The ending of a film is so important. For every Some Like It Hot, there’s a Sunshine. For every The Usual Suspects, there’s a The Return Of The King. Or rather several, seemingly interminable The Return Of The Kings.

It’s obvious that outside pressures can influence the way a writer or director decides to end their masterpiece, particularly when studio money men are breathing down their neck. But I’ve had my ears opened to a couple of surprising stories about movie endings that I’d like to share.

The first concerns Gareth Edwards, the Godzilla director, who made his name writing, filming and directing the the ultra-low budget Monsters. He had a crew of six, and did the CGI gubins himself with off-the-shelf special effects software. Parts of it were filmed in Mexico, where near the end of shooting, Edwards was suffering with a bad back caused by lugging a heavy camera about. He was persuaded to get a massage, and relates the tale [taken from The Museum of Curiosity, Series 4, Episode 3, currently available on BBC iPlayer Radio]:

GARETH EDWARDS: “The woman laid me down, played this tranquil music and it was the first calm in the whole » Continue Reading.