Editing Network (1976 film) (section)

== Production ==
=== Development and writing ===
[[File:Sidney Lumet 1970.jpg|thumb|upright|''Network'' director [[Sidney Lumet]], in 1970]]

''Network'' came only two years after the first on-screen suicide in television history, of television news reporter [[Christine Chubbuck]] in [[Sarasota, Florida]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allbusiness.com/humanities-social-science/visual-performing-arts/16227997-1.html|publisher=dead link |title=Television will eat itself in Sidney Lumet's searing satire|date=October 1, 2008}} {{dead link|date=September 2018}}</ref> The anchorwoman was suffering from depression and loneliness, was often emotionally distant from her co-workers, and shot herself on camera as stunned viewers watched on July 15, 1974. Chayefsky used the idea of a live death as his film's terminating focal point, to say later in an interview, "Television will do anything for a rating... anything!" &nbsp;However, [[Dave Itzkoff]]'s book (''Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies'') allows that whether Chayefsky was inspired by the Chubbuck case remains unclear, that Chayefsky's screenplay notes on the week of the live death have nothing about the incident in them, and grants it is an eerie parallel. It was to be months later that actual direct reference was made, Chayefsky writing for Beale to bray that he "will blow my brains out right on the air ... like that girl in Florida", which was later removed.<ref>Itzkoff, Dave. ''Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies''. Henry Holt and Company, 2014, p. 47.[https://books.google.com/books?id=8aJ_AQAAQBAJ&dq=dave+itzkoff+makes+no+reference+to+her+or+the+incident&pg=PA47]</ref> Sidney Lumet made the categorical statement that the character of Howard Beale was never based on any real-life person.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sidney Lumet on directing the film "Network" - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG| website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_gi9iyyQxE|access-date=July 14, 2017|archive-date=April 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426152431/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_gi9iyyQxE|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before beginning his screenplay, Chayefsky visited network TV offices. He was surprised to learn that television executives did not watch much television. "The programs they put on 'had to' be bad, had to be something they wouldn't watch," he remarked. "Imagine having to work like that all your life."<ref>{{cite web|title=Network At 40|url= https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/networkat40 |website=The Attic|accessdate=27 July 2018}}</ref> According to Dave Itzkoff, what Chayefsky saw while writing the screenplay during the midst of [[Watergate]] and the [[Vietnam War]] was the entirety of America's anger being broadcast in everything from sitcoms to news reports. He concluded that Americans "don't want jolly, happy family type shows like Eye Witness News" ... "the American people are angry and want angry shows."<ref name="ChayefskysNotes">{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/movies/paddy-chayefskys-notes-for-network-film.html | title=Paddy Chayefsky's Notes for 'Network' - Film | last=Itzkoff | first=Dave | date=2011-05-19 | work=The New York Times | access-date=2017-03-13 | issn=0362-4331 | archive-date=February 21, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221074838/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/movies/paddy-chayefskys-notes-for-network-film.html | url-status=live }}</ref> When he began writing his script he had intended on a comedy, but instead directed his frustration at the content being broadcast on television—which he described as "an indestructible and terrifying giant that is stronger than the government"—into the screenplay. It became a "dark satire about an unstable news anchor and a broadcasting company and a viewing public all too happy to follow him over the brink of sanity."<ref name="ChayefskysNotes" /> The character of network executive Diana Christiansen was based on [[NBC]] daytime television programming executive [[Lin Bolen]],<ref>{{cite book | title=Looking for Gatsby: My Life | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-9A_cXpH2kC&q=%22Faye+Dunaway%22+%22Lin+Bolen%22+Network&pg=PA304 | first1=Faye | last1=Dunaway | author-link1=Faye Dunaway | first2=Betsy | last2=Sharkey | date=1995 | publisher=Simon & Schuster Inc. | page=304 | isbn=0-671-67526-5 | access-date=October 5, 2020 | archive-date=April 26, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426170732/https://books.google.com/books?id=a-9A_cXpH2kC&q=%22Faye+Dunaway%22+%22Lin+Bolen%22+Network&pg=PA304 | url-status=live }}</ref> which Bolen disputed.<ref>{{Cite news|agency=[[UPI]] |via=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|Milwaukee Sentinel]] |title=Producer Lin Bolen Denies She's 'Network' Character |date=July 31, 1978}}</ref>

Chayefsky and producer Howard Gottfried had just come off a lawsuit against [[United Artists]], challenging the studio's right to lease their previous film, ''[[The Hospital]]'', to [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in a package with a less successful film. Despite this recent legal action, Chayefsky and Gottfried signed a deal with UA to finance ''Network'', until UA found the subject matter too controversial and backed out. Undeterred, Chayefsky and Gottfried shopped the script around to other studios, and eventually found an interested party in [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Soon afterward, United Artists reversed itself and looked to co-finance the film with MGM, since the latter had an ongoing distribution arrangement with UA in North America. Since MGM agreed to let UA back on board, the former (through United Artists as per the arrangement) controlled North American/Caribbean rights, with UA opting for overseas distribution.{{efn|In 1981, several years after the film's release, United Artists merged with MGM to form [[MGM/UA Entertainment Co.]] (which became the worldwide rights holder to the film from 1982 to 1986). On March 25, 1986, [[Ted Turner]]'s [[Turner Broadcasting System]] acquired MGM/UA Entertainment Co., and renamed [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer#MGM Entertainment|MGM Entertainment Co.]], however, due to concerns in the financial community over the debt-load of his companies, in August of that same year, Turner was forced to sell the MGM name, all of United Artists back to [[Kerkorian]] for approximately $300 million after only months of ownership. Turner, however kept all of MGM's film, television and cartoon library released prior to May 23, 1986 and formed [[Turner Entertainment Co.]] to handle rights to this library on August 2, 1986. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]] (now [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]) putting the majority of the pre-May 1986 MGM library in the hands of [[Warner Bros.]] However, since [[Amazon MGM Studios]] (via United Artists) retained the rights to the film internationally, ''Network'' is in a unique position of being owned by both companies. Today, Warner Bros. (via Turner Entertainment Co.) controls the film in the North America, while Amazon MGM Studios (via United Artists) controls the film internationally.}}

=== Casting ===
In his notes, Chayefsky jotted down his ideas about casting. For Howard Beale, who would eventually be played by [[Peter Finch]], he envisioned [[Henry Fonda]], [[Cary Grant]], [[James Stewart]] and [[Paul Newman]]. He went so far as to write Newman, telling him that "You and a very small handful of other actors are the only ones I can think of with the range for this part." Lumet wanted Fonda, with whom he had worked several times, but Fonda declined the role, finding it too "hysterical" for his taste. Stewart also found the script unsuitable, objecting to the strong language. Early consideration was given to real-life newscasters [[Walter Cronkite]] and [[John Chancellor]], but neither was open to the idea (both appear during the opening scene through stock footage). Although not mentioned in Chayefsky's notes, [[George C. Scott]], [[Glenn Ford]] and [[William Holden]] reportedly also turned down the opportunity to play Beale, with Holden instead playing Max Schumacher: For that role, Chayefsky had initially listed [[Walter Matthau]] and [[Gene Hackman]]. Ford was under consideration for this part as well, and he was said to be one of two final contenders. Holden finally got the edge because of his recent box-office success with ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''.<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/342/network#articles-reviews Network]  TCM. Retrieved 8 November 2018.</ref>

Producers were wary that Finch, an Australian, would not be able to sound authentically American; they demanded an audition before his casting could be considered. A well-known actor, Finch reportedly responded, "Bugger pride. Put the script in the mail." Immediately excited by the role, he agreed to pay his own fare to New York for a screen test. He prepared for the audition by listening to broadcasts by American newscasters and reading the international editions of ''The New York Times'' and the ''Herald Tribune'' into a tape recorder, then listening to playbacks with a critical ear. Gottfried recalled that Finch "was nervous as hell at that first meeting over lunch and just like a kid auditioning. Once we'd heard him, Sidney Lumet, Paddy, and I were ecstatic because we knew it was a hell of a part to cast." Finch further convinced Lumet by playing him the tapes of his newspaper readings.<ref>{{cite book |first= Trader |last=Faulkner |year= 1979 |title= Peter Finch: A Biography |publisher=Angus & Robertson |isbn=9780207958311 }}</ref>

[[Faye Dunaway]] wanted [[Robert Mitchum]] to play Max Schumacher, but Lumet refused, believing that Mitchum was not sufficiently urbane.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://home.sprintmail.com/~sknolle/mitchum/not.html |title=Robert Mitchum: Not Starring ... |access-date=July 1, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107045353/http://home.sprintmail.com/~sknolle/mitchum/not.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Faye| last=Dunaway | title=Looking for Gatsby | publisher=Pocket Books | year=1995| isbn=0-671-67526-5 }}</ref> For the role of Diana Christensen, Chayefsky thought of [[Candice Bergen]], [[Ellen Burstyn]], and [[Natalie Wood]], while the studio suggested [[Jane Fonda]], with alternate candidates [[Kay Lenz]], [[Diane Keaton]], [[Marsha Mason]] and [[Jill Clayburgh]]. Lumet wanted to cast [[Vanessa Redgrave]] in the film, but Chayefsky did not want her. Lumet argued that he thought she was the greatest English-speaking actress in the world, while Chayefsky, a proud Jew and [[Zionism|supporter of Israel]], objected on the basis of her support of the [[PLO]]. Lumet, also a Jew, said "Paddy, that's blacklisting!", to which Chayefsky replied, "Not when a Jew does it to a [[Gentile]]."<ref name="lumet">{{cite book |first=Sidney |last=Lumet |title=Making Movies |url=https://archive.org/details/makingmovies00lumerich |url-access=registration |publisher=Vintage |year=1995 |isbn=9780679756606 |author-link=Sidney Lumet}}</ref>

Dunaway was cast as Diana in September 1975. Lumet told her that he would edit any attempts on her part to make her character sympathetic and insisted on presenting her without any vulnerability. Lumet cast [[Robert Duvall]] as Frank Hackett. Duvall saw Hackett as a "vicious president [[Gerald Ford|Ford]]".<ref>{{cite book |first= John |last= Eastman |title=Retakes: Behind the Scenes of Classic Movies |publisher= Ballantine Books |year= 1989 |isbn=9780345353993 }}</ref> On Duvall, Lumet said: "What's fascinating about Duvall is how funny he is." [[Ned Beatty]] was cast as Arthur Jensen on the recommendation of director [[Robert Altman]] after the original actor failed to live up to Lumet's standards. Beatty had one night to prepare a four-page speech, and was finished after one day's shooting. [[Beatrice Straight]] played Louise Schumacher, Max's wife, on whom he cheats with Diana.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t585TgSt30 |title=Part 2: Network (1976): Why The Acting Is So Good-Acting-CinemaTyler on YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |date=March 8, 2018 |access-date=July 1, 2018 |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409055246/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t585TgSt30&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Straight had won a [[Tony Award]] in 1953 for playing an anguished wife who is similarly cheated on in [[Arthur Miller]]'s ''[[The Crucible]]''.

=== Filming ===
After two weeks of rehearsals, filming started in [[Toronto]] in January 1976<ref name="AFI Toronto">{{cite web |title=Network (1976) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54924 |website=AFI Catalogue of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929111220/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/54924 |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |location=Los Angeles |url-status=live}}</ref> with many scenes filmed at the [[CFTO-DT|CFTO]] studios at [[9 Channel Nine Court]] in [[Scarborough, Ontario|Scarborough]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Network (1976) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074958/ |website=IMDb.com |publisher=Amazon |access-date = 2024-12-20}}</ref>

Lumet recalled that Chayefsky was usually on set during filming, and sometimes offered advice about how certain scenes should be played. Lumet allowed that his old friend had the better comic instincts of the two. Finch, who had suffered from heart problems for many years, became physically and psychologically exhausted by the demands of playing Beale.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjx5L5Po4yI |title=Network (1976): Why The Acting Is So Good-Acting-CinemaTyler on YouTube |website=[[YouTube]] |date=November 17, 2017 |access-date=July 1, 2018 |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920105934/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjx5L5Po4yI |url-status=live }}</ref>

There was some concern that the combination of Holden and Dunaway might create conflict on the set, since the two had sparred during an earlier co-starring stint in ''The Towering Inferno''. According to biographer Bob Thomas, Holden had been incensed by Dunaway's behavior during the filming of the disaster epic, especially her habit of leaving him fuming on the set while she attended to her hair, makeup and telephone calls. One day, after a two-hour wait, Holden reportedly grabbed Dunaway by the shoulders, pushed her against a soundstage wall and snapped, "You do that to me once more, and I'll push you through that wall!"{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Lumet and cinematographer [[Owen Roizman]] worked out a complicated lighting scheme that in Lumet's words would "corrupt the camera". Lumet recalled: "We started with an almost naturalistic look. For the first scene between Peter Finch and Bill Holden, on Sixth Avenue at night, we added only enough light to get an exposure. As the movie progressed, camera setups became more rigid, more formal. The lighting became more and more artificial. The next-to-final scene—where Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, and the three network gray suits decide to kill Peter Finch—is lit like a commercial. The camera setups are static and framed like still pictures. The camera had also become a victim of television."<ref name="lumet" />