Editing Escape from New York (section)

===Casting===
[[Embassy Pictures|AVCO Embassy Pictures]], the film's financial backer, preferred [[Charles Bronson]], [[Tommy Lee Jones]] or [[Chuck Norris]] to play the role of Snake Plissken to Carpenter's choice of Kurt Russell, who was trying to overcome the "lightweight" screen image conveyed by his roles in several [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] comedies. Carpenter refused to cast Bronson on the grounds that he was too old, and because he worried that he could lose directorial control over the film with an experienced actor. At the time, Russell described his character as "a mercenary, and his style of fighting is a combination of [[Bruce Lee]], [[The Exterminator]], and [[Darth Vader]], with [[Clint Eastwood|Eastwood]]'s vocal-ness."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hogan |first=Richard |title=Kurt Russell Rides a New Wave in ''Escape'' Film |magazine=[[Circus (magazine)|Circus]] |year=1980 |url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/circus1980.html |access-date=March 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317172535/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/circus1980.html |archive-date=March 17, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cinephiliabeyond.org/escape-new-york-john-carpenters-thrilling-pumped-ride-streets-dystopian-new-york-city/|title='Escape from New York': John Carpenter's Thrilling, Pumped-Up Ride through the Streets of a Dystopian New York City • Cinephilia & Beyond|date=August 8, 2016}}</ref> Russell suggested that the character should wear an eyepatch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/interviews/a39140/kurt-russell-bone-tomahawk/|title=Kurt Russell on the American Tough Guy and His New Cannibal Western|date=October 25, 2015|website=Esquire}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a26660038/kurt-russell-best-movies-interview/ | title=Kurt Russell Reveals the Bizarre Injury That Pushed Him into Acting Full-Time | date=March 5, 2019 }}</ref> All that matters to Snake, according to the actor, is "the next 60 seconds. Living for exactly that next minute is all there is." Russell used a rigorous diet and exercise program to develop a lean and muscular build. He also endeavored to stay in character between takes and throughout the shooting, as he welcomed the opportunity to get away from the Disney comedies he had done previously. He did find it necessary to remove the [[eyepatch]] between takes, as wearing it constantly seriously affected his [[depth perception]].<ref name="Goldberg, Lee">{{cite magazine|last=Goldberg |first=Lee |title=Kurt Russell&nbsp;— Two-Fisted Hero |magazine=[[Starlog]] |number=108 |date=July 1986 }}</ref>