Editing Gosford Park (section)

==Production==
===Development and writing===
In 1999, [[Bob Balaban]] asked [[Robert Altman]] if there were something they could develop together, and Altman suggested a whodunit.<ref name="Gerald">{{cite web|url=http://geraldpeary.com/interviews/abc/altman.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124000153/http://geraldpeary.com/interviews/abc/altman.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=24 January 2013|title=Robert Altman|last=Peary|first=Gerald|date=December 2001|publisher=[[Gerald Peary]]|access-date=9 August 2010}}</ref> Altman wanted to create an [[Agatha Christie]]{{endash}}like country house murder mystery that explored that way of life; he called the film a "classic situation: all suspects under one roof".<ref name="Gerald"/><ref name="Dorset">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/content/articles/2005/07/25/julian_fellows_feature.shtml|title=Profiles – Julian Fellowes|date=8 August 2005|work=BBC Dorset|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=9 August 2010}}</ref> Altman was also inspired by the 1930s films ''[[The Rules of the Game]]'' and ''[[Charlie Chan in London]].''<ref name="Gerald"/> Altman chose British actor and writer [[Julian Fellowes]] to write the screenplay, because Fellowes knew how country houses operated.<ref name="Dorset"/> Fellowes, who had never written a feature film before, received a telephone call from Altman, who asked him to come up with some characters and stories.<ref name="Dorset"/><ref name="Unfazed">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/15/movies/gosford-writer-is-unfazed-by-class-but-amazed-by-fame.html|title='Gosford' Writer Is Unfazed by Class but Amazed by Fame|last=Hoge|first=Warren|date=15 April 2002|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=10 August 2010}}</ref> Fellowes was given a brief outline of the film: it was to be "set in a country house in the '30s and to have a murder in there somewhere, but for it to really be an examination of class."<ref name="Unfazed"/> Altman also wanted the film to explore the three groups of people: the family, the guests, and the servants.<ref name="Unfazed"/> Of the call, Fellowes said, "All the way through I thought this can't be happening—a 50-year-old fat balding actor is phoned up by an American movie director—but I did work as if it was going to happen."<ref name="Dorset"/>

The original title of the film was ''The Other Side of the Tapestry,'' but Altman thought it was awkward. Fellowes began looking through some books and came up with ''Gosford Park.''<ref name="Gerald"/> Altman said: "Nobody liked it, everyone fought me on it. But when you make a picture using a name, that's its name. It's not a gripping title. But then ''M*A*S*H'' wasn't either."<ref name="Gerald"/>

Fellowes says the screenplay was "not an homage to [[Agatha Christie]], but a reworking of that genre." Fellowes was credited not only as the film's writer but as a technical advisor as well, meaning he wrote portions of the film as it was being produced. He notes that in certain large scenes with many characters, the actors were left room to improvise.<ref name="qa" />

Arthur Inch, the retired butler of [[Kleinwort baronets|Sir Richard and Lady Kleinwort]], was the consultant on correct procedures and arrangements for dining on the set. Inch is credited as "Butler" immediately before Altman as Director in the final credits. [[Ruth Mott]] was the consultant for the kitchen,<ref>{{cite web |title=Obituaries: Ruth Mott |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9497835/Ruth-Mott.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9497835/Ruth-Mott.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=24 August 2012 |access-date=8 June 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and Violet Liddle for the parlour maids.<ref>{{cite book |title=Serving the Good and the Great: The Amazing True Story of Violet Liddle |date=2015 |isbn=978-0310253952 |last1=Liddle |first1=Violet |last2=Batchelor |first2=Mary |publisher=Zondervan }}</ref>

===Casting===
In ''Gosford Park'', as in many of his other films, Altman had a list of actors he intended to appear in the film before it was cast formally. The film's casting director was [[Mary Selway]], whom producer David Levy described as knowing many British actors.<ref name=qa>{{cite video |people=Hammond, Pete |date=8 March 2002 |title=Cast and Filmmaker's Q&A Session |medium=DVD |publisher=[[Focus Features|USA Films]]|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Very few actors who were offered parts did not end up in the film. [[Jude Law]] dropped out of the production just before the shoot began, and he was replaced by [[Ryan Phillippe]]. [[Kenneth Branagh]] and [[Robert Bathurst]] were both tied down by scheduling conflicts. [[Alan Rickman]], [[Joely Richardson]] and [[Judi Dench]] were also considered for roles in the film. The cast is notable for featuring two [[Knight Bachelor|knight]]s (Michael Gambon and Derek Jacobi)<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=54993 |date=30 December 1997 |page=2 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=53527 |date=30 December 1993 |page=2 |supp=y}}</ref> and two [[Dame (title)|dames]] (Eileen Atkins and Maggie Smith).<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=56237 |date=16 June 2001 |page=7 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=51981 |date=29 December 1989 |page=7 |supp=y}}</ref> Alan Bates and Stephen Fry would later be knighted<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=56797 |date=31 December 2002 |page=1 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=64607 |date=31 December 2024 |page=N2 |supp=y}}</ref> and Helen Mirren and Kristin Scott Thomas made dames.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=56963 |date=14 June 2003 |page=7 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=61092 |date=31 December 2014 |page=N8 |supp=y}}</ref>

===Filming and editing===
[[File:Wrotham Park - geograph.org.uk - 320544.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Wrotham Park]] in [[Hertfordshire]], where the outdoor and ground floor scenes for ''Gosford Park'' were shot]]
Filming was conducted at [[Wrotham Park]], a country house to the north of London, for the exteriors, staircase, dining room and drawing room,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gosford-park-syndrome-go-see-the-movie-but-please-dont-peek-at-ones-stately-home-659229.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210182352/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gosford-park-syndrome-go-see-the-movie-but-please-dont-peek-at-ones-stately-home-659229.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 February 2011|title=Gosford Park Syndrome: go see the movie, but please don't peek at one's stately home|last=Morrison|first=James|date=3 February 2002|work=[[The Independent]]|publisher=[[Independent News & Media]]|access-date=7 August 2010}}</ref> and [[Syon House]] in west London for the upstairs bedrooms.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.architecturaldigest.com/ad/set-design/2013/period-movies-set-design-manors-castles-vanity-fair-jane-eyre-slideshow#slide=17 |title=The Castles and Manor Houses of Cinema's Greatest Period Films |magazine=[[Architectural Digest]] |access-date=2 January 2013 |date=January 2013 |archive-date=18 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118092938/http://www.architecturaldigest.com/ad/set-design/2013/period-movies-set-design-manors-castles-vanity-fair-jane-eyre-slideshow#slide=17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The opening sequence outside Lady Trentham's home was shot at [[Hall Barn]], near [[Beaconsfield]], [[Buckinghamshire]], whose grounds were also used as the scene for lunch after the shoot. [[Sound stage]]s were built to film the scenes of the manor's downstairs area.<ref name=ebert>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gosford-park-2002 |title=Gosford Park |access-date=26 April 2008 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=2 January 2002 |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |publisher=[[Sun-Times Media Group]]}}</ref> [[Shepperton Studios]] was used for off-location filming.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2002/01/25/gosfords-rooms-dressed-to-kill/ |title=Gosford's rooms dressed to kill |access-date=24 June 2023 |date=25 January 2002 |work=[[Sun Sentinel]]}}</ref> Filming began on 19 March 2001.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/453163/gosford-park#notes | title=Gosford Park }}</ref> During production, [[Stephen Frears]] acted as a standby director, ready to replace Altman in case he was incapacitated, so that the film would receive insurance.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schwartz |first=Missy |date=9 June 2006 |title=''Prairie Home Companion'': Talking with Robert Altman |url=https://ew.com/article/2006/06/09/talking-robert-altman/ |access-date=6 October 2024 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref>

The film was shot with two cameras, both moving perpetually in opposite directions. The cameras pointed toward no specific area, intended to cause the audience to move their eyes throughout the scene. Altman notes that most of the film's cast had experience in theatre and in film, meaning they had acted in situations where the view of the audience is not on one specific actor, and each audience member sees a slightly different image of the players on stage.<ref name=qa/> Richard E. Grant commented that having two cameras moving at any one time meant that none of the actors knew when the cameras were focused on them. As a result, the actors had to stay "completely in character, completely in the moment, and interact with everybody in a way that felt as close to real life as you could possibly conjure up."<ref>{{cite video| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1VBVaeeG6k| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/J1VBVaeeG6k| archive-date=17 November 2021 | url-status=live| title=Richard E. Grant Breaks Down his Career, from 'Downton Abbey' to 'Star Wars'| author=Vanity Fair| publisher=YouTube.com| date=17 March 2020| access-date=22 March 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Andrew Dunn (cinematographer)|Andrew Dunn]], the film's [[cinematographer]], appreciated the co-operative nature of ''Gosford Park''{{'}}s filming process. He shot the film on [[Eastman Kodak|Kodak]] Vision Expression 500T [[film stock]] generally with two [[Panavision]] cameras, using lighting ranging from relatively dim candles to bright [[hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lamp]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/newsletters/inCamera/jan2002/gosford.pdf|title=Andrew Dunn BSC tracks mysterious movements at ''Gosford Park'' |access-date=26 April 2008 |date=January 2002 |work=In Camera |publisher=[[Eastman Kodak]] |pages=4–5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225103754/http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/newsletters/inCamera/jan2002/gosford.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2009}}</ref> [[Film editing|Editor]] [[Tim Squyres]] described the editing process on ''Gosford Park'' as an unusual one, as the dual cameras used were generally located in the same areas when filming, instead of the more standard method of setting up a scene directly.<ref name=squyres>{{cite web |url=http://www.moviemaker.com/editing/article/breaking_away_2806/ |title=Breaking Away |access-date=1 May 2008 |last=Wood |first=Jennifer M. |date=3 February 2007 |work=[[MovieMaker]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070618104131/http://www.moviemaker.com/editing/article/breaking_away_2806/ |archive-date=18 June 2007}}</ref>

===Soundtrack===
{{Main|Gosford Park (soundtrack){{!}}''Gosford Park'' (soundtrack)}}
[[Patrick Doyle]] composed the film's score.<ref name="Preview">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/preview-music-from-the-movies-royal-albert-hall-london-396875.html|title=Preview: Music from the movies, Royal Albert Hall, London|last=Cripps|first=Charlotte|date=15 October 2007|work=[[The Independent]]|publisher=[[Independent News & Media]]|access-date=5 August 2010}}</ref> Doyle said that it can take him up to six months to create a film score, but Altman asked him to write and compose the music for ''Gosford Park'' in less than five weeks.<ref name="Preview"/> Doyle recorded the soundtrack at the London Air-Edel Recording Studios in October 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/2423415/a/Gosford+Park.htm|title=Gosford Park Soundtrack CD|publisher=CD Universe|access-date=5 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/the-brits-who-are-making-a-big-noise-in-hollywood-1929768.html|title=The Brits who are making a big noise in Hollywood|date=29 March 2010|work=[[The Independent]]|publisher=[[Independent News & Media]]|access-date=5 August 2010}}</ref> The soundtrack also features six original songs by composer and playwright [[Ivor Novello]].<ref name="Master">{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2002/01/16/master-and-servant.html|title=Master And Servant|date=17 January 2002|work=[[Newsweek]]|publisher=[[Sidney Harman]]|access-date=5 August 2010}}</ref> Jeremy Northam, who plays Novello, sings five of the songs and his brother, Christopher, accompanies him on the piano. Christopher also performs one Novello song as a piano solo.<ref name="Master"/> The soundtrack was released on 15 January 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Gosford-Park-Original-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B00005UNCB|title=Gosford Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack|website=Amazon|access-date=5 August 2010}}</ref>