Editing Leaving Las Vegas (section)

==Production==
===Development===
Mike Figgis based ''Leaving Las Vegas'' on a 1990 autobiographical novel by John O'Brien, who died by suicide in April 1994, shortly after finding out his novel was being used as the basis for a film.<ref name="Entertainment Weekly">{{cite magazine |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |date=November 10, 1995 |title=Grieving 'Las Vegas' |url=https://ew.com/article/1995/11/10/john-obriens-bittersweet-departure/ |url-status=live |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070331115854/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,299516,00.html |archive-date=2007-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/movies/leavinglasvegas.html |title=FILM REVIEW; Lurching Through a Life Of Alcoholic Abandon |access-date=January 16, 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Janet |last=Maslin |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=February 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412114404/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/movies/leavinglasvegas.html |archive-date=April 12, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite basing most of his screenplay on O'Brien's novel, Figgis spoke of a personal attachment to the novel, stating "Anything I would do would be because I had a sympathetic feeling towards it. That's why I did ''[[Mr. Jones (1993 film)|Mr. Jones]]'', because I think [[bipolar disorder|manic-depression]] is a fascinating, sad, and amazing phenomenon. It's not a coincidence that some of the greatest artists have been manic-depressives. That made it, to me, a fascinating subject that, alas, did not come out in the film."<ref name="Film Critic: Mike Figgis">{{cite web |last=Noll |first=Christopher |date=1996-02-18 |title=Viva, "Las Vegas!" – Interviewing Director Mike Figgis |url=http://www.filmcritic.com/features/1996/02/viva-las-vegas---interviewing-director-mike-figgis |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906062420/http://www.filmcritic.com/features/1996/02/viva-las-vegas---interviewing-director-mike-figgis/ |archive-date=September 6, 2011 |access-date=August 16, 2010 |work=Film Critic}}</ref>

===Casting===
Figgis encouraged the lead actors to experience their characters' ordeals first-hand by extensive research. He told ''Film Critic'': "It was just a week and a half of rehearsal. A lot of conversations. A lot of communication in the year before we made the film. Reading the book. I encouraged them [Cage and Shue] to do their own research, which they wanted to do anyway, and then ultimately the three of us got together and just started talking...talking about anything, not necessarily about the film or the script, about anything that came up."<ref name="Film Critic: Mike Figgis" /> Cage did research by [[binge drinking]] in Dublin for two weeks and had a friend videotape him so he could study his speech. He also visited hospitalized chronic alcoholics.<ref name="wenn">{{cite web |date=August 9, 2000 |title=Cage Did Serious Research For Alcoholic Role |url=https://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2000-08-09#celeb5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040705213238/https://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2000-08-09 |archive-date=July 5, 2004 |access-date=December 9, 2006 |work=WENN}}</ref> He said "it was one of the most enjoyable pieces of research I've ever had to do for a part."<ref name="wenn" /> Shue spent time interviewing several Las Vegas prostitutes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=1996-02-12 |title='Vegas' Stars Cage, Shue Ponder Chances for Oscar |work=Sun-Sentinel |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1996-02-12-9602090533-story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2022-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621043917/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1996-02-12-9602090533-story.html |archive-date=June 21, 2021}}</ref>

===Filming===
The limited budget dictated the production and Figgis ended up filming in [[super 16mm]] and composing his own score.<ref name="Cage interview" /><ref name="The Free Lance Star">{{cite news |last=Boyar |first=Tracy |date=1996-02-09 |title=It's Worth Watching for ''Leaving Las Vegas'' |work=[[The Free Lance Star]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7OgyAAAAIBAJ&pg=3275,1656270 |access-date=August 16, 2010}}</ref> He said "We didn't have any money, and we weren't pretending to be something we weren't. We couldn't shut down The Strip to shoot".<ref name="Film Critic: Mike Figgis" /> Cage recounted that he found the use of 16mm liberating as an actor stating in a 1995 interview with Roger Ebert: {{blockquote| "As an actor, having a 16-mm. camera in my face was liberating because it's much smaller, so you don't feel as intimidated by it. It catches those little nuances. Because as soon as that big camera's in your face, you tense up a little bit. Film acting is a learning experience about how to get over that, but I don't know that you ever really do."<ref name="Cage interview" />}}

Figgis had problems because permits were not issued for some street scenes.<ref name="Stanford" /> This caused him to film some scenes on the Las Vegas strip in one take to avoid the police, which Figgis said benefited production and the authenticity of the acting, remarking "I've always hated the convention of shooting on a street, and then having to stop the traffic, and then having to tell the actors, 'Well, there's meant to be traffic here, so you're going to have to shout.' And they're shouting, but it's quiet and they feel really stupid, because it's unnatural. You put them up against a couple of trucks, with it all happening around them, and their voices become great".<ref name="Film Critic: Mike Figgis" /><ref name="Stanford">{{cite web |author=Lampe |first=Ryan |date=2005-11-04 |title='Leaving Las Vegas' reminds us performance counts |url=http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/11/4/leavingLasVegasRemindsUsPerformanceCounts |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013064005/http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2005/11/4/leavingLasVegasRemindsUsPerformanceCounts |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |access-date=December 9, 2006 |work=The Stanford Daily}}</ref> Filming took place over 28 days during the autumn of 1994.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Puig |first=Claudia |date=1996-01-10 |title='Leaving' Preconceptions Behind? : As Acclaim Grows and Distribution Widens, 'Vegas' Seeks Mainstream Respect |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-01-10-ca-22891-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=2022-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011010815/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-01-10-ca-22891-story.html |archive-date=2022-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title= Leaving Las Vegas (1995) - Filming & production - IMDb|website=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113627/locations/}}</ref>