10 Last Minute Movie Decisions That Shaped Your Favourite Films
7. Stanley Kubrick Forces A Physical Cut (The Shining)
Stanley Kubrick did things his way. That way could seem unorthodox to anyone outside of his mind, but can you really argue with his outcomes?
In one of his true masterpieces, Stephen King's The Shining, Kubrick decided to end the film on a detailed hospital epilogue that showed Wendy and Danny recovering from the shock of the incidents that had taken place.
Deciding that he'd rather have the audience leaving the picture unsure as to what the ending meant for the characters involved, Kubrick decided that he wanted the film to end on the 1921 photo from the hotel, with Jack Torrence being seen within it.
The problem? Kubrick had already sent out the feature with the hospital scene attached.
One week before the film's premiere, Kubrick ordered theatre projectionists to physically cut the epilogue out of the film and mail the deleted scene back to Warner Bros.
All of the footage was apparently destroyed. Yet, we know what could have been through The Shining's co-writer, Diane Johnson, who commented on Kubrick having 'a soft spot for Wendy and Danny', before eventually performing his u-turn in order to keep the audience guessing.