I've just read the Terry Southern biography "A Grand Guy" and it gives some background on the whole debacle...
Now, Southern is a precise writer - only a fool or a genius (Sellers) would mess with his dialogue. Whoopi Goldberg was a rising star at the time and insisted on improvising dialogue. After a few takes her way, director Rip Torn would say "How about one for the author?" and she'd do a take with the original dialogue.
According to the book, there was then a long battle over the cut, with a Southern/Torn cut AND a Goldberg approved cut completed. Southern/Torn took their version to the Sundance festival in Jan 1988 (presumably it was screened, but the book doesn't say) but it was the Goldberg approved cut that was released to theatres later that month.
One more thing: John Alonzo, cinematographer on Chinatown, was lined up to shoot the thing but Goldberg got her husband to do it. It almost makes you cry, doesn't it?
It was later done as a play with something much closer to the original script, apparently with some success.
How likely is a DVD with the Southern/Torn version? Virtually zero, I think - our only hope of seeing it is if one of those lovely unofficial film loving DVD-R companies gets hold of it, but I wouldn't hold your breath.
Maybe an anthology of Southern screenplays will come out one day? Now that sounds like a possibility at least!
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enfilmigult
11 years ago
Interesting, because that story (a) removes responsibility from Southern for the final product, but (b) contradicts the story about Goldberg suing unsuccessfully to prevent the theatrical version from being released. Looks like NOBODY wants to admit that the finished film represents their vision, ha ha...I wonder whose it actually is.
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Veritas_Lux_Mea
9 years ago
No, the truth is Goldberg destroyed the film and should have never been involved. The script was written for Robin Williams and had Williams done this film and Torn and company been allowed to proceed with making it the way they intended it would now be a cult classic. This was sadly an inevitable disaster once they brought Goldberg into the mix. She was uncooperative, ignorant, and had no clue what she was doing. She turned something interesting and funny into a cesspool of nonsense with her garbage.
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enfilmigult
9 years ago
Why do you think she sued to prevent its release, then?
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Veritas_Lux_Mea
9 years ago
She knew her work was crap in it and realized what she had done was awful. Hence after being a total a-hole during the making of the film, trying to take the film over and taking it away from Torn, getting his DP fired and inserting her own husband she tried to bury how badly she screwed it all up.
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enfilmigult
9 years ago
Makes sense I suppose. She's seriously talented but her post-'Color Purple' stretch in the 1980s (and various bizarre opinions on "The View") make it seem she's a pretty bad decision-maker.
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