Synopsis:

The Desolation of Smaug' is the second movie in a trilogy that should never have existed. While mildly entertaining, it was overly long, with ridiculous elements not found in the original book. Instead of being created as a prequel it was conceived as a sequel to Lord of the Rings, giving it inherent issues that impeded on the literates' ability to enjoy the film.

Intentions:

I decided to make this fanedit to continue the work I did in my first fanedit "The Expected Cut". Namely my intention is to create a movie that honors the book significantly while also framing it in the zone of "prequel" not "sequel". It takes out all references to Lord of the Rings and starts the story from the beginning. This is however not a strict cut. I've allowed a few of Peter Jackson's embellishments to endure where it would otherwise ruin the story, or where it didn't wreck havoc too badly. However, significant elements have been cut, much of the action in the film is gone and this becomes a journey to "There", not an action extravaganza.

Change List:

- Gandalf/Thorin introduction in Bree removed - film starts with Bilbo peering over a rock. - Close up shots of Beorn as a bear removed - All scenes of orcs removed from film except for the chase in the very beginning and orc interrogation. - Beorn/Gandalf dialogue trimmed - Bilbo playing with the ring/Gandalf/Galadriel telepathy removed before the company enters the forest. - Gloin's Gimli namedrop removed - All evidence of the Tauriel/Kili romance/ Legolas jealousy removed - Orc interrogation/ Tauriels departure cut in length and placed before the company escapes - Tauriel removed from later scenes inside the elf castle looking for the company for plot consistency - Barrel scene cut/rearranged to the essentials - no orcs or elves appear in the escape. short and sweet and fun. - Dwarves go from meeting bard directly into being smuggled/Gandalf scenes moved to later - Legolas/Tauriel reunion chopped to essentials followed by Gandalf going to the tombs. - Laketown scenes cut to eliminate the fact that the dwarf.

Additional Notes:

Originally I thought this would be a faster edit than "The Expected Cut". There are large chunks of footage on "Smaug" that are easily dispersed of, however after viewing my rough cut it was obvious that much more needed to be cut for pacing, so I had to go back several times to do some weeding. I had a lot of fun making this edit.

Other Sources:

Desolation of Smaug OST Fccysf (User on YouTube) for additional stock-footage.

Special Thanks:

Thanks for the support and all the input! Mother dearest