 SPOILER: Writer/Director Paul Brickman (qv) had a completely  different ending for the film with a rather pessimistic tone, with  Joel being denied admission to Princeton and he and Lana sitting on  the roof of a building overlooking the city pondering his future and  hers, and for once Lana lets her guard down. The studio however,  wanted a "feel good" ending, because this was the popular theme of  teen movies at the time, so both versions were shot and shown to a  test audience and it was agreed that their preference would be the  ending for the film.