Editing The Elephant Man (1980 film) (section)

===Development===
Producer [[Jonathan Sanger]] optioned the script from writers Christopher De Vore and [[Eric Bergren]] after receiving the script from his babysitter.<ref name="AFI" /> Sanger had been working as [[Mel Brooks]]' assistant director on ''[[High Anxiety]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Sanger showed Brooks the script, whereupon he decided to help finance via Brooksfilms, his new company. Brooks' personal assistant, Stuart Cornfeld, suggested [[David Lynch]] to Sanger.<ref name=FSR>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/jul/27/42|title= 'How does a guy known for fart jokes make The Elephant Man?'|website= [[The Guardian]]|date= July 26, 2008|accessdate= December 28, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/mel-brooks-david-lynch-and-the-elephant-man/|title= A Brief History of Mel Brooks, David Lynch and 'The Elephant Man'|website= Film School Rejects|date= June 28, 2021|accessdate= December 29, 2021}}</ref>

Sanger met Lynch, and they shared scripts they were working on (''The Elephant Man'' and Lynch's unrealized ''[[Ronnie Rocket]]''). Lynch told Sanger that he would love to direct the script after reading it, and Sanger endorsed him after hearing Lynch's ideas. However, Brooks had not heard of Lynch at the time. Sanger and Cornfeld set up an ''[[Eraserhead]]'' viewing at a [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] screening room; Brooks loved it and enthusiastically agreed for Lynch to direct.<ref name=":0" /> By his own request, Brooks was not credited as executive producer to ensure that audiences would not expect a comedy after seeing his name attached.<ref name="Potton">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/the-elephant-man-1980-review-8dj3gzzf0 |title= The Elephant Man (1980) review |date=14 June 2019  |last=Potton |first=Ed |work=The Times |access-date=5 February 2024 |url-access=subscription |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190614142040/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-elephant-man-1980-review-8dj3gzzf0 |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>