A Movie Script Ending

"A Movie Script Ending" was written by frontman Ben Gibbard shortly after he moved to Seattle from the band's hometown of Bellingham, Washington. He found himself nostalgic for the simpler times the group had in the quieter college town.{{cite web | title=Review: Death Cab for Cutie, ODESZA's Bellingham love fest starts summer early|date=May 19, 2019| website=The Seattle Times | url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/review-death-cab-for-cutie-odeszas-bellingham-love-fest-starts-summer-early/| access-date=September 23, 2022}} The song's lyrics features numerous references to Bellingham; examples include "the air on Railroad" and "the shopfronts on Holly," Railroad and Holly being two intersecting streets in downtown Bellingham. The song also refers to The Beaver Inn with the line: "We peered through the windows, new bottoms on barstools but the people remain the same, with prices inflating." The song's arrangement has evolved in the years since its release, at least when played live by the group: typically, live renditions tend to be slightly faster.{{cite web | last=Soeder | first=John | title=Death Cab for Cutie's music is a living thing | website=cleveland | date=June 28, 2012 | url=https://www.cleveland.com/popmusic/2012/06/death_cab_for_cuties_music_is.html | access-date=September 23, 2022}} A band demo of the song was later included on the twentieth anniversary reissue of The Photo Album in 2021.{{cite web | last=Jones | first=Abby | title=Death Cab for Cutie announce The Photo Album 20th anniversary deluxe edition | website=Consequence | date=October 13, 2021 | url=https://consequence.net/2021/10/death-cab-for-cutie-the-photo-album-20th-anniversary-deluxe-edition/ | access-date=September 23, 2022}}

The song's music video was directed by Josh Melnick and Xander Charity. "A Movie Script Ending" was the band's second music video; it was preceded by an obscure home-made clip for "I Was A Kaleidoscope". Ian Cohen extolled the video in a review for Uproxx, calling it "a monumentally sad visual [...] the simplest video they’ve ever made and the only one that actually enhanced its underlying narrative."{{cite web | title=The Best Death Cab For Cutie Songs, Ranked | website=UPROXX | date=June 25, 2021 | url=https://uproxx.com/indie/death-cab-for-cutie-best-songs-ranked/ | access-date=September 23, 2022}}

"A Movie Script Ending" was released through the band's overseas distributor Fierce Panda in the United Kingdom.{{cite web | title=Death Cab For Cutie - A Movie Script Ending - Releases | website=Discogs | url=https://www.discogs.com/master/1275077-Death-Cab-For-Cutie-A-Movie-Script-Ending | language=de | access-date=September 23, 2022}} It became a fan favorite quickly,{{cite web | title=Death Cab For Cutie's 'Transatlanticism' turns 10 -- looking back at a classic indie-rock album | website=EW.com | date=October 7, 2013 | url=https://ew.com/article/2013/10/07/death-cab-for-cutie-transatlanticism-10-year-anniversary/ | access-date=September 23, 2022}} garnering airplay and becoming the band's song to chart, reaching number 123 on the UK Singles Chart. Gibbard has called it one of his personal favorite songs by the band.{{cite web | last1=Buchanan | first1=Kyle | last2=Jones | first2=Nate | last3=Lincoln | first3=Kevin | last4=Bekiempis | first4=Victoria | last5=Haylock | first5=Zoe | last6=Lee | first6=Chris | title=Ben Gibbard Picks the Best Death Cab for Cutie Songs | website=Vulture | date=March 30, 2015 | url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/03/ben-gibbards-favorite-death-cab-for-cutie-songs.html | access-date=September 23, 2022}}

It was the first of three songs by the band to be included on the television show The O.C., appearing in the episode "The Escape".{{cite web | last=Hosken | first=Patrick | title=We've Got A File On You: Ben Gibbard | website=Stereogum | date=September 12, 2022 | url=https://www.stereogum.com/2199216/ben-gibbard-death-cab-for-cutie-asphalt-meadows/interviews/weve-got-a-file-on-you/ | access-date=September 23, 2022}} Representatives from Fox Broadcasting Company contacted Barsuk head Josh Rosenfield to license the track. "We were just blown away. 'Somebody’s licensing one of our songs, and they’re gonna pay us real money?'" Gibbard remembered. The band also supplied an acoustic rendition of the song for the 2004 film Wicker Park.{{cite magazine | title=Indie Acts Settle Down In 'Wicker Park' | magazine=Billboard | date=July 21, 2004 | url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/indie-acts-settle-down-in-wicker-park-67253/ | access-date=September 23, 2022}}

Pitchfork Media writer Joe Tangari considered it a logical extension of their previous work, complimenting its "spacious drumming, intertwining guitar arpeggios and Gibbard's impassioned tenor."{{cite web | title=Death Cab for Cutie: The Photo Album | website=Pitchfork | date=November 14, 2001 | url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/2230-the-photo-album/ | access-date=September 23, 2022}} Stereogum columnist Chris DeVille wrote that "Rarely have Death Cab been more potent than on 'A Movie Script Ending'."{{cite web | last=DeVille | first=Chris | title=Death Cab For Cutie's 'The Photo Album' Turns 20 | website=Stereogum | date=October 8, 2021 | url=https://www.stereogum.com/2162108/death-cab-for-cutie-the-photo-album/reviews/the-anniversary/ | access-date=September 23, 2022}}

The song was ranked #333 in Pitchfork's Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s.{{cite web|date=August 17, 2009|title=The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7685-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-500-201/4/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516091137/https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7685-the-top-500-tracks-of-the-2000s-500-201/4/|archive-date=May 16, 2011|access-date=August 19, 2011|website=Pitchfork}}

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Category:2002 singles

Category:Death Cab for Cutie songs

Category:2001 songs

Category:Songs written by Ben Gibbard

Category:Fierce Panda Records singles

Category:Songs about Washington (state)