I just re-read the script.
I think there may be some confusion between
location shooting and exterior/interior shots.

Here’s what is known…

All location shooting in Utah was completed
(and a brief scene in New Mexico as well).
All exterior scenes were completed.
River’s character was seen in basically three
locations: Utah Exteriors, the Shack (his home),
and the Shelter (underground bunker).

The Shack was an exterior/interior set.
They filmed the Shack interior shots on location.
There has been some video released supporting
this, with a quick clip of him carving the Kachina
doll at night, and another on his bed in the daytime.

Most of this film is exteriors. I’d say maybe 60%.
And there’s quite a bit of story going on in the
exterior scenes. Another 20% is probably Shack
interiors. The one location we know wasn’t filmed
in Utah was the Shelter interior, which was
created in a studio in Los Angeles.

River did complete at least part of one Shelter
scene in LA. There are a few scenes in the
Shelter and one of the unfilmed scenes is kind
of important – although wouldn’t be difficult to
recreate with stand-in actors lit by candlelight
(maybe it’s time for Mr. Sluizer to give James
Franco a call).

After reading the script and knowing that all Utah
filming was completed, it’s easy to see where the
90% number came from.

After River’s death the entire issue was a hot potato and a P.R. nightmare.
Hell, even Silent Tongue’s release got pushed back and then was only
released in THREE theaters. Nobody wanted to give the appearance of
‘cashing in’.

If Sluizer can figure out a way to get Dark Blood into a releasable state I
fully support that endeavor. You say it was half completed. The director
says it was 90% completed. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle.
I doubt Sluizer would be pursuing this if he only had 50% in the can. Until
we know for certain, this is a he said/he said issue. If you can provide some
proof for your claim however, I would be more than happy to make a
re-evaluation.

Richard Donner shot about 70% of Superman II before being fired and was
able to release a modified version of his film after almost 29 years of that footage
wasting away in a vault. Granted, he had the crutch of relying on another directors
work to complete that project. Is it perfect? No. Far from it. But it is greatly
appreciated for what it is… an unfinished work that shows a great deal of potential.
It remains a valuable, interesting, and historic film artifact. As would Dark Blood.

Film fans are an intelligent lot. They can understand what is involved with
releasing an unfinished film. There are a number of options for bridging gaps.
Voice-overs, title cards, storyboards, and a host of other solutions that can
only be achieved through the art of filmmaking. The good in releasing Dark Blood
far outweighs any bad. There’s just not much to lose here and so much to gain.

Thankfully there are more people who want this film released than there are those
who would be content with the film elements degrading into dust. If I were a betting
man I’d say some time in the future, if not next year then soon after, Dark Blood will
be released in some form. And I’ll be quite happy that any effort to prevent that
would have failed.

It’s a part of history now.

Grayson
NYC

River wanted his life to mean something. He was a serious person with
strong convictions. He wanted to influence people. He wanted to change things.
The stories about his veganism and buying up hundreds of acres of rainforest
are now the stuff of legend.

By releasing Dark Blood all these years later, River has the opportunity once
again to influence. An entire generation would be exposed to this great actor
for the first time. Thousands, perhaps millions of people who are curious
enough would also begin looking into this actors life and discover something
quite special.

They themselves may be inspired to think more about the role they play in the
environment. They may also decide how we treat animals is unacceptable.
This is the power that River had. I know this because he affected me in that way.
The only way I could find meaning in such a senseless loss was to change myself.
The issues that River cared about have not been resolved in the nearly twenty years
since he left. They have only gotten more urgent.

We’ll never know just how much he would have achieved had he made it out of that
‘experimental stage’ so many of us go through at a young age. He is often remembered
simply as a child actor who overdosed on drugs. He was much more than that and his
memory deserves better.

Dark Blood has value. A kind of value that goes far beyond what a small minority of
dissenters can understand. River wanted this film to be seen. He cared about it enough
to devote his time to it. There is a strong environmental message in the film – the kind of
truth that can give film a timelessness.

It was also his most adult role to date. Given the perception that many people retain of him
from early films like Stand By Me, Dark Blood would very likely educate the public to his
potential as a leading man, which would add a new and more complex layer to his legacy.

The director himself has stated that the film is 90% completed and only seven to eleven days
of filming remained. The art and magic of filmmaking could take care of the rest, and under the
circumstances any imperfections would be understood by the public.

Artists dream of having something to leave behind. It doesn’t matter if they are actors or
musicians. Speaking from the grave with a final work has always been a romantic notion
of the artist. River was a true artist. And this is what he left behind for us. It is time to
welcome it with open arms.

He wanted to have a positive impact. He wanted to inform and enlighten people.
With the release of Dark Blood there is an opportunity here to help him help us.
We should not impede that in any way.

Let the world discover River Phoenix again.

Grayson Matthews
New York City

Your personal feelings aside, and in spite of the relationships that may have previously been frayed during the production of the last film, I believe that the good of releasing this title–some 18 years after the fact would have a far more positive impact than any negative connotations that might arise. That, of course, stems from the opinion of a fan whom has no affiliation whatsoever with any of the parties involved, other than being a fan of the person all of this hoopla is about in the first place: River Phoenix.

I do hope that the Phoenix family reconsiders their stance on the matter, if indeed they are trying to distance themselves from any possibility of supporting the release of this film, because again, the fans deserve to see the true final piece of River’s body of work. River, himself, thought enough of the project to sign on board for the role, and from all accounts was a true professional on-set, so I believe he would want the film completed. It would also be a really wonderful collaboration between two brothers that happened in an extraordinary way.

Any way, you offered up your two cents on the matter, and I can appreciate and respect that– I wonder how you feel about mine.

God bless.