Editing The Boys from Brazil (film) (section)

===Development===
The book came out in 1976 and was a best seller.<ref>Best Seller List: Fiction General Book Ends New York Times ]21 Mar 1976: 220.</ref> In August 1976 it was announced the Producers Group (Robert Fryer, Martin Richards, Mary Lee Johnson and James Cresson) had optioned the film rights to the novel and would make the movie in association with [[Lew Grade]].<ref>book notes: Getty's version of fact, fable
Lochte, Dick. Los Angeles Times 1 Aug 1976: j2.</ref> Fryer had just made ''Voyage of the Damned'' for Grade.<ref>Robert Fryer--Clout Plus Taste: ROBERT FRYER
Glover, William. Los Angeles Times 22 Dec 1976: e10.</ref> According to producer [[Martin Richards (producer)|Martin Richards]], [[Robert Mulligan]] was the original director.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40UTI-uUHpwC&q=george+c+scott+the+boys+from+brazil&pg=PA36|last=Priggé|first=Steven|title=Movie Moguls Speak: Interviews with Top Film Producers|year=2004|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786419296|access-date=2020-11-03}}page 36</ref>

In May 1977, it was announced [[Laurence Olivier]] would star.<ref>At the Movies
Flatley, Guy. New York Times 6 May 1977: 54.</ref> By this stage Franklin Schaffner was attached to direct.<ref>CRITIC AT LARGE: In Search of World Viewers
Champlin, Charles. Los Angeles Times 27 May 1977: g</ref> Gregory Peck joined the film in July.<ref>Mike's honeymoon: tea for 3
Daly, Maggie. Chicago Tribune 15 July 1977: b4.</ref> Olivier had recently been ill and was taking as many well-paying movie jobs as he could get in order to provide for his wife and children after his death.<ref>Movies: Laurence Olivier 'Getting On With It' The Indestructible Laurence Olivier
Lewin, David. Los Angeles Times ]26 Feb 1978: n33.</ref> Peck agreed to portray Mengele only because he wanted to work with Olivier.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gregory Peck: Elder statesman of the screen who stood for nobility, honour and decency |date=14 June 2003 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/gregory-peck-36623.html |access-date=1 September 2015 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723003305/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/gregory-peck-36623.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Mason initially expressed interest in playing either Mengele or Lieberman.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 October 1978 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=JAMES MASON: "THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL" |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/james-mason-the-boys-from-brazil |access-date=1 September 2015 |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905070639/http://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/james-mason-the-boys-from-brazil |url-status=live }}</ref> Lilli Palmer also accepted a small role just to work with Olivier.<ref>{{cite news |date=8 February 1978 |title=Lilli Palmer Joins Cast Of 'Boys From Brazil' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/08/archives/lilli-palmer-joins-cast-of-boys-from-brazil.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=C20 |access-date=5 June 2022 |archive-date=5 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605170359/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/08/archives/lilli-palmer-joins-cast-of-boys-from-brazil.html |url-status=live }}</ref> To prepare for the roles of the European clones, Jeremy Black was sent to a speech studio in New York City by 20th Century Fox to learn how to speak with both an English and a German accent.<ref name="black" />

"The emphasis of the film is not on Nazis," said producer Fryer. "It is really about cloning, a logical extension of existing facts. And it's about the hatred that two men have for each other."<ref name="clip"/>