I just read the whole full unedited script and I gotta say….
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MillionaireWaltz1976 — 11 years ago(November 27, 2014 02:10 PM)
It seems like she was made out to be a real bitch who had it in her mind that the only reason Neal was late getting home is because he was having an affair and that he made up "Del Griffith" as a cover up, for this woman he was sneaking around with.
This really explains her response of
"What's going on Neal?"
when he tells her he's in Kansas - and her
"I don't see what the snowstorm in Chicago has to do with this"
line.
I always felt she sounded skeptical of Neal in that scene or odd in the context of the film, but knowing this backstory, it makes sense now. -
FlushingCaps — 11 years ago(December 01, 2014 08:45 PM)
Thanks for providing this most interesting look at how the movie was first going to be. While there were a few good laughs that were omitted from the film we know, I have to say what we saw was a true improvement over this script, overall. The principle parts I like better in the film than in this script are the way Neal and Del continue to argue and bicker almost until the ending in the script. In the movie we know, they seemed to be getting along better, understanding each other more as we progressed.
I will say the bit about them overshooting Chicago and winding up in Wisconsin helped it to make sense that it took so long for them to get back to Chicago, since they really should have made it much earlier.
I really like the ending we know, where Neal figures out that Del doesn't really have a home and goes back to find him still at the train station. In the script, Del pushes himself again into Neal's life and that makes him less sympathetic to me.
I think it was more enjoyable as a film to not be concerned that Neal's wife thinks he is having an affair, as the script indicates. Since scenes were filmed with that in mind, I now understand why she seemed as odd as she did in a couple of her scenes.
Whether book or film, a really good editor can make a huge difference in the overall quality of the product. A three-hour version matching this script would not have been nearly as good a film. -
maixiu — 11 years ago(December 12, 2014 03:58 AM)
Add me to the list of people who think the end result was far superior to the script you provided. The movie works far better with Del and Neal having their edges sanded down. In particular, I like how the movie makes Neal a far more sympathetic character. Apart from the long dismissal of Del in the hotel that first night, he's basically a nice guy who's simply become frazzled by all the frustrations he's faced in the 48 hours of the movie, yet his good nature never disappears completely. When he's with the little girl on the train, the one short period of time that he's apart from Del, he's cheerful and pleasent. And yet, mere minutes later, when he spies Del dragging his chest across the frozen field, he instinctively does the right thing and goes to help out. The script doesn't paint Neal as half as generous as Martin ended up portraying him.
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AsUSeeMe299 — 10 years ago(November 21, 2015 06:09 PM)
I was always under the impression Neal's wife thought he was having an affair anyway. The part where he calls her from Wichita, I believe, is where you get that feeling from her. He's already called her from a city or two and is now telling her he STILL isn't coming home, so she's suspicious.
Although, if he WAS with another woman,he'd be making life a lot harder on himself. He could've gotten away with that with probably one "delayed flight" phone call. -
Hilwo — 9 years ago(November 24, 2016 11:14 AM)
You're welcome!
Current location for the script:
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=13826379601490546068 -
JudgeX — 9 years ago(November 27, 2016 02:42 PM)
This was a great post, thanks for the info.
It made the "meeting Del" scene at Thanksgiving make more sense, because there seemed to be a reaction from Neal's wife that was more complicated than just "you brought this dude home".