Natural Born Killers / True Romance movie

Apparently, these two movies were once a single script that had both stories in it. Does anyone know how they were related to each other in the script?

Ah. The Road.



I’m assuming after the cocaine deal in which Clarence lives these two cool cats addicted to the killing that they did, go on a cross country killing spree until being arrested.



But “The Road” was actually the basis for both scripts at which point QT decided just to make to completely different original movies.

“the open road” it was called. about 500 pages thick. very early draft of what later became two different scripts

[quote]“the open road” it was called. about 500 pages thick. very early draft of what later became two different scripts[/quote]

 From what I've read, "The Open Road" was the story of Clarence and Alabama, as seen in "True Romance".  The difference seems to be that while they are on their cross-country journey from Detroit to L.A., Clarence was writing a script (which makes sense since Tarantino has said that his Clarence character was loosely based on himself).  That script was the story of Mickey and Mallory Knox.  Sort of like a parallel universe that reflected his (Clarence's) own situation with Alabama, only dramatized.  Kind of like a movie within a movie type thing.  Anyway, that's what I read.  Maybe it's acurate.  Maybe it's not.  It makes sense either way.  Later.<br/>

M.W.

is the open road posted anywhere? i’d love to read it. also what about the original script for NBK, is that anywhere/

For the original script of NBK just go to the homepage of this site and to scripts :slight_smile:

i watched “once upon a time in the west” today.



and the first name in the credits, was mickey Knox…



so does anybody know if QT copied this name intentionally ?



[quote]i watched “once upon a time in the west” today.



and the first name in the credits, was mickey Knox…



so does anybody know if QT copied this name intentionally ?



…[/quote]

Awesome movie. Cant wait to get the new DVD.



I would bet my money that QT got the name from Mickey Knox’s work with Leone. Leone is one of QTs heroes as we all know.

yeah,



that was also my first thought about this…

i saw it, and thought, o my god, thats fucking awesome…

That whole idea of Clerence writing NBK is really interesting and it makes sense if you listen to QT talk about alternate realities. He said Kill Bill is a movie that Jules and Clerence would watch, and not a movie that takes place in the same world that they live in. He said the only other script he’s writen like that is NBK which fits with that theory. This really does make me wonder what a QT version of the master script would be like.



By the way I understand it “The open road” was a script that Avery wrote that was about 70 pages long. He gave it to QT, and QT doctored it up to become this massive script. He broke it up into NBK and TR and kept several ideas in it on the backburner (probably some are even used in KB and IB). I’m betting noone will see any of the original scripts for a few decades if at all. Avery said he wouldn’t leak his script, he said it would be up to QT. The Open Road is a reference to Jack Keroacs “On the Road”, which I’ve yet to read, but have heard is really good.

According to Roger Avary he has a lot of old scripts and drafts n shit on an oldcomputer disk or something. He says maybe someday he’ll post 'em after he “takes” some of the good stuff out of them

I just finished watching Badlands with Martin Sheen.  After seeing it I believe the original script Tarantino wrote was probably heavily based on it.  There are several similarities, and not necissarily are they all QT’s doing.



Sheen and Sissy Spaceks characters (KIt and Bonnie)are both with southern accent (small similarity, but one none the less between TR and NBK)



Bonnie is only 15 (in NBK Mallory is underage, I believe)



KIt works low end jobs such as trash man and something with cattle -  Mickey was a meatman



Kit kills Bonnie’s dad because he wouldn’t let them see eachother -  Mickey does the same (though his motives were more reasonable)



Kit and Bonnie go on the run as do both Mickey and Mallory, and Clerance and Alabama



KIt is a very friendly charismatic character, as are Clerance and Mickey



Badlands is narrerated by Bonnie but is kindof more about Kit,  this is how True Romance is



Badlands’s theme sounds extremly similar to the theme of True Romance, at times it almost sound like the same song.



Badlands like NBK is a crosscountry killing spree where (to kit only in Badlands) nothing matters but eachother, True Romance’s original script probably had more things that happened on the tripl.







Now if the two are connected (it’s what I believe, but maybe I’m just looking for connections) I’ve got a theory what the original script was probably about, based on what I’ve learned here.



True Romance begins close to how the movie does, when they leave Clarence starts writing NBK (or Tarantinos version of it), they have a few adventures, but the far out adventures happen in the script (i.e. Clarences head, maybe even in Alabama’s head too). The script follows Clarence and Alabama as Mickey and Mallory, but only in an exagerated dramatic movie sort of way.  Clarence and Alabama get to L.A and the end events of TR take place.  As we know the original ending of TR is that Clarence dies, so in QT first script (The open Road, or whatever he called it by then) Clarence dies as well.  Maybe the ending of NBK (I guess it’s happy right, I haven’t read the script) is a holywood ending imagined by either Clarence(in death) or Alabama (in mourning).  I’m sure the script actually had a hell of a lot more to it, probably several pieces of PF, RD and maybe even KB (who knows), but as far as I can figure(based on what I’ve heard about the script) this is probably roughly what it was about.  If it was, it was probably a true epic(based on the size, and the ideas), which explains alot, because as we know everything he’s written after PF is supposed to be of epic proportions, look at the ambition of KIll Bill.  Maybe he’s been writing Epic movies all this time, but thought nobody would go for it so kept breaking them up.  I know for sure RD (which iwas originally connected to TR) was supposed to be a part of Pulp Fiction, so it could be concievable that all of these movies were one at one time.



Also the Badlands idea goes along with a theory that alot of his movies are about real characters that are trying to live in a fantasy(pop culture inspired) world.

well like tony scott said that the music in true romance was an homage to badlands!!!

i’ve heard it called “The end of the road” as well, parts of it went into RD and PF cause it was such a fucking big script!

We should beg Tarantino, and Avery to divulge it. But Avery says he’s not done stealing from it, and quesses that Tarantino isn’t either. Maybe it explains the asshole on the elbow dialoge in Kill Bill and Rules of Attraction.

Clarence dies in the original script during the shoot out, and Alabama goes out on her own.

[quote=“cdogg”]
Clarence dies in the original script during the shoot out, and Alabama goes out on her own.
[/quote]

Yes, and…?