CRS
Chandler, Arizona, United States

There's an old saying. If you don't want someone to join a crowd, you ask them, "If everyone were jumping off of a cliff, would you?" Well, I have. So my answer would be "Yes". True story.
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Hypothetical Question About Movie Star Friends

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

this entry brought to you by modest mouse, "please bury me with it"


You've been friends with Matt Damon since you were children, and although the two of you aren't exactly best buds anymore, you still keep in touch and see one another every few years.

You're making your debut as a director in a low budget movie and you bring it up to him. There's a scene he'd be perfect in; he'd only be in one scene, but his character is pivotal and very important. He says he'd love to do it, but the problem is that he has exactly one week off between his shooting schedule to see his kids, and he could only fit you in for one of those days. You feel bad that you'd be taking time out from his kids but he tells you no, it'll be worth it, he really wants to do you this favor, he loves the script, and would give you more time if he could.

When he shows up on set, though, he's barely learned his lines, and he does not rehearse, and by the end of the day, you're unsatisfied with what you've got, but that's what you got. You don't think Matt Damon was being a dick, you just think that he was so distracted from having to fly from his home to the place where you're shooting, and although he agreed to do it, he very clearly wanted to be home with his family.

You test the movie in front of audiences, and the comments that come back are extremely positive. Basically, everyone that sees your movie loves it. Their one criticism is Matt Damon's scene. They don't think that it ruins the movie, in fact the movie still stands up on its own with this scene, but it is definitely distracting, and without it, it would be perfect.

You are in a dilemma. Your friend, Matt Damon, went out of his way to do a favor for you, and it would be rude for him to fly all the way out to your shooting location in the middle of his only week off just to shoot a scene and get cut out. Besides, he's a childhood friend, and you genuinely don't want a rift between you. On the other hand, everyone that says it agrees that it's great even with the scene in, but it would be perfect without the scene. This is your debut movie, and the more perfect your movie, the better your future options in Hollywood will be.

Your producer thinks you should leave it in because having Matt Damon's name on the poster will sell you more tickets and get you more attention, but says you have the permission to do what you need to do.

Do you cut Matt Damon's scene?
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with love from CRS @ 9:38 AM 

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