Editing The Piano (section)

==Production==
The film was originally titled ''The Piano Lesson'', but the filmmakers could not obtain the rights to use the title because of [[The Piano Lesson|the American play of the same name]], and it was changed to ''The Piano''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bourguignon|first1=Thomas|last2=Ciment|first2=Michel|year=1999|orig-year=1993|chapter=Interview with Jane Campion: More Barbarian than Aesthete|editor-last=Wexman|editor-first=Virginia Wright|title=Jane Campion: Interviews|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|page=109|isbn=1-57806-083-4}}</ref>

Casting the role of Ada was a difficult process. [[Sigourney Weaver]] was Jane Campion's first choice, but she was not interested. [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]] was also considered, but had a conflict with her commitment to ''[[Rush (1991 film)|Rush]]'' (1991).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.movingimage.us/pinewood/files/pinewood/2/24866_programs_transcript_pdf_209.pdf| title=A Pinewood Dialogue With Jennifer Jason Leigh| website=Museum of the Moving Image| date=23 November 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703112419/http://www.movingimage.us/pinewood/files/pinewood/2/24866_programs_transcript_pdf_209.pdf |archive-date=2007-07-03}}</ref> [[Isabelle Huppert]] met with Campion and had vintage period-style photographs taken of her as Ada, and later said she regretted not fighting for the role as Holly Hunter did.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://mjf.missouristate.edu/faculty/wang/ih/career/index_trivia1.htm |title=Isabelle Huppert: La Vie Pour Jouer – Career/Trivia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216030405/http://mjf.missouristate.edu/faculty/wang/ih/career/index_trivia1.htm |archive-date=16 February 2012 }}</ref>

The casting for Flora occurred after Hunter had been selected for the part. They did a series of open auditions for girls age 9 to 13, focusing on girls who were small enough to be believable as Ada's daughter (as Hunter is relatively short at {{convert|157|cm|ftin|abbr=on|disp=semicolon}} tall<ref>{{cite magazine|url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966298,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071223092530/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966298,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= 23 December 2007|title=Show Business: Holly Hunter Takes Hollywood|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=22 July 2010 |first=Denise |last=Worrell|date= 21 December 1987}}</ref>). Anna Paquin ended up winning the role of Flora over 5,000 other girls.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Andrew |last=Fish |date=Summer 2010 |title=It's in Her Blood: From Child Prodigy to Supernatural Heroine, Anna Paquin Has Us Under Her Spell |journal=Venice Magazine |url=http://www.venicemag.com/news/index/view/235 |access-date=22 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725155534/http://www.venicemag.com/news/index/view/235 |archive-date=25 July 2010 }}</ref>

Hunter collaborated extensively with [[Los Angeles Pierce College|Pierce College]] sign language instructor Darlene Allen Wittman,<ref name="sign1">{{cite news |title= NORTHRIDGE: Instructor and Actress Created Own Language |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-16-me-23702-story.html |date=16 February 1994 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=16 March 2025 |eissn=2165-1736 |issn=0458-3035 |oclc=3638237 |last=Pitzer |first=Kurt |editor-link=Shelby Coffey III |editor-last=Coffey III |editor-first=Shelby}}</ref> blending [[American Sign Language|American]], [[British Sign Language|British]], [[Russian Sign Language|Russian]], [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Indigenous]], as well as some unique new signs into an amalgamated sign language for her character Ada.<ref name="sign1" /><ref name="sign2">{{cite magazine |title=Icon: Holly Hunter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/icon-holly-hunter-112782/ |date=29 May 2008 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=17 March 2025 |issn=0018-3660 |oclc=44653726 |last=Galloway |first=Stephen |via=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Hunter also took piano lessons to authentically play the compositions that [[Michael Nyman]] wrote for the film.<ref name="sign2" />

[[Alistair Fox]] has argued that ''The Piano'' was significantly influenced by [[Jane Mander]]'s ''The Story of a New Zealand River''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.otago.ac.nz/communicationstudies/campion/participants/fox.html |title=Puritanism and the Erotics of Transgression: the New Zealand Influence on Jane Campion's Thematic Imaginary |first=Alistair |last=Fox |access-date=7 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024034335/http://www.otago.ac.nz/communicationstudies/campion/participants/fox.html |archive-date=24 October 2007}}</ref> [[Robert Macklin]], an associate editor with ''[[The Canberra Times]]'' newspaper, has also written about the similarities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://linguafranca.mirror.theinfo.org/print/0009/field-piano.html|work= lingua franca|volume= 10|number= 6|date= September 2000|last=Macklin |first=Robert|title=FIELD NOTES: The Purloined Piano?}}</ref> The film also serves as a retelling of the fairytale "[[Bluebeard]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/bluebeard/themes.html|title=Modern Interpretations of Bluebeard|first=Heidi Ann |last=Heiner|access-date=12 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogcritics.org/video/article/a-look-at-the-piano/ |title=Look at The Piano |first=Scott C. |last=Smith |access-date=12 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012042312/http://blogcritics.org/video/article/a-look-at-the-piano/ |archive-date=12 October 2010 }}</ref> itself depicted as a scene in the [[Nativity play|Christmas pageant]]. Campion has cited the novels ''[[Wuthering Heights]]'' and ''[[The African Queen (novel)|The African Queen]]'' as inspirations.<ref name=":0" />

In July 2013, Campion revealed that she originally intended that the main character would drown in the sea after going overboard after her piano.<ref>{{cite news|author=Child, Ben| url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/08/jane-campion-bleak-ending-the-piano |title=Jane Campion wanted a bleaker ending for The Piano| work=[[The Guardian]]|date= 8 July 2013}}</ref>

Principal photography took place over 12 weeks from February to mid-May 1992.<ref name="Cinemontage">{{cite journal| url=https://cinemontage.org/the-piano-aint-got-no-wrong-notes/ |date=June 12, 2018 |title='The Piano' Ain't Got No Wrong Notes |journal=[[Motion Picture Editors Guild|CineMontage]] |access-date=July 19, 2023}}</ref> ''The Piano'' was filmed in New Zealand’s [[North Island]]. The scene where Ada comes ashore and the piano is abandoned was filmed at [[Karekare, New Zealand|Karekare Beach]], west of [[Auckland]]. Bush scenes were filmed near [[Matakana]] and [[Awakino]], while underwater scenes were filmed at the [[Bay of Islands]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Piano 1993 |url=https://movie-locations.com/movies/p/Piano.php |website=Movie Locations |access-date=19 September 2024}}</ref>

Campion was determined to market the film to appeal to a larger audience than the limited audiences many [[arthouse|art]] films attracted at the time. Simona Benzakein, the publicist for ''The Piano'' at [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]] noted: "Jane and I discussed the marketing. She wanted this to be not just an elite film, but a popular film."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/40948460 |last1=Elaine Margolis|first1=Harriett|title=Jane Campion's The Piano|year=2000|pages=136|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0521592581}}</ref>