Editing The Wild Bunch (section)

===Development===
In April 1965, producer Reno Carrell optioned an original story and screenplay by Walon Green and Roy Sickner, called ''The Wild Bunch''.<ref>{{cite news|title=MOVIE CALL SHEET: Star Sought for Bond Role|author=Martin, Betty|work= Los Angeles Times |date=April 14, 1965|page= D18}}</ref>

In 1967, [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]] producers Kenneth Hyman and Phil Feldman were interested in having Sam Peckinpah rewrite and direct an adventure film called ''The Diamond Story''. A professional outcast due to the production difficulties of his previous film, ''[[Major Dundee]]'' (1965), and his firing from the set of ''[[The Cincinnati Kid]]'' (1965), Peckinpah's stock had improved following his critically acclaimed work on the television film ''[[Noon Wine#1966 version|Noon Wine]]'' (1966).

At the time, [[William Goldman]]'s screenplay for ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'' had recently been purchased by [[20th Century Fox]]. An alternative screenplay available at the studio was ''The Wild Bunch''. It was quickly decided that ''The Wild Bunch'', which had several similarities to Goldman's work, would be produced to beat ''Butch Cassidy'' to the theaters.<ref>{{Cite news
  | last =Carroll | first =E. Jean
  | title =Last of the Desperadoes: Dueling with Sam Peckinpah
  | newspaper =Rocky Mountain Magazine
  | date =March 1982
  }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=257–263 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Garner |last=Simmons | title=Peckinpah, A Portrait in Montage| publisher=University of Texas Press |year = 1982|pages=73–81 | isbn= 0-292-76493-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Weddle|author-link= David Weddle| title=If They Move...Kill 'Em!| publisher=Grove Press |year = 1994|pages=307–309 | isbn= 0-8021-3776-8 }}</ref>