Editing The Hudsucker Proxy (section)

==Development==

===Writing===
The [[Coen brothers]] first met [[Sam Raimi]] when Joel Coen worked as an assistant editor on Raimi's ''[[The Evil Dead]]'' (1981). Together, they began writing the script for ''The Hudsucker Proxy'' in 1981,<ref>Muir, p. 77</ref> and continued during the filming of ''[[Crimewave]]'' (1985),<ref>Warren, pp. 101–102</ref> and [[post-production]] on ''[[Blood Simple]]'' (1984), during which Joel and Ethan Coen shared a house with Raimi. The Coens and Raimi were inspired by the films of [[Preston Sturges]], such as ''[[Christmas in July (film)|Christmas in July]]'' (1940) and the Hollywood satire ''[[Sullivan's Travels]]'' (1941).<ref name=manner/> The sentimental tone and decency of ordinary men as heroes was influenced by films of [[Frank Capra]], like ''[[Mr. Deeds Goes to Town]]'' (1936), ''[[Meet John Doe]]'' (1941), and ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'' (1946).<ref>{{cite book|language=it| first= Alessandro |last=Agostinelli |author-link=Alessandro Agostinelli | title = Un mondo perfetto. I comandamenti dei fratelli Coen| publisher=Controluce | page=111 }}</ref> The dialogue is an [[Homage (arts)|homage]] to [[Howard Hawks]]' ''[[His Girl Friday]]'' (1940), while [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]]'s performance as fast-talking reporter Amy Archer is reminiscent of [[Rosalind Russell]] and [[Katharine Hepburn]], in both the physical and vocal mannerisms.<ref name="manner">Levin, pp. 103–118</ref> Other movies that observers found references to include ''[[Executive Suite]]'' (1954) and ''[[Sweet Smell of Success]]'' (1957).<ref name=Fonda/> The brothers had no intention of commenting on or parodying such movies. Instead, as Ethan said, "It's the case where, having seen those movies, we say 'They're really fun - let's do one'; as opposed to 'They're really fun- let's comment upon them.'" Raimi describes the script as "big-business comedy. It's a return to the very large love story comedies they used to make in the forties and early fifties."<ref name=":1" /> So the brothers started to pace around their apartment, taking turns on the typewriter, and when they found themselves stuck at a point, Raimi would do all sorts of tricks to get the boys back up. For example, while Ethan is pacing around, he would move things around the apartment so Ethan would be thrown off, he even said he threw firecrackers at them.<ref name=":1" />

One film critic described the numerous influences: "From his infelicitous name to his physical clumsiness, Norville Barnes is a Preston Sturges hero trapped in a Frank Capra story, and never should that twain meet, especially not in a world that seems to have been created by [[Fritz Lang]] – the mechanistic monstrousness of the mailroom contrasted with the [[Bauhaus]] gigantism of the corporate offices perfectly matches the boss-labour split in ''[[Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]'' (1927)."<ref name=Gilliam/> An interviewer proposed that the characters represent [[capitalism]] versus [[labour economics]]. Joel Coen replied: "Maybe the characters do embody those grand themes you mentioned, but that question is independent of whether or not we're interested in them – and we're not."<ref name=Capital/> ''The Hudsucker Proxy'' presents various [[Motif (narrative)|narrative motif]]s pertaining to the [[Rota Fortunae]] and [[motif (visual arts)|visual motif]]s concerning the shape of circles. This includes Moses' monologue at the beginning, the Hudsucker Clock, Mussburger's wristwatch, the inventions of both the hula hoop and frisbee, as well as Norville and Amy's conversation about [[Karma]].<ref name=Fonda/>

The first image the Coens and Raimi conceived was of Norville Barnes about to jump from the window of a skyscraper and then they had to figure out how he got there and how to save him.<ref name="Bergan">Bergan, pp. 148–162</ref> The inclusion of the [[hula hoop]] came as a result of a [[plot device]]. Joel remembers, "We had to come up with something that Norville was going to invent that on the face of it was ridiculous. Something that would seem, by any sort of rational measure, to be doomed to failure, but something that on the other hand the audience already knew was going to be a phenomenal success."<ref name=Gilliam/> Ethan said, "The whole circle motif was built into the design of the movie, and that just made it seem more appropriate."<ref name=Gilliam/> Joel: "What grew out of that was the design element which drives the movie. The tension between vertical lines and circles; you have these tall buildings, then these circles everywhere which are echoed in the plot...in the structure of the movie itself. It starts with the end and circles back to the beginning, with a big flashback."<ref name=Gilliam/> It took the Coens and Raimi three months to write the screenplay. As early as 1985, the Coens were quoted as saying that an upcoming project "takes place in the late Fifties in a skyscraper and is about [[Big Business]]. The characters talk fast and wear sharp clothes."<ref name="Gilliam">Woods, pp. 125–135</ref>

Despite having finished the script in 1985, Joel explained, "We couldn't make ''Hudsucker'' back then because we weren't that popular yet. Plus, the script was too expensive and we had just completed ''[[Blood Simple]]'', which was an [[independent film]]."<ref name="Silver">Woods, pp. 9–10, 122–124</ref> After completing ''[[Barton Fink]]'' (1991), the Coens were looking forward to doing a more mainstream film.<ref>{{cite magazine | author = Juliann Garey | url = https://ew.com/article/1993/02/05/coen-brothers/ | title = Coen to Extremes | magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]] | date = 1993-02-05 | access-date = 2008-11-22}}</ref> ''The Hudsucker Proxy'' was revived and the Coens and Raimi performed a brief rewrite. Producer [[Joel Silver]], a fan of the Coens' previous films, acquired the script for his [[production company]], [[Silver Pictures]], and [[pitch (filmmaking)|pitch]]ed the project at [[Warner Bros.]] Pictures. Silver also allowed the Coens complete [[artistic control]].<ref name=Bergan/>

===Production===
This was the first time the Coen brothers chose big stars to act in one of their films.<ref name=":0" /> [[Joel Silver]]'s first choice for Norville Barnes was [[Tom Cruise]], but the Coens persisted in a desire to cast [[Tim Robbins]].<ref>{{cite news | author = Anne Thompson | url = https://variety.com/2007/voices/columns/coen-brothers-keep-it-real-1117976123/ | title = Coen brothers keep it real | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date = 2007-11-15 | access-date = 2008-11-21 | author-link = Anne Thompson (film critic)}}</ref> [[Jon Cryer]] auditioned for the lead role of Norville Barnes.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XyPTCwAAQBAJ&q=jon+cryer+The+Hudsucker+Proxy+so+that+happened+a+memoir+google+books&pg=PA210|title=So That Happened: A Memoir|isbn=9780451472366|last1=Cryer|first1=Jon|date=5 April 2016|publisher=Penguin Publishing }}</ref> [[Winona Ryder]] and [[Bridget Fonda]] were in competition for the role of Amy Archer, before [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]] was cast.<ref name="Fonda">Mottram, pp. 93–113</ref><ref>[https://coveredgeekly.com/winona-ryder-reveals-jeff-bridges-refused-to-kiss-her/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFce0NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQrhcylH7f7OwAzdbEp9VGAsVMiOfhCC7aOHqLaUS3YQWLl7wAVI2J5lBg_aem_r7yyArl64bWaGpnQEPdaYA Winona Ryder reveals Jeff Bridges ‘refused’ to kiss her in an audition due to age difference]</ref> Leigh had previously auditioned for a role in the Coens's ''Miller's Crossing'' and ''Barton Fink''; her failed auditions prompted the Coens to cast her in ''The Hudsucker Proxy''.<ref name=Silver/> To prepare for her role as Amy Archer, Leigh read the biographies of some of the most substantial ladies of the thirties and forties such as [[Rosalind Russell]], [[Katharine Hepburn]], and [[Jean Arthur]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = The Coen Brothers, The Story of Two American Filmmakers|last = Levine|first = Josh|publisher = ECW|year = 2000|isbn = 1-55022-424-7|location = United States}}</ref> When casting the role of Sidney Mussburger, "Warner Bros. suggested all sorts of names," remembered Joel. "A lot of them were comedians who were clearly wrong. Mussburger is the bad guy and [[Paul Newman]] brought that character to life."<ref name=Silver/> However, the Coens first offered the role to [[Clint Eastwood]], but he was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.<ref>{{cite news | author = Leonard Klady | url = https://variety.com/1993/film/news/devito-looking-to-get-shorty-into-production-108653/ | title = DeVito looking to get 'Shorty' into production | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date = 1993-07-13 | access-date = 2008-11-21}}</ref>  The Coens also offered their longtime friend [[Bruce Campbell]] an audition, but he initially refused, writing that "My history with the Coens spanned more than a decade...I would gladly and willingly accept the role, but these fellows knew my work well enough to spare me the audition."  The Coens agreed and Campbell was offered, ''sans'' audition, the role of Smitty.  Campbell was later effusive in his praise for the professionalism of the production and the other cast members, as well as being in awe that he was chosen to help Paul Newman rehearse before filming began.<ref>Campbell, Bruce. If Chins Could Kill (pp. 311-312). St. Martin's Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</ref>

Once Newman and Robbins signed on, [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]] and [[Working Title Films]] agreed to co-finance the film with Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures.<ref>{{cite magazine | author = Nisid Hajari | url = https://ew.com/article/1994/04/01/what-it-coen-brothers/ | title = Beavis and Egghead | magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]] | date = 1994-04-01 | access-date = 2008-11-22}}</ref> The film was shot on five [[sound stage]]s at Carolco Studios in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], beginning on November 30, 1992. Raimi served as [[second unit director]], shooting the hula hoop sequence and Waring Hudsucker's suicide.<ref name=Silver/> [[Production designer]] [[Dennis Gassner]] was influenced by [[fascist architecture]], particularly the work of [[Albert Speer]],  as well as [[Terry Gilliam]]'s ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' (1985),<ref name=Bergan/> [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] and the [[Art Deco]] movement.<ref name="Robson">Robson, pp. 139–142</ref>  Gassner contemplated using five huge rooms needed to accommodate the sound stages. Gassner noted "You see, we wanted things to be big." He said that the huge 1950s-inspired table up in the boardroom was so long, it had to be built in five sections and later on assembled on the soundstage. The intention for the set sizes was to generate an oppressive feel.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Coen Brothers|last = Robson|first = Eddie|publisher = Virgin Book|year = 2007}}</ref> [[Principal photography]] ended on March 18, 1993.<ref name=Silver/>

In addition, numerous sequences were filmed in downtown Chicago, particularly in the [[Merchandise Mart]] building for the entrance and lobby to Hudsucker Industries and [[The Blackstone Hotel]] Christmas ballroom.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}

The [[Printing press|presses]] in the ''[[News & Observer]]'' building in downtown [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], appeared in the movie.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/11/09/1631372/hollywood-comes-to-downtown-raleigh.html |title=Hollywood comes to downtown Raleigh today |last=Cain |first=Brooke |work=[[News & Observer]] |date=2011-11-09 |access-date=2011-11-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111084727/http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/11/09/1631372/hollywood-comes-to-downtown-raleigh.html |archive-date=2011-11-11 }}</ref>

===Visual effects===
The [[visual effects supervisor]] was [[Michael J. McAlister]] (''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]'', ''[[Willow (1988 film)|Willow]]'') with [[Mark Stetson]] (''[[Superman Returns]]'', ''[[Peter Pan (2003 film)|Peter Pan]]'') as miniatures supervisor. Peter Chesney, mechanical effects designer on many Coen brothers films, created a pair of 16-foot angel wings for actor [[Charles Durning]], who portrayed Waring Hudsucker. "I made a complicated [[armature (electrical engineering)|steel armature]] with a lot of [[electric motor]]s to time everything so he can fold up his wings, unfold them and flap them about. Then we covered them with real duck and turkey feathers," says Chesney. "We modeled them after photographs of a hovering [[columbidae|dove]] landing in [[slow motion]]."<ref>{{cite news | author=Staff | url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/hollywood-s-still-playing-for-effect-103029/ | title=Hollywood's still playing for effect | work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=1993-01-18 | access-date=2008-11-21}}</ref> The buildings in the background (designed by McAlister and Stetson) were 1:24 [[scale model]]s, shot separately and merged in [[post-production]]. To lengthen the sequence, the model of the Hudsucker building was the equivalent of 90 stories, not 45.<ref>{{cite magazine | author=George Mannes | title=The 'Hud' Thud | url=https://ew.com/article/1994/04/15/charles-durnings-fall-hudsucker-proxy/ | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] | date=1994-04-15 | access-date=2008-11-22}}</ref>

Despite the New York City setting, additional skyscrapers in [[Chicago, Illinois]], provided inspiration for the opening sequence of the skyline, such as the [[Merchandise Mart]] and [[Aon Center (Chicago)|Aon Center]]. Skyscrapers from New York City included the [[Chanin Building]], the [[Fred F. French Building]] and [[One Wall Street, Manhattan]]. "We took all our favorite buildings in New York from where they actually stood and sort of put them into one neighborhood," Gassner continued, "a fantasy vision which adds to the atmosphere and flavor."  First of all, a model had to be created based on the fantasy 1950s New York for the opening shot. So a miniature city was created, as McAlister mentioned that the Coens did not want a realistic reproduction of 1950s New York skyline, instead they wanted a more stylized version of it.<ref name=":0" />  So Gassner used the book ''New York in The Forties'' as a reference to create the look for the cityscape. It took three months and 27 crew members to create the miniature city at the scale of 24:1. As for the Hudsucker building, they made it at the scale of 6:1 for closer shots including the long-zoom in of Norville at the beginning. For that scene to be created, it started off with a wide-angle shot, moving closer towards Tim Robbins, who was standing in a full sized set, which they inserted inside the shot of the model clock. "Marrying a live-action image with a painted or miniature element was, of course, nothing new, however, in the case of the zoom-in on Robbins from such a distance, keeping the full-size set locked in with the model building, that was state-of-the-art and the only way to do it was with computers," says McAlister.<ref name=":0" /> Most of the buildings were created with two sides only, as they are seen from only the front and the side, and some needed only one side, as they were seen from only the front, while the Hudsucker building was made completely three-dimensional.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Robson/> The work of [[Framestore|The Computer Film Company]] (supervised by [[Janek Sirrs]]) included manipulations of the zoom-in shot of Norville at the beginning, as well as [[computer-generated imagery|CGI]] snow and composites of the falling sequences.<ref name=Robson/>

To create the two suicide falls, the miniature New York set was hung sideways to allow full movement along the heights of the buildings. McAlister calculated that such a drop would take seven seconds, but for dramatic purposes it was extended to around thirty. Problems occurred when the Coens and cinematographer Roger Deakins decided that these shots would be more effective with a wide-angle lens. "The buildings had been designed for an 18 mm lens, but as we tried a 14 mm lens, and then a 10 mm, we liked the shots more and more."<ref name=Robson/> However, the wider amount of vision meant that the edges of the frame went beyond the fringes of the model city, leaving empty spaces with no buildings. In the end, extra buildings were created from putting the one-sided buildings together and placing them at the edges. Charles Durning's fall was shot conventionally, but because Tim Robbins had to stop abruptly at the camera, his was shot in reverse as he was pulled away from the camera.<ref name=Robson/>

The skyscraper models created for ''The Hudsucker Proxy'' were re-used for ''[[The Shadow (1994 film)|The Shadow]]'', ''[[Batman Forever]]'', ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin]]'', and ''[[Godzilla (1998 film)|Godzilla]]''.<ref>Cinefex Magazine, issues 63 (Sept 1995), 71 (Sept 1997), and 74 (July 1998).</ref>

===Inspirations===
It is thought that the inspiration for the scene in which CEO Waring Hudsucker jumps to his death from the company's building was inspired by the real-life suicide of [[Eli M. Black|Eli Black]], former chairman of United Brands, in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kihss |first1=Peter |title=44-Story Plunge Kills Head of United Brands |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/04/archives/44story-plunge-kills-head-of-united-brands-united-brands-head.html |website= The New York Times| date= February 4, 1975| access-date= March 20, 2020 }}</ref>