Editing Sense and Sensibility (film) (section)

==== Lee's hire ====
Taiwanese director [[Ang Lee]] was hired as a result of his work in the 1993 family comedy film ''[[The Wedding Banquet]]'', which he co-wrote, produced, and directed. He was not familiar with Jane Austen.{{sfn|Mills|2009|p=67}} Doran felt that Lee's films, which depicted complex family relationships amidst a social comedy context, were a good fit with Austen's storylines.<ref name=tcmfmiller /> She recalled, "The idea of a foreign director was intellectually appealing even though it was very scary to have someone who didn't have English as his first language."<ref name=dailybeastlunch /> The producer sent Lee a copy of Thompson's script, to which he replied that he was "cautiously interested".<ref name=Kerr /> Fifteen directors were interviewed, but according to Doran, Lee was one of the few who recognised Austen's humour. He also told them he wanted the film to "break people's hearts so badly that they'll still be recovering from it two months later."<ref name=Kerr>{{cite news |title=Sense and sensitivity |first=Sarah |last=Kerr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MuECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=1 April 1996 |access-date=16 August 2011 |archive-date=19 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819145831/https://books.google.com/books?id=MuECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Quote box
 | quote=In some ways I probably know that nineteenth century world better than English people today, because I grew up with one foot still in that feudal society. Of course, the dry sense of humour, the sense of decorum, the social code is different. But the essence of social repression against free will – I grew up with that.
 | source  = —Ang Lee<ref name=Kerr />
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From the beginning, Doran wanted ''Sense and Sensibility'' to appeal to both a core audience of Austen aficionados as well as younger viewers attracted to [[romantic comedy]] films.{{sfn|Higson|2011|p=155}} She felt that Lee's involvement prevented the film from becoming "just some little English movie" that appealed only to local audiences instead of to the wider world.{{sfn|Higson|2004|p=46}} Lee said,
<blockquote>I thought they were crazy: I was brought up in Taiwan, what do I know about 19th-century England? About halfway through the script it started to make sense why they chose me. In my films I've been trying to mix social satire and family drama. I realised that all along I had been trying to do Jane Austen without knowing it. Jane Austen was my destiny. I just had to overcome the cultural barrier.<ref name=dailybeastlunch /></blockquote>Because Thompson and Doran had worked on the screenplay for so long, Lee described himself at the time as a "director for hire", as he was unsure of his role and position.<ref name=HarpersBazaar /> He spent six months in England "learn[ing] how to make this movie, how to do a period film, culturally&nbsp;... and how to adapt to the major league film industry".<ref name=HarpersBazaar>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.harpersbazaar.co.uk/going-out/who-what-where/in-conversation-with-ang-lee |title=In conversation with Ang Lee |magazine=[[Harper's Bazaar]] |first=Francine |last=Stock |date=21 January 2013 |access-date=26 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317183313/http://www.harpersbazaar.co.uk/going-out/who-what-where/in-conversation-with-ang-lee |archive-date=17 March 2013 }}</ref>

In January 1995, Thompson presented a draft to Lee, Doran, co-producer Laurie Borg, and others working on the production, and spent the next two months editing the screenplay based upon their feedback.{{sfn|Thompson|1995|pp=207–10}} Thompson continued making revisions throughout production of the film, including altering scenes to meet budgetary concerns, adding dialogue changes, and changing certain aspects to better fit the actors.{{sfn|Stempel|2000|p=249}} Brandon's confession scene, for instance, initially included flashbacks and stylised imagery before Thompson decided it was "emotionally more interesting to let Brandon tell the story himself and find it difficult".{{sfn|Thompson|1995|p=251}}