I am sure by now many of you have read the David Schow article detailing one side of the great Most/Proyas battle. I have noticed by checking out the web that a good many fans and reviewers of the 'Crow' DVD have come to the conclusion that Jeff is the one to blame for the short comings of the DVD and for the bad blood between he and Proyas. Negative connotations have been leveled at Jeff, many of which I think are unfair and come from a lack of knowing the full story. We must remember, only one side of the story was presented in the article. The old saying, "it takes two to tango" should be taken into consideration before we paint Jeff Most as the villain here. Were it not for Jeff's dogged belief in 'The Crow', we might never have seen it in the theaters. Without a doubt, the story would not have turned out the way it did had someone else, less emotionally attached, been in charge of it.

Back in 1989, John Shirley, original Crow scribe, introduced Jeff Most to 'The Crow' comic. From that point on, Jeff was determined that the comic should be made into a film. Even after being told by over 50 production companies and studios that it could not be done, Jeff believed in the message of the story, he understood its importance. A testament to Jeff's commitment to 'The Crow' can be found in the Baiss book 'The Crow: The Story Behind The Movie'. In it he states; "I had always had this plan which was obviously make money for the people you work for but try to split your time between making movies that are blockbusters and things that are heart-felt. This (The Crow) was a heart-felt one for me."

Though not credited for the story, Jeff was important to the evolution of the script. He and John Shirley worked together creating three drafts of the script. Jeff's extensive knowledge of the story and deep understanding of the emotional framework contributed immeasurably to the script. Jeff is responsible for some of the movies pivotal story elements. Examples of these are Eric being a musician, coming back with no memory of the events and being led by the crow, Crow-vision concept, touching people/objects to receive memory bursts and using Devils' Night as the impetus of the gang activity. These story additions have come to be widely accepted as some of the core elements of the movie.

Proyas' need to have control of every element of the DVD put Miramax in a corner in which they had to make a business decision, which was not the best decision. Proyas could have set aside his differences with Jeff Most, realizing Jeff is an important part of the history of 'The Crow' and went forward, but he didn't. Bridget Baiss, in her book "The Crow: The Story Behind The Film", speaks to Alex Proyas' controlling nature. When she asked him to participate, Alex demanded he be given approval authority AND that David Schow be allowed to co-author it. To me, that is a tremendously egotistical demand on Proyas' part. Baiss rightly refused to allow him this control; thus he passed and selfishly kept fans from having even more insight into 'The Crow'.

Take a moment to step back and look at this issue. Had you worked as hard on a project and been as instrumental in creating it as Jeff was, wouldn't you want to be a part of the DVD re-release? I challenge anyone out there with the same involvement as Jeff's in a project, to say they would feel different. It does not excuse him from resolving the issue with Proyas, or put his point of view above Proyas'. It does, at least for me, provide understanding as to why he would feel it important enough to be included.

My attempt here has not been to cast blame from one person to another. None of us knows all the elements behind the feud. Both men are very important people when it comes to the first movie and BOTH should be a part of the reissue. It is useless to try and judge who is and isn't the victim in their argument. The true victim still remains the fans who continue to be cheated out of a definitive DVD version of the movie we love. But as the famous line from the movie goes; "Victims, aren't we all?"

Take care….amf

LLcruize