Tractor Tire Award of the Week - Super 8

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 Super 8!

Cut Scene #1

Was a teenage girl shaking her ass just too much to handle?

I would like to state up front that none of these missing scenes for Super 8 are very important but their importance isn't why we do this here at LRA. It is all about keeping record of things that were shown to us and then later removed, the classic bait and switch if you will. And Mr. Abrams has provided a few moments for us to look into with the first (and most important?) being that sexy walk this mysterious girl from the trailer did (note: we now know this to be Charles's older sister). This is of course taking place after the town has been evacuated and all the residents are hold up at the local airport. While the scene it is connected to is still present in the final film, this lead up to that scene was cut out. In the final version we just see Charles's sister sit down next to a then unknown man and start talking to him. Why was this cut...who knows. My two cents are on the fact that they wanted to keep who she was talking to as a surprise and this shot clearly shows you who she is walking up to.

 Cut Scene #2

The origin of Joe's military costume revealed?

File this one under the "I didn't even notice and I didn't care" column but if there is anyone out there that was bothered by where Joe got his military outfit from then here ya go. While it isn't very apparent what location this is, it is however pretty clear that it is either some sort of army surplus or costume store. I never really questioned where he got the outfit for his role in Charles's film but I guess there is a scene out there that explains it. Not much else to say on this one and yet another scene that won't be missed I think.

 Cut Scene #3

And the award for shot most likely to not be in the final cut goes to...

This is the one, the shot that was in all the trailers for the film including the initial teaser trailer. I never expected it to be in the movie and I was right...kind of. The scene is most definitely still in the final film but it just happens from a different angle is all. This is of course after the train crash at the moment when the creature breaks free. In the final film it is all done with sound effects as we hear it breaks out and only see the door after it lands next to Joe. Furthermore, the pick-up truck from that teaser trailer is another one that was shown from a different angle before. In the final film it is seen from the kid's perspective while in the trailer we get a much more up close and personal look as it steers on to the train tracks. Again though, these couple shots aren't really that big a deal, although this was what I would consider to be a pretty iconic shot from the trailer, it was for me anyway.

 Cut Scene #4

This angle of the impact is not in the final film.

So, what do these missing or alternate scenes amount to in the end? Not much this time around thankfully and they are so irrelevant that I would gather to say that we probably won't even see them as a collection of deleted scenes on the home version. I take that back, maybe the military costume scene will make it in there since I don't know what all that scene may have comprised of. All in all though this is one of the more harmless Tractor Tire Awards we have given out recently and I can't say I missed any of the cut scenes in the final film.

Super 8 trailer:

Cut scene #2 at :27
Cut scene #4 at :40

Cut scene #3 at :54

Cut scene #1 at 1:42

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