Harrowing alternative 'Help' ending revealed in blu ray and DVD editions

Readers of the bestselling book of The Help know that the story of outspoken maid Minny Jackson ends quite differently than it does in last summer's blockbuster film...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

From Entertainment Weekly:

Readers of the bestselling book of The Help know that the story of outspoken maid Minny Jackson ends quite differently than it does in last summer’s blockbuster film. (SPOILER ALERT for those who don’t want to know either ending.)

In the film, we hear in voice over that Minny (Octavia Spencer) took her kids and left her abusive husband Leroy after her employers Celia and Johnny Foote (Jessica Chastain and Mike Vogel) promised her a job with them as long as she wanted it. In the book, however, Minny doesn’t escape Leroy without a final, vicious beating.

In the DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film, out Dec. 6, director Tate Taylor reveals he in fact shot a different ending for Minny that incorporated the book’s dark turn of events, but ultimately felt it was too much of a gloomy conclusion for Minny’s ultimately hopeful storyline. That scene is available as an extra on both discs, but you can watch it exclusively below now, and then read EW’s interview with Spencer about the scene, and how she prepared the non-professional actors playing her kids for it.

Click here to read the rest of this story.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE