Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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smile about because he was “mortgaged up to the hilt and still [had] a pile of debts left
over”. 602 Later in the screenplay, there was a conversation between two linesmen
working on the roadway. The purpose of this scene, where one of the characters
discusses his sexual exploits, was perhaps related to the theme of Toss’s reaching sexual
maturity, but in terms of advancing the plot the scene provided the vehicle for Toss to
steal a shovel which she later uses to dig when she is constructing a “shrine” for her
father. These minor characters were later dropped from the film. The theme of Toss’s
burgeoning sexuality was developed through several scenes in Draft Two of the
screenplay, such as the scene where she posed half-naked in front of a mirror in the old
pigsty. When Birdie interrupted her, she hastily put on her father’s old jacket, and when
Birdie asked why she was wearing it, she told him it was to provide protection against
“Ethan’s silent bullets” – an echo of the “silent bullets” Nicky referred to in In Spring
One Plants Alone. 603 This vivid scene was retained in the film but in a truncated
version. In the following scene, in the second draft, where Birdie and Toss were
feeding the geese, they discussed at some length the fact that Toss was growing breasts;
and in an earlier scene, Toss noticed that the stallion in the field behind them had an
erection. She questioned her grandfather about it and asked him if it’s “like a man’s”,
and later if it’s “like yours?”. 604 This scene was dropped from the final version of the
screenplay, making the sexual aspects more subtle (or perhaps more obscure).
Other scenes that were included in Draft Two but not in the film included a long
conversation between Ethan and Liz in which the latter talked about her life on the farm
with Justin, a scene which was no doubt intended to explain Liz’s motivation for
starting a relationship with Ethan. Later, she asked Ethan to take her riding and there
was a scene with Liz riding bareback behind him, evidently relishing her freedom. The
scene where Birdie and Toss barricaded themselves in Birdie’s hut so they did not have
to leave the farm was much longer in Draft Two, and was divided into several scenes.
In one of these scenes, Ethan broke a window of the hut and was injured. Elizabeth
commented: “Well, looks like first blood to them”, a reference to the working title of
the film, First Blood, Last Rites (subsequently changed because a Rambo film was
released with a similar title). 605 The ending of Draft Two was also somewhat different
602 Ward and Tetley, “First Blood Last Rites: Second Draft Screenplay,” 28.
603 Ward and Tetley, “First Blood Last Rites: Second Draft Screenplay,” 74.
604 Ward and Tetley, “First Blood Last Rites: Second Draft Screenplay,” 45.
605 Ward and Tetley, “First Blood Last Rites: Second Draft Screenplay,” 126.