Editing City of Angels (film) (section)

===Development===
Director [[Brad Silberling]] praised [[Wim Wenders]]' 1987 Franco-German film ''[[Wings of Desire]]'', calling it "truly the most incredible cinematic experience of observation of human detail".<ref name="Kenny">{{cite AV media |last1=Kenny |first1=J.M. |last2=Silberling |first2=Brad |date=2009 |title=The Angels Among Us |medium=Blu-ray |work=[[Wings of Desire]] |publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]}}</ref> Silberling, while acknowledging Wenders' film was meant as a tribute to [[West Berlin]], remarked that it became "a larger human discussion".<ref name="Kenny"/> In 1989, at the initiative of producer [[Dawn Steel]],<ref name="Albers"/> her company reached out to Wenders to purchase the rights for an adaptation.<ref>{{cite AV media |last1=Kenny |first1=J.M. |last2=Wenders |first2=Wim |date=2009 |title=The Angels Among Us |medium=Blu-ray |work=[[Wings of Desire]] |publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]}}</ref> However, production was delayed, as Steel took the project to [[The Walt Disney Company]] and [[Turner Entertainment]] before finally settling at [[Warner Bros.]]<ref name="Mermelstein">{{cite news |last=Mermelstein |first=David |date=April 5, 1998 |title=The remake as a risky take on a classic |volume=147 |page=17 |work=[[The New York Times]] |issue=51118 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/movies/film-the-remake-as-a-risky-take-on-a-classic.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814063655/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/05/movies/film-the-remake-as-a-risky-take-on-a-classic.html |archive-date=August 14, 2017}}</ref> Silberling secured the position of director after his success with the 1995 film adaptation of ''[[Casper (film)|Casper]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/16/features.review |title=The family that grieves together... |last=Ojumu |first=Akin |access-date=July 16, 2017 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=February 16, 2003 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402210008/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/feb/16/features.review |archive-date=April 2, 2017 }}</ref>

While Steel's husband [[Charles Roven]] said she "felt that there was another movie in the idea for ''Wings of Desire''", screenplay drafts by various authors dissatisfied her.<ref name="Mermelstein"/> She subsequently selected [[Dana Stevens (screenwriter)|Dana Stevens]] as screenwriter.<ref name="Wilmington">{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/04/10/caught-in-the-middle/ |title=Caught in the Middle |last=Wilmington |first=Michael |access-date=August 9, 2017 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=April 10, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809202514/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-04-10/entertainment/9804100018_1_angels-solveig-dommartin-wings |archive-date=August 9, 2017 }}</ref> Stevens professed admiration for Wenders' original and believed she could "capture its essence", while reconsidering its [[nonlinear narrative]]. She also defended the California setting, saying "Los Angeles is metaphorically more representative of America than any other city ... It has every personality, and I like the idea of angels being among all these different ethnic cultures".<ref name="Mermelstein"/>

[[File:US-CA-SanFrancisco-PublicLibrary-Atrium-2012-06-27T120042.jpg|250px|thumb|[[San Francisco Public Library]] was a filming location.{{sfn|Marcus|2015|p=206}}]]
Star [[Nicolas Cage]] said that moving the setting from Berlin in the time of the [[Berlin Wall|Wall]] to Los Angeles demanded story changes, with heavier focus on romance.<ref name="Mooney"/> Silberling and Cage noted the project followed other angel-themed films, such as ''[[Michael (1996 film)|Michael]]'' and ''[[The Preacher's Wife]]'', both released in 1996. They were unimpressed with these earlier films, and drew angel wings in the ''City of Angels'' screenplay to identify parts they felt needed improvement.<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-last=Cagle |editor-first=Jess |title=City of Angels |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=February 20–27, 1998 |issue=419–420 |page=64 }}</ref>

Though Silberling did not use the black-and-white the angels see in the original ''Wings of Desire'' and ''[[Faraway, So Close!]]'', the remake does borrow the idea of angels inhabiting libraries.{{sfn|Tate|2011|p=23}} Wenders and his crew also developed the costume design of overcoats for angels, with Wenders telling Silberling they experimented with costumes during production before deciding on this look.<ref name="Kenny"/> The ending of the story was altered, so Maggie is killed, a less happy conclusion than the original. Silberling equated this to a scene in ''Wings of Desire'' where the angel protagonist goes to the side of a motorcyclist near death.<ref name="Albers">{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/kulturspiegel/d-7927749.html |title=Hat Hollywood ein Herz für Engel? |last=Albers |first=Markus |access-date=July 16, 2017 |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=June 29, 1998 |language=de |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029183759/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/kulturspiegel/d-7927749.html |archive-date=October 29, 2017 }}</ref>

Silberling claimed there was minimal supervision from Warner Bros. throughout writing and filming, due to priority given to the [[Batman in film|''Batman'' film franchise]].<ref name="Albers"/> ''City of Angels'' was the last film produced by Steel and Roven before her death, and it is dedicated to her.<ref name="Ehrman">{{cite web |last=Ehrman |first=Mark |title=Stars Are Out for 'Angels,' Dawn Steel |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-10-ls-37786-story.html |access-date=July 10, 2017 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 10, 1998 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816230931/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/10/news/ls-37786 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 }}</ref>