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Greasing the Squeaky DealBy Todd AnthonyPublished on June 01, 1995I'm writing a screenplay. The first and second acts are finished, but I'm not sure how to end it yet. Help me out. FADE IN PRODUCER: Mel, baby, what can I do for you? PRODUCER (smiling as he hands over gobs of cash): Here's your money. By the way, what's it about? CUT TO CUT TO PRODUCER: Great picture, that Gipoli. Like Robin Hood, you say? Heroic outsider, evil English ruler, that sort of thing? MEL: Exactly. PRODUCER (warming to the idea): Uh-huh. Love interest? You got a Maid Marian? MEL: Better. Two of 'em. A beautiful princess torn between her sense of duty to England and her lust for our hero, and an equally beautiful peasant girl whose murder at the hands of a nobleman sets our hero off on his quest to overthrow the tyrants. PRODUCER (stroking his chin reflectively): Two Maid Marians, huh? Any skin? MEL: Two love scenes, one with some partial nudity. But tasteful, you know. Moonlight. A breast in silhouette. PRODUCER (stroking his chin reflectively): Hers or yours? PRODUCER: With your legs showing. Well, that's what I've got so far. Trouble is I can't decide which of two scenarios I should close with. The first ending, in the best Hollywood tradition, is upbeat. Braveheart is a smash. Men get a visceral kick out of the battle scenes, while women get a visual kick from the sight of ol' Mel bouncing around bare-legged. The closing scene of my movie essentially would be a repeat of the opening scene, wherein the next time Mel decides he wants to direct a film, the producer just hands him the money. But my second alternative is more of a downer. Braveheart tanks. The excruciatingly slow opening, the masochistic ending with Jesus-on-the-cross overtones, and the nonstop cliches in between overshadow even the kinetic battle sequences. In this scheme, the final meeting between Gibson and his producer takes an unexpected turn: PRODUCER: Mel, baby, what can I do for you?
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