Weinstein Company Trying to Cut 40 Minutes From 'Inglourious Basterds'

The Weinstein Company is on the brink of financial ruin, and according to The Wrap, they have three big hits that need to make money: "Inglourious Basterds," "H2: Halloween 2," and Rob Marshall's "Nine."

"But here’s what we know: the company needs a big hit, and soon. Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ premiered to mixed reviews at the Cannes Festival. Weinstein and coproducer Universal are both trying to convince Tarantino to cut it by 40 minutes. (It’s now 2’40”, and considered too long a sit, especially for American audiences.)"

The Wrap actually got the running time wrong, as the version shown at Cannes ran 2 hours, 28 minutes. This isn't the first time we've heard that Tarantino would be making some changes from the version he showed in France. At the end of the fest, Tarantino started telling the press that he would be going back into the editing room for "Basterds," potentially adding a new scene in the middle of the movie. All of this is happening because the reaction in Cannes wasn't as positive as they (meaning Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein) had hoped it would be. But they better not cut out 40 minutes of it!

Ben Kenigsberg at Time Out Chicago wrote a piece titled "Don't cut Inglourious Basterds, you basterds!" Here's an excerpt:

"All I can say—as someone who thought 'Basterds' was the unquestionable highlight of this year's Cannes competition—is that cutting won't remove what's strange about the film; it'll just ruin its pacing and structure—and probably outrage QT's sizable fanbase. The charge against the movie is that it's 'talky' and that too much of it is subtitled to appeal to a mass audience. But if any contemporary filmmaker has proven that large swaths of dialogue can be compelling, even profitable, it's Tarantino."

Hopefully the film will not be cut, but if it is the full length will most likely come out on DVD.
I'd rather see the full version in theaters. Would you?
"Inglourious Basterds" hits theaters August 21, 2009.
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: First Showing, The Wrap, Time Out Chicago, Deadline Hollywood Daily