Editing Flashdance (section)

==Production==

=== Development ===
In April 1980, [[Thomas Hedley]] sold the film idea for development to Casablanca, a Los Angeles production company, for $300,000 and 5% of the net, as reported in ''[[The Globe and Mail]].'' Hedley based the concept on the lives of exotic dancers he had met while editor of ''[[Toronto Life]]'' magazine such as Gina Healey and Maureen Marder. Marder and Healey were paid $2,500 each for their life stories.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="buzzfeed-untold-story">{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Soraya |title=The Secret History Of "Flashdance" |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/sorayaroberts/the-untold-story-of-the-people-flashdance-left-behind |date=August 14, 2014 |website=[[BuzzFeed]] |access-date=4 October 2021 |language=en |quote=Based on the terms of his deal with Casablanca, Hedley came out $8 million richer. The Zabols, however, received neither credit nor payment nor were their slides ever returned. Meanwhile, Gina Healey and Maureen Marder were paid $2,300 each for signing away their life stories to Paramount and agreeing never to talk about their involvement...And this time, Gina Healey, Maureen Marder, and the Zabols are refusing to keep quiet about its backstory, despite the risk of litigation.}}</ref>

Hedley's script was eventually sold to [[Peter Guber]] and [[Jon Peters]] for [[PolyGram Pictures]], who took the script with them to [[Paramount Pictures]]. However, the latter studio had less confidence in the film and placed it into turnaround for two years. Development of the film resumed when [[Don Simpson]], who believed the film could be successful, resigned from his executive post at Paramount Pictures to co-produce the film with [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] in their first collaboration. They got Paramount to greenlight the film by hiring [[Joe Eszterhas]] to rewrite Hedley's script.<ref name=":0" />

[[Adrian Lyne]] was not the first choice as [[Film director|director]] of ''Flashdance''. [[David Cronenberg]] had turned down an offer to direct as he felt he would have destroyed the film, as had [[Brian De Palma]], who instead chose to direct ''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]'' (1983). At the time, Lyne's background was primarily in directing [[Television advertisement|television commercials]], such as his 1970s UK commercials for [[Brutus Jeans]] (which may conceivably be seen as anticipating the visuals and style of ''Flashdance'').<ref name="Delaney2007">{{cite news |last=Delaney |first=Sam |title=The British admen who saved Hollywood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/aug/24/1 |access-date=29 May 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Croll |first=Ben |date=2024-12-01 |title=David Cronenberg Doesn't Regret Turning Down 'Flashdance' Producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson: 'I Told Them, I Will Destroy Your Movie If I Direct It' |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/david-cronenberg-flashdance-bruckheimer-marrakech-1236231604/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Lyne agreed to direct because he wanted to establish enough confidence from studios in his directorial skills to get his next film ''[[9½ Weeks]]'' (1986) approved.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nine 1/2 Weeks |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68353-NINE-12-WEEKS?cxt=filmography |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=AFI Catalog}}</ref> Executives at Paramount were unsure about the film's potential and sold 25% of the rights prior to its release.

===Casting===
Three candidates, [[Jennifer Beals]], [[Demi Moore]], and [[Leslie Wing]], were the finalists for the role of Alex Owens. Two different stories exist regarding how Beals was chosen. One states that then-Paramount president [[Michael Eisner]] asked women secretaries at the studio to select their favorite after viewing screen tests. The other: the film's scriptwriter [[Joe Eszterhas]] claims that Eisner asked "two hundred of the most macho men on the [Paramount] lot, Teamsters and gaffers and grips ... 'I want to know which of these three young women you'd most want to fuck.'"<ref name="Curtis">{{cite web |date=February 3, 2004 |last=Curtis |first=Bryan |title=The Condensed Joe Eszterhas |url= https://slate.com/culture/2004/02/the-best-bits-of-hollywood-animal.html?pay=1686927604451&support_journalism=please |website=[[Slate Magazine]] }}</ref><ref name="thomas20110120">{{cite news | url=http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/3318625-421/beals-chicago-film-really-alfred.html | title=Jennifer Beals returns to Chicago with new cop drama | work=Chicago Sun-Times | date=2011-01-20 | access-date=May 4, 2012 | last=Thomas |first=Mike | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723042024/http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/3318625-421/beals-chicago-film-really-alfred.html | archive-date=July 23, 2012 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W223-nWPdMEC|last=Eszterhas|first=Joe|author-link=Joe Eszterhas |title=Hollywood Animal|pages=170–171|date=May 5, 2010|publisher=[[Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group]]|isbn=9780307530875|access-date=August 22, 2020|via=Google Books}}</ref>

The role of Nick Hurley was originally offered to [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] founding member [[Gene Simmons]],<ref name="USAToday">{{cite news |last1=McKairnes |first1=Jim |title=What a feeling! Break out the legwarmers, because 'Flashdance' turns 35 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/04/12/what-feeling-break-out-legwarmers-because-flashdance-turns-35/513302002/ |work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=16 June 2023 |date=2018-04-12}}</ref> who turned it down because it would conflict with his "demon" image. [[Kevin Costner]], a struggling actor at the time, came very close for the role of Nick Hurley, which went to [[Michael Nouri]].<ref name="USAToday" />

===Crew===
''Flashdance'' was the first success of a number of filmmakers who became successful in the 1980s and beyond. The film was the first collaboration between [[Don Simpson]] and [[Jerry Bruckheimer]], who went on to produce ''[[Beverly Hills Cop]]'' (1984) and ''[[Top Gun]]'' (1986). Eszterhas received his second screen credit for ''Flashdance'', while Lyne went on to direct ''[[9½ Weeks]]'' (1986), ''[[Fatal Attraction]]'' (1987), ''[[Indecent Proposal]]'' (1993), and ''[[Lolita (1997 film)|Lolita]]'' (1997). [[Lynda Obst]], who developed the original story outline, went on to produce ''[[Adventures in Babysitting]]'' (1987), ''[[The Fisher King (film)|The Fisher King]]'' (1991), and ''[[Sleepless in Seattle]]'' (1993).

===Filming===

The film was shot between October 18, 1982 and December 30, 1982 in [[Pittsburgh]] and [[Los Angeles]].

The dimly lit [[cinematography]] and [[Montage (filmmaking)|montage]]-style [[Film editing|editing]] are due in part to the fact that most of Jennifer Beals' dancing in the film was performed by a [[body double]].<ref name="Jahan">{{cite news|url =https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19830422&id=VJEsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y_sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6801,2303492 |title=Dancer not getting credit for work in "Flashdance" |work=[[Lakeland Ledger]] |date=April 22, 1983}}</ref> Her main dance double is the French actress [[Marine Jahan]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fuhrer |first1=Margaret |title=Our Favorite Movie Dance Doubles of All Time |url=https://www.dancespirit.com/movie-dance-doubles-2540397639.html |website=Dance Spirit |access-date=4 October 2021 |language=en |date=27 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Making Flashdance look flashy |url=https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/feature/2009-05-29-analysing-the-choreography-of-flashdance-feature-story-by-chris |website=Eye For Film |access-date=4 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20087493,00.html |title=Hoofers Hidden in the Shadows Dream of the Limelight |date=April 2, 1984 |work=[[People (magazine)|People]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912102453/https://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20087493,00.html |archive-date=September 12, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20057935,00.html |last=Bierly |first=Mandi |title=Maniac on the Floor |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |number=956 |date=September 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018132953/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20057935,00.html |archive-date=2007-10-18}}</ref> while the [[breakdancing]] that Alex performs in the audition sequence at the end of the film was doubled by the male dancer [[Crazy Legs (dancer)|Crazy Legs]].<ref name=yahoo>{{cite news |title='Flashdance,' 30 Years Later: B-Boy Recalls Girling Up for Final Scene |date=April 15, 2013 |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bp/flashdance-30-years-later-b-boy-recalls-girling-170107851.html |work=[[Yahoo! News]]|access-date=4 October 2021}}</ref> The shot of Alex diving through the air in slow motion during the audition sequence was performed by [[Sharon Shapiro]], who was a professional [[gymnast]].<ref name=yahoo/> The producers of the film stated they had made no secret of having used a double for Beals, and that Jahan's name did not appear because Paramount Pictures shortened the closing credits.<ref name="Jahan" /> Marine Jahan was told that her involvement was hidden because "they didn't want to break the magic of the film".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Eileen |title=Revenge of the Body Doubles: 'Black Swan' Snub |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/sarah-lane-natalie-portman-percent-black-swan-dancing/story?id=13234337 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=4 October 2021 |language=en |date=March 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Pollard |first1=Tom |title=Flashdance (1983) |url=https://popularpittsburgh.com/flashdance-1983/ |access-date=4 October 2021 |work=Popular Pittsburgh |date=1 June 2018 |quote=It seems that she didn’t get credit for her work because the studio didn’t have to. It was either never required in the contract she signed |archive-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004021359/https://popularpittsburgh.com/flashdance-1983/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''Flashdance'' is often remembered for the [[sweatshirt]] with a large neck hole that Beals wore on the poster advertising the film. Beals said that the look of the sweatshirt came about by accident when it shrank in the wash and she cut out a large hole at the top so that she could wear it again.<ref>{{cite web |first=Rob |last=Salem |date=2011-02-16 |title=Jennifer Beals: From ripped sweats to dress blues |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/article/940134--jennifer-beals-from-ripped-sweats-to-dress-blues |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220053918/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/article/940134--jennifer-beals-from-ripped-sweats-to-dress-blues |archive-date=February 20, 2011 |access-date=2011-02-27 |work=[[Toronto Star]]}}</ref>

==== Locations ====
Much of the film was shot in locations around [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania.<ref name=":0" /> The opening sequence of scenes with Alex riding her bicycle starts in the [[Fineview (Pittsburgh)|Fineview]] neighborhood.<ref name="PghMag" /> The last scene of the sequence shows Alex riding east over the [[Smithfield Street Bridge]], which is a continuity error. Alex's apartment was located in the [[South Side (Pittsburgh)|South Side]] neighborhood.<ref name="PghMag">{{cite news |title=This Week in Pittsburgh History: Flashdance Opens in Theaters |url=https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/this-week-in-pittsburgh-history-flashdance-opens-in-theaters/ |access-date=16 June 2023 |work=[[Pittsburgh Magazine]] |date=April 12, 2021}}</ref> When Alex goes to visit Hanna, she is seen riding one of the [[Duquesne Incline]] cable cars.<ref name="movieloc">{{cite web |title=Flashdance |url=https://movie-locations.com/movies/f/Flashdance.php |website=movie-locations.com |access-date=16 June 2023}}</ref> Hanna's apartment is located at 2100 Sidney Street at the southeast corner of South 21st Street.<ref name="movieloc"/>

The fictional Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory was filmed inside the lobby and in front of Carnegie Music Hall, a part of the [[Carnegie Museum of Art]], located near the campuses of [[Carnegie Mellon University]] and the [[University of Pittsburgh]] in the [[Oakland (Pittsburgh)|Oakland]] neighborhood of Pittsburgh.<ref name="PghMag" />

The interior of Alex's apartment was filmed in Los Angeles at what was the Feit Electric Building on [[Los Angeles Street]].<ref name="movieloc" /> Additionally, the set for Mawby's was located in downtown Los Angeles.<ref name=":0" /> The ice skating rink scene on which Jeanie falls was filmed at Culver Ice Rink in [[Culver City, California]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Flashdance |url=https://www.itsfilmedthere.com/2016/12/flashdance.html |website=itsfilmedthere.com |access-date=16 June 2023}}</ref>