30 Days of Carol: Day 29 – An Edible Arrangement for the Person Responsible for Cutting the Richard Scene

In the Carol screenplay written by Phyllis Nagy, there is a scene in which Therese gives Richard a hand job. It happens on page eighteen and is after Therese meets Carol for the first time. The scene is meant to highlight Therese’s inexperience, as well as the interactions with Richard that have been put on autopilot (all of them). For obvious reasons, it has been — until now –unspeakable. But I bring it up because I feel a thank you is in order.

Because that scene was filmed. It leapt from the page onto a film set and was shot over and over and over. The story is that they couldn’t get the, hm, aftermath to look realistic. First it was too watery, then it was too thick, then it wasn’t the right color, and so on. It was some poor production’s assistant job to hold a squib rig (the instrument responsible for things like blood splatter, etc.) at the ready while crouched down just out of shot for the hours-long nightmare of having to listen to New Jim climax on loop.

And yet, despite all of this effort, all the first and second-hand embarrassment, the scene was cut. Sure, scenes get cut all the time. But think how freaking jazzed some straight male executive was to have this scene included “for the story,” searching for something, anything, to invalidate this movie about women not wanting men. That means whoever’s responsible for its removal really went to bat for us. They were our Dottie Hinson up for the last pitch (from the first half of the movie).

Toddbaby, was it you? Did you watch the first cut of the film and think to yourself: “Oh no.” Cate Blanchett, who helped co-produced the film – was it you? Were you informed of its inclusion via fax or whatever ancient form of communication you certainly use to receive messages and said out loud to a bouquet of juliet roses, “Remind me to speak to Todd about removing that,” thus making it so? Rooney, did you see playback-after-excruciating-playback, internalize it, think on it, and then three months later threaten to trash the place if they didn’t take it out? New Jim, was it you? Hell, I’ll send an edible arrangement to Richard, I don’t care.

Whoever it was, please, it would be my pleasure – no, MY HONOR – to send you a delicious edible arrangement. Just contact me. Keep in mind the last time someone accepted an edible arrangement offer I’d made on the internet, they gave me their email address when I asked for their address, so don’t do that. Send me your real address, or at least someone’s real address. I love you.

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Erin

Los Angeles based writer. Let's keep it clean out there!

Erin has written 208 articles for us.

32 Comments

  1. O Come All Ye Faithful,
    Joyful and triumphant,
    O come ye, O come ye to this movie screening,
    Come and behold “Carol”,
    Born of “The Price of Salt”,
    O come, let us adore it,
    O come, let us adore it,
    O come, let us adore it,
    Cate Blanchett playing Carol

    O Sing, choirs of angels,
    Sing in exultation,
    Sing all ye that have waited so long,
    Give to Cate & Rooney glory in the Highest,
    O come, let us adore it,
    O come, let us adore it,
    O come, let us adore it,
    “Carol” the movie

    All Hail! “Carol” we see thee,
    Watched this happy morning,
    O’ “Price of Salt” for evermore be thy name adored,
    Once just words, now in flesh appearing,
    O come, let us adore it,
    O come, let us adore it,
    O come, let us adore it,
    “Carol” the movie

  3. Bless you for bringing this up. I had the exact same thought the first time I read the script.

  5. Yes, sparing us the splooge scene was a STROKE of genius and made for a much better movie. If only they hadn’t WHACKED Abby confronting Therese about her “intentions” as well.

  6. I’m not going to actively suggest that your standards are all way too low here (I’m just gonna heavily imply it instead), but why settle for just one Richard scene deletion?

    Why not all?

    Demand more, people!

  7. Please let Cameron Esposito deliver the arrangement in person. It would be most appropriate!

  8. What’s interesting is that Therese and Richard also never had sex in the movie, while they did in the book. So that’s two Richard scenes our eyes were spared from!

  10. In the year 2018, my new lord Erin, is rewarding good deeds with fresh produce. I never thought life could be this good.

  11. I’m honestly curious about why they felt it was necessary to show the “aftermath” at all. I mean, surely plenty of movies have found ways to imply a handjob is taking place without literally showing semen. But even if they did feel it was necessary, how is it that porn films in the 70s managed to have realistic fake cum, but a Hollywood movie in 2015 couldn’t figure out how to do it? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled that they were so bad at implementing their bad idea that they decided to scrap it. I’m just confused.

    • Gotta agree with Blackmar. Why would they want to show it? I’ve watched plenty of films and series where blowjobs or handjobs take place and you don’t see the details.

  12. I’m assuming that the lesbian love scene was originally meant to be longer, but they also couldn’t figure out how to realistically have Therese squirt all over Carol’s face.

  13. I wonder what Cate’s reaction to this was. When she found out, how did they keep her from killing everyone in the room to protect her precious Rooney?

  16. Whenever somebody says “give us the deleted scenes” I’m always “NOOOOOOO, have you seen the script?” (but yes to keep the longer Abby/Therese scene)

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