Editing American History X (section)

==Production==

=== Development ===
[[File:Michael De Luca 2012.jpg|alt=Michael De Luca, former president of productions at New Line Cinema|thumb|187x187px|[[Michael De Luca]], former production president at New Line Cinema]]
Screenwriter [[David McKenna (writer)|David McKenna]] wrote the screenplay for ''American History X'' and sold the rights to New Line Cinema when he was 26.<ref>Writers on Writing Series 2007: ''A Conversation with David McKenna'', [2007], First Light Video Publishing.</ref> The inspiration for the story came from the [[Punk rock|punk-rock]] scene of McKenna's childhood, where he often witnessed violent behavior. "I saw a lot of bigotry growing up, and it made me think about writing something about the world of hate-mongers. The point I tried to make in the script is that a person is not born a racist. It is learned through environment and the people that surround you. The question that intrigued me is: why do people hate and how does one go about changing that? My premise was that hate starts in the family".<ref name="ProductionNotes">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=373|title=American History X - Movie Production Notes - CinemaReview.com|website=www.cinemareview.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030520131326/http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=373|archive-date=2003-05-20|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> In order to make the characters as realistic as possible, McKenna interviewed and observed the behavior of [[White power skinhead|skinheads]] during the writing process. He said "I had seen documentaries that just didn't ring true to me, and I wanted to write an accurate portrayal of how good kids from good families can get so terribly lost".<ref name="ProductionNotes" />

Producer John Morrissey, who read the script three years prior, was impressed by the script's intense characters and dialogue. [[Michael De Luca]], then-production president of New Line Cinema, said "I was intrigued by its intensity, conviction and brutal honesty. There was a brilliant character study woven into the screenplay, and I knew we had something special if we did it correctly".<ref name="ProductionNotes" /> In 1996, the producers first approached [[Dennis Hopper]] to direct the film.<ref name="Goldstein">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-13-ca-22149-story.html|title=Courting Trouble|last=Goldstein|first=Patrick|date=1998-09-13|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719003329/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-13-ca-22149-story.html|archive-date=2020-07-19|access-date=2020-04-08}}</ref> Hopper turned down the offer, [[Larry Clark]] was approached to direct the film, but turned it down due to a scheduling conflict,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://forenseek.app/remembering-american-history-x-interview-with-screenwriter-david-mckenna/|title=Remembering "American History X". Interview with Screenwriter David McKenna|website=forenseek.app|date=March 9, 2021|accessdate=2023-12-01}}</ref> [[Tony Kaye (director)|Tony Kaye]] was then approached to direct. Kaye, who had been De Luca's preferred choice from the beginning, accepted and made his [[List of directorial debuts|directorial debut]] in a feature film on ''American History X''. He took the contract to a [[synagogue]], "I signed it in front of the rabbi. I thought it would make it good", Kaye said.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=Higginbotham|first=Adam|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3665724/I-did-abominable-things.html|title=I did abominable things|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2007-06-09|access-date=2020-04-07|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=2020-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407175718/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3665724/I-did-abominable-things.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After the film was released, De Luca stated "It's everything I had hoped for. The performances are explosive and frightening, and the film dramatically demonstrates both the subtle and overt roots of racism while also showing the possibility for redemption".<ref name="ProductionNotes" />

=== Casting ===
[[Joaquin Phoenix]] was offered the role of Derek Vinyard, but he was not interested.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blog/article/113577/great-roles-actors-have-turned-down.html |title=Great roles actors have turned down|work=Yahoo! Movies|access-date=August 7, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718133746/http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blog/article/113577/great-roles-actors-have-turned-down.html|archive-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref> After holding [[Casting (performing arts)|casting]] calls, Kaye was unable to find a suitable actor for the lead role, but casting director Valerie McCaffrey suggested Edward Norton.<ref name="lafemme">{{Cite web|url=https://www.lafemme.org/valerie-mccaffrey-executive-achievement-award-2017/|title=Valerie McCaffrey- Executive Achievement Award 2017|website=LA Femme International Film Festival|date=24 September 2017 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114191810/http://www.lafemme.org/valerie-mccaffrey-executive-achievement-award-2017/|archive-date=2020-01-14|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> Kaye initially objected, feeling that Norton lacked the "weight or presence", but he eventually conceded.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whatculture.com/film/6-directors-who-were-lumbered-with-actors-they-didn-t-even-want|title=6 Directors Who Were Lumbered With Actors They Didn't Even Want|last=Pooley|first=Jack|date=2018-08-31|website=WhatCulture.com|access-date=2020-04-07|archive-date=2019-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907190307/http://whatculture.com/film/6-directors-who-were-lumbered-with-actors-they-didn-t-even-want|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="theguardian">{{cite web|url=https://theguardian.com/film/2002/oct/25/artsfeatures.advertising|title=Film: Losing it - Tony Kaye falls out with Hollywood|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=October 25, 2002|access-date=March 31, 2020|archive-date=April 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411203455/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/oct/25/artsfeatures.advertising|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[executive producer]] [[Steve Tisch]], Norton's passion for the project was "contagious", and he even agreed to a pay cut of more than $500,000 from his usual $1 million fee, to be cast in the lead.<ref name="Goldstein" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=374|title=American History X - Movie Production Notes - CinemaReview.com|website=www.cinemareview.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030520131528/http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=374|archive-date=2003-05-20|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> Norton was initially reluctant about the project until [[Francis Ford Coppola]] convinced him.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a29669169/joe-rogan-ed-norton-francis-ford-coppola-youtube-video/ | title=Ed Norton Told Joe Rogan He Almost Passed on 'American History X' | date=November 2019 }}</ref> McCaffrey also cast [[Edward Furlong]] for the role of Danny Vinyard.<ref name="lafemme" /> To prepare for the role, Norton increased his calorie intake and spent hours in the gym to gain 25 pounds (11&nbsp;kg) of muscle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ifc.com/2015/05/15-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-american-history-x|title=15 Surprising Facts About American History X|website=IFC|access-date=2020-04-07|archive-date=2020-01-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130172625/http://www.ifc.com/2015/05/15-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-american-history-x|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ferriss ">{{Cite news|url=https://tim.blog/edward-norton-on-the-tim-ferriss-show-transcript/|title=Edward Norton on The Tim Ferriss Show — Transcript|date=2016-05-02|website=The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss|access-date=2020-04-08|archive-date=2020-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208174437/https://tim.blog/edward-norton-on-the-tim-ferriss-show-transcript/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Filming ===
{{quote box
| align = right
| width = 260px
| quote = I was attracted to the complexity of the role. This character travels so far within the course of the film. By the end, he's completely humanized and the audience might even be sympathetic, or at least, empathetic towards him. Derek is very much a guy whose anger and rage have superseded his intelligence. They have paralyzed his boundless potential. I liked the transformation that he goes through as his intelligence reasserts itself over his anger.
| source = —Norton on his character<ref name="ProductionNotes" />
}}
[[Principal photography]] took place in Los Angeles and Venice Beach, lasting for several months and finishing in May 1997.<ref name="Goldstein" /><ref>{{cite web |title=American History X Filming Locations |url=http://www.movielocationsguide.com/American_History_X/filming_locations |publisher=Movie Locations Guide |access-date=August 28, 2013 |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111041334/http://www.movielocationsguide.com/American_History_X/filming_locations |url-status=live }}</ref> Kaye served as [[cinematographer]] and [[camera operator]], and would often silently walk around the set, scouting for camera angles or visuals.<ref name="Goldstein" /> During filming, Kaye established a casual environment for the cast and crew. He welcomed visitors on set, including singer [[Courtney Love]], Norton's girlfriend at the time, and British historian [[John Richardson (art historian)|John Richardson]].<ref name="Goldstein" /> Kaye would arrive for work in a [[Lincoln Town Car]] with a [[chauffeur]], and a license plate that read "JEWISH". He carried four cell phones and a [[Fax|fax machine]], and during the [[Passover]] holidays, Kaye had boxes of [[Matzah|matzo]] delivered to the set.<ref name="Goldstein" /> He also discovered at the time a newsletter published by a British political group, the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]], which said he was a prominent Jew who supposedly controlled Britain's media.<ref name="Goldstein" />

Both Furlong and [[Ethan Suplee]] found taking on their roles that had hateful views to be uncomfortable. Furlong said "It's pretty intense, having to say this incredibly hateful stuff".<ref name="Goldstein" /> The actors had [[White pride|"white power]]" tattoos painted on their arms, which Suplee forgot to remove one day after filming, and was confronted by a man in a convenience store.<ref name="Goldstein" /> Norton recalls "Doing that film created the strangest distortion of perception on me ... the degree to which that film and the magic of camera and art and black and white photography ... made a lot of people think that I was a larger and tougher person than I am".<ref name="Ferriss" /> The [[Flashback (narrative)|flashback]] scenes were edited to be in black-and-white, whereas the present-day scenes were edited to be in color.

=== Music ===
Kaye hired British composer [[Anne Dudley]] to score the film, and wanted the music to be "big and elegiac".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/american-history-x-mw0000045794|title=American History X - Anne Dudley {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=2020-04-08|archive-date=2017-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409060045/http://www.allmusic.com/album/american-history-x-mw0000045794|url-status=live}}</ref> She employed a full orchestra and a boys' choir, and decided against using [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]] sounds. She said, "The neo-Nazi faction is personified in the music by a boys choir – what could be a more [[Aryan race|Aryan]] sound? ... A calming string orchestra instead provides a much more expressive and timeless palette".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.annedudley.co.uk/Default.aspx?page=64&node=75|title=Anne Dudley - composer for film & tv - American History X|website=www.annedudley.co.uk|access-date=2020-04-08|archive-date=2017-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525150616/http://www.annedudley.co.uk/Default.aspx?page=64&node=75|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Track listing
| total_length = 47:00
| title_width = 100
| title1 = American History X
| length1 = 4:46
| title2 = The Assignment
| length2 = 2:36
| title3 = Venice Beach
| length3 = 1:28
| title4 = Playing to Win
| length4 = 3:49
| title5 = People Look at Me and See My Brother
| length5 = 1:41
| title6 = If I Had Testified
| length6 = 4:05
| title7 = A Stranger at My Table
| length7 = 3:31
| title8 = Putting Up a Flag
| length8 = 2:06
| title9 = Raiders
| length9 = 3:02
| title10 = Complications
| length10 = 1:38
| title11 = Starting to Remind Me of You
| length11 = 1:43
| title12 = The Right Questions
| length12 = 3:24
| title13 = The Path to Redemption
| length13 = 2:56
| title14 = "We Are Not Enemies"
| length14 = 2:05
| title15 = Two Brothers
| length15 = 2:31
| title16 = Storm Clouds Gathering
| length16 = 2:04
| title17 = Benedictus
| length17 = 3:35
}}