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Story by: Jack Foley
OUTRAGED fans of actor, Christopher Lee, are said to have started
an online petition with a view to getting the star’s final
Lord of the Rings scenes reinstated into The Return of the King.
The audacious move was launched following revelations that seven
minutes’ worth of footage, featuring a climactic fight scene
between Lee’s evil wizard, Saruman, and Sir Ian McKellen’s
good wizard, Gandalf, has been dropped from the final part of
the series.
The 81-year-old actor described himself as mystified as to why
the decision had been taken and, in an interview with ITV1’s
This Morning, earlier this month, said he was ‘shocked’
as a result.
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Lee continues to be bound by the confidentiality agreement he
signed at the start of production, which forbids him from revealing
too much about the films, and intends to honour the agreement,
but said he was addressing the issue because it had already been
leaked on the internet - although not by himself.
He also urged fans to seek answers from distributors, New Line,
or director, Peter Jackson, as to why the decision had been taken.
It is believed the footage will be reinstated in time for the
DVD release, but this has done little to appease fans of the legendary
actor (who will feature prominently in the final Star Wars movie,
to be released in 2005).
Lee concluded his TV interview by stating that he would probably
not be attending the premiere of the film, because there was little
point if he wasn’t in it. But he was quick to add that appearing
in the first two films - The
Fellowship of the Ring and The
Two Towers - had been ‘a dream come true’.
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