Behind the Scenes: Maple Leaf - Deleted Scene

With the release of the upcoming syrup caper Maple Leaf next up in the release slate, writer Harry Wright (Spawn, Grand Theft Auto) has decided to share a scene that wound up on the cutting room floor for the film directed by Jason Reitman (Tully, Young Adult).

Maple Leaf - Deleted Scene
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Harry Wright
Cast:
Donald Sutherland …. John Benson
Tatiana Maslany …. Vicky Smith
Will Arnett …. Vic Lombard

Vicky Smith (Tatiana Maslany) is typing on her computer, just outside the office of her boss who doesn’t want to retire, John Benson (Donald Sutherland). Who’s going to take over from me, he says. John’s son crossed the border for good a couple of years ago. For John Benson, once you go South, you don’t exist, and he doesn’t talk to you anymore. He doesn’t even know what his son is doing in the States, a secret agent, or a country singer, he doesn’t remember. Well, while John was enjoying his yogurt drenched in maple syrup, Vicky was making an interesting discovery. She compares the numbers from two different columns in her spreadsheet and starts to panic. She rushes in John’s office. They compare the numbers together and John concludes that it’s time to pay someone a visit. They put on their winter coats and their mittens and get into a black SUV with tinted windows.

They arrive in a hurry in a small rural farm. They tell their driver to keep the engine running, this one is going to be a quickie. They knock on the door, dressed in complete black attires, looking like the winter mafia out there. Vic Lombard (Will Arnett) answers the door and he’s skeptical. He’s hesitant to let them in, he thinks they look like the mafia and he doesn’t need insurance. John pushes him aside and he enters. He says they’re not the mafia, he’s MSS. Maple. Syrup. Syndicate. Lombard says that it sure sounds a lot like mafia. John whispers to Vicky that they should keep the name, people fear them. John asks Vic to show them the numbers he sent for his maple syrup production this year and he does, nervously. John Benson hits the table with both fists, which knows down Vic’s cup of coffee. He says these numbers don’t match. He’s way short of what they projected. He says they’re the masters of maple syrup, nobody knows it better than he does and he knows these aren’t his true numbers. He gets angrier and angrier. He suggests that maybe he’s selling it to Americans for a higher profit. Vic denies and John points at Vic’s souvenir mug he bought in Maine last summer. He tries to explain that he bought that on vacation, but John wants none of it. He says the MSS is like Big Brother, he’s going to find out if he’s lying. If he’s lying, he says *him* will pay him a visit. He drops a picture from The Mountain from Game of Thrones on the table. John and Vicky leave in their black SUV as fast as they arrived, squealing the tires. Vic shakes nervously, he says they’re going to send the Mountain for him. He throws out his souvenir mug.

Presented by the MSS. We’re watching you.