Editing Death Becomes Her (section)

==Production==
===Casting ===
[[Kevin Kline]] was the first choice to play Dr. Ernest Menville, but he fell out of the project due to a pay dispute with the studio. [[Jeff Bridges]] and [[Nick Nolte]] were both considered before Willis was eventually cast.<ref name=afi/>

===Filming===
[[Principal photography]] for ''Death Becomes Her'' began on December 9, 1991, and wrapped up on April 7, 1992.<ref name="afi" /> The film was shot entirely in Los Angeles, and featured several locations frequently used in film and television, including the [[Greystone Mansion]] (Ernest's funeral home) and the [[Ebell of Los Angeles]] (Helen's book party).<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ebellla.org/filming/| title=The Ebell of Los Angeles - Filming| website=ebellla.org| access-date=December 20, 2017| archive-date=December 22, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222050957/http://ebellla.org/filming/| url-status=dead}}</ref> The exterior of Madeline and Ernest's mansion is located at 1125 Oak Grove Avenue in [[San Marino, California|San Marino]], but the interior was a set built on a soundstage.<ref name="afi" /> The ending scene where Helen and Madeline tumble down a set of stairs outside a chapel was filmed at [[Mount St. Mary's University (Los Angeles)|Mount St. Mary's University]] in [[Brentwood, Los Angeles|Brentwood]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://moviemaps.org/locations/87| title=Movies Filmed at Mount Saint Mary's University - Chalon Campus| website=moviemaps.org| access-date=December 20, 2017| archive-date=August 4, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804045852/https://moviemaps.org/locations/87| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ML">{{cite web |title=Death Becomes Her |url=https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/d/Death-Becomes-Her.php |website=movie-locations.com |access-date=22 May 2023 |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522082838/https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/d/Death-Becomes-Her.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Visual effects===
''Death Becomes Her'' was a technologically complex film to make, and represented a major advancement in the use of [[computer generated imagery]] (CGI) effects, under the direction of [[Industrial Light and Magic]].<ref name="ilm.com">{{cite web| url=https://www.ilm.com/vfx/death-becomes-her/| title=Death Becomes Her (Universal Pictures)| website=Industrial Light & Magic| access-date=December 19, 2017| archive-date=December 22, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051927/https://www.ilm.com/vfx/death-becomes-her/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Blaise |first=Judd |date=August 21, 1992 |title=Special Effects, Acting Bring 'Death' to Life |work=[[Sun Sentinel]] |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-08-21/features/9201170039_1_roger-rabbit-special-effects-director-robert-zemeckis |url-status=dead |access-date=December 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051932/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1992-08-21/features/9201170039_1_roger-rabbit-special-effects-director-robert-zemeckis |archive-date=2017-12-22}}</ref> It was the first film where CGI skin texture was used, in the shot where Madeline resets her neck after her head is smashed with a shovel by Helen.<ref name="ilm.com"/> Creating the sequences where Madeline's head is dislocated and facing the wrong way around involved a combination of [[chroma key]], an [[animatronic]] model created by [[Amalgamated Dynamics]], and prosthetic make-up effects on Meryl Streep to create the look of a twisted neck.<ref>{{cite video| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRNVHaaUAp8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/xRNVHaaUAp8| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live| title=Death Becomes Her (1992) Vintage Bonus Clip: Meryl's Mom & Special Effects (HD) | via=YouTube| date=June 23, 2016| access-date=December 20, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite video| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIgJgGOEahk| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/fIgJgGOEahk| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live| title=DEATH BECOMES HER Recreating Meryl BTS Special Edition| author=Amalgamated Dynamics Inc.| via=YouTube| date=July 25, 2015| access-date=December 20, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The digital advancements pioneered on ''Death Becomes Her'' were incorporated into Industrial Light and Magic's next project, ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]'', released by Universal only a year later. The two films also shared cinematographer [[Dean Cundey]] and production designer [[Rick Carter]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Taylor |first=Drew |date=June 11, 2013 |title=5 Versions of 'Jurassic Park' You Never Saw |work=indiewire.com |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2013/06/5-versions-of-jurassic-park-you-never-saw-97110/ |access-date=December 20, 2017 |archive-date=December 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051207/http://www.indiewire.com/2013/06/5-versions-of-jurassic-park-you-never-saw-97110/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The production had a fair number of mishaps. In the scene where Helen and Madeline are battling with shovels, Streep accidentally cut Goldie Hawn's face, leaving a faint scar. Streep admitted that she disliked working on a project that focused so heavily on special effects, and vowed never to work on another film with heavy special effects again, saying:

{{cquote|My first, my last, my only. I think it's tedious. Whatever concentration you can apply to that kind of comedy is just shredded. You stand there like a piece of machinery—they should get machinery to do it. I loved how it turned out. But it's not fun to act to a lampstand. "Pretend this is Goldie, right here! Uh, no, I'm sorry, Bob, she went off the mark by five centimeters, and now her head won't match her neck!" It was like being at the dentist.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/2000/03/24/meryl-streep-meryl-streep/ |date=2000-03-24 |title=Depth Becomes Her |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=2007-01-25 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014083616/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,275733_4,00.html |archive-date=2007-10-14}}</ref>}}

===Post-production===
Several scenes were filmed but omitted from the film's final cut.<ref name="LAT" /><ref name="afi" /> Director Robert Zemeckis decided on cutting the scenes to accelerate the film's pacing and to eliminate extraneous jokes. Most dramatically, the original ending was entirely redone after test audiences reacted unfavorably to it.<ref name=Metro>{{cite news |author=O'Brien |first=Jon |date=July 31, 2017 |title=Death Become Her 25th Anniversary: 12 things you may not know about the classic comedy |work=Metro |location=UK |url=http://metro.co.uk/2017/07/31/death-becomes-her-25th-anniversary-12-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-classic-comedy-6808575/ |access-date=March 12, 2018 |archive-date=March 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312205105/http://metro.co.uk/2017/07/31/death-becomes-her-25th-anniversary-12-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-classic-comedy-6808575/ |url-status=live }}</ref> That ending featured Ernest, after he has fled Lisle's party, meeting a bartender named Toni ([[Tracey Ullman]]) who helps him fake his death to evade Madeline and Helen. The two women encounter Ernest and the bartender 27 years later, living happily as a retired couple, while Madeline and Helen give no sign that they are enjoying their eternal existence.<ref name="LAT">{{cite news |author=Fox |first=David J. |date=August 9, 1992 |title=A look inside Hollywood and the movies.: THE VANISHING: 'Death Becomes Her' and the Lost Ullman Ending |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-09-ca-6132-story.html |access-date=March 12, 2018 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306235751/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-08-09/entertainment/ca-6132_1_ullman-ending |url-status=live }}</ref> Zemeckis thought the ending was too happy, so opted for the darker ending featured in the final cut.<ref name="LAT"/> Ullman was one of five actors with speaking roles in the film to be eliminated.<ref name="LAT"/> Other scenes that were eliminated included one in which Madeline talks to her agent ([[Jonathan Silverman]]) and one in which Ernest removes a frozen Madeline from the kitchen freezer where he has stored her.<ref name="LAT"/> Some of the scenes can be viewed in the original theatrical trailer.<ref>{{cite video| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jPuZLUY4II| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/0jPuZLUY4II| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live| title=Death Becomes Her (1992) Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis - Official Trailer (HD)| via=YouTube| date=April 11, 2016| access-date=March 12, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>