plant not only ate the main character and his girlfriend, but took over the world.
In the end, a fifth of the budget, the work of 50-70 puppeteers, a year of visual effects work, five weeks of shooting, and 12 minutes of footage were relegated to the bonus features section of a Blu-ray that came out in 2012.
5. Superman Returns – Alternate Intro
Superman Intro Deleted Scenes The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
Another case in which a film lost an entire bookend to the cutting room floor. In this film, however, the footage explains to the audience why Superman’s ship is crashing into Ma and Pa Kent’s farm, again, telling audience the same story they’ve heard many times before. Though the piece is gorgeous, it’s nearly 6 minutes in length and contains no dialogue, something studio execs generally frown upon.
Though the Blu-ray was released in 2006, this footage wouldn’t see the light of day until the Superman Anthology set was released in 2011, essentially turning this into a $12,018,546.74 bonus feature.
4. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote – The Entire Film
4 don The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
In 2000, Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Jean Rochefort, and an entire cast and crew traveled to an area just north of Madrid, Spain to film their latest project. The first of many problems was that this area was also the site of a major military base, making it nearly impossible to record sound. Soon afterward, there was a major flood that not only washed away much of their equipment, but wholly changed the color of the landscape. Lastly, after noticing Rochefort wincing each time he was on the horse, it was discovered that he was suffering from a double herniated disc.
It’s not all a loss though. The footage was later retooled and combined with narration from Jeff Bridges and making-of video in the excellent documentary Lost In La Mancha, chronicling the failure of the film. After a lawsuit, the investors were awarded $15 million from the company that insured the film. Gilliam has since claimed he is still making the project.
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Rogue’s Scenes
3 rogues The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
Most of Anna Paquin’s scenes were removed from the theatrical cut of X-Men: Days of Future Past, but don’t feel too bad for her. Not only was she paid a reported $2.8 million for filming, her role was eventually reinserted into her own version of the movie appropriately titled, “The Rogue Cut.” With the standard version of the movie coming in at 2 hours and 12 minutes and the longer cut coming in at 2 hours and 29 minutes, one has to think that it wasn’t only a runtime issue.
In a movie that took place over two separate timelines with dozens of characters from two casts, the standard movie viewer already has a lot to absorb without the addition of yet another subplot.
This exorcism of footage not only cost the movie her $2.8 million , but also sent the film into 2 weeks of reshoots. When you factor in a reported $200 million dollar budget on an initial four month shoot schedule that brings the estimated cost of this deleted scene to $22,580,645.
2. World War Z – Entire Third Act
Deleted Scenes World War Z The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
This movie’s original ending was dark. Like, dark dark. It contained Brad Pitt’s plane landing in Russia, where he was drafted into their anti-zombie army and his wife was forced into a relationship where she was trading sex in return for room and board for her and her daughters. It’s surprising that any executives actually greenlit such a dark ending for a summer blockbuster, but it’s not very surprising that they also decided to scrap it. Thus, Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard were brought in to write an entire new ending.
According to reports, it cost a whopping $25 million to retool and reshoot the third act, making it the single most expensive piece of deleted material to never see a screen.
1. Cleopatra – 1/3rd of Entire Movie
Deleted Scenes Cleopatra The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
After Cleopatra debuted, it became the biggest box office success in 1963. Despite that, it never made its enormous budget back. One of the most notoriously rocky movie shoots ever, Cleopatra was plagued by bad luck. The enormous sets were built in their entirety in London, and then again in Rome after production was forced to relocate. Elizabeth Taylor nearly died once on set before receiving a life-saving tracheotomy, of which the scar can be seen in some shots.
The original cut of the film was over 6 hours long, but Fox pressured director Joseph L. Mankiewicz to cut it down to its 3 hour theatrical cut. Eventually, a 4 hour cut was released on home video, and efforts are underway to reconstruct the 6 hour version so that we might see it one day.
The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed
