LDotFMotNYl: Deleted Scenes (1)

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(Note: This post refers to the Last Day of the First Month of the New Year letter sent out by my family. If you are here because you received that letter [or if you want background information before proceeding], please read this post first.)

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I love me my DVDs. And the more better the extra features, the more better I love the DVD.

One beloved feature, of course, is the deleted scene. I find film a mysterious process--I wish I understood how a camera angle elicits an emotion or how cutting at this frame rather than that creates a totally different effect, but I don't. It's a mystery. But watching deleted scenes helps me understand filmmaking just a little bit better.

Similarly, some people love them their Last Day of the First Month of the New Year letters. And who can blame them? But perhaps they do not understand how such a thing is put together. In order to demonstrate the process in some small way, I will be featuring some deleted scenes (with commentary) here on Thmusings. Alas, but the scenes are not polished. Like on the DVD where the green screen is still visible and James Newton Howard Shore's awesome score is missing, these scenes are in second-draft form and lack the design that Lady Steed brought to those that made the final cut. Also: no pictures.

Before this first scene, let me explain a bit how the scenes have been altered to fit in with Thmusing's format:

I appear as Thmazing or Theric (as the whim strikes me); my dear wife appears as Lady Steed, and our son appears as the Big O.

Not so in the original.

Our last name was inspired by LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's. His name before marriage was Antonio Villar. He and his wife combined their last names (she was a Raigosa) and their new nom thus appeared. I think that's pretty cool, and if Lady Steed and I had names that meshed better it may have been worth considering. (Of course, by the tenth generation, people would have names like Smithmacdougaltayloroatsprenticemibonaparte, but that's for another post).

However! in blog world, we'll pull it off:

I hereby declare our family name to be (for now) Thteed.

(A truly excellent name because it is difficult not to spit while saying it.)

Anyway, enough of that. On with our first deleted scene. Roll 'em!


Thteed Family Policy on the War on Christmas

Contrary to allegations made by certain radio hosts, the Thteed Family has not aligned itself with the forces of evil in the War on Christmas. In fact, the Thteed Family began its Last Day of the First Month of the New Year-letter tradition nearly a full calendar year before hearing of the War on Christmas. So what we have here is another instance of the forces of evil aligning themselves with the Thteed Family. You can stop mailing us your angry letters now.


Commentary

Space constraints are what really killed this one. As the price of the letter mounted, we realized that we were going to have to cut down on the total number of pages--The War on Christmas policy thus took the ax.

There were some artistic differences on this decision as I loved the policy and thought it was worth saying lest our more conservative loved ones grow concerned for our spiritual well-being.

But Lady Steed thought, No, no, no! Th'policy's gotta go!

And so it did.

In terms of design, the letter is better without it. In terms of a written package however, I still think the loss was tragic.

Thank goodness for blogs where gems like this can live forever!