Thirty years on, “Thelma & Louise” still has one of the most memorable endings in film history — when the title characters share a kiss and hold hands before (spoiler alert!) driving their car into the Grand Canyon as law enforcement closes in.
As it turns out, the kiss was an impromptu idea from Susan Sarandon, who played Louise.
“It happened at the very end of the day. You know, the helicopter coming in, the police cars arriving, Harvey running, everything else, so it was basically like a stunt. We had one take,” Sarandon said in a recent interview with "ET." “I just said to (director) Ridley (Scott) and to Geena, ‘You know, I’d really like to kiss you.’ And so, that’s what we did. One take, one juicy, romantic take.”
“Thelma & Louise” earned both Sarandon and Davis Oscar nominations for Best Actress, and the film also offered a young Brad Pitt his breakthrough role as J.D., a cowboy hitchhiker.
Sarandon and Davis will soon reunite for a special 30th anniversary screening of the 1991 classic, which will take place, fittingly enough, at a drive-in movie theater in Los Angeles.
It’s hard to imagine now, but the film’s famous last scene almost played out very differently. Originally, director Ridley Scott thought that Louise might push Thelma out of the car at the last minute, saving her life. But ultimately, he decided to stay true to the original ending, where both women sail over the edge of the Grand Canyon in their Thunderbird convertible.
“I think by then we had earned that ending,” Sarandon told EW in 2011.
Davis added that shooting the ending was “very emotional” for her and Sarandon.
“It was the last scene of the movie, we had 20 minutes to get it, and we’re going to say goodbye to each other. And so, meta!” she told EW at the time.