MovieChat Forums > The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Discussion > my theory on why #25 wasn't on the final...

my theory on why #25 wasn't on the final cover

posted 11 years ago by laserredg
83 replies | jump to latest

Throughout the entire movie we get the sense that negative #25 will not be shown to the audience. I still think this was true. When Walter barges into the exec meeting to give #25, we see what may have been the final cover that displayed “The End of Life”. Walter then asks Ted what is Life’s motto. Here is the exact quote…..

“Do you know our motto?”
“This thing that you do Ted where you come into a place and push people out? You should know that those people worked really hard to build this magazine. They believe in the motto.”

Forward to where they show us the published final cover and it displayed “Dedicated to the people who made it.” My theory is that the execs changed the cover based on Walter’s speech to Ted and didn’t use #25. Of course the argument then is how the execs got the photo of Walter for the final cover but that is another topic for debate.

[–] sackartist340 11 years ago

It was clearly #25, and even says the photo credit goes to Sean. Sean took the photo when visiting after he spoke with Walter's mother.

[–] alpha-tango 10 years ago

THIS!

[–] DeepFriedJello 10 years ago

That.
and the other thing.

#25 was the cover.

[–] laserredg 11 years ago

Can you point out exactly when in the movie the credit was given to Sean?

[–] grammartrollcop 11 years ago

On the magazine cover, bottom right "Photo by Sean O'Connel"

[–] DKeaton 11 years ago

Uhm what are you talking about?

The final cover was the photo of Walter that Sean took. Walter's "the quintessence of LIFE".

[–] Airman87 11 years ago

Sean didn't know what Walter looked like, correct? He visited his Mom, but not Walter. In the scene where Walter finally finds Sean on the mountain top, Sean didn't even recognize Walter. So if Sean doesn't know what he looked like, how could he have taken a photo of him? Thus, it wasn't #25.

Then again, in the scene where Walter finds out Sean came to visit his Mom, Walter's mother says Sean asked about his schedule and when he works...so you could deduce Sean stalked Walter. However, if he made the trip to NYC to stalk him - which would be really rare for his character based on what we're told - why would he not even introduce himself? And why would he not recognize him on the mountain top?

_______
When logic and science aren't on your side, you always lose.

[–] DKeaton 11 years ago

True, that makes sense.

Although I'm sure when Sean went to see Walter's mom she probably showed him some photos of Walter.

And Sean tends to speak quite ambiguously. For example when he says "You're sitting on it" (the negative) I think he doesn't mean it literally, but he means that Walter's sitting in front of LIFE's building in the photo. There are some other lines of his that can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically so when Sean says "Seriously?" he might mean not something like "You're WM, seriously?" but "Walter, you climbed up here, seriously?"

Or maybe I'm just reading too much into it but this would be a way too obvious mistake to not realise while writing the script.

[–] Mox_Factor 11 years ago

he specifically said after "You're sitting on it" that the photo was in the wallet, so it should probably be taken literally. obviously Sean expected Walter to have the wallet with him.

--anti-dubber.

[–] Qaoz 11 years ago

Oh, boy.

Sean knew what Walter looked like. The reason he didn't immediately recognize Walter on the mountain top was probably because a) he wasn't expecting Walter Mitty to show up on a mountain top in the Himalayas, and b) Walter was wearing a hood, shades and a beard. Kinda hard to recognize anyone in that outfit.

Sean met Walter's mother. He took a picture of Walter. He was stalking Walter the same as he stalked the snow leopard. Walter was the "shadow cat" of LIFE Magazine. The quintessence of LIFE Magazine. Sean makes references to this throughout his conversation with Walter. It's pretty clear that Sean knows who Walter is.

The entire point of the movie is that Sean saw Walter as the quintessence of the magazine, and this was proven right when Walter went through all those adventures to retrieve the picture so that the final issue of the magazine could have a cover.

[–] DKeaton 11 years ago

I agree with Qaoz (though just to be a bit nitpicky, Walter removes his hood and sunglasses when introducing himself to Sean ).

[–] deleach18 11 years ago

It doesn't matter if Sean knew what Walter looked like or not. Sean could have just been going to LIFE magazine to capture a photograph of an employee working outside the building.

The cover was dedicated to all of the employees that worked for the magazine, Sean could have been looking for a good shot of someone who fit his idea of this dedicated worker and it just happened to be Walter.

Also, when he said "you're sitting on it" he did mean it literally, he thought that Walter had the wallet in his pocket, picture was in wallet...

[–] muveme 11 years ago

I think that Sean did pic Walter for the cover shot and the note/wallet gift was a clue to this. An amazing gesture of gratitude for his years of "thankless work" to make Sean's art come to life. He wanted to show the readers the "behind the scenes" people that bring every big business to life. They are unsung heroes. It was Sean's intention for the final cover shot.

?

[–] Splarne 10 years ago

It doesn't matter if Sean knew what Walter looked like or not. Sean could have just been going to LIFE magazine to capture a photograph of an employee working outside the building.

The cover was dedicated to all of the employees that worked for the magazine, Sean could have been looking for a good shot of someone who fit his idea of this dedicated worker and it just happened to be Walter.

that's possible, but only if there isn't this interraction between sean and walter while trying to photograph the snow leopard. this conversation hints that walter is tne snow leopard.

***

Go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!

[–] cregox 11 years ago

Just watched it. Walter does remove the hood and sunglasses, but at this point Sean already recognizes him. He's just too smooth to react emotionally and so many people might remember as he still didn't recognize him. But he did. Watch it, and you'll see.

Qaoz is 100% correct.

http://www.cregox.info/caue

[–] silvaeduardo 11 years ago

I need to agree with Qaoz

When me and my wife saw the movie, even at middle the film, we said each other "gosh this is a great movie" because it makes sense, all in all, is not just about Life, the picture, and the fotographer, its about what we are in essence, dreamers that kinda forgot to daily dream, and hunt down those real dreams.

Now we talking about the #25 and yes i need to agree with Qaoz, i ad the following, Walter asks why doesnt he take the picture, Sean answers something like "sometimes I prefer to enjoy the moment, and the camara gets on the way" he was talking about the "oh god what a irony moment, was I dam right or what, this guy(s) will go the end of the world for their magazine..."

Of course we can discuss it and at the end it will be oppen wide for brainsorming, all the great movies finales are made like that, they let it "oppen" for discuss even if its only inside your head.

Point is, its a great story, and this comedy actor directed it to perfection, the image fotograph is awesome, the cast did it, everything made us day dream with him, and ask ourselfs why we dont do it anymore (like when we were kids) mind you that the elastic toy is also a remind of who we were...

Here and there, there comes a movie like this, and tbh I didnt see one of those for years now.

Sorry for my poor english, but its not my native language.

Cheers to all you film fans

[–] jcabotkiefer 11 years ago

Well said, silvaeduardo. Your message has great meaning in it and you used the English language perfectly to capture what this awesome movie was trying to communicate about life and living out our dreams and chasing the "ghost cat"... I loved this movie and I am sad that there aren't more like it to inspire us all. So much irony and introspection in the midst of captivating landscapes -- Thanks for a great review porque fue mejor dicho que los otros mensajes. :) It was definitely a better review than the others.

[–] DanStanton1 11 years ago

Wow. Qaoz just hit the nail on the head. The quintessence of LIFE was Walter.

#25 was the 'reel' deal!

[–] m0riarty 10 years ago

Spot on

[–] Kung_Fu_Hustler 9 years ago

After giving it more thought, I totally agree with your assessment, Qaoz! Originally I was in the "Sean and Walter had never met" camp, but after thinking about it I changed my opinion.

But in any case, THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE!!!!!

[–] Zerose 11 years ago

And why would he not recognize him on the mountain top?

Walter was a clean-cut guy in short-sleeved shirt and suit trouser. On the mountain, he was sun-tanned, bearded with his scarf, hat and puffer jacket on. Also, Walter didn't seem the type to be at where Sean was.

The cover photo is definitely #25. Sean knew LIFE magazine was changing for good, so he set out to investigate Walter's background by questioning Walter's mother about Walter's work schedule, so that Sean could take a photo of Walter outside the TIME-LIFE building. Sean then wrote a message and purchased a wallet to point out "it" represents the quintessence of life. Walter's eventually realised Sean was referring to all people in the history of LIFE magazine. As in, "Staff like you are the quintessence of LIFE (magazine) and life itself."

Sean was saying that while adventurous people like Sean went out in the world to record the amazing side of life or create a new step in the progress, earthbound people like Walter kept the world rooted - processing photos, typesetting essays and articles - so that people could explore the world themselves. This can be applied to all 'little people' of the world - janitors, teachers, cleaners, repair people, factory workers, parents and all others that are the quintessence of life. Everything we do in life matters one way or another. I think that's the film tried to say, anyway.

[–] Airman87 11 years ago

Sean knew LIFE magazine was changing for good, so he set out to investigate Walter's background by questioning Walter's mother about Walter's work schedule,

Care to point-out exactly where in the movie it showed Sean knew weeks, if not months, ahead of everyone else that LIFE was being sold?

I understand your argument, but no one can prove the movie reasonably showcased Sean had adequate prior knowledge.

_______
When logic and science aren't on your side, you always lose.

[–] Zerose 11 years ago

Sean's note, Walter's mother's revelation and Walter's colleagues' comments.

If we were to go with the timeline of the film, Sean and LIFE colleagues knew at least one week before Walter received the note on the day of the official announcement.

Sean was obviously in New York City during that week. I supposed he learned the rumours through his grapevine and decided on impulse to use Walter to showcase his appreciation for LIFE and blah blah. I presume he went to Walter's mother. While there, he took photos of her piano and blah blah, then of Walter working before he went to to Greenland. A couple of days later, Walter received the film roll, the wallet and the note.

It's shown Walter didn't always pay attention, e.g. his mother mentioned Sean's visit during their shopping, due to his Daydream Zone. So it's not a surprise that he'd be among the last to find out.

It's a dumb film, but I do think the timeline works.

[–] blade025 10 years ago

Sean mentioned in his note to Walter about how he heard "rumblings that life's done"...so he knew in advance, maybe not weeks or months before but before Walter for sure. But the package/note came in the same day Walter found out so maybe Sean found out from another employee as he dropped off the package but since he doesn't seem like someone to drop off a package he probably mailed it in.

[–] Hexeon 11 years ago

Sean took a photo of a guy working for the magazine and called it quintessence of life, that's why Sean was surprised when Walter told him that he was Walter on top of the mountain. Sean then recognized that the guy he took a photo of was Walter himself, that's why he said it was a shame that Walter didn't know what it was.

[–] Geen_Sloth 11 years ago

to be fair on the mountain top Sean didn't even look at him till walter said who he was.. also your not accounting for the fact that he was not expecting walter to be in the mountains.

[–] dinojubz 10 years ago

My theory is that, although Sean never met Walter, she must've mentioned him and/or shown him pictures of Walter. As to why he never introduced himself while stalking him, that is the same approach he seems to have whenever he is taking an important photograph for himself. He decided to take a picture of Walter at his most amazing, without him knowing anything about it, same as he did with the tiger when the 2 of them meet on mountaintop. Anyway that's my opinion let me know what you think

[–] dinojubz 10 years ago

[–] CigarDoug 8 years ago

And why would he not recognize him on the mountain top?

The last time he saw Walter, he looked like "a grey piece of paper", as Patton Oswalt's character said. So he looks different. More importantly, it's not that he didn't recognize him, it's that he never would have expected to run into Walter in the Himalayas.

[–] Cujo61 8 years ago

Sean stalked all sorts if elusive subjects and went to extraordinary lengths to get the shot. Sometimes I think people try and read too much into the storylines.

[–] DKeaton 11 years ago

Another thing where else would have they taken that photo from if it's not negative 25?

[–] teajay74 11 years ago

Sean didn't know what Walter looked like at the time he took the photo. To him it was an anonymous employee who summed up the spirit of the company. It was a fortunate coincidence that it just happened to be Walter.

[–] DKeaton 11 years ago

Sean didn't know what Walter looked like at the time he took the photo. To him it was an anonymous employee who summed up the spirit of the company.

What? Sean visited Walter's mom before taking that photo.

[–] LosGanjales 11 years ago

'My theory is that the execs changed the cover based on Walter’s speech to Ted and didn’t use #25.'

i dont think so. but i think without this speech they would have used a different picture or keep the one we can see in the meeting.

[–] hindsights5150 11 years ago

lol what a horrible thread. He knew walter and they had a relationship, and the cover being #25 was one of pretty much the plot of the movie

[–] gigaguar 11 years ago

I believe Walters mother took the photo of him in front of the LIFE building. She tells him that she took the photo of her piano. In the beginning of the movie we see that this is the photo #24. I think it is possible that she also took #25. The following photos were of Greenland and were obviously by Sean.

[–] fiji5555 11 years ago

WRONG, Sean took the photo of his mom's piano, she even said so. I just got through watching the movie and she said that Sean came by and took the photo.

People need to pay closer attention to what is actually said in movies instead of having a "Walter Mitty moment".

Also why people would think number 25 wasn't used for the cover is beyond my comprehension.

[–] gigaguar 11 years ago

Well, the quote goes like this ...
Walter: "Hey Mom did somebody take a photo of your piano like a week ago?"
Walters Mom: "I did ... with Seans camera."

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] fiji5555 11 years ago

Okay you are right about that but she also said that Sean wanted to know what Walter's work schedule was, when he left for work and when he came home so that shows that Sean took the photo of Walter, Number 25.

[–] gigaguar 11 years ago

I'm also leaning towards Sean taking the photo but this is a possiblity.
Also, please hold the attack next time. Thank you.

[–] theflash987 11 years ago

Sean took the picture. On the mountain top he says he put the picture in the wallet. So obviously he took it AND knew what Walter looked like because he singled the photo out and put it in the wallet that he gave as a gift to Walter.

[–] dgcasey 11 years ago

I would lean heavily towards Sean taking the picture. Sean might be a nice guy and think that Walter's mother was a great lady, but would he let her take his camera rig into the city to take a picture of Walter? Not in a million years. Sure, he probably showed her his camera at the apartment and let her look through and even let her snap off a picture of the piano. But that would be as far as any pro photographer is going to let his camera get away from him.

[–] corthew 11 years ago

WRONG, Sean took the photo of his mom's piano...People need to pay closer attention to what is actually said in movies

Too funny. I had to watch the scene again just to confirm.
The mom said, "I took the photo...with Sean's camera".

And to the main point in this thread, on the mountain top, when Walter first introduces himself, he has already removed his hood and glasses.
Sean removes his sunglasses to get a better look.
Its obvious from this that Sean has seen him but never met him.

[–] blade025 10 years ago

No, Walter's mom took the picture with Sean's camera...i think you need to pay closer attention to the movie