Editing The Usual Suspects (section)

=== Pre-production ===
McQuarrie wrote nine drafts of his screenplay over five months, until Singer felt that it was ready to shop around to the studios. None were interested except for a European financing company.<ref name="reporter">{{cite news |title=''Suspects'' Found It Tough to Round Up Financing |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=September 13, 1995}}</ref> McQuarrie and Singer had a difficult time getting the film made because of the non-linear story, the large amount of dialogue and the lack of cast attached to the project. Financiers wanted established stars, and offers for the role of Agent Dave Kujan went out to [[Christopher Walken]], [[Tommy Lee Jones]], [[Jeff Bridges]], [[Charlie Sheen]], [[James Spader]], [[Al Pacino]] and [[Johnny Cash]].<ref name="nashawaty"/> However, the European money allowed the film's producers to make offers to actors and assemble a cast. They were able to offer the actors only salaries that were well below their usual pay, but they agreed because of the quality of McQuarrie's script and the chance to work with one another.<ref name="hartl"/> That money fell through, and Singer used the script and the cast to attract [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment|PolyGram]] to pick up the film negative.<ref name="reporter"/>

About casting, Singer said, "You pick people not for what they are, but what you imagine they can turn into."<ref name="lacey"/> To research his role, Spacey met doctors and experts on [[cerebral palsy]] and talked with Singer about how it would fit dramatically in the film. They decided that it would affect only one side of his body.<ref name="Burnett"/> According to Byrne, the cast bonded quickly during rehearsals.<ref name="ryan"/> Del Toro worked with Alan Shaterian to develop Fenster's distinctive, almost unintelligible speech patterns.<ref name="hernandez">{{cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Barbara E |title=What's in a name? Benicio Del Toro knows |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=September 5, 1995}}</ref> According to the actor, the source of his character's unusual speech patterns came from the realization that "the purpose of my character was to die."<ref name="Burnett"/> Del Toro told Singer, "It really doesn't matter what I say, so I can go really far out with this and really make it uncomprehensible."<ref name="Burnett"/>