Cool Frank Oz interview about the lost 23 minutes

Mr. Larkin? Paging Mr. Larkin! Link, where are you?

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Updated On: 5/15/12 at 03:22 PM

Sorry 'bout that. I was too busy trying to fit a cogent title in the heading.

fixed now!

I'm not understanding the whole black and white issue he's talking about.

Clearly there is a color version, they even have a screen shot in the article.

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Updated On: 5/15/12 at 03:24 PM

That's weird he doesn't know about the release, since it was he who let the news slip in the first place.


"...And fans of Little Shop will be happy to hear that Frank also announced Warner Brothers will be releasing a 2-disc DVD/Blu-ray set of the film next Halloween, which includes the original ending!"

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I was just going to post, it was him himself who said that about the release...

However, that colour still doesn't prove anything. There are colour stills from many infamous, now completely lost, deleted film sequences--it could have been made pre-release, etc.

Well, I learned a couple of things from reading that ...

I suppose I'm not surprised to hear that wasn't Geffen who wanted Ellen Greene after all. It was Oz and Ashman. They both pushed for her screen test before he approved her. Geffen is the one who wanted a star (Cyndi Lauper).

I'm also surprised to learn the reason why Geffen had the first DVD pulled. I had heard he didn't want the ending to be seen at all. This interview says he didn't care about that, but he wanted the color version, which didn't (doesn't?) exist.

About the color ending ...

When you're working on a film, you use work prints and you strike a positive for screening purposes. It's usually a one-off. Of course, we're talking about the days with actual film and actual negatives. They wouldn't cut or compromise the actual negative until the film was approved for distribution. Then they would cut it and start making hundreds (or thousands) of copies.

So my guess is that they may (I hope!) still have all the color negative footage, but it was never actually cut into a finished/final sequence.

If they wanted to spend the time and money, and they still have all the elements, they could cut together the original ending from the excised footage and use the old B&W work print and (hopefully) any editor's notes to piece it all together now.

But if they don't have the cut elements or they don't want to spend the money, all they have left is Frank Oz's black-and-white work print (as seen on the old DVD).

EDIT: And that color photo in the article looks like a production still, taken while they were filming the sequence. I have to say it looks far more impressive in color. After seeing the B&W version on YouTube, it looked like an old Godzilla movie, which was effective but not necessarily hugely impressive. Seeing that one color production still made me really want to see this final sequence in full, restored color.

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Updated On: 5/16/12 at 06:03 PM

Thanks besty. The same thing happened on the OT board last week.

Now I know!

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"And that color photo in the article looks like a production still, taken while they were filming the sequence. I have to say it looks far more impressive in color. After seeing the B&W version on YouTube, it looked like an old Godzilla movie, which was effective but not necessarily hugely impressive. Seeing that one color production still made me really want to see this final sequence in full, restored color."

The color photo is indeed a still and I can verify that MANY color stills were taken of the entire film. All of the stills were used for a Topps Bubblegum/Trading Card/Sticker collection released with the movie. Because the cards were in mass production prior to the finale being re-shot, the collection came out with the stills of the original ending - all in color. (Much like the soundtrack that was already in production and features the finale "Don't feed the plants" intact.)

I own the card collection from the movie - have had it since it's initial release. It took quite a few allowances and several trips to 7-11 to obtain them as a kid- but I did, and have hung onto them ever since. They don't hold much monetary value, but I cherish mine

Here's a link to a pic of one of the stickers/cards in the collection featuring the exact still featured in the article:

Updated On: 5/16/12 at 12:18 PM