Billy Bob Thornton please call me
Something I've said to many people for years now is that if I suddenly struck it filthy, appalling rich, the absolute first item on my agenda would be to offer Billy Bob Thornton a lot of money to screen his own unseen cut of his 2000 movie adaptation of All the Pretty Horses. I know. Not very communist of me. I'm being vulnerable here.
All the Pretty Horses is a novel by Cormac McCarthy published in 1992 about a young man in the 1940s named John Grady Cole who leaves behind his family's Texas ranch with his friend Blevins to journey to Mexico in search of new life in a new land as cowboys.
In true McCarthy fashion, the journey is filled with brutal trials, wonderous meandering prose, friendship and romance, and deep exploration of humankind's darkest impulses. It's a gorgeous book dear to my heart I've now read twice and which I will likely read again.
The movie starred Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz and was released to much disappointment and unfavorable reviews. Thornton himself disowned the theatrical cut and the actors expressed dismay that the version that was released paled in comparison to the film they had intended to make. Damon himself said he felt that it was the finest film he had ever worked on, and no one actually got to experience it. Jesse Plemons played a young John Grady (fantastic casting omg) and had his entire role completely cut.
Excellent source material, cast, score and director. What went wrong? Who is to blame?
None other than Harvey Fucking Weinstein. As though his crimes against humanity weren't enough.
Harvey demanded a hackjob of the runtime, reducing what was supposed to be a sweeping epic to a palatable, bland Western romance under 2 hours long. As if that wasn't enough, he demanded the replacement of a reportedly haunting and original score by Daniel Lanois that used electric guitars which were invented in the 1940's. As far as I can tell, no one besides the people involved in the making of the movie have ever heard that score, and it's now being kept under tight wraps. Everything I've heard and read about it tells me it's a much better fit for a McCarthy story than the competent but generic score we got.
Thornton has stated he would never release his cut of the film unless it got the proper full theatrical release the epic of its kind deserves. It's been 23 years now. It's not seeming likely. Not only that, but the composer of the original score, Daniel Lanois, has expressed reluctance to allow his score to be used, understandable as I'm sure working that hard on something so special only to have it scrapped by one of the ugliest and most evil men on the planet has got to be nothing short of a joker moment. Thornton has stated he fully respects his wishes, which I also respect. Respectception or whatever.
The thing is, i want badly to see this cut. I have the film on DVD and though I enjoyed it, I long to see what the film could've been. What it was supposed to be.
I haven't struck it rich but i want to convince Daniel Lanois and Billy Bob Thornton and anyone else involved to screen the original cut of the film at the Austin Film Society theater here in TX. I believe Billy Bob is a Texas man himself. I've just got to get everyone on board. I'm still working on formulating a plan of action, and when I flesh it out further I will definitely document that here. I'd like to get their attention and drive Billy Bob to this page so he can see that I really care. I know he wants to show this movie to people who care. Please Billy Bob!!! I care so much!!!! You can trust me!
I did find Daniel Lanois on Instagram. Perhaps I can just DM him asking what it would take for him to release the score see what happens from there. What could I possibly have to lose?
