Editing Miller's Crossing (section)

==Production==
While writing the screenplay, the Coen brothers tentatively titled the film ''The Bighead''—their nickname for Tom Reagan. The first image they conceived was that of a black hat coming to rest in a forest clearing; then, a gust of wind lifts it into the air, sending it flying down an avenue of trees. This image closes the film's opening credit sequence.

Because of the intricate, dense plot, the Coens suffered from [[writer's block]] with the script. They stayed with a close friend of theirs at the time, William Preston Robertson in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], hoping that a change of scenery might help. After watching the romantic comedy ''[[Baby Boom (film)|Baby Boom]]'' one night, they returned to New York City and wrote ''[[Barton Fink]]'' (in three weeks) before resuming the ''Miller's Crossing'' screenplay.

The budget was reported by film industry magazines as around $14 million, but the Coens have said that the film cost "substantially less" than that.<ref name = AFI/> According to Paul Coughlin, "The casting of Byrne allows for the psychological assurance, self-confidence and icy demeanour to be physically reproduced in the sturdy and unruffled presence of the tall and lean actor. Tom is 'a man who walks behind a man, whispers in his ear', he is the brains behind Leo's operation, and he is the heartless centre of ''Miller's Crossing''."<ref name=sensesofcinema/> Although Byrne was a native Irishman playing a lieutenant to an Irish mobster, the Coens did not originally want him to use his own accent in the film. Byrne argued that his dialogue was structured in such a way that it was a good fit for his accent, and after he tried it the Coens agreed.<ref name=Jackson>[http://mentalfloss.com/article/69719/13-fascinating-facts-about-millers-crossing Jackson, Matthew. "13 Fascinating Facts About ''Miller's Crossing''", Mental Floss, October 10, 2015]</ref>

During casting they had envisioned [[Trey Wilson]] (who played Nathan Arizona in their previous film ''[[Raising Arizona]]'') as gangster boss Leo O'Bannon, but two days before principal photography began, Wilson died from a brain hemorrhage and Finney was cast. Roger Westcombe calls Finney's portrayal of Leo "perfectly nuanced in a brilliant performance".<ref name=Westcombe/> Finney also appears in a cameo, as an elderly female ladies' room attendant.<ref name=Jackson/>

The Coens cast family and friends in minor roles. Director [[Sam Raimi]] – a friend of the Coens – appears as the snickering gunman at the siege of the Sons of Erin social club, while [[Frances McDormand]] – Joel's wife – appears as the mayor's secretary. The role of The Swede was written for [[Peter Stormare]], but he was busy playing [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]] (a role often referred to as "The Dane"). [[J. E. Freeman]] was cast and the name of the character was changed to The Dane, while Stormare went on to be featured in ''[[Fargo (1996 film)|Fargo]]'' and ''[[The Big Lebowski]]''.

The city in which the story takes place is unidentified but the film was shot in [[New Orleans]], as the Coen Brothers were attracted to its look. Ethan Coen commented in an interview, "There are whole neighborhoods here of nothing but 1929 architecture. New Orleans is sort of a depressed city; it hasn't been gentrified. There's a lot of architecture that hasn't been touched, store-front windows that haven't been replaced in the last sixty years."<ref>{{cite news | last = Levy | first = Steven | title = "Shot By Shot," ''Joel and Ethan Coen: Blood Siblings'' | page = 75 | publisher = Plexus | year = 2000}}</ref> Principal photography ran from January 27 to April 28, 1989.<ref name = AFI/>