Editing Witness (1985 film) (section)

===Development===
Producer [[Edward S. Feldman]], who was in a "first-look" development deal with [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] at the time, first received the screenplay for ''Witness'' in 1983. Originally titled ''Called Home'', which is the Amish term for death, it ran for 182 pages, the equivalent of three hours of screen time. The script, which had been circulating in Hollywood for several years, began with an idea by novelist Pamela Wallace for a novel about an Amish woman who witnesses a murder in Los Angeles. Earl W. Wallace, who wrote for the television Western ''[[How the West Was Won (TV series)|How the West Was Won]]'' recalled an episode with a similar plot and contacted its writer, William Kelley. Kelley had reworked the plot for the show from a script he had written for a 1972 episode of ''[[Gunsmoke]]''.{{sfn|McGivern|2020|p=2}}{{sfn|Feldman|2005|pages=180–190}} Earl Wallace and Kelley wrote the original screenplay together.

Feldman liked the concept, but felt too much of the script was devoted to Amish traditions, diluting the thriller aspects of the story. He offered Kelley and Wallace $25,000 for a one-year option and one rewrite, and an additional $225,000 if the film actually were made. They submitted the revised screenplay in less than six weeks, and Feldman delivered it to Fox. Joe Wizan, the studio's head of production, rejected it with the statement that Fox did not make "rural movies".{{sfn|Feldman|2005|p=191}}

Feldman sent the screenplay to Harrison Ford's agent [[The Gersh Agency|Phil Gersh]], who contacted the producer four days later and advised him his client was willing to commit to the film. Certain the attachment of a major star would change Wizan's mind, Feldman approached him once again, but Wizan insisted that as much as the studio liked Ford, they still were not interested in making a "rural movie".{{sfn|Feldman|2005|pages=190–191}}

Feldman sent the screenplay to numerous studios, and was rejected by all of them, until [[Paramount Pictures]] finally expressed interest. Feldman's first choice of director was [[Peter Weir]], but he was involved in preproduction work for ''[[The Mosquito Coast (film)|The Mosquito Coast]]'' and passed on the project. [[John Badham]] dismissed it as "just another cop movie", and others Feldman approached either were committed to other projects or had no interest. Then, as financial backing for ''The Mosquito Coast'' fell through, Weir became free to direct ''Witness'', which was his first American film. Starting the film immediately was imperative, because a [[Directors Guild of America]] (DGA) strike was looming.{{sfn|Feldman|2005|p=188}} [[David Cronenberg]] was offered the role of director, but declined as he "could never be a fan of the Amish".{{sfn|Rodley|1997|p=116}}