Editing Heaven Can Wait (1978 film) (section)

==Production==
Beatty initially wanted [[Muhammad Ali]] to play the central character, but because of Ali's continued commitment to boxing, Beatty changed the character from a boxer to an American football player, and played the character himself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGD9ZvZkdYs |title=YouTube |website=YouTube |access-date=2010-12-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712044054/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGD9ZvZkdYs |archive-date=July 12, 2015 }}</ref> The type of instrument he played was also changed; in ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan'', Pendleton assays "[[The Last Rose of Summer]]" on the alto saxophone, and in the 1978 film, he plays "[[Ciribiribin]]" on a soprano sax. The music during the comic training scene with Joe and the servants at the Farnsworth mansion, as well as the later training session with the Rams is Handel's Sonata No. 3 in F Major, performed by Paul Brodie (sopranino saxophone) and Antonin Kubalek (piano). The main theme is the song "Heaven Can Wait" performed by [[Dave Grusin]] and the [[London Symphony Orchestra]]. [[Neil Diamond]] composed a song titled "Heaven Can Wait" specifically for the film that he thought would be a good theme song, but Beatty declined to use it. The [[Paul McCartney and Wings]] song "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?" was considered as a theme song for the film, but was ruled out. It later appeared in the film ''[[Rock 'n' Roll High School]]'' (1979).

The Super Bowl game (Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Rams) was filmed during halftime of the San Diego Chargers vs. Los Angeles Rams preseason game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 1, 1977. (About a year and a half after the film's release, in January 1980, the Rams and Steelers met in real life in [[Super Bowl XIV]].)

The estate used as Farnsworth mansion was filmed at [[Filoli]], located in [[Woodside, California]], south of [[San Francisco]]. Another filming location, albeit brief, was at Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles on the grounds beside the Gothic stone chapel in the scene where Joe discovers his body was cremated and scattered on the cemetery grounds.

Videotape was used for effects shots and transferred to [[35 mm movie film]].<ref>[https://ia800907.us.archive.org/34/items/The_Revolution_In_Cinematography_Post_Production_And_Distribution_Brian_Mckernan/The_Revolution_In_Cinematography_Post_Production_And_Distribution_Brian_Mckernan.pdf Digital Cinema : The Revolution in Cinematography, Post-Production, and Distribution (page 20-21)]</ref>