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Post by tsmefford on May 21, 2021 14:10:41 GMT -5
What is also unfortunate is that this film really deserves one of those Art Books. Those are everywhere now. You could make such an interesting and cool art book with the amount of work that went into this film. And I bet something like that would answer so many questions and have a ton of great info. By the way. Small update. I got a hard copy of the American Cinematographer magazine issue about the film and can get some scans of some photos in higher quality. The article itself might be interesting too. I'll be scanning this weekend! Another note. Does anyone happen to have this little book that came out when the film did?  I know I used to have it, but I don't anymore and don't recall anything that was in it. Maybe there's some more stuff in there? I'll try to track down a copy. |
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Post by gothicarchiesfan on May 21, 2021 15:56:17 GMT -5
By the way. Small update. I got a hard copy of the American Cinematographer magazine issue about the film and can get some scans of some photos in higher quality. The article itself might be interesting too. I'll be scanning this weekend! I know I used to have it, but I don't anymore and don't recall anything that was in it. Maybe there's some more stuff in there? I'll try to track down a copy. I don't physically own it, but I do have a (pretty awful) scan of it, though it doesn't include much new information or photographs. It's basically just a run through of the movie's plot, except with 'hilarious' interjections from Count Olaf. The American Cinematographer article is available online, but the photos are in absolutely terrible condition, so I'd love to see your scans. :Edit: Here are the photos from that tie-in book that haven't been seen anywhere else. If nothing else, it's yet more proof that Olaf's escape was cut very late into post-production.     |
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Post by tsmefford on May 21, 2021 20:31:44 GMT -5
Nice! I went ahead and snagged one so I can get some better scans of it as well. I got something else as well that should be fun. Not sure when they'll be here, but I look forward to sharing what I can.
You're right about that article. It is online, but I'll admit that I haven't read it though. I should give it a read while I scan it. I also agree that they uploaded the photos in horrid quality. They look much better in the magazine. I'll update later on with those scans!
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Post by MARLOWE !!!!! on May 26, 2021 6:59:13 GMT -5
I'm not sure if the "Behind the Scenes with Count Olaf" book deserves it's own thread because it's a different piece of media?
Here is the blurb: Enjoy all the fun of making a Hollywood movie with the unspeakably dashing Count Olaf. Laugh at an infant's ludicrous teeth! Be thrilled by a vast house-destroying fire! Gasp at costume designs that make even orphans look good! Anyone who doesn't buy this book will regret it. Really. Copies can be found on Abebooks:www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30856071280&searchurl=ds%3D20%26kn%3Dbehind%2Bthe%2Bscenes%2Bwith%2Bcount%2Bolaf%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1What is also unfortunate is that this film really deserves one of those Art Books. Those are everywhere now. You could make such an interesting and cool art book with the amount of work that went into this film. And I bet something like that would answer so many questions and have a ton of great info. By the way. Small update. I got a hard copy of the American Cinematographer magazine issue about the film and can get some scans of some photos in higher quality. The article itself might be interesting too. I'll be scanning this weekend! Another note. Does anyone happen to have this little book that came out when the film did? I know I used to have it, but I don't anymore and don't recall anything that was in it. Maybe there's some more stuff in there? I'll try to track down a copy. |
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Post by urban-letter-opener on May 26, 2021 7:11:36 GMT -5
The Internet Archive actually has a complete scan of the book! You can look through it here, but you'll need an account. Looking through the book, there are a few images that haven't been seen anywhere else. When I have the time I'll gather them up and post them here.  |
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Post by MARLOWE !!!!! on May 26, 2021 7:26:02 GMT -5
"nothing gets an orphan into character like really itchy clothing" omg The Internet Archive actually has a complete scan of the book! You can look through it here, but you'll need an account. |
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Post by urban-letter-opener on May 26, 2021 7:30:06 GMT -5
I've got mixed feelings on Jim Carrey's asides as Olaf. The marketing material, however, is flawless. I've really tried to copy the feel of that writing with my interpretation of Olaf in The Ropy Rewrite; I wouldn't be surprised if the original script(s) wrote Olaf in a very similar way.
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Post by urban-letter-opener on May 26, 2021 10:05:04 GMT -5
Here are the otherwise unseen images from the Behind the Scenes book! I should note that some of these are out of order with the chronology of the film. This image is from the introduction of the Baudelaires. It looks like an alternate shot of Sunny leaving her siblings after Uncle Monty's death to find the Incredibly Deadly Viper.  This image shows Violet and Klaus watching Mr. Poe approach them on the beach. This deleted scene appears briefly in the console version of the videogame and the International trailer. Probably this shot or one very similar would have been shown during Lemony's narration about Mr. Poe before cutting to all three kids together. Of course, this shot doesn't appear, giving a rather jarring cut from Sunny a little ways from her siblings to Poe to the three kids together in the final film.  This image is a little different; it's Lemony in the style of the film's promotional/end credits artwork. Given how different the credits may have been at one point, perhaps Lemony was to appear. It's also possible that I just haven't seen this artwork yet, and it was used in promotions.  A promotional shot of the Baudelaires approaching Olaf's door. It's probably not a deleted scene, but it's worth showing off.  This shot is from the "Snaky Message" sequence, where Violet and Klaus attempt to alert Uncle Monty to Stephano's real identity. We do see Klaus take Petunia out of her tank in the film, but his face isn't in the used shot. The shot was probably cut due to the many instances in the musical track that accompanies it where music cues line up with the events on screen.  A closeup shot of Violet, Klaus, Olaf, and Fernald's reactions to Sunny's viper fake-out. Given that the angle couldn't have been achieved without blocking the filming cameras, this is very probably a deleted scene. The page that this comes from also draws significant attention to Fernald's disguise, an aspect that is barely touched on in the final film.  An alternate shot of Josephine greeting the kids. There's actually some very interesting dialogue in the PC and GBA versions of the videogame that suggests that Josephine would have been afraid of bears in addition to realtors in an earlier draft of the script. Perhaps this is a remnant of that?  This isn't a deleted scene; it's a version of the Hurricane Herman sequence that's missing its VFX. The shot's actually not too different — I expected the steam to be computer-generated.  I have no image to share here, but on the page showing Olaf's "rescue" of the children, it's mentioned that Violet invents a signaling device to call for help. I might go back and take a closer look at that scene again to see if there are any remains of that plot point in the theatrical release. Lastly, this shot. There's no shot from behind Justice Strauss's head in the final film. Not really much to say here.  |
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Post by tsmefford on May 26, 2021 12:07:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the link to the complete scan. I'm glad I grabbed the book myself because those scans are quite dark. I think I can get us some better copies. I have no image to share here, but on the page showing Olaf's "rescue" of the children, it's mentioned that Violet invents a signaling device to call for help. I might go back and take a closer look at that scene again to see if there are any remains of that plot point in the theatrical release. There is indeed, if you watch closely Violet was beginning to invent something, but it appears she is stopped by noticing Count Olaf's boat:   I wonder if this was changed in the reshoots. |
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Post by gothicarchiesfan on May 26, 2021 13:22:55 GMT -5
I wonder if this was changed in the reshoots. That's the craziest thing about the movie, it didn't even have any reshoots. It's production was so long and drawn out it didn't have the time. All the changes it went through came from rewrites they did on the set every single day. For example, the entire TRR sequence had to be totally rewritten because Carrey decided to completely change his costume/makeup/voice/performance as Stephano days before they were set to shoot. They actually had to incorporate his adlibs into the script because they just didn't have enough time to sit down and properly rewrite it. |
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Post by tsmefford on May 26, 2021 15:47:57 GMT -5
That's the craziest thing about the movie, it didn't even have any reshoots. It's production was so long and drawn out it didn't have the time. All the changes it went through came from rewrites they did on the set every single day. For example, the entire TRR sequence had to be totally rewritten because Carrey decided to completely change his costume/makeup/voice/performance as Stephano days before they were set to shoot. They actually had to incorporate his adlibs into the script because they just didn't have enough time to sit down and properly rewrite it. Are we sure? I have found mentions them at least considering doing reshoots. I just assumed they had followed through: Sounds as if reshoots were certainly a possibility. In other news. I found a brief deleted shot of Sunny actually going in to bite Count Olaf! In the film it's not shown on-screen, just a sound effect:  |
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Post by gothicarchiesfan on May 26, 2021 21:10:30 GMT -5
Please don't misunderstand me, I wasn't saying that reshoots weren't considered at some point. But there's very little that suggests they ever went through with them, largely due to the huge amount of footage that had already been shot and the fact that no credits anywhere list any crew members as working on additional photography. It's possible they might have filmed a few pickup shots here and there for the VFX but none of the currently available information suggests they did anything more than that. The great book about Dreamworks The Men Who Would Be King mentions that after filming wrapped on the movie, the executives and Brad Silberling immediately began a very lengthy and extensive process of creating and test screening alternate cuts, but mentions nothing about any reshoots. In other news. I found a brief deleted shot of Sunny actually going in to bite Count Olaf! In the film it's not shown on-screen, just a sound effect: Great find, it just goes to show how much the final product was tinkered with. In fact, one of the bonus features on the DVD has some footage of that scene playing in the background, and it's clear that in that cut (which they were testing and mixing just three weeks before the premiere), Olaf didn't even slap Klaus.  |
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Post by tsmefford on May 26, 2021 23:22:19 GMT -5
Please don't misunderstand me, I wasn't saying that reshoots weren't considered at some point. But there's very little that suggests they ever went through with them, largely due to the huge amount of footage that had already been shot and the fact that no credits anywhere list any crew members as working on additional photography.
It's possible they might have filmed a few pickup shots here and there for the VFX but none of the currently available information suggests they did anything more than that.
The great book about Dreamworks The Men Who Would Be King mentions that after filming wrapped on the movie, the executives and Brad Silberling immediately began a very lengthy and extensive process of creating and test screening alternate cuts, but mentions nothing about any reshoots.
Gotcha. I see. That book sounds like a good read! Anymore good tidbits about Snicket in there? Awesome catch on that BTS clip too. I hadn't noticed that! I just rewatched that featurette from my Archive and also noticed a conversation Brad is having with the mixers at the same session as well: The mixers seem to react a little disappointed as well. I'm guessing Brad is referring to that bit from the deleted scenes when Olaf talks about the milk-maid who is desperately in love with him and he does his eyebrow thing. That moment was in most of the trailers and TV spots and had full color grading on it, but never made the movie. That also explains the music fix they had to do for the "Puttanesca" cue. I also love the comment he makes about how he has "finaled on all formats the movie as I intend it." Sounds like there's a Director's Cut just sitting around somewhere in Paramounts vaults if that's the case. Very very interesting. |
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Post by gothicarchiesfan on May 27, 2021 1:29:52 GMT -5
Gotcha. I see. That book sounds like a good read! Anymore good tidbits about Snicket in there? Awesome catch on that BTS clip too. I hadn't noticed that! I just rewatched that featurette from my Archive and also noticed a conversation Brad is having with the mixers at the same session as well: I also love the comment he makes about how he has "finaled on all formats the movie as I intend it." Sounds like there's a Director's Cut just sitting around somewhere in Paramounts vaults if that's the case. Very very interesting. Excellent catch there, I'd never noticed that before. I think I'll actually transcribe the relevant Snicket sections of the book and post them here, if I can. I know its a pipe dream but I would honestly love for them to release an alternate cut that featured any of the deleted footage (especially the ones not available on the DVD) even if it was just from the timecoded VHS workprint edits. |
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Post by tsmefford on May 27, 2021 2:14:00 GMT -5
Excellent catch there, I'd never noticed that before. I think I'll actually transcribe the relevant Snicket sections of the book and post them here, if I can. I know its a pipe dream but I would honestly love for them to release an alternate cut that featured any of the deleted footage (especially the ones not available on the DVD) even if it was just from the timecoded VHS workprint edits. Oh yeah! I'd love to see it in Workprint form. That would be fascinating. By the way, been caught up with work stuff, but I should have my new scans and some other interesting finds posted sometime in the next few days hopefully. |
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