Thank you for writing one of my favorite movies. I saw Go at the theater when it was released and it has since been one of my favorite movies. One my favorite characters in one of my favorite movies is Todd Gaines.
There is one part that has always left me wondering. Was Todd really going to kill Ronna?
On one hand, Todd simply didn’t seem like a murderer. A sleazy drug dealer? Yes. Murderer? No.
On the other, in a deleted scene, he did pull a gun on Claire and left Ronna for dead after Adam and Zach hit her with the car.
Todd also didn’t come across as stupid, reckless or naive. It seems if he wanted to kill someone, he would have chosen a better place than a very public party where he likely would have been recognized by his clientele.
This has always been a dilemma to me. I was hoping you could shed some light on it for me.
— Thomas Lehman
Todd Gaines never shot anyone, and had no intention of killing Ronna. He wanted to scare her.
Look at events from his perspective: He’d been played for a fool by a cocky teenage girl. Beyond the sting to his ego, she’d cost him money. If word got around out how she’d outsmarted him, other customers might lose their healthy fear of him. He knew where Ronna would be, so he decided to go find her.
When their conversation was interrupted by a poorly-driven Miata, Gaines bolted. I’d consider that fight-or-flight, a self-preservation instinct. When they find a girl’s body, you don’t want to be the guy with a gun.
In conversations with Tim Olyphant before we shot the movie, we discussed that Gaines probably wasn’t a full-time drug dealer. Maybe he went to art school, or worked as a club promoter. For set decoration, we gave him an art table and a bunch of illustrations.
If you met Gaines on a rainy morning — like Claire later does — you might think he’s a pretty nice guy.