Jackson defends Saruman scene cut

Peter Jackson, director of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, has responded to Christopher Lee’s claim that the actor only discovered he’d been cut from the third film on an internet website.

The veteran thespian was furious that all his scenes as Saruman in Return Of The King – including a dramatic death sequence – were cut.

He said recently, "The only reason I'm able to say this is because it was on the internet and has been for some days. I only heard recently.

"Of course I am very shocked, that's all I can say. If you want to know why you would have to ask the company New Line or director Peter Jackson and his associates because I still don't really know why."

But Jackson says the 81-year-old was told in advance and blames Lee’s petitioning fans for creating a frenzy.

Jackson says: "Everything I've read on the internet is completely wrong. There were phone calls, faxes. He's fine, but he's got a web site with fans who've started a petition, which I don't think is necessarily in his best interest.

"I don't think for a second it was Christopher that drove that. I think it was just fans. It just brings a lot of publicity to it. He's not really feeling that way, but his fans are fighting the battle and it brings a lot of unnecessary publicity to it.

"But the scene's great, it will be on the DVD and everyone will get a chance to see it."

The film-maker also insists that the seven-minute death scene was originally intended for the second film, The Two Towers, and was only considered for the third film if it worked.

He adds: "It was never in The Return Of The King. The Saruman scene was one of many scenes we cut. The longer the film was, the less strong it got because you felt like you'd been there for too long and it lost its impact."