Secondly, the alternate endings might be the ones that were filmed to throw people off to the actual ending of the movie. I know that I read somewhere that they were filming the movie with a few different endings so that way the actual ending to the film wouldn’t get ruined by people posting it on the internet.

I also agree that its better for everyone to have a clear direction of where they are going with the story. But to throw in some “what ifs” at the end is also cool.

Ill be interested to see what these alternate endings consist of…on youtube, as I have no intentions of sitting through that movie again.

Yes, I thought the original ending of “Fatal Attraction” had more of a cerebral tone, but who can forget the ‘radically’ altered ending that Adrian Lyne thought up on the fly? Or, as bullshit as it was, the ‘new’ ending of “Pretty Woman”?

How about the original intended endings of “Little Shop Of Horrors”? “Blade”? The changes..better or worse? Did the changes come in whole or in part to audience test cards? Yes, they did.

I could go on and on with film after film, John. I think you get my point. But what bothers me about the post the most is that, in the past, you have said *exactly* the point I and Chalk above are pointing out. Film is a collabritive medium. The majority of filmmakers have to listen to thier producers and/or the studio backing them. All want to put out the best “cut” of the film possible. But, lo and behold, here you are…will the real John Campea please stand up?

I also note that while you talk of ‘alternate endings’ that do not radically change the story —I could have sworn you don’t mention what Cloverfield’s alternate endings consist of. For I know, they don’t radically change the story…and you don’t know if they do or not.

As for alternate endings myself overall on DVDs? I’ll pick on 28 Days Later. When that film was released, much was made about the “gimmick” of four different endings. When the DVD was released there was the “director/studio cut’ which I saw in theatres anyway, plus the other three. I checked out the other three, and all it was really was trimmed and/or re-edited footage. Not much of a radical change either way. By themselves…ho hum.

“Fracture” – good ending. But there was the ‘alternate’ endings which were not radical departures from the chosen ending, except for one or two lines and/or actions. Boring as hell compared to the chosen ending.

Unless the unused ending has a radical departure from the studio ending/director comprimise, I usually do find them hokey and uninteresting.

As for the comment that alternate endings “tells me that a director had no conviction about where the story was going and cop[p]ed out with 2 or more versions”– it’s an unfair one. Studios wield a heavy hand with their large budget moneymakers and, sadly, give heavy heavy clout to test audiences. To say, because of studio intervention and handwringing, that to film an alternate ending is to cop out… I don’t think that’s the case. For invested directors, do you save the baby by keeping it in a dirty diaper… or just throw everything into the trash. Faced with such a decision, I’d probably opt for filming a new ending as well.