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Natural Born Killers: The Tarantino Cut by thecuddlyninja

thecuddlyninja

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My take on NBK following Tarantino's script as closely as possible and using music from his films to give it a QT "vibe" as much as possible. I cut everything not in the script as much as was feasible. The run time is just under an hour now.

TRAILER (password is fanedit.org):



Original Film: Natural Born Killers
Fan Edit Title: Natural Born Killers – The Tarantino Cut
Original Run Time: 122 minutes
Fan Edit Run Time: 56 minutes
Goals: To edit NBK as closely to Tarantino’s script as possible, reducing odd Oliver Stone camera tricks and lighting, demons, wildlife etc, replace all music with music from Tarantino films

CUTLIST:
Added new title sequence and credits (music is “Stuck in the Middle with You”, used some title cards from Kill Bill)
Removed original intro with wildlife shots
Removed black and white shot of guy reading “666 death newspaper” and disappearing
Changed music Mallory puts on to Joe Tex – I Got Ya
Cut scorpion getting run over
Cut all of the punches after the first
Changed record change to “Misirlou”
Cut bullet delaying before hitting cook in the face
Cut end dancing scene and lighting change
REORDER – moved Scagnetti/Warden meeting to right after credits
Changed music during Scagnetti/Warden meeting to “Down in Mexico”
Added flashbacks to Mickey and Mallory killing her family after Warden mentions it (added Quincy Jones’ Ironside Excerpt as music for it)
Removed part about Scagnetti hating the media – we get the theme already
Removed bits of Mickey/Wayne Gale pre-interview to more closely match the script and changed music to Ennio Morricone – “Paranoia Prima”
REORDER – moved Mickey letter scene right after pre-interview (changed music to Link Wray and his Wraymen – Rumble)
REORDER – moved Wayne going through 1[SUP]st[/SUP] American Maniacs episode with crew to take the place of scripted scene where Wayne tells them to cut up the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] episode to make the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
Removed lines about how stupid the viewing public is and that this is junk for the brains – we get it
REORDER – moved all of the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] show and footage from the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] show intercut with Wayne talking to crew. Changed theme song to Billy Preston “Slaughter”
ADDED – Hun Bros scene, trimmed a couple lines to match script
ADDED – Courtroom scene – regrettably had to cut some of it. It’s all as scripted but that damn circus music is embedded DEEP on the audio track of the deleted scenes. I rebuilt the audio for the stabbing scene completely and trimmed some of the build up because of the music
REORDER – moved pre-interview Mickey and Wayne getting ready to after they’re looking at footage for the show. Changed music to Charles Bernstein/RZA “Crane/White Lightning”
Cut Wayne hugging prisoner – too over the top and not in the script
REORDER – moved Scagnetti talking to Mallory in private to after pre-interview stuff. Cut him bribing guards but left the rest of the conversation intact as it more or less captures the essence of the script (changed music to Bernard Hermann – “Twisted Nerve” and then the Green Hornet theme once the fighting starts.
Cut a lot from the beginning of the Mickey/Wayne interview. The stuff about god, demons and the Indian. What’s left is the best parts and best exemplify the tone of the interview in the script (IMO)
Changed music to Ennio Morricone – “A Silhouette of Doom” – pretty radical departure but I love how the crescendos and decrescendos play behind what Mickey is saying.
Changed music under warden getting riot call and Mickey telling a joke. It’s now Louis Bacalov – “The Grand Duel” which turns into Hotei Tomoyasu – “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” when Mickey finishes his joke
Changed music under beginning of riot as Mickey and co make their way through the hall to David Bowie “Cat People”
Changed music for scene where Mickey and Mallory reunite to Elliot Easton’s Tiki Gods – “Monte Carlo Nights”
Changed music when Warden realizes full scope of riot to Bullwinkle Pt. 2
Changed green lighting to black and white for scene where they prepare to break out of prison
Changed music for final standoff in front of the door to George Baker “Little Green Bag”
Cut a lot of dialogue from the final scene, to remove references to the Indian, demon and Oliver Stone trying to really let us know that we are the media and it is our fault for obsessing with them. I think that’s clear already. Changed music to Ennio Corricone “Il Tramonto”
End credits are April March “Chick Habit” and Smith “Baby It’s You” which are separated by the knob turning sound effect from the Misirlou/Jungle Boogie transition from Pulp Fiction
REMOVED COMPLETELY – Mickey and Mallory sitcom style scenes with parents, Mickey and Mallory meeting, all of the stuff with the Indian, Mickey and Mallory wedding scene, Mickey proposing a threesome, Mallory cheating on Mickey, Scagnetti murdering a hooker, as many of the weird black and white slo-mo cuts as possible, all of the demon and cartoon shots



Ideas and feedback welcome as always :)
 

TM2YC

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^ Nice. This idea has legs. So is the central channel clean or what?
 

thecuddlyninja

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Thank you! Yeah, it's totally clean. I don't think I have the technical skills to try this if that wasn't the case. :)
 

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Looks good but maybe a "cold opening" would be best. Just start with the lady turning the TV and then have the scene play out with no credits over the scene and the maybe have a credits sequence after that scene is over
 

thecuddlyninja

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thecuddlyninja

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JJE-187 said:
Looks good but maybe a "cold opening" would be best. Just start with the lady turning the TV and then have the scene play out with no credits over the scene and the maybe have a credits sequence after that scene is over

I think you might be right here. I'll play with that and see how it looks.

TM2YC said:
Sweet. I've just started a thread on the subject.

I was working on an edit of 'Inglorious Basterds' a while back and collected a big folder of Tarantino-esque music. I'll suggest some tracks.

Any and all music suggestions are welcome. I'm not handcuffing myself to QT soundtracks, just seems like a great place to start. :)
 

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thecuddlyninja said:
Oh, I see. I didn't realize the "Pending Approval" threads counted as ITW threads.

I think the rule was created before we had the pending approval forum. I've updated the rule to make it more clear. Thanks for pointing it out.
 

thecuddlyninja

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Thanks a lot. The script jumps to Scagnetti meeting the warden and picking up Mickey and Mallory. A lot of the dialogue needs to be trimmed but a bunch of the original dialogue is intact, so it should be able to get close to the script. I've got to figure out what I want to do with background music while they walk and talk before they meet Mallory singing.
 

thecuddlyninja

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JJE-187 said:
Looks good but maybe a "cold opening" would be best. Just start with the lady turning the TV and then have the scene play out with no credits over the scene and the maybe have a credits sequence after that scene is over

I do like this better. It feels better as a cold open, a little dialogue and then the music starts when she turns on the jukebox, instead of going through two song changes in the span of two minutes.

Thanks!
 

thecuddlyninja

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Here is the cutlist:

Added new title sequence and credits (music is “Stuck in the Middle with You”, used some title cards from Kill Bill)
Removed original intro with wildlife shots to have music start when Mallory turns on the jukebox
Removed black and white shot of guy reading “666 death newspaper” and disappearing
Changed music Mallory puts on to Joe Tex – I Got Ya
Cut scorpion getting run over
Cut multiple lines that weren’t in the script
Cut all of the punches after the first
Changed record change to “Misirlou”
Cut bullet delaying before hitting cook in the face
Cut end dancing scene and lighting change
REORDER – moved Scagnetti/Warden meeting to right after credits
Changed music during Scagnetti/Warden meeting to “Down in Mexico”
Added flashbacks to Mickey and Mallory killing her family after Warden mentions it (added Quincy Jones’ Ironside Excerpt as music for it)
Removed part about Scagnetti hating the media – we get the theme already
Removed bits of Mickey/Wayne Gale pre-interview to more closely match the script and changed music to Ennio Morricone – “Paranoia Prima”
REORDER – moved Mickey letter scene right after pre-interview (changed music to Link Wray and his Wraymen – Rumble)
REORDER – moved Wayne going through 1[SUP]st[/SUP] American Maniacs episode with crew to take the place of scripted scene where Wayne tells them to cut up the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] episode to make the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP]
Removed lines about how stupid the viewing public is and that this is junk for the brains – we get it
REORDER – moved all of the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] show and footage from the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] show intercut with Wayne talking to crew. Changed theme song to Billy Preston “Slaughter”

ADDED – Hun Bros scene, entirely as scripted
ADDED – Courtroom scene – regrettably had to cut some of it. It’s all as scripted but that damn circus music is embedded DEEP on the audio track of the deleted scenes. I rebuilt the audio for the stabbing scene completely and trimmed some of the build up because of the music
REORDER – moved pre-interview Mickey and Wayne getting ready to after they’re looking at footage for the show. Changed music to Charles Bernstein/RZA “Crane/White Lightning”
Cut Wayne hugging prisoner – too over the top and not in the script
REORDER – moved Scagnetti talking to Mallory in private to after pre-interview stuff. Cut him bribing guards but left the rest of the conversation intact as it more or less captures the essence of the script (changed music to Bernard Hermann – “Twisted Nerve” and then the Green Hornet theme once the fighting starts.
Cut a lot from the beginning of the Mickey/Wayne interview. The stuff about god, demons and the Indian. What’s left is the best parts and best exemplify the tone of the interview in the script (IMO)
Changed music to Ennio Morricone – “A Silhouette of Doom” – pretty radical departure but I love how the crescendos and decrescendos play behind what Mickey is saying.
Changed music under warden getting riot call and Mickey telling a joke. It’s now Louis Bacalov – “The Grand Duel” which turns into Hotei Tomoyasu – “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” when Mickey finishes his joke
Changed music under beginning of riot as Mickey and co make their way through the hall to David Bowie “Cat People”
Changed music for scene where Mickey and Mallory reunite to Elliot Easton’s Tiki Gods – “Monte Carlo Nights”
Changed music when Warden realizes full scope of riot to Bullwinkle Pt. 2
Changed green lighting to black and white for scene where they prepare to break out of prison
Changed music for final standoff in front of the door to George Baker “Little Green Bag”
Cut a lot of dialogue from the final scene, to remove references to the Indian, demon and Oliver Stone trying to really let us know that we are the media and it is our fault for obsessing with them. I think that’s clear already. Changed music to Ennio Corricone “Il Tramonto”
End credits are April March “Chick Habit” and Smith “Baby It’s You” which are separated by the knob turning sound effect from the Misirlou/Jungle Boogie transition from Pulp Fiction
REMOVED COMPLETELY – Mickey and Mallory sitcom style scenes with parents, Mickey and Mallory meeting, all of the stuff with the Indian, Mickey and Mallory wedding scene, Mickey proposing a threesome, Mallory cheating on Mickey, Scagnetti murdering a hooker
 

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Moved to ITW at the request of the editor.
 

thecuddlyninja

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Some scenes to get the feel for the edit (ALL PASSWORDS ARE fanedit.org):

Opening Scene (Full):

First Meeting of Wayne Gale and Mickey Knox:

Mickey and Mallory Get Arrested:
(The audio is out of sync for 10-15 seconds but I'm uploading anyway to give an idea how the music works with the scene)

Mickey Writing Mallory a Letter:

Mickey Prepares for the Interview:

Mickey Tells a Joke:
https://vimeo.com/125286588[/video]

Scagnetti Visits Mallory in Her Cell:
https://vimeo.com/125286259[/video]

Mickey Rescues Mallory:
https://vimeo.com/125287199[/video]

Mickey and Mallory Break Out:
https://vimeo.com/125287616[/video]

Closing Scene:
https://vimeo.com/125288684[/video]
 

thecuddlyninja

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I believe I'm pretty much done with this movie, except for one thing. I redid the Drug Zone scene and the scene where Mickey tapes the guns to Wayne and the cop in black and white. The crazy green lighting always bothered me. I only did the Drug Zone interiors in B&W, I left the outside stuff alone with a little glow.

I decided to redo the opening and closing credits. All of the wildlife shots and imagery is just so...over-the-top Oliver Stone-y. They just don't match the tone of the film itself. I have no idea what I'll be doing for them, so suggestions are welcome.

While I work on those, anybody who would like to preview the movie send me a PM.
 

thecuddlyninja

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Here's the new opening credits. I used Miramax/A Band Apart/QT cards because if he had done this movie, that's what it would look like. I liked how QT used a quote to establish the tone in Kill Bill, so I did the same. Taxi Driver is one of his favorite movies of all time and I love the quote so that's why I used it. I killed two birds with one stone here. First, I got rid of the awful opening credits featuring them driving around on obvious green screen intercut with shots of wildlife and second, I show them getting arrested. In the script, their arrest is mentioned on Wayne Gale's tv show. In the original movie, obviously there's that long scene at the Drug Zone washed in ugly green light. Since the whole story is told out of order, I figured I could use a couple bits to show their arrest in the credits (made into black and white). The only downside is not opening on the diner scene as the script did, but I believe it's a minor concession and this works as the opening (password is fanedit.org):

 

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Looks cool and I love the song choice. One little thing that looks off is the title card that says By Quentin Tarantino, I know you can't but directed by but maybe put Story By Quentin Tarantino
 

thecuddlyninja

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Good idea. I could maybe say written and directed by, since this is hypothetically if it had been directed off his script. I hope that wouldn't come off as presumptuous, but I used all the Miramax and A Band Apart stuff. I figured if he had done it, it would be put out by Miramax and his production company. That might look better.
 

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thecuddlyninja said:
I could maybe say written and directed by <snip>

Personally I'd say...

Directed by Alan Smithee

Written by Quentin Tarantino
 
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