Editing The Last Detail (section)

===Pre-production===
The project stalled for 18 months while Nicholson made ''[[The King of Marvin Gardens]]''.{{sfn|Biskind|1998|p=175}} Guber told Ayres that he could get [[Burt Reynolds]], [[Jim Brown]], and [[David Cassidy]] and a new writer, and he would approve production immediately. Ayres rejected this proposal, and the studio agreed to wait because they were afraid that the producer would take the film to another studio.{{sfn|Biskind|1998|p=175}} Ashby and Ayres read navy publications and interviewed current and ex-servicemen who helped them correct minor errors in the script.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=137}} The director wanted to shoot on location at the naval base in [[Norfolk, Virginia]], and the brig at [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]], but was unable to get permission from the [[United States Navy]]. However, the [[Canadian Navy]] was willing to cooperate and in mid-August 1972, Ashby and his casting director Stalmaster traveled to [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]] to look at a naval base and meet with actors.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=137}} The base suited their needs and Ashby met [[Carol Kane]], whom he would cast in a small role.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=138}} Opening scenes of the film were not shot at a Canadian Naval Base, but rather at CFB Borden, a major training base for the Canadian Air Force & Army.

Ashby was busted for possession of [[marijuana]] while scouting locations in Canada. This almost changed the studio's mind about backing the project, but the director's drug bust was not widely reported and Nicholson remained fiercely loyal to him, which was a deciding factor.{{sfn|Biskind|1998|p=169}} Just as the film was about to go into production, Crosse was diagnosed with terminal [[cancer]]. Ashby postponed principal photography for a week to allow Crosse to deal with the news and decide if he still wanted to do the film.{{sfn|Biskind|1998|p=178}} The actor decided not to do the film, and Ashby and Stalmaster scrambled to find a replacement. They cast Otis Young.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=139}}