Editing Clue (film) (section)

==Production==
===Development===
Producer [[Debra Hill]] initially acquired the rights to adapt the game from [[Parker Brothers]] and intended to distribute through [[Universal Pictures]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Farber |first=Stephen |date=1985-08-25 |title=OFF THE BOARD, ONTO THE SCREEN FOR CLUE |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/25/arts/off-the-board-onto-the-screen-for-clue.html |access-date=2023-11-03 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> As early as 1981, Hill mentioned plans to adapt the game into a movie, with [[P. D. James]] reported to be writing the screenplay with multiple endings.<ref name="TSR">{{cite news |last1=Freedman |first1=Richard |title=Double Bill: Tonight's 'Halloween' horrorthon based on writer's teen memories |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/572219842 |access-date=17 November 2023 |work=The Spokesman-Review |date=30 October 1981}}</ref>

===Screenplay===
The multiple endings were developed by [[John Landis]], who had initially been set to direct, and who claimed in an interview to have invited playwright [[Tom Stoppard]], writer and composer [[Stephen Sondheim]], and actor [[Anthony Perkins]] to write the screenplay. The script was ultimately finished by Jonathan Lynn, who was invited to direct as a result.<ref name="2015-12-10 Buzzfeed" /><ref name=":0" />

A fourth ending was written for the film; according to Lynn, "It really wasn't very good. I looked at it, and I thought, 'No, no, no, we've got to get rid of that.'"<ref name="farr20120313">{{cite web | url=http://abnormaluse.com/2012/03/abnormal-interview-my-cousin-vinny-director-jonathan-lynn.html | title=Abnormal Interviews: My Cousin Vinny Director Jonathan Lynn | website=Abnormal Use | date=2012-03-13 | access-date=June 8, 2012 | last=Farr |first=Nick | archive-date=June 17, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617023353/http://abnormaluse.com/2012/03/abnormal-interview-my-cousin-vinny-director-jonathan-lynn.html | url-status=live}}</ref> In it, Wadsworth committed all the murders, and reveals he poisoned the champagne, leaving no witnesses when the six guests soon die. The officers arrive and capture Wadsworth, but he breaks free and steals a police car, though his escape is ultimately thwarted when three [[police dog]]s lunge from the back seat.{{sfn|Matthews|Landis|Lynn|1985|pp=57–59}}

===Casting===
[[Carrie Fisher]] was originally cast to portray Miss Scarlet, but withdrew to enter treatment for [[drug addiction|drug]] and [[alcoholism|alcohol addiction]]; she was replaced with Lesley Ann Warren.<ref name=ewbad>{{Cite web |url=http://movieline.com/2011/12/14/bad-movies-we-love-clue/ |title=Bad Movies We Love: ''Clue'' |website=[[Movieline]] |date=December 14, 2011 |access-date=August 1, 2012 |archive-date=May 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522013632/http://movieline.com/2011/12/14/bad-movies-we-love-clue/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/movies/clue-oral-history/ | title=An oral history of 'Clue,' the classic whodunnit | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] }}</ref> Jonathan Lynn's first choice for Wadsworth was [[Leonard Rossiter]], but he died before filming commenced.<ref name="jackson">{{cite web|last=Jackson|first=Matthew|title=13 Mysterious Facts About Clue|url=https://mentalfloss.com/article/72462/13-mysterious-facts-about-clue|website=[[Mental Floss]]|date=April 1, 2016|access-date=September 26, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503024900/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/72462/13-mysterious-facts-about-clue|url-status=live}}</ref> The second choice was [[Rowan Atkinson]], but it was decided that he was not sufficiently well known at the time, so [[Tim Curry]] was cast.<ref name="jackson"/> The entire cast received the same salary and billing, despite their different levels of notability at the time.<ref name=":0" />

===Filming===
''Clue'' was filmed on [[sound stage]]s 17 and 18 at the [[Paramount Pictures]] film studios in Hollywood.<ref name="Fayetteville Mafia Press">{{cite book |last1=Hatch |first1=John |title="What Do You Mean, Murder?" Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic |date=November 7, 2023 |publisher=Fayetteville Mafia Press |isbn=978-1949024609}}</ref> The set design is credited to Les Gobruegge, Gene Nollmanwas, and William B. Majorand, with set decoration by Thomas L. Roysden.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088930/fullcredits#cast | title=Full cast and crew for Clue (1985) | access-date=2007-08-15 | website=[[IMDb]] | archive-date=January 5, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105231213/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088930/fullcredits#cast | url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=February 2023}} To decorate the interior sets, authentic 18th- and 19th-century furnishings were rented from private collectors, including the estate of [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.fast-rewind.com/locations_clue.htm| title=Clue (1985) Movie Filming Locations | access-date=February 15, 2023| website=The 80s Movies Rewind| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017193553/https://www.fast-rewind.com/locations_clue.htm| archive-date=October 17, 2021| url-status=live}}</ref> After completion, the set was bought by the producers of ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'', who used it as the fictional hotel The Carlton.

All interior scenes were filmed at the Paramount lot, except the ballroom scene. The ballroom and two driveway exteriors were filmed on location at a mansion in [[South Pasadena, California]]. This site was destroyed in a fire on October 5, 2005.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://theartofmurder.com/table/stage/mansionphoto/mansionphoto.html| title=Photos from Filming Location – 2003| access-date=February 15, 2023| website=The Art of Murder| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810135637/https://theartofmurder.com/table/stage/mansionphoto/mansionphoto.html| archive-date=August 10, 2022| url-status=live}}</ref> The driveway and fountain were recreated on the Paramount lot and used for most shots, including the guests' arrivals. Exterior shots of the South Pasadena mansion were enhanced with [[matte painting]]s to make the house appear much larger; these were executed by matte artist Syd Dutton in consultation with [[Albert Whitlock]].{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Jonathan Lynn screened ''[[His Girl Friday]]'' for the cast as inspiration for how to deliver their lines.<ref name=":0" /> Madeline Kahn improvised her monologue about "flames."<ref name="2015-12-10 Buzzfeed" />