Welcome to the final section of Notes From the Commentary Underground. We've gone through the screenwriters' commentaries for both movies, and we've done the same for the director's commentaries. However, and this may or may not be a little known fact (read as if said by Kahmunrah for best effect), Shawn Levy also does commentary bits for each of the deleted scenes on the DVD, for those interested in listening to them. So, scene by scene, here's what Levy has to say about each and every bit which had to be cut.
Brunden, the Director's Cut: The longest and original version of the meeting between Brunden and Larry, described as a "master class" or "clinic" in improvisation, as these two took a page an a half scene the point of which was for Larry to steal Brunden's key to gain access to the archives to find his friends and improvised twenty pages of dialogue, most of it arguing over touching the gate and culminating on Larry busting out the moves as a Jedi Night Guard. And stealing the key card. He does that, too. But the scene couldn't run on as long as Levy wanted it to because Brunden never comes back.
World Twister: This is two scenes in one: the first is the "absurdist, silly idea" of the bad guys playing Twister to divy up the world once they conquer it, and the second is Al facing his future, where he "becomes fat and imprisoned" for tax evasion. This is where Levy brings up the idea that the audiences were restless to get back to Larry/Amelia and not spend too much time with the rogues.
How Many Bad Guys Can You Fit in an Elevator?: Another quirky little shot of all the bad guys from various points in history cramming into an elevator and just standing around awkwardly listening to elevator music.
Moon Rover: This was the second of two dramatic scenes which were originally back to back, essentially, and this followed the moment where Larry simply couldn't tell Amelia that she's a waxwork statue. The idea behind cutting this one was that it was too much, in essence, to have two dramatic scenes right after each other with the ticking clock of Jedediah in an hourglass waiting to die, and it felt like the last element was getting lost in the midst of all that drama. However, this line still remains one of Levy's favorites: "I was always where I belonged, in that cockpit, with blue sky all around, doing what I loved."
Takin 'Em Down, Gangster Style: This riff of Al Capone pretending to shoot everything up like he's seen in gangster movies is what landed Jon Bernthal the part. Bernthal was a nobody as far as anyone who was anyone who was tied to the project was concerned, but he auditioned by doing this riff, and he did it so well that he landed the part.
The Alternate Ending: Levy didn't feel this had a proper place at the end of the movie, but the actors came up anyway to reprise their roles for a "surprise tag". (I should note that the entire ending involving Ahkmenrah is a near perfect demonstration of his diplomatic tendencies, as he not only tries to look like he takes the girl's disbelief ("No seriously. What's it do?") in stride in spite of his enthusiasm about what the tablet can do, he also puts on the same face when asked about what happens after closing time, where he chooses the perfectly neutral response "In a safe place, I assure you" rather than something more vicious, as it's pretty plain he wants to. The kid may be all of nineteen, but damn, he knows what he's doing.)
Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": Clothes make the man, and so do personal possessions. So what does all of Kahmunrah's (predominantly bird-themed) stuff say about him? Tune in to find out.
Countdown: 332 Days to NATM 3
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