The end of the film as we know it ... Alvin and the Chipmunks
So called hidden tracks at the end of rock albums have become so commonplace that you feel cheated if there isn't one. Indeed the song Acrylic on the debut album by the Courteeners, which appears after the customary two minutes of silence, is even listed on the album sleeve (but in a slightly lighter shade). Now this trend is becoming a regular occurrence at the cinema too as more and more films are tagging on secret endings after the final credits.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, X-Men 3, Matrix Reloaded and Cloverfield all have bits long after viewers have been reassured that no animals were harmed during filming, while I'm reliably informed that there's a very funny scene involving some squirrels at the very tail end of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
I mention this because I went to see Iron Man at the weekend and only found out days later that there was a secret scene after the credits involving an A-list actor who wasn't in the film proper. I did wonder at the time why I was the only one heading for the exit.
What's this all about? Is it some ego-boosting plan by filmmakers to get moviegoers to sit through boring white on black text? Some stealth technique demanded by unions fed up that no one knows or cares who the Chief Lighting Technician is?
I know there is much tutting at the NFT if you shuffle out of your seat before the lights come up but in most cineplexes you have to leave as soon as the film ends or suffer the indignity of sitting alone in a brightly lit room while cleaners sweep up the popcorn around your ankles. Is staying to watch the credits the mark of a real film fan? Is it disrespectful to just leave when the story ends?
The Iron Man secret ending - now available in full glorious cameraphone quality widescreen on YouTube - has left me worried that I might have missed other secret endings in recent movies. Was, for example, the ending of No Country For Old Men everyone was moaning about the same ending I saw (Tommy Lee Jones wibbling into his cold coffee)? If you've spotted one please share and while you're at it divide yourself into end credit watchers and end credit leavers.
