I read a screenplay today that was a really smooth read and a terrific story right up until the last ten pages where it kind of fell apart. I felt the same way about The Losers. It was big steaming gobs of terrific fun until it kind of fell apart at the end by embracing every cliche in the book and losing all sense of character, then sacrificed a satisfactory ending for the sake of a possible sequel.

When I finished my first draft of Burnside everybody hated my ending where I killed my protagonist. But people are just too attached to the rules! I said. Damn the rules! You know what, sometimes no matter how much you want to damn the rules, if the story can't sustain it you shouldn't do it. I kept trying to figure out how to kill her, but in the end I had to let her live. So I let her live really sad.

I went through about four other endings before I finally found one that didn't get boos all around, and I'm still not sure it's a hit. A perfect ending is tough to come by.

What do you think is the best ending ever? After thinking carefully I've decided it's The Terminator. Sarah Connor stares out at the gathering storm in the desert, contemplating her bleak future with her future hero of a son growing in her womb. And as the little Latino kid snaps her picture she thinks of how much she loved Kyle Reese, and that's the very picture he carries in his wallet, wondering what she's thinking every time he looks at it. It's ominous and beautiful and romantic and sweet all at the same time and it moves me every time I think about it. Nobody expects an evil robot time travel movie to be that damn good. And that ending is perfect. I've never thought of an ending so perfect. I hope I will soon.