Editing Nashville (film) (section)

===Casting===
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| image1 = Ronee Blakely 1976.JPG
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| footer = Ronee Blakley and Karen Black were cast as Barbara Jean and Connie White, the respective country music rivals
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As with most of Altman's feature films, he cast the roles using unorthodox methods, forgoing standard auditions and instead basing his decisions off meetings with individual actors.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=18}} Geraldine Chaplin, daughter of [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Oona O'Neill]], was the first to be cast, appearing in the role of Opal, the chatty journalist who has arrived from out of town to cover the gala.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=48}} Screenwriter Tewkesbury, who had based the character of Opal on herself, selected Chaplin for the role long before the production had even secured funding.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|pages=48–49}} Altman flew Chaplin from her residence in Switzerland to Nashville, and she toured the city with Tewkesbury in preparation for the role.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=49}}

Several Altman regulars were cast in the film, among them Keith Carradine as Tom, the dashing folk singer who woos several of the female characters,{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=107}} and Shelley Duvall as Martha, the young groupie.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=63}} Both Carradine and Duvall had had minor roles in ''McCabe & Mrs. Miller'', and had co-starred in ''Thieves Like Us''.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=96}} Through Carradine, Altman met Allan Nicholls, Carradine's co-star from a Broadway production of ''[[Hair (musical)|Hair]]''.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=107}} After a meeting, Altman offered Nicholls the role of Bill.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=107}} Cristina Raines, Carradine's real-life girlfriend at the time, was given the role of Mary, the female counterpart in Bill and Tom's folk trio.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=228}} Gwen Welles, who had a major part in Altman's previous film,  ''[[California Split]]'', was cast as Sueleen, a waitress who longs to be a singer.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=80}}

Karen Black was cast in the role of glamorous singer Connie White after having approached Altman to appear in a prior film, the psychological thriller ''[[Images (film)|Images]]'' (1972).{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=101}} Black, who had been writing and singing songs in the interim, was cast in ''Nashville'' after performing several original songs for Altman.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|pages=101–102}} The role of Barbara Jean had not been filled when filming was about to commence. Ronee Blakley, a singer-songwriter from [[Idaho]] with no acting experience,{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=167}} was in Nashville at the time and took on the role at the last minute, having been hired to write several songs for the film.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|pages=119–122}} Barbara Harris, primarily a stage actress, was given the role of fledgling singer Winifred.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|pages=102–104}}

In the role of Linnea Reese, the gospel singer and dedicated mother, Altman cast Lily Tomlin, who at the time had no prior film experience, having worked exclusively in television.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=93}} Altman had originally cast [[Louise Fletcher]] in the role, but Tomlin was hired after Fletcher replaced her as [[Nurse Ratched]] in ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'' (1975).<ref>{{Cite web |title=One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest :: Miloš Forman |url=https://milosforman.com/en/movies/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=milosforman.com}}</ref> "When I got the script, I didn't even know what part I was being considered for," Tomlin recalled. "But I thought, I could play any one of these parts. Even the boys."{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=93}} Ned Beatty was cast as Del, Linnea's lawyer husband.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=117}} [[Robert Duvall]] was initially sought for the role of Haven Hamilton, the country superstar, but he declined the role based on Altman's low salary offer.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=89}} Instead, Altman cast Henry Gibson in the part.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=89}} Altman struggled finding an actor to portray Bud Hamilton, the Harvard-graduate son of country superstar Haven.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=99}} While preparing for his role as Haven, Gibson began taking guitar lessons in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], and met David Peel, a guitar instructor, who bore a significant resemblance to him.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=99}} After meeting with Peel, Altman cast him as Bud.{{sfn|Stuart|2003|p=100}}