Could Eric Sacks still be the Shredder in some international versions?

Blips · 08-14-2014, 04:31 PM

I know it seems crazy and I assumed all versions worldwide would be mostly the same, until I saw this trailer for the October 15th French release.

Spoiler:

Doesn’t that sound like William Fichtner in suit as the Shredder at 1:03?

I also don’t remember April saying “Ninja Turtles?” at 0:33 in the American version. That seems to have been changed to “Ninja…Mutant…Turtle…Teenagers?”

It’s not unheard of. The 1990 film had some different fight footage and alternate takes because nunchucks were a big no-no in the UK.

It seems that there were three main complaints that lead to changes during the film’s development.

The turtles as aliens, but this seems to have been fixed before the film started shooting.
The title. People complained that it was just Ninja Turtles, not Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the French version is still titled Ninja Turtles.
Eric Sacks as Shredder, which seems to have been scripted that way to increase global appeal. According to this interview with Tohoru Masamune there might've been concern that a Hong Kong audience wouldn’t want to watch a Japanese villain.

If the trailer above is indication, it seems Ninja Turtles is the full title and Sacks might be Shredder in the French version. How crazy would that be?

Maybe that would explain why the release date was moved back in some markets. That way there aren’t two different versions of the film in theaters at the same time. The backlash about Sacks as Shredder dissipates when American audiences sees the US release and then an alternate international cut is released two months later. It’s all speculation at this time, but it is interesting.

08-14-2014, 04:31 PM	#1
Blips Thug Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 53	Could Eric Sacks still be the Shredder in some international versions? I know it seems crazy and I assumed all versions worldwide would be mostly the same, until I saw this trailer for the October 15th French release. Spoiler: Doesn’t that sound like William Fichtner in suit as the Shredder at 1:03? I also don’t remember April saying “Ninja Turtles?” at 0:33 in the American version. That seems to have been changed to “Ninja…Mutant…Turtle…Teenagers?” It’s not unheard of. The 1990 film had some different fight footage and alternate takes because nunchucks were a big no-no in the UK. It seems that there were three main complaints that lead to changes during the film’s development. The turtles as aliens, but this seems to have been fixed before the film started shooting. The title. People complained that it was just Ninja Turtles, not Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but the French version is still titled Ninja Turtles. Eric Sacks as Shredder, which seems to have been scripted that way to increase global appeal. According to this interview with Tohoru Masamune there might've been concern that a Hong Kong audience wouldn’t want to watch a Japanese villain. If the trailer above is indication, it seems Ninja Turtles is the full title and Sacks might be Shredder in the French version. How crazy would that be? Maybe that would explain why the release date was moved back in some markets. That way there aren’t two different versions of the film in theaters at the same time. The backlash about Sacks as Shredder dissipates when American audiences sees the US release and then an alternate international cut is released two months later. It’s all speculation at this time, but it is interesting. Last edited by Jester; 08-15-2014 at 11:43 PM.