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For filmmakers, the ending can be the most arduous part of moviemaking.
A filmmaker whos not obsessed with endings?
I cant imagine any, saysSound of Metaldirector Darius Marder.
you might have a wonderful movie, but if you dont land it, it really doesnt work.
For Ingelsby, it was a fine line to walk with truth versus fiction.
With that ending, you had a moment with Matt alone.
The friend has left; hes on his own again.
It was a moment of appreciation of how much Dane had given him.
To be honest, I was so scared of that moment.
I would make Matt read every ten pages of the script.
I was always getting his stamp of approval.
It was like, Is this real, Matt?
Is this what happened?
Am I going to get your blessing?
He was such a trouper.
I dont remember if that scene at the end of the movie really happened.
Thats a nugget of information I can turn into something meaningful.
In real life, there arent often endings.
Things dont happen the way they do in movies.
Theres not this great shot, theres not this great hug, theres not this great goodbye.
In real life, its messier.
I worked on my script, off and on, for over five years.
I had a version that had a totally different outcome with the relationship of the couple.
But then I thought a story about a family breaking up would be depressing.
Thats not the movie I wanted to make.
I originally wanted to see him on theQE2, sailing off into the sunset, but we skipped that.
My dad always talked about act structure.
Thats my basic template.
I went in trying to do a romantic comedy.
Then, you get through it, clear it up, and its just as bright as ever.
So I was trying look at those realities and I like to think that their lives go on.
Its nice to end on a romantic, hopeful note.
It was also my tribute toSixteen Candleswith the birthday cake.
Thats one of my favorite endings.
I dont get to revise or anything?
That was hard, because I was with the story for ten years.
It was like, Do you want it ambiguous or not?
I always fought for them being together.
There are so many drafts of it and tweaks.
And then working with [director] Fisher Stevens, you go through with his eye.
With Justin, we were all on the same page.
At the end, he said, I want Palmer to get arrested.
Trust me, there was another version of the script where he was arrested.
And Fisher said, Dont worry about it.
Ill deal with that.
Its one of my favorites Ryder just still makes me cry.
WithPalmer, I wanted people to feel hopeful.
It was just a story to give hope for guys like Palmer and kids like Sam.
I remember leavingLittle Miss Sunshine I had goosebumps.
AndPeanut Butter Falcon I walked out like,Damn, that was good.
That was a good experience.
I got my moneys worth.
Then I called a friend and said, Youve got to seePeanut Butter Falcon!
Thats what my hope was withPalmer, and that has been happening.
Thats just so amazing.
My mechanic, I havent seen him in five years, there was a voice-mail message from him.
Hes like, Hey, I saw this movie and then I saw your name at the end!
Im like Gary, thats awesome!
The story evolved over several years.
It wasnt even initially a time loop/wedding movie.
But it always ended in the pool with dinosaurs on the horizon.
Theres the sci-fi genre movie of the, Do they get out of the time loop or not?
Theres the kind of weird, existential shit, and then theres the rom-com side of it all.
I wrote many versions that firmly planted it in one end of that spectrum.
Dont give away all the answers because then theres nothing to think about.
Were all kind of storytellers in our own minds we want to imagine where these characters go.
My dad, I think hes seenPalm Springs20 times now, more than me.
He has it all mapped out.
And I think thats beautiful because anything, for people to use their imagination, is a good thing.
As Jones explains, the concept went through many changes about 50 to 70 during its years in development.
The first script I wrote forSoullooks nothing like the final movie, at all.
We knew we wanted Joe to guide 22 to Earth.
I was engrossed with that sequence where Superman takes Lois flying, they separate and are holding hands.
I thought that we could probably do something similar.
Then when he lets go, we all feel it.
But the question remained, How do we get Joe to a place where hes okay doing this?
We huddled together over the course of several years, trying to figure it out.
Within those years, what I ended up writing was inspired by a moment I had with my dad.
I was with him when he passed away, in the middle of making this movie.
Was he feeling regret or remorse?
Or was he simply happy to know that his son was there with him, holding his hand.
Thats where this sequence, The Epiphany, came from.
He feels fulfilled, but it doesnt last.
He just played the gig of his life and he wonders why hes not feeling fulfilled.
This is that epiphany moment.
And we knew that we were in no position to explain what the meaning of life is.
She was eating pizza, feeling the breeze.
But what did that mean for Joes life, and how could he get there?
The answer really rests in the idea that 22 really doesnt change Joes life 22 just lives Joes life.
And thats an important distinction.
Hes able to take that 30,000-foot-view of his life, and feels at peace with it.
Thats why hes able to let go in the very end.
And thats how we earned our ending.
That just didnt quite feel right.
So, we came up with that ending, which I really love.
At Pixar, we work and work and work on the story.
that just hits everybody hard.
And for some reason, sometimes we cant really explain why that is so emotional for us.
Marders personal tribulations ultimately allowed him to crack the finale.
There was a period of years of writing to find this ending.
It was incredibly elusive.
How do you actually find your way to that?
That would seem kind of simple, but it was anything but.
I basically had to step away from this script for years, and I couldnt get this ending right.
I think that was because the subject matter was so personal to me.
I was coming to the end of an extremely long relationship, the only real relationship in my life.
That is the essence of codependence.
Theres a real sonic symmetry to it.
I always thought of the structure of this film as the words of the title.
The first act is sound.
And the third act is metal.
You come into the movie thinking you understand its just heavy metal.
Its allowing that sonic journey to take us to this moment of acceptance.
Its us saying goodbye.
And acceptance isnt a downer its one thing that binds us all to each other.
Its the thing that we all have to do.
Theyre dealing with their own fixations and their own desire to make everything work.
