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Curry Barker told Gold Derby that an opening shot filmed for Obsession was removed after reshoots changed the film’s ending. The planned shot followed Bear, his dead cat and a television playing a romantic comedy, and was meant to echo the finale. Barker has discussed a possible extended cut, but it is unclear whether the discarded opening would appear in it.
Obsession director Curry Barker says an opening shot he filmed for the movie was removed after reshoots changed its ending, disrupting a visual connection between the beginning and the finale. In a recent interview with Gold Derby, Barker described the discarded shot and said the original image still stays with him.
Barker said the planned opening began on Bear, played by Michael Johnston, moved down to his dead cat, then rotated upside down toward a television showing a romantic comedy. The sequence was intended to suggest Bear’s desire for romance before the story developed. Barker said he filmed the shot and it remained in the movie for a time, but the later change to the ending made the original opening no longer fit.
The opening and closing were initially designed to mirror one another. Barker described the planned final shot as starting on Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette, moving down to Bear and then turning upside down toward the television. Because the ending was revised during reshoots, the opening was changed as well. The source report does not describe the final version of the ending in detail.
Barker has said he considers the theatrical release the movie’s director’s cut. He has also previously discussed the possibility of an extended version containing about 20 additional minutes of footage. That possibility does not establish that the deleted opening will be included, and no release details for such a version are provided in the report.
How Reshoots Reframed the Opening
The account offers a specific example of how a change made late in production can affect more than the scene being revised. In Barker’s description, changing the finale altered the role of the opening image: a shot built to create a visual rhyme with the ending no longer served the same purpose. Its removal was therefore connected to the film’s structure, rather than simply to whether the shot could be used.
For viewers, the detail adds insight into the choices behind the theatrical version without establishing that an alternate version is planned. Barker’s lingering attachment to the image also highlights the difference between material a director remembers and material that ultimately fits the released film. His comments do not suggest that he regards the theatrical cut as incomplete; the source report says he considers it the director’s cut.
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The Shot’s Intended Visual Echo
The film’s original design linked its opening and ending through a similar camera movement and the television’s position in the composition. As Barker explained it, the opening would introduce Bear’s interest in romance, while the planned final shot would reverse the movement around Nikki and Bear. The intended connection depended on both shots remaining in the film in a form that supported one another.
According to Barker, the original opening was included in an earlier version before reshoots led the filmmakers to alter the finale. The source report describes the changes as a production decision but does not give further details about what prompted the new ending or when the reshoots took place. It also notes Barker’s previous comments about a potential extended cut, while distinguishing that possibility from his view of the theatrical release.
“The opening shot changed during editing, but the original version will forever be in my head.”
— Curry Barker, speaking to Gold Derby
Whether the Opening Will Return
It is not clear whether the discarded shot will appear in any future version of Obsession. Barker has previously floated the idea of an extended cut with around 20 extra minutes, but the source report says it is unknown whether this opening would be part of it. No release date, confirmed plan or contents for an extended edition are provided.
The available account also does not specify the full nature of the revised ending, the exact timing of the reshoots, or whether footage of the original opening remains available for a possible release. Barker’s comments establish that the sequence was filmed and appeared in an earlier version, not that it is currently scheduled for public release.
A Possible Extended Edition
The next concrete development would be any announcement from Barker, the film’s distributor or another rights holder about an extended cut. Until then, the extra footage remains a possibility Barker has discussed, rather than a confirmed release. The source material gives no timetable for a decision or for any home-video edition.
For now, Barker’s interview provides the available account of why the opening changed: reshoots revised the ending, and the image designed to echo it was removed. The theatrical cut remains the version he has described as the director’s cut, while the fate of the original shot is unresolved.
Key Questions
What was in Obsession’s original opening shot?
Barker said it began on Bear, moved down to his dead cat, then turned upside down toward a television showing a romantic comedy.
Why was the opening changed?
Barker said reshoots changed the ending, so the opening shot designed to mirror the finale no longer made sense in the revised version.
Will the original opening appear in an extended cut?
That has not been confirmed. Barker has discussed a possible extended cut with about 20 additional minutes, but the source report says it is unknown whether this shot would be included.
Which version does Barker consider the director’s cut?
The source report says Barker considers the theatrical release of Obsession to be the director’s cut.
Source: bloody-disgusting.com
