The Wicker Man nature in spring. By the time of the film's completion the studio had been bought by EMI, and British Lion was managed by Michael Deeley. The DVD commentary track states that studio executives suggested a more "upbeat" ending to the film, in which a sudden rain puts the flames of the wicker man out and spares Howie's life, but this suggestion was refused. Hardy subsequently had to remove about 20 minutes of scenes on the mainland, early investigations, and (to Lee's disappointment) some of Lord Summerisle's initial meeting with Howie. The first screening of the film was to trade and
The Wicker Man (2006 film) later, when it had undergone many changes to become the film "The Wicker Tree". Universal's remake with LaBute moved forward, who changed the Scots setting to contemporary America. The remake rights eventually moved from Universal to Millennium Films. Filming began in Vancouver, Canada in July 2005. Millennium sold distribution rights to Alcon Entertainment for distribution through their output deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. Upon release the film received mostly negative reviews from film critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 107 reviews, with a weighted average score of 3.5/10. The website's