Editing Saturday Night Fever (section)

==Production==
===Development===
The film was inspired by a 1976 ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine article entitled "[[Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night]]" by British writer [[Nik Cohn]]. The article centers on [[working class]] [[Italian Americans|Italian-Americans]] in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and on the lives of young men who work [[dead-end job]]s but live for their nights dancing at the local discotheque. Cohn later wrote that "the [disco] craze had started in black gay clubs, then progressed to straight blacks and gay whites and from there to mass consumption—Latinos in the Bronx, West Indians on Staten Island, and, yes, Italians in Brooklyn."<ref name="VanityFair" /> Shortly after Cohn's article was published, British music impresario [[Robert Stigwood]] purchased the film rights and hired Cohn to adapt his own article to screen.<ref name="AFI" />

In the mid-1990s Cohn acknowledged that although his account was presented as factual reporting, he fabricated most of the article.<ref name="NYTimes SNF">{{Cite news|last=Leduff|first=Charlie|date=June 9, 1996|title=Saturday Night Fever: The Life|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/09/nyregion/saturday-night-fever-the-life.html|access-date=2010-05-23}}</ref> He said that as a newcomer to the United States and a stranger to the disco lifestyle, he was unable to make any sense of the subculture he had been assigned to write about; instead, the article's protagonist (who would become Tony Manero) was based on an acquaintance of Cohn who was an English [[Mod (subculture)|mod]].<ref name="NYTimes SNF" />

[[John G. Avildsen]] was originally hired as the film's director but was replaced one month before principal photography by [[John Badham]] over "conceptual disagreements."<ref name="AFI" /><ref name="VanityFair" /> Badham was a lesser-known director who, like his star, had mostly worked in television. His sole prior film credit, ''[[The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings]]'', was released while ''Saturday Night Fever'' was already well into production.<ref name="VanityFair" />

The film went through several different titles, including ''Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night'' and ''Saturday Night''. After the Bee Gees wrote "[[Night Fever]]" and submitted it for the soundtrack, they told Stigwood they disliked the title ''Saturday Night''. It was after this that the film's final title of ''Saturday Night Fever'' was decided upon.<ref name="Bronson">{{cite book |last1=Bronson |first1=Fred |title=The Billboard Book of Number One Hits |chapter=Night Fever |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PgGqNrqfrsoC&pg=480 |year=2003 |publisher=Billboard Books |page=480 |isbn=978-0823076772 |access-date=26 September 2023 }}</ref>

===Writing=== 
After Cohn finished a single screenplay draft, he was replaced by [[Norman Wexler]], a screenwriter with [[Academy Award|Oscar]] nominations for [[Joe (1970 film)|''Joe'']] (1970) and ''[[Serpico]]'' (1973). Among the elements Wexler added to the story was Tony's younger sister, as well as older brother Frank who disappoints his parents by leaving the priesthood. "I think what Norman did so well was to create a family situation that had real truth, an accurate look at how men related to women in that moment, in ways that you would never get away with now," said producer [[Kevin McCormick (producer)|Kevin McCormick]].<ref name="VanityFair" />

===Casting===
The film's relatively low budget ($3.5 million) meant that most of the actors were relative unknowns, many of whom were recruited from New York's theatre scene.<ref name="VanityFair" /> For more than 40% of the actors it was their film debut. The only actor in the cast who was already an established name was [[John Travolta]], thanks to his role on the sitcom ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]]''.<ref name="VanityFair" /> Travolta, who had previously auditioned for Stigwood's film version of ''[[Jesus Christ Superstar (film)|Jesus Christ Superstar]]'', was remembered by the producer and signed to a three-movie contract with his company in 1976.<ref name="VanityFair" /> Stigwood wanted Travolta to first star in a movie version of ''[[Grease (musical)|Grease]]'', but because a film adaptation of ''Grease'' was not permitted to begin filming until 1978 when its stage run had completed, they made this film first.<ref name="VanityFair" /> Travolta's performance as Tony Manero brought him critical acclaim and helped launch him into international stardom.

Travolta researched the part by visiting the real 2001 Odyssey discotheque, and claimed he adopted many of the character's swaggering mannerisms from the male patrons.<ref name="VanityFair" /> Travolta said when he would get recognized, "[Guys'] girlfriends would come up, and they'd say, 'Hey, stay away from him, don't bug Travolta,' and they’d actually push the girls away. Tony Manero's whole [[chauvinism#male chauvinism|male-chauvinist]] thing I got from watching those guys in the discos."<ref name="VanityFair" /> He insisted on performing his character's own dance sequences after producers suggested he be substituted by a [[body double]], rehearsing his choreography with [[Lester Wilson]] and [[Deney Terrio]] for three hours every day, losing {{convert|20|lb|kg}} in the process.<ref name="VanityFair" /><ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |last1=Sanburn |first1=Josh |title=On the Floor in ''Saturday Night Fever'' |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2010/12/03/top-10-movie-dance-scenes/slide/on-the-floor-in-saturday-night-fever/ |access-date=26 September 2023 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=2010-12-02}}</ref> Wilson is credited for providing the look of the dance scenes and "breathing life" into the film. Said Travolta, "He taught me what he called his 'hang time.' He would smoke a cigarette to greet the day, and he infused my dancing with African-American rhythm. I'm the kind of dancer who needs thought and construction—an idea—before I dance. I need an internal story. Lester would put on some music and he would say, 'Move with me, motherfucker—move with me!'"<ref name="VanityFair" />

[[Karen Lynn Gorney]] was nine years older than Travolta when she was cast as his love interest Stephanie. Although Gorney had dance experience before she was cast, she found it difficult to keep up with her co-star due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident some years before.<ref name="VanityFair" /> After the success of ''Saturday Night Fever'', Gorney took a break from film acting to work as a dance instructor at a performing arts academy in [[Brooklyn]]. [[Jessica Lange]], [[Kathleen Quinlan]], [[Carrie Fisher]], and [[Amy Irving]] were all considered for the part before Gorney was cast.

[[Donna Pescow]] was considered almost "too pretty" by Paramount heads [[Michael Eisner]] and [[Jeffrey Katzenberg]] for the role of Annette. She corrected this matter by putting on weight. She also had to relearn her native Brooklyn accent, which she had overcome while studying drama at the [[American Academy of Dramatic Arts]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Van Gelder|first=Lawrence|author-link=Lawrence Van Gelder|date=1978-01-06|title=New race: Donna Pescow |language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/06/archives/new-race-donna-pescow-elocution-lessons-in-brooklynese-a-solution-a.html|access-date=2020-11-09|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Filming===
The film was shot entirely on location in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City|New York]].<ref name="VanityFair">{{cite magazine |last1=Kashner |first1=Sam |title=''Fever'' Pitch |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/12/saturday-night-fever |access-date=26 September 2023 |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=2013-08-15}}</ref><ref name="nycfilm">{{cite web |title=Saturday Night Fever (1977) |url=https://nycinfilm.com/2023/03/09/saturday-night-fever-1977/ |website=nycinfilm.com |access-date=26 September 2023 |date=2023-03-09}}</ref> The 2001 Odyssey Disco was a real club located at 802 64th Street, but it has since been demolished.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ramsey |first1=James |title=Wednesday Night Fever: The One-Night Return of the 2001 Odyssey Disco |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/wednesday-night-fever-one-night-return-2001-odyssey-disco/ |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=WNYC |date=2017-12-14}}</ref> The interior was modified for the film, including the addition of a $15,000 lighted floor,<ref name="VanityFair" /> which was inspired by a [[Birmingham, Alabama]] establishment that Badham had visited.<ref name="CBS42">{{cite news |last1=Brooks |first1=Tanner |title='Saturday Night Fever' director John Badham hasn't forgotten his Alabama roots |url=https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/saturday-night-fever-director-john-badham-hasnt-forgotten-his-alabama-roots/ |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=[[WIAT|CBS 42]] |date=2021-11-18}}</ref> A similar effect was achieved on the club's walls using [[tin foil]] and [[Christmas lights]]. Since the Bee Gees were not involved in the production until after principal photography had wrapped, the "Night Fever", "You Should Be Dancin'" and "More Than a Woman" sequences were shot with [[Stevie Wonder]] tracks that were later overdubbed in the sound mix.<ref name="VanityFair" /> During filming, the production was harassed by local gangs over use of the location, and was even firebombed.<ref name="VanityFair" />

The dance studio was Phillips Dance Studio in [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]], the Manero home was a house in [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn|Bay Ridge]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-12-14|title=Bay Ridge Still Has Saturday Night Fever, 35 Years Later|url=https://brooklynbased.com/2012/12/14/bay-ridge-still-has-saturday-night-fever-35-years-later/|access-date=2021-03-31|website=brooklynbased.com|language=en-US}}</ref> and the paint store was Pearson Paint & Hardware, also in Bay Ridge. Other locations included the [[Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge]],<ref name="VanityFair" /> [[John J. Carty Park]] and the Bay Ridge Promenade.<ref name="nycfilm" />

To avoid Travolta's fans who might disrupt filming, Badham and his team shot exterior scenes as early in the morning as possible, often at the break of dawn. The producers also generated fake [[Daily call sheet|call sheets]]. Badham was usually able to complete the scenes before significant crowds had time to gather.<ref name="VanityFair" />