Editing Flashdance (section)

=== Development ===
In April 1980, [[Thomas Hedley]] sold the film idea for development to Casablanca, a Los Angeles production company, for $300,000 and 5% of the net, as reported in ''[[The Globe and Mail]].'' Hedley based the concept on the lives of exotic dancers he had met while editor of ''[[Toronto Life]]'' magazine such as Gina Healey and Maureen Marder. Marder and Healey were paid $2,500 each for their life stories.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="buzzfeed-untold-story">{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Soraya |title=The Secret History Of "Flashdance" |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/sorayaroberts/the-untold-story-of-the-people-flashdance-left-behind |date=August 14, 2014 |website=[[BuzzFeed]] |access-date=4 October 2021 |language=en |quote=Based on the terms of his deal with Casablanca, Hedley came out $8 million richer. The Zabols, however, received neither credit nor payment nor were their slides ever returned. Meanwhile, Gina Healey and Maureen Marder were paid $2,300 each for signing away their life stories to Paramount and agreeing never to talk about their involvement...And this time, Gina Healey, Maureen Marder, and the Zabols are refusing to keep quiet about its backstory, despite the risk of litigation.}}</ref>

Hedley's script was eventually sold to [[Peter Guber]] and [[Jon Peters]] for [[PolyGram Pictures]], who took the script with them to [[Paramount Pictures]]. However, the latter studio had less confidence in the film and placed it into turnaround for two years. Development of the film resumed when [[Don Simpson]], who believed the film could be successful, resigned from his executive post at Paramount Pictures to co-produce the film with [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] in their first collaboration. They got Paramount to greenlight the film by hiring [[Joe Eszterhas]] to rewrite Hedley's script.<ref name=":0" />

[[Adrian Lyne]] was not the first choice as [[Film director|director]] of ''Flashdance''. [[David Cronenberg]] had turned down an offer to direct as he felt he would have destroyed the film, as had [[Brian De Palma]], who instead chose to direct ''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]'' (1983). At the time, Lyne's background was primarily in directing [[Television advertisement|television commercials]], such as his 1970s UK commercials for [[Brutus Jeans]] (which may conceivably be seen as anticipating the visuals and style of ''Flashdance'').<ref name="Delaney2007">{{cite news |last=Delaney |first=Sam |title=The British admen who saved Hollywood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/aug/24/1 |access-date=29 May 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Croll |first=Ben |date=2024-12-01 |title=David Cronenberg Doesn't Regret Turning Down 'Flashdance' Producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson: 'I Told Them, I Will Destroy Your Movie If I Direct It' |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/david-cronenberg-flashdance-bruckheimer-marrakech-1236231604/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Lyne agreed to direct because he wanted to establish enough confidence from studios in his directorial skills to get his next film ''[[9½ Weeks]]'' (1986) approved.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nine 1/2 Weeks |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68353-NINE-12-WEEKS?cxt=filmography |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=AFI Catalog}}</ref> Executives at Paramount were unsure about the film's potential and sold 25% of the rights prior to its release.