Tractor Tire Award of the Week - Drive Angry 3D

Documenting altered and/or missing trailer scenes.

Have you ever watched a trailer and had that one scene, that one shot that made you go "Wow, that was cool!"? Or maybe there was something you saw that stuck with you, something that for some reason was in the back of your head and despite how insignificant it was you were waiting for it to show up in the final cut of the film. But when you watched the movie that scene was nowhere to be found or has been altered in a significant way. Well, that is what the Tractor Tire Award of the Week is all about. We try to track down those scenes that didn't make it into the final version of the film and make sense of them. Where in the film was it supposed to be? Why might it have been cut? Why has it been changed? We may not always have the answers for you but at least you will have your piece of mind and know that you aren't crazy. So, this weeks award goes to Drive Angry 3D!

Drive Angry 3D

Hmmmm...there is something missing from this shot...

When a rated R film is given the inevitable PG-13 trailer it is only too common for something to be omitted or at the very least altered from how it will appear in the final cut of the film. While the trailer stays true to just about everything you see in the final cut there were a couple of alterations that stood out. One of them didn't catch my eye until AFTER I had already seen the film. The other was more noticeable because it involved a key piece of dialogue that capped off the trailer. What were these minor differences you ask...well that is what I am here to inform you about.

Let's get the big one out of the way first shall we. If you have a look at the image just above you will see a car in mid-flight going through a ball of fire. This scene is most definitely in the final cut, however there was a major alteration to how it actually appeared in the theater. That same scene is populated by a dozen or so cult members running for their lives as that car comings flying at them (and even landing on a couple of them) in the final version of the film. Clearly this was a green screen shot so it was probably pretty easy to remove the people from it but my main question is why do it at all? The couple of people it lands on were obscured and could hardly be seen so I can't imagine it being that big a deal for a neutered trailer.

And for that dialogue that was changed around...well that one makes a tad more sense. I cannot remember it verbatim in the film but here is what is said in the trailer Fichtner to Cage, "Wouldn't want to be you when Satan finds out", Nicolas Cage replies, "What's he gonna do, not let me back in?". That scene plays out exactly the same in the finished film but with one simple word being changed. In the theater you will hear that first part like this, "Wouldn't want to be you when HE finds out". It was a fairly obvious change (when you watch the trailer they cut away from Fichtner immediately before he says "Satan". But since that particular line of dialogue was used to end the trailer it kind of stood out to me when watching it. It is perfectly clear that the change was because they wanted to let the audience know that Satan was involved while promoting it but in the film when that scene arrives you already know what is going on. Either way, neither of these alterations is as bad as the dreaded missing scene but they still merit being brought up. Until next time then...

Drive Angry 3D trailer:

1st altered scene at :23

2nd altered scene at 2:20

Posted in: Tractor Tire Awards