"One day logic was proven all wrong because the tide lifted, came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have *ice* in my glass. And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I have to keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"You can almost hear Little Orphan Annie breaking out into "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!"
Anyhow, you remember the package that he never opened? The one he personally delivered to the ranch of the artist after hanging onto it for FOUR YEARS on the island, his icon, his anchor to the real world?
Then he stood in the crossroads out in west Texas after meeting the smokin' hot redhead Bettina Peterson (Lari White) for a moment - and the movie closes with him about to decide which direction to go in his life...
Wow. Good stuff.
Anyhow, that package, Bettina's package, the one that he put the note on that said "This package saved my life"; Here's a bit of trivia I found tonight:
Robert Zemeckis was asked at a Q&A session at USC what was in the unopened package. He replied that it was a waterproof, solar-powered, satellite phone.True story.
OK, even assuming that he was joking (I presume he was) would this blow anyone else away as much as it would have me?Wouldn 't just knowing that change the entire ending EVEN IF THE CHARACTER NEVER KNEW?
Would that have made a great subtext about blindly clinging to an icon without looking a bit below the surface, or what?
The whole film would have suddenly lurched and turned into a David Lynch movie.
What would have happened if he decided to chase down the hot redhead and have a cup of coffee (e.g., try to score) and she opens the thing while sitting across from him....
Chuck: "Hoping that someday I would be able to deliver that package is one of the things that kept me going all these years, kept me connected with my life. But I gotta be honest. My curiosity almost got the better of me practically every single day. So, if you don't mind, can you please tell me, what was in there, anyway?"
Bettina (ripping the package open): "A satellite phone. Pretty cool, actually. It's waterproof, solar powered - it'll work anywhere on earth.. Never thought I'd see it again."
Chuck: "Wow. Really? No kidding? How about that! I have to kill you now."
(Roll Credits, Music Over, Black Sabbath, "Paranoid")
I need someone to show me
The things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make true happiness
I must be blind
Make a joke and I will sigh
And you will laugh and I will cry
Happiness I cannot feel
And love to me is so unreal...
In Our Next Episode: Script Writing, Part II. Also we examine just exactly how much spare time I have on my hands, really.
Yeah, he could kill her. Or, if he is still sane, like the rest of us, he'll say, "But I learned so much from that experience! I wouldn't have wanted to have been without it."
ReplyDeleteYou know, we humans like our crap. It makes us interesting at parties.
That ending would have sucked. The real one was fine. And she WAS smokin' hot, omigod.
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