Editing Chinatown (1974 film) (section)

===Characters and casting===
* J. J. Gittes was named after Nicholson's friend, producer Harry Gittes.
* Evelyn Mulwray is, according to Towne, intended to initially seem the classic "black widow" character typical of lead female characters in [[film noir]], but is eventually revealed to be a tragic victim. [[Jane Fonda]] was strongly considered for the role, but Polanski insisted on Dunaway.<ref name="dvd" />
* Noah Cross: Towne said that Huston was, after Nicholson, the second-best-cast actor in the film and that he made the Cross character menacing, through his courtly performance.<ref name="dvd" />
* Polanski appears in a cameo as the gangster who cuts Gittes' nose. The effect was accomplished with a special knife which could have actually cut Nicholson's nose if Polanski had not held it correctly.
* In 1974, after making Chinatown and while filming ''[[The Fortune]]'', Nicholson was informed by ''Time'' magazine researchers that his "sister" was actually his mother, similarly to the revelation made in the film regarding Evelyn and Katherine.<ref name="seducer">Collins, Nancy. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081021095326/http://www.jacknicholson.org/1984RollingStone.html ''The Great Seducer: Jack Nicholson'']. ''Rolling Stone'', March 29, 1984,</ref>