10 Original Endings That Would Have Ruined Great Movies
6. Clerks
The Ending We Got: After doing some arguing and doing a bit more arguing after that, Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, who play Dante and Randal respectively, make amends and Dante commits to trying to, you know, sort his life out. The last moment shows Randal walking out of the store, though he returns briefly to toss a sign at Dante and spurt a catchphrase. All is right in the universe. And by "all is right in the universe," we mean that the film ends without anybody getting killed. Why the heck would anybody get killed, you say?
The Original Ending: Because that's the way it was to supposed to go. And not for any reason but the fact that writer/director Kevin Smith couldn't think of any other way to end his movie. And it's kind of bleak and depressing, given the rather jovial, care-free nature of the film that came before it.
That's right: A guy walks into the store, ignores Dante's insistence that the store is closed, and just shoots him dead. The movie's final frame is of Dante's cold, dead face, starring sadly past the camera. Kevin Smith's mentors didn't like the direction he'd taken for the ending, on account of the fact that it was absolutely nuts, and suggested that he change it so that, um, people would like his movie.