Editing Heaven's Gate (film) (section)

===Screenplay===
In 1971, film director [[Michael Cimino]] submitted an original script for ''Heaven's Gate'' (then called ''The Johnson County War''), but the project was shelved when it failed to attract big-name talent, including [[John Wayne]], who turned down the lead role.<ref name=talent>{{cite news|last=Robey|first=Tim|title=Heaven's Gate: the bomb that almost destroyed Hollywood|date=July 19, 2013|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/classic-movies/10131915/Heavens-Gate-the-bomb-that-almost-destroyed-Hollywood.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/classic-movies/10131915/Heavens-Gate-the-bomb-that-almost-destroyed-Hollywood.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=January 29, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://theplaylist.net/john-williams-turned-down-scoring-heavens-gate-more-learned-from-the-criterion-edition-of-michael-ciminos-cult-film-20121129 | title=John Williams Turned Down Scoring 'Heaven's Gate' & More Learned from the Criterion Edition of Michael Cimino's Cult Film | date=November 29, 2012 }}</ref> A third version of the script was submitted to [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] before the release of ''[[The Deer Hunter]]''.{{sfn|Medved|Medved|1984|p=172}} His directorial debut, ''[[Thunderbolt and Lightfoot]]'' (1974), was a hit. In 1979, on the eve of winning two Academy Awards ([[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] and [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]) for 1978's ''The Deer Hunter'', Cimino convinced [[United Artists]] (UA) to resurrect the ''Heaven's Gate'' project with [[Kris Kristofferson]], [[Isabelle Huppert]], and [[Christopher Walken]] as the main characters. He was given an initial budget of $11.6 million,<ref>{{cite news|last=Burr|first=Ty|title=Ty Burr revisits 'Heaven's Gate'|date=November 24, 2012|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2012/11/24/burr-revisits-heaven-gate/km6gp1cBbxY75qxWrFs6tM/story.html|access-date=January 31, 2015|archive-date=December 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208124051/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2012/11/24/burr-revisits-heaven-gate/km6gp1cBbxY75qxWrFs6tM/story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> but was also provided with [[blank cheque|carte blanche]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Matthews|first=Christopher|title=The Top 10 Biggest Money-Losing Movies of All Time|date=March 20, 2012|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://business.time.com/2012/03/21/the-top-ten-biggest-money-losing-movies-of-all-time/slide/heavens-gate/|access-date=January 31, 2015}}</ref> Cimino's girlfriend, Joann Carelli, was hired to produce the film.{{sfn|Medved|Medved|1984|p=172}}