Because, honestly, there’s nothing better than sacrificing yourself for something bigger than you. I will be happy to eternally dive into these shark-infested seas, with a dagger of truth in my mouth, as long as I get to make my stories with heart. You have to get comfortable navigating these waters or you will drown. It’s what it is if you need millions to make your film. You will always want to push the envelope. Rough poster ideas for “The Book of Life” (under its original title) by Fred Gardnerīig-studio filmmaking, for almost everyone, is all about compromises. And I adore the original ending that exists in my head. We went off to boards and the rest is history. But everyone, including Guillermo, loved it! I was so relieved. If they didn’t like it, I was ready to walk and become a farmer in Mexico. Once we had written the new ending, which was incredibly hard to write since it changed the beginning and middle, we turned in a new draft. The original ending never made it to storyboards. Jorge Gutierrez with the film’s producer Guillermo del Toro. So, after lots of soul searching and tequila, I came up with an ending that allowed the film to finally get made. He told me to come up with an ending that I could be proud of and that could leave the door open for a sequel - to come up with something that I loved and that they loved. So Guillermo and I talked, and he really helped me navigate the situation not only as a seasoned filmmaker and producer but as a friend. While not as much as the other big studio films of that time (many of which cost three or four times as much), this was still a huge investment for everyone, and of course they needed the film to be a huge commercial success. I totally understand the studio’s reasoning. The original script for “The Book of Life,” when it had a different titleĪs an animated film that wholeheartedly embraced Mexico’s love affair with death, it was already considered a super-risky project. With this original ending, there was zero chance of a Book of Life sequel. But to me, with that original script, Manolo’s story, his arc, had ended. I wanted to make another film about Maria’s whole life and a third one about Joaquin. ![]() I originally envisioned a Book of Life trilogy, but not in the way people expected. Sequels were really huge for them, especially in the international markets. But just like Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks, Fox Animation had made billions with Ice Age sequels and they were already working on Rio 2. Gutierrez: I want to be clear that everyone loved that original ending! Including all our producers and execs at both Reel FX and Fox. The giant moon and the stars come down to join the fiesta as we fade to black. Manolo and Maria, together forever now, sing as one. All the dead, including her father and Joaquin, are there with Manolo smiling. Skeleton Maria smiles and looks up to see a skeleton Manolo waiting for her to sing their song. ![]() But as she walks past a grave, she is no longer a frail old woman but a strong and beautiful skeleton. The music swells and becomes more magical. She slowly walks to the center of the cemetery to Manolo’s grave. In the distance she hears a guitar strumming Manolo and Maria’s serenade song. ![]() As all the crowds exit the cemetery, old Maria is at the cemetery gate waving everyone adios. The kids run off excitedly, commenting on the story to their parents. And she has just told the folk tale to a group of children from all over the world. Manolo goes off to the Land of the Remembered with the rest of the dead.īack in the present, we reveal the narrator is Maria as an old lady in the San Angel cemetery, which is now huge, bursting with life on the Day of the Dead. As the wedding party ends, Manolo and Maria kiss and promise to visit each other on every Day of the Dead. So the final epic wedding is between a living Maria and a dead Manolo. There’s nothing any of the gods can do, but Manolo is really happy he died for something bigger than himself. In the final fight against Chakal, our hero Manolo sacrifices himself, saving the whole town. ![]() Same story from there, but the ending was very different: The film began in San Angel (the fictional island town where the movie takes place), with a funny and charming old Mexican woman narrator telling us an old Mexican folk tale. I cried writing this ending and I just cried writing about it! Yup, I cry a lot. It’s the draft my beloved Guillermo del Toro read and loved when he kindly jumped in to produce, creatively collaborate, and help us get it made. I wrote this version of the script with my writing partner and lifelong collaborator Doug Langdale - with my secret weapon, my wife Sandra Equihua, always reading and commenting first. Jorge Gutierrez: Before 20th Century Fox became involved in 2011, the original ending to The Book of Life was much more bittersweet and frankly more Mexican.
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