Editing Shakespeare in Love (section)

== Production ==
The original idea for ''Shakespeare in Love'' was suggested to screenwriter [[Marc Norman]] in the late 1980s by his son Zachary.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1998-12-23 |title=AVON CALLING |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/12/23/avon-calling/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> Norman wrote a draft screenplay which he presented to director [[Edward Zwick]], which attracted [[Julia Roberts]], who agreed to play Viola. However, Zwick disliked Norman's screenplay and hired the playwright [[Tom Stoppard]] to improve it (Stoppard's first major success had been with the Shakespeare-themed play ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'').<ref name="Biskind">Peter Biskind, "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 327.</ref>

The film went into production in 1991 at [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], with Zwick as director, but although sets and costumes were in construction, Shakespeare had not yet been cast, because Roberts insisted that only [[Daniel Day-Lewis]] could play the role. Day-Lewis was uninterested, and when Roberts failed to persuade him, she withdrew from the film, six weeks before shooting was due to begin.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mell|first1=Eila|title=Casting might-have-beens : a film by film directory of actors considered for roles given to others|date=2004|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, NC|isbn=978-0-7864-2017-9|page=216}}</ref> Zwick and the studio had tried to hold chemistry tests between Roberts and several then-unknown actors, including [[Hugh Grant]], [[Ralph Fiennes]], [[Jeremy Northam]], [[Rupert Graves]], [[Colin Firth]], and [[Sean Bean]], but Roberts either skipped the meetings or found faults with them all. After one last screen test with [[Paul McGann]], Roberts pulled out of the production, which Zwick attributed to insecurity about the pressure she was under to succeed in the role.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sharf|first1=Zack|title= 'It Was a Disaster': Julia Roberts Quit 'Shakespeare in Love' After Awful Chemistry Reads and Cost the Studio $6 Million, Says Producer Ed Zwick |url= https://variety.com/2023/film/news/julia-roberts-shakespeare-in-love-disaster-audition-money-1235543899/|date=March 6, 2023 |accessdate= March 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://airmail.news/issues/2023-3-4/not-to-be | title=The Untold Story of "Shakespeare in Love" }}</ref> The production went into [[Turnaround (filmmaking)|turnaround]], and Zwick was unable to persuade other studios to take up the screenplay. Canceling the film cost Universal $6 million.<ref name="Biskind" />

Eventually, Zwick got [[Miramax|Miramax Films]] interested in the screenplay, but Miramax Films chose [[John Madden (director)|John Madden]] as director. Miramax Films boss [[Harvey Weinstein]] acted as producer. For the president of a studio to have given himself a producer credit created a firestorm within the industry that resulted in what has come to be known as “''the Harvey Rule'',” which stipulates that to earn the [[Producers Guild of America|Producers Guild]] credit, a producer must have performed some real role in making the finished film.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zwick |first=Edward |date=March 4, 2023 |title=Not to Be |url=https://airmail.news/issues/2023-3-4/not-to-be |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230507131415/https://airmail.news/issues/2023-3-4/not-to-be |archive-date=May 7, 2023 |access-date=March 4, 2024 |website=Air Mail}}</ref> To justify his producer credit, Harvey claimed he took a leave of absence from his executive duties at Miramax Films to work on this movie, which longtime Miramax Films senior executive, [[Mark Gill]], dismissed as “complete bullshit.”<ref>{{Cite book |last=Auletta |first=Ken |title=Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence |date=July 12, 2022 |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |isbn=9781984878380 |location=City of Westminster, London |publication-date=July 12, 2022 |pages=133 |language=English}}</ref>

Weinstein persuaded [[Ben Affleck]] to take a small role as [[Ned Alleyn]].<ref>Peter Biskind, "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), pp. 328–30.</ref> [[Kate Winslet]] was offered the role of Viola after the success of [[Titanic (1997 film)|''Titanic'']], but she rejected it to pursue independent films.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/09/29/kate-winslet-one-woman-hollywood-cant-ignore/|title=Kate Winslet: One woman Hollywood can't ignore|date=29 September 2006|website=EW.com|language=en|access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref> [[Winona Ryder]], [[Diane Lane]] and [[Robin Wright]] were also considered for the lead role.

[[Principal photography]] began on March 2, 1998, and ended on June 10, 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.turner.com/tcmdb/title/332144/Shakespeare-in-Love/misc-notes.html|title=Shakespeare in Love (1998) – Misc Notes |website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=25 March 2020}}</ref>

The film was considerably reworked after the first test screenings. The scene with Shakespeare and Viola in the punt was re-shot, to make it more emotional, and some lines were re-recorded to clarify the reasons why Viola had to marry Wessex. The ending was re-shot several times, until Stoppard eventually came up with the idea of Viola suggesting to Shakespeare that their parting could inspire his next play.<ref>Peter Biskind, "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film" (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), pp. 330–31.</ref>

Among the locations used in the production were [[Hatfield House]], Hertfordshire (for the fireworks scene), [[Broughton Castle]], Oxfordshire (which played the role of the de Lesseps mansion), the beach at [[Holkham]] in Norfolk, the chapel at [[Eton College]], Berkshire, and the Great Hall of [[Middle Temple]], London.<ref>movie-locations.com</ref>