Editing Carlito's Way (section)

==Production==
Pacino first heard about the character Carlito Brigante in a [[YMCA]] gym in New York City in 1973. Pacino was working out for his movie ''[[Serpico]]'' when he met [[New York Supreme Court|New York State Supreme Court]] Judge [[Edwin Torres (judge)|Edwin Torres]] (the author who was writing the novels ''Carlito's Way'' and ''After Hours''). When the novels were completed, Pacino read them and liked them, especially the character of Carlito.<ref name="hot dog p30">''Hot Dog'' magazine, August 2000, p. 30.</ref>

Inspiration for the novels came from Torres's background: the East Harlem [[barrio]] where he was born and its atmosphere of [[gangs]], drugs and [[poverty]].<ref name="press pack p2">''Carlito's Way'' Press Pack, p. 2.</ref>  In 1989, Pacino faced a $6 million lawsuit from [[film producer|producer]] [[Elliott Kastner]]. Kastner claimed that Pacino had reneged on an agreement to star in his version of a Carlito movie with [[Marlon Brando]] as criminal lawyer David Kleinfeld. The suit was dropped, and the project was abandoned.<ref name="hot dog p30" />

Pacino went to producer [[Martin Bregman]] with the intention of getting a Carlito Brigante film made and showed him an early draft of a screenplay, which Bregman rejected.<ref name="Bregman">{{cite video |people=Martin Bregman |title=The Making of Carlito's Way |medium=DVD |publisher=Universal |date=2004}}</ref> Both Bregman and Pacino agreed that the character of Brigante would provide a suitable showcase for Pacino's talents.<ref name="Bregman" /> Bregman approached screenwriter David Koepp, who had just finished writing the script for Bregman's forthcoming ''[[The Shadow (1994 film)|The Shadow]],'' and asked him to write the script for ''Carlito's Way''.<ref name="press pack p4">''Carlito's Way'' Press Pack, p. 4.</ref> The decision came that the screenplay would be based on the second novel ''After Hours''. At this stage, Carlito would be closer to Pacino's age.<ref name="Torres">{{cite video |people=Edwin Torres |title=The Making of Carlito's Way |medium=DVD |publisher=Universal |date=2004}}</ref> Although based primarily on the second novel, the title ''Carlito's Way'' remained,<ref name="Torres" /> mainly because of the existence of [[Martin Scorsese]]'s movie ''[[After Hours (film)|After Hours]]''. Bregman worked closely with Koepp for two years to develop the [[shooting script]] for ''Carlito's Way''.<ref name="press pack p4" />

Koepp wrestled with the [[voice-over]] throughout the writing process. Initially, the voice-over was to take place in the hospital, but De Palma suggested the train station platform.<ref name="Koepp">{{cite video |people=David Koepp |title=The Making of Carlito's Way |medium=DVD |publisher=Universal |date=2004}}</ref> The hospital scenes were written 25 to 30 times because the actors had trouble with the sequence, with Pacino thinking that Carlito would not even go to the hospital. With one final re-write, Koepp managed to make the scene work to Pacino's satisfaction. In the novels, Kleinfeld does not die, but De Palma has a huge sense of justice and retribution. He could not have Carlito killed off and have Kleinfeld live.<ref name="Koepp" />

At one point, ''[[The Long Good Friday]]'' director [[John Mackenzie (director)|John Mackenzie]] was linked to the film. When ''Carlito's Way'' and its sequel ''After Hours'' were [[optioned]], Martin Bregman had [[Abel Ferrara]] in mind. However, when Bregman and Ferrara parted ways, De Palma was recruited. Bregman explained that this decision was not about "getting the old team back together", but rather making use of the best talent available.<ref name="hot dog p30" /> De Palma reluctantly read the script, but as soon as [[Spanish-speaking]] characters became evident, he feared that it would be ''Scarface'' again.<ref name="De Palma">{{cite video |people=Brian De Palma |title=The Making of Carlito's Way |medium=DVD |publisher=Universal |date=2004}}</ref> He said that he did not want to make another Spanish-speaking [[gangster movie]].<ref name="hot dog p30" />

When De Palma finally did read it all the way through, he realized that it was not what he thought it was. De Palma liked the script and envisioned it as a [[film noir|noir]] movie.<ref name="press pack p4" /> Bregman supervised casting throughout the various stages of [[pre-production]], and carefully selected the creative team who would make the film a reality. This included [[production designer]] Richard Sylbert, [[film editor|editor]] [[Bill Pankow]], [[costume designer]] Aude Bronson-Howard and [[director of photography]] Stephen Burum.<ref name="press pack p7">''Carlito's Way'' Press Pack", p. 7.</ref>

Initially, filming began on March 22, 1993, although the first scheduled shoot, the [[Grand Central Terminal|Grand Central Station]] climax, had to be changed when Pacino arrived on crutches. Instead, the tension-building [[Billiard hall|pool-hall]] sequence, where Carlito accompanies his young cousin Guajiro on an ill-fated drug deal, started the production.<ref name="hot dog p33">''Hot Dog'' magazine, August 2000, p. 33.</ref> Because the film was heavily character-based and featured little action, the early pool sequence had to be elaborate and set up right. A huge amount of time was spent setting it up and filming it.<ref name="De Palma" /> After the [[film studio]] had viewed a cut of the pool hall sequence, a note was passed onto the crew stating that they felt that the scene was too long. De Palma spent more time adding to the sequence, and made it work with the help of editor Bill Pankow.<ref name="Koepp" />

Apart from the poster sequence, which was shot in Florida, the entire movie was filmed on location in New York. De Palma roamed [[Manhattan]] searching for suitable visual locations. A tenement on 115th Street became the site of Carlito's homecoming: the barrio scene. The courtroom, in which Carlito thanks the prosecutor, was shot in Judge Torres's workplace, the State Supreme Court Building at [[New York County Courthouse|60 Centre Street]].<ref name="hot dog p33" /> The Club Paradise was initially in a West Side brownstone as the model for the book's premises. However, this was considered too cramped for filming. A multi-level bistro club designed by De Palma took shape at the [[Kaufman Astoria Studios]] in [[Long Island City]], in a style of 1970s [[Art Deco|art-deco]] [[disco]].<ref name="press pack p8">''Carlito's Way'' Press Pack", p. 8.</ref>

Tony Taglialucci's escape from [[Rikers Island]], a night shoot mid-river, was considered impossible. Instead, the production used a [[Brooklyn]] shipyard where Kleinfeld's boat was lowered into an empty lock into which river water was pumped. Smoke machines and towers of space lights were installed.

For a climactic finale, De Palma staged a chase from the platform of the [[Harlem-125th Street (Metro-North)]] station to the escalators of Grand Central Terminal. For the shoot, trains were re-routed and timed for Pacino and his pursuers to dart from car to hurtling car.<ref name="press pack p8" /> The length of the [[escalator]] scene during the climactic gunfight at Grand Central Station caused a headache for editor Pankow. He had to piece together the sequences so that the audience would be so tied up in the action that they would not be thinking about how long the escalator was running.<ref>{{cite video |people=Bill Pankow |title=The Making of Carlito's Way |medium=DVD |publisher=Universal |date=2004}}</ref>
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