# Anyone else remember the alternate ending to "Big"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 16, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864 "2002-04-16T02:03:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 38
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/741 "2019-07-29T19:20:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The tv stations added those scenes? These incidences were on the US network broadcast of the films, so in a sense, “the TV stations” did add them. I assume they were added by the director/filmmakers in conjunction with the networks. The footage had to have come from somewhere in the studio vaults. As for TWOK, as far as I know the scenes with Scotty and his nephew are still not in the DVD or Blu ray versions\*. So they are so far unique to the network broadcast version. I don’t know why - the scenes actually did add to the movie. \*I don’t own every version, so I can’t say 100% certainty that this is true. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/742 "2019-07-29T19:22:31Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Then why does the studio have no evidence that this alternative cut exists? It could be said that this is not an official alternate studio cut or ending- just a TV station needed some extra footage and for whatever reason that was added. Not all bowdlerized versions of movies appearing across hundreds of TV stations in hundreds of countries is thought of as an official alternate version. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/743 "2019-07-29T19:24:54Z")
> [@Helmut\_Doork](#): > > It could be said that this is not an official alternate studio cut or ending- just a TV station needed some extra footage and for whatever reason that was added. Not all bowdlerized versions of movies appearing across hundreds of TV stations in hundreds of countries is thought of as an official alternate version. Where would they get that extra footage? I mean, sure, scenes are often cut- but added? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/744 "2019-07-29T19:28:27Z")
> [@Helmut\_Doork](#): > > It could be said that this is not an official alternate studio cut or ending- just a TV station needed some extra footage and for whatever reason that was added. Not all bowdlerized versions of movies appearing across hundreds of TV stations in hundreds of countries is thought of as an official alternate version. That’s not how it works; that’s not how any of that works. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/745 "2019-07-29T19:29:17Z")
Please don’t think I’m siding with **Helmut Doork** … > [@BlankSlate](#): > > Can you cite any examples of television networks independently _adding_ previously unreleased content to Hollywood movies for their broadcast? The network TV premiere of the 1978 **Superman** included quite a bit of previously unseen footage. An extra minute or two of the planet Krypton blowing up, the girl on the train who waved to teenage Clark telling her disbelieving parents what she saw (“Lois Lane, you have a writer’s gift for invention!” :rolleyes:) and Supes running a gauntlet of fire, ice and bullets to get into Luthor’s underground bunker. And other stuff, but you get the idea. Oh, and the gratuitous product placement of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes! 😛 But that was not the network’s **independent** decision. Richard Donner knew those scenes existed, because he filmed them. And they’re on DVD and Blu-Ray; in fact, some editions offer both versions (I prefer what I call the “non-Kellogg version”, but TEHO). And other films have “network” versions, like **Airplane!** and **The Breakfast Club**. **But there’s no dispute about these versions. Many, many people have seen them.** On preview: Curses, ninja’ed! **Intergalactic Gladiator** , thank you for the link! Mystery solved: I and thousands of others conflated two commercials; we didn’t get wiggle/jiggle out of thin air. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/746 "2019-07-29T19:30:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Where would they get that extra footage? > > I mean, sure, scenes are often cut- but added? “I know that filming ended a year and a half ago, but a New Zealand television station didn’t like the ending. We have to go back into production to give them a new ending. Ask the director? Why do we have to ask the director?” :rolleyes: x ∞ ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/747 "2019-07-29T19:30:38Z")
> [@Helmut\_Doork](#): > > It could be said that this is not an official alternate studio cut or ending- just a TV station needed some extra footage and for whatever reason that was added. Not all bowdlerized versions of movies appearing across hundreds of TV stations in hundreds of countries is thought of as an official alternate version. I didn’t say anything about “official alternate” version. If this footage exists, the studio has it. If this footage was included in a particular regional release, the studio has records of that release being compiled. You’re also confusing the issue by bringing up bowdlerized version of films. The edit under discussion is not a bowdlerization. It’s about adding material to the film, not taking it out. Lots of TV stations have produced their own edits of popular movies by removing material. No TV station has produced their own edits of popular movies by _adding_ material. If material is added to a film for television release, those additions come from the studios, which will have a record of the edit being made, printed, and shipped to distributors. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/748 "2019-07-29T19:30:41Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > That’s not how it works; that’s not how any of that works. that is EXACTLY how it works when TV stations wish to air a film and need extra scenes to fill time. EXACTLY. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/749 "2019-07-29T19:32:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Where would they get that extra footage? > > I mean, sure, scenes are often cut- but added? It is standard for films for to have hours of unused footage- some, hundreds of hours. If a film is 109 minutes longs, way more than 109 minutes of footage is shot. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/750 "2019-07-29T19:33:06Z")
There’s no way in fucking hell an alternate ending would be filmed without the director knowing about it. If one was made behind their back, they’d find out. A 2nd unit director does NOT shoot anything with significant dialog, let alone an ending. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/751 "2019-07-29T19:34:21Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Can you cite any examples of television networks independently _adding_ previously unreleased content to Hollywood movies for their broadcast? Happened with [The Goonies.](http://legendsrevealed.com/entertainment/2013/03/27/was-there-originally-a-giant-octopus-in-the-goonies/) And here’s the thing, you might be think right now, “enlazi[sic], aren’t you just proving that there could be an alternate ending to Big?” Well here’s the thing, we have proof of this happening! I actually had a VHS copy of this edit. (It happened during a Disney channel free weekend so we taped a ton of movies). We actually showed it to friends who didn’t believe it existed. And then, when the DVD came out, they released the scene again! ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/752 "2019-07-29T19:35:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “I know that filming ended a year and a half ago, but a New Zealand television station didn’t like the ending. We have to go back into production to give them a new ending. Ask the director? Why do we have to ask the director?” > :rolleyes: x ∞ How deliberately obtuse- not, NZ TV doesn’t like the ending, give us another- more like, need three more minutes to fill the time slot. Thinking Penny Marshall would have f\*&kall to do with the decision as to what additional footage is put into the TV version proves you know zilch about the process. Penny Marshall almost 100% did not have final say as to the ending of the _theatrical_ version:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/753 "2019-07-29T19:40:08Z")
> [@Helmut\_Doork](#): > > How deliberately obtuse- not, NZ TV doesn’t like the ending, give us another- more like, need three more minutes to fill the time slot. Thinking Penny Marshall would have f\*&kall to do with the decision as to what additional footage is put into the TV version proves you know zilch about the process. Penny Marshall almost 100% did not have final say as to the ending of the _theatrical_ version:rolleyes: She _would_ have something to say if they changed the actual ending to the movie. You don’t seem to know jack-all about how the film industry works. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/754 "2019-07-29T19:40:18Z")
> [@Helmut\_Doork](#): > > It is standard for films for to have hours of unused footage- some, hundreds of hours. > > If a film is 109 minutes longs, way more than 109 minutes of footage is shot. Yeah, there were about twenty minutes worth of unused scenes that were included in the 2007 DVD release. Not among those deleted scenes: the alternate ending where the girlfriend shows up as a child in the classroom. Why do you suppose they didn’t include what is, inarguably, the most famous “deleted” scene from this movie in the re-release? Why has the studio not, in the decade since that re-release, ever found this famous missing ending? Why has the studio consistently said that no such ending ever existed? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/755 "2019-07-29T19:43:06Z")
I’ve seen extras on a DVD where they showed alternative storyboards that were never even filmed. Can you at least come up with those? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/756 "2019-07-29T19:44:21Z")
> [@Helmut\_Doork](#): > > How deliberately obtuse- not, NZ TV doesn’t like the ending, give us another- more like, need three more minutes to fill the time slot. Thinking Penny Marshall would have f\*&kall to do with the decision as to what additional footage is put into the TV version proves you know zilch about the process. Penny Marshall almost 100% did not have final say as to the ending of the _theatrical_ version:rolleyes: To clarify, the rumor is not that this was a TV version. The rumor is that this was a home video (VHS) release specific to NZ. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/757 "2019-07-29T19:47:41Z")
The point your missing is that no one is saying there is no way in the universe an alternative ending occurred. It doesn’t break the laws of physics or anything. What is being said is that the evidence it did occur is sketchy at best, relying only on people’s memories of having seen it (which is likely conflated with a similar movie with the same ending in question coming out around the same time). That evidence is contradicted by the memories of people closely associated with the movie denying it ever happened. Should one piece of actual evidence arise, people would say “oops, we were wrong. Where had that been hiding all these years”. All the hypotheticals in the world are not evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/758 "2019-07-29T19:51:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’ve seen extras on a DVD where they showed alternative storyboards that were never even filmed. Can you at least come up with those? Oh my mistake, you _do_ know what youre talking about, since you used the term ‘storyboard’:rolleyes: If not part of the original script, no reason it was definitely storyboarded. (if part of the original script, there would be no dispute as to its existence, it would be there in plain sight). I am assuming a reshoot either after production ended, or towards the end. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/759 "2019-07-29T19:53:48Z")
When did initial production end, and when would this reshoot have taken place? ---
**Author:** ![Helmut\_Doork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e8c25b/32.png) [@Helmut\_Doork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helmut_Doork)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864/760 "2019-07-29T19:55:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > She _would_ have something to say if they changed the actual ending to the movie. You don’t seem to know jack-all about how the film industry works. No, no, a thousand times no! Not unless she has final cut! She submits her final cut to the studio, which they can change a little or a lot if they like. Her only recourse would be to take her name off as director. Please either post your credentials or stop acting as if you have any insight into how this really works, you haven’t even bothered to read Wikipedia articles or anything, you are merely talking out your other end and assuming you’re dealing with someone doing same! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-remember-the-alternate-ending-to-big/103864.md?page=39)