Editing Dances With Wolves (section)

==Production==
Originally written as a [[spec script|speculative script]] by Michael Blake, it went unsold in the mid-1980s. However, Kevin Costner had starred in Blake's only previous film, ''[[Stacy's Knights]]'' (1983) and encouraged Blake in early 1986 to turn the Western screenplay into a novel to improve its chances of being produced. [[Dances With Wolves (novel)|The novel]] was rejected by numerous publishers, but finally was published in paperback in 1988. The rights were purchased by Costner, with an eye on directing it.<ref name="midwestmovies2006">{{cite web |url=http://southdakota.midwestmovies.com/DancesWithWolves |title=Dances With Wolves |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215023418/http://southdakota.midwestmovies.com/DancesWithWolves/ |archive-date=February 15, 2006 |work=South Dakota Midwest Movies |access-date=August 1, 2018}}</ref>

Costner and his producing partner, Jim Wilson, had difficulty in raising money for the film. The project was turned down by several studios due to the Western genre no longer being popular, following the disastrous box office of [[Heaven's Gate (film)|''Heaven's Gate'']] (1980), as well as the length of the script. After the project languished at both [[Nelson Entertainment]] and [[Island Records|Island Pictures]], Costner and Wilson sold the foreign rights in several countries and obtained enough money to go into pre-production. The two then made a deal with [[Orion Pictures]], which gave Costner final cut rights.<ref name="latimes.com">{{Cite web|first=Elaine|last=Dutka|date=November 4, 1990|title=COSTNER TAKES A STAND : He's Made a Western. It's Three Hours Long. It Has Subtitles. And He Likes It Like That.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-04-tm-5551-story.html|access-date=2020-07-04|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-date=July 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705080511/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-04-tm-5551-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Actual production lasted from July 17 or 18 to November 21 or 23, 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58466 |title=Dances With Wolves, History |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=2021-10-04 |quote="Although an 8 Jan 1989 LAT brief reported that principal photography would begin in Mexico in Mar 1989, filming did not take place in Mexico and the start date was pushed back to 17 or 18 Jul 1989, as noted in various sources including production notes in AMPAS library files, the 7 Jun 1989 HR and DV, and the 7 Jul 1989 HR." |archive-date=November 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112182440/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/58466 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58466-DANCES-WITH-WOLVES?cxt=ymal |title=Dances With Wolves, Details |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute | quote="17 or 18 Jul--21 or 23 Nov 1989" | access-date=2021-10-04}}</ref> Most of the movie was filmed on location in South Dakota, mainly on private ranches near [[Pierre, South Dakota|Pierre]] and [[Rapid City, South Dakota|Rapid City]], with a few scenes filmed in Wyoming. Specific locations included the [[Badlands National Park]], the [[Black Hills]], the Sage Creek Wilderness Area, and the [[Belle Fourche River]] area. The bison hunt scenes were filmed at the [[Triple U Buffalo Ranch]] outside [[Fort Pierre, South Dakota]], as were the Fort Sedgewick scenes on a custom set.<ref name="midwestmovies2006"/>