Witness

On this date in 1985, "Witness" was released.

Producer Edward S. Feldman, who was in a "first-look" development deal with 20th Century Fox at the time, first received the screenplay for "Witness" in 1983. Originally entitled "Called Home" (which is the Amish term for death), it ran 182 pages long, the equivalent of three hours of screen time. The script, which had been circulating in Hollywood for several years, had been inspired by an episode of "Gunsmoke" William Kelley and Earl W. Wallace had written in the 1970s.

Feldman liked the concept, but felt too much of the script was devoted to Amish traditions, diluting the thriller aspects of the story. He offered Kelley and Wallace $25,000 for a one-year option and one rewrite, and an additional $225,000 if the film actually was made. They submitted the revised screenplay in less than six weeks, and Feldman delivered it to Fox. Joe Wizan, the studio's head of production, rejected it with the statement that Fox didn't make "rural movies."

Feldman sent the screenplay to Harrison Ford's agent Phil Gersh, who contacted the producer four days later and advised him his client was willing to commit to the film. Certain the attachment of a major star would change Wizan's mind, Feldman approached him once again, but Wizan insisted that as much as the studio liked Ford, they still weren't interested in making a "rural movie."

Feldman sent the screenplay to numerous studios and was rejected by all of them, until Paramount Pictures finally expressed interest. Feldman's first choice of director was Peter Weir, but he was involved in pre-production work for "The Mosquito Coast" (1986) and passed on the project. John Badham dismissed it as "just another cop movie", and others Feldman approached either were committed to other projects or had no interest. Then, as financial backing for "The Mosquito Coast" fell through, Weir became free to direct "Witness", which was his first American film. It was imperative filming start immediately, because a Directors Guild of America strike was looming on the horizon.

During the setup and rehearsal of each scene as well as during dailies, Weir would play music to set the mood, with the idea that it prevented the actors from thinking too much and let them listen to their other instincts.

The barn raising scene was only a short paragraph in the script, but Weir thought it was important to really highlight the aspect of community. They shot the scene in a day, and did in fact build a barn, albeit with the help of cranes off camera.

Weir and Ford would go on to film "The Mosquito Coast," which was released in 1986.