A long-lost extended cut ofPootie Tanghas been discovered on Larry Karaszewski’s old VHS shelf. The writer/producer has been going through some relics of his past and stumbled upon the rough cut earlier this week. The movie hit theaters back in 2001 and it was not the hit the studio was hoping it was going to be. Louis C.K. wrote and directed the movie and claims that the version that hit theaters was far from his original vision.
Larry Karaszewskiposted a picture on social media of the long-lost extended rough cut ofPootie Tangfrom his shelf of old VHS tapes. He posted an image of the tape, which is labeled “Pootie Tang8/25 Cut.” Since the movie did not hit theaters until June 2001, one would have to assume that his rough cut is from August of 2000. Karaszewski did not offer up a whole lot of information about his discovery, though he did confirm that it is a longer rough cut and that it does not feature Wanda Sykes' narration.
BeforePootie Tanghit theaters, Ali LeRoi was hired to extensively re-edit the comedy, according toLouis C.K.The comedian also claims that he was pretty much fired from the project by this point in the post-production process. C.K. admitted that there were parts of the movie that he enjoyed, but noted it was nothing like his original vision. With that being said, are we about to get the C.K. Cut ofPootie Tang? While the movie was a disaster at the box office and was trashed by critics, it is now a cult classic.
There is more than likely some demand to see an original rough cut ofPootie Tang, but will it ever see the light of day? Probably not, even though Larry Karaszewski’s followers are showing a lot of excitement for his recent discovery. It’s been nearly 20 years since the theatrical version of the movie came out, so an anniversary edition would be nice for fans that have been waiting for some kind of celebration. Maybe Louis C.K. will put it up to stream on his website next year if he’s able to get his hands on theVHS tape.
Pootie Tanghas been called one of thedumbest movies in history, though that is not a derogatory comment. The movie is said to embrace this dumbness and is praised by many for being hilarious at the same time. The comedy is a satire of the stereotyped characters who appeared in old blaxploitation films in the 1970s, though a more extreme look than satire can even cover. After the success of Netflix’sDolemite is my Name, which Larry Karaszewski was involved in the maing of, Viacom may want to consider putting out an anniversary edition ofPootie Tangfor streaming, at the very least. you may check out an image of thePootie Tangrough extended cut above, thanks toLarry Karaszewski’s Twitteraccount.
