Seven, directed by David Fincher, is one of the best movies of the 1990s. A big part of the reason for that is Seven's iconic ending. It’s dark and twisted, just like the rest of the movie. But apparently the film's finale could have been significantly different and might have ended up that way had it not been for Brad Pitt getting certain details about the script in his contract.
Friends and frequent collaborators Brad Pitt and George Clooney spoke to GQ recently and Pitt talked about the process of becoming a lead in movies, and how he started to take ownership of his projects. He reveals that after a previous bad experience, he made a point in Seven to make sure nobody changed parts of the film he thought were important to the story, by actually making Gwyneth Paltrow's head-in-the-box part of his contract. Pitt explained…
What he’s talking about is the realization of how much of it is on your back. And then you go, 'OK, that’s all right. But I’m going to pick.' When you realize you’re responsible, then you step up and you start making calls. Like, I got in my contract when I did Seven, having had a bad experience on a movie before where they edited out scenes I thought were vital, in Seven I put it in my contract: The wife’s head stays in the box.
Brad Pitt doesn’t mention “the movie before” which caused him to think this way, by name, but we know that movie was Legends of the Fall. It was Pitt’s project immediately before Seven, and the film’s director Edward Zwick, published a book earlier this year in which he revealed he and Pitt constantly battled on the set of Legends. He specifically mentions a clash over scenes that he cut from the film that Pitt was not in favor of removing. Zwick now agrees that Pitt was right.
Seven’s ending is quite dark, and while that fits the film as a whole, it’s certainly not in line with your average Hollywood movie. George Clooney then asked Pitt if there were attempts to change the box scene, Pitt said that’s not the only thing they tried to change, but could not because of his contract. He continued…
Absolutely. And the character kills John Doe. I got both in my contract. So sure enough, when it comes time, they come and they go, 'You know, he’d be much more heroic if he didn’t.' And you go, 'Yeah, he would. But he’s not.' And then: 'It’s too much with the wife. What if we put the dogs’ heads in? It should be the dogs’ heads.' Nope.
Seven is one of many movies that almost had very different endings. It’s difficult to imagine a version of Seven where John Doe kills a dog or one where Pitt’s character stops before becoming “wrath.” The ending of a movie is always what we’re thinking about when we leave it, and no matter how good the rest of Seven was, if the ending had faltered, the movie probably wouldn’t be remembered so well today. So thank you Brad Pitt, I guess.
