Editing Black Hawk Down (film) (section)

===Development===
Adapting ''[[Black Hawk Down (book)|Black Hawk Down: a Story of Modern War]]'' (1999) by [[Mark Bowden]] was the idea of director [[Simon West]], who suggested to [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] that he should buy the film rights and let West direct. West felt too tired after working on ''[[Lara Croft: Tomb Raider]]'' (2001), so he decided to drop out (West later said that he regretted the decision).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/like-crash-plane-hotel-film-director-simon-west-incredible-making/ | title='We'd like to crash a plane into your hotel for our film': Director Simon West on how he made Con Air | newspaper=The Telegraph |date=June 6, 2017 |last1=Smith | first1=Patrick |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607024034/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/like-crash-plane-hotel-film-director-simon-west-incredible-making/ |archive-date=June 7, 2017}}</ref> [[Ridley Scott]] was hired to direct the film after he decided to not work on ''[[Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines]]'' (2003).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/directors-who-almost-helmed-terminator-movie/|title=5 Directors Who Almost Helmed A Terminator Movie (& 5 Who Should)|website=[[Screen Rant]] |date=October 28, 2020 }}</ref>

[[Ken Nolan]] was credited as screenwriter, and others contributed uncredited: [[Mark Bowden]] wrote an adaptation of his own book,{{sfn|Cohen|2008|p=82}} [[Stephen Gaghan]] was hired to do a rewrite,{{sfn|Cohen|2008|p=84}} [[Steven Zaillian]]{{sfn|Cohen|2008|p=85}} and Ezna Sands<ref>{{Cite book|last=Niemi|first=Robert J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94RSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA34|title=100 Great War Movies: The Real History Behind the Films|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2018|isbn=978-1-4408-3385-4|pages=34}}</ref> rewrote the majority of Gaghan and Nolan's work, actor [[Sam Shepard]] (MGen. Garrison) rewrote some of his own dialogue, and [[Eric Roth]] wrote Josh Hartnett and Eric Bana's concluding speeches.{{sfn|Cohen|2008|p=85}} Ken Nolan was on set for four months rewriting his script and the previous work by Gaghan, Zaillian, and Bowden.{{sfn|Cohen|2008|p=85-87}} He was given sole screenwriting credit by a [[Writers Guild of America|WGA]] committee.{{sfn|Cohen|2008|p=79}}

The book relied on a dramatization of participant accounts, which were the basis of the movie. SPC John Stebbins was renamed as fictional "John Grimes." Stebbins had been convicted by court martial in 1999 for the rape and forcible sodomy of his six-year-old daughter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armfor.uscourts.gov/newcaaf/opinions/2005Term/03-0678.htm |title=Text of the decision from USCourts.gov |access-date=February 21, 2011}}</ref> Mark Bowden said the Pentagon, ever sensitive about public image, decided to alter factual history by requesting the change.<ref>{{cite web|last=Turner|first=Megan|date=November 18, 2001|title=War-Film "Hero" Is A Rapist|url=https://nypost.com/2001/12/18/war-film-hero-is-a-rapist/|access-date=December 14, 2021|work=[[New York Post]]}}</ref> Bowden wrote early screenplay drafts, before Bruckheimer gave it to screenwriter Nolan.{{sfn|Cohen|2008|p=84}} The [[POW]]-captor conversation, between pilot Mike Durant and militiaman Firimbi, is from a Bowden script draft.

To keep the film at a manageable length, 100 key figures in the book were condensed to 39. The movie also does not feature any [[Somali people|Somali]] actors.<ref name="SFTBBH" /> Additionally, no Somali consultants were hired for accuracy, according to writer Bowden.<ref name="IFSACC">{{cite journal |title=Institute for Social and Cultural Communications |journal=Z Magazine |year=2002 |volume=15 |issue=1–6 |pages=6}}</ref><ref name="Black Hawk Rising">{{cite web |last=Baldwin |first=Ricky |date=April 1, 2002 |title=Black Hawk Rising |url=http://zcomm.org/zmagazine/black-hawk-rising-by-ricky-baldwin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311002614/http://zcomm.org/zmagazine/black-hawk-rising-by-ricky-baldwin/ |archive-date=March 11, 2014 |access-date=September 15, 2014 |website=ZMag.org}}</ref>

For military verisimilitude, the Ranger actors took a one-week Ranger familiarization course at [[Fort Benning]], the Delta Force actors took a two-week commando course from the 1st Special Warfare Training Group at [[Fort Bragg]], and Ron Eldard and the actors playing 160th SOAR helicopter pilots were lectured by captured aviator [[Michael Durant]] at [[Fort Campbell]].<ref name=":4" />

The U.S. Army supplied the [[materiel]] and the helicopters from the [[160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment]]. Most pilots (e.g., Keith Jones, who speaks some dialogue) had participated in the historic battle on October 3–4, 1993.<ref name="Rubin">{{cite book |title=Combat Films: American Realism, 1945-2010 |first=Steven Jay |last=Rubin |publisher=McFarland |year=2011 |edition=2 |chapter=Black Hawk Down |isbn=978-0-7864-5892-9 |pages=257–262}}</ref>

On the last day of their week-long Army Ranger orientation at Fort Benning, the actors who portrayed the Rangers received letters slipped under their doors. It thanked them for their hard work, and asked them to "tell our story true", signed with the names of the men who died in the Mogadishu firefight.<ref name="Rubin"/> A platoon of Rangers from B-3/75 did the [[fast-roping]] scenes and appeared as extras; John Collette, a Ranger Specialist during the battle, served as a stunt performer.<ref>{{cite book |title=Why we fought: America's wars in film and history |chapter=Operation Restore Honor in Black Hawk Down |first=John Shelton |last=Laurence |author2=McGarrahan, John G. |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |editor=Peter C. Rollins |editor2=John E. O'Connor |year=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/whywefoughtameri00roll/page/431 431] |isbn=978-0-8131-9191-1 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/whywefoughtameri00roll/page/431 }}</ref>

Many of the actors bonded with the soldiers who trained them for their roles. Actor Tom Sizemore said, "What really got me at training camp was the [[Ranger Creed]]. I don't think most of us can understand that kind of mutual devotion. It's like having 200 best friends and every single one of them would die for you".<ref name="Rubin" />

The film was originally set up at the [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Disney]] label [[Touchstone Pictures]], but Disney boss [[Peter Schneider (film executive)|Peter Schneider]] placed the film into turnaround, citing its subject matter, and sold the project to [[Revolution Studios]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Charles |date=2000-09-13 |title=Revolution solution for Bruckheimer |url=https://variety.com/2000/film/news/revolution-solution-for-bruckheimer-1117786362/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>