As I discussed recently in a very random tribute, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is one of my absolute favorite movies of all-time (Category: All; Sub-Category: Horror). Seeing it as a child naturally left a lingering affect on me, in that I still have to watch it with at least one light on and my back to the wall. That it still f*cks with my head 33 years later is a true testament to what an awesome film that Kubrick directed and wrote (with Diane Johnson). But what I did not know until this very day – some fan, right? – is that when The Shining was released in 1980, it had a completely different ending.

Apparently Kubrick re-cut the film two weeks after it was released to remove an original ending that tried to pull off the “Bitch, you crazy” angle with Wendy Torrance. In the original ending, Wendy and Danny are in a hospital, where the Overlook’s manager claims that he checked out the entire hotel and couldn’t find anything wrong. No tidal waves of blood, no butchered child bodies, no rotting old lady trying to get her freak on, nada.

It also included a more revealing title shot on black, which we now know thanks to a discovery by Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich, who runs his own Shining tribute site.

Slate shared some contrasting takes on Kubrick’s decision to cut the ending after the film had already been released, but I like Roger Ebert’s take on this change…

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Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich recently took to his Twitter account, and, on a rare break from vivid descriptions of dumps he just took (TMI, Unkrich! God!), shared some of the titles that got thrown around at Pixar before they eventually settled on Toy Story. He said there had been an open call to studio employees, eventually amassing more than 200 suggestions. Here are 16 of the rejects Unkrich says he selected at random:

• The New Toy
• Made in Taiwan
• Moving Buddies
• To Infinity and Beyond
• Wind-Up Heroes
• The Cowboy & The Spaceman
• Spurs & Rockets
• Bring Me The Arm of Buzz Lightyear
• Wind the Frog
• Rex’s First Movie
• For the Love of Peep
• Toyz in the Hood
• Each Sold Separately
• Wings & Pullstrings
• Some Assembly Required
• The Favorite

Out of these, I’d say “To Infinity and Beyond” isn’t bad, and “The Favorite” makes sense, though it isn’t very evocative. Toy Story certainly seems like the correct choice. If Bruckheimer was producing, it definitely would’ve been “Toyz in the Hood.” It makes you wonder if other titles, like, say, “Knight and Day” also beat out 199 other suggestions. And if so, what could’ve been worse than Knight and Day? Root Canals and Child Porn? Crazy ‘Bout Hitler? Discuss.

[via /Film, AICN]

Pixar has made movies a lot better than Toy Story so I’m not sure why this is the one that’s getting two sequels.  But as your sister’s tramp stamp says, c’est la vie.  Anyway, here’s an exclusive clip that’s playing on ABC Family. If you’re interested, I’d recommend watching it now before it gets yanked faster than your dad at the strip club.  Director Lee Unkrich introduces it, and you can tell he’s working really hard because he’s wearing a t-shirt.  The plot, as always, concerns the toys and whether they’ll get tossed in the garbage now that the kid’s too old for them.  Which is dumb if you ask me.  I’m way older than that kid and my favorite toys are still a Buzz and a Woody.

[via CHUD]