Editing Sid and Nancy (section)

==Production==
===Development===
The idea for the film began with a 1980 screenplay entitled ''Too Kool to Die''; a fictional story inspired by Nancy Spungen and Sid Vicious, featuring references to current English politics which Cox realised would make it unlikely to be financed. Four years later, after his directorial debut with ''[[Repo Man (film)|Repo Man]]'', Cox heard rumour of the possibility of a Hollywood film documenting the relationship of Spungen and Vicious, with [[Madonna]] and [[Rupert Everett]] in the lead roles - "For anyone who had been vaguely into the Punk movement, this was a troubling idea indeed", Cox wrote in his 2008 autobiography, and it motivated him to re-work his earlier script.<ref name=":0"/> “I felt an obligation to struggle against that project, fearing it would be even worse than mine.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staunton |first=Terry |date=2016-08-09 |title=10 Things You Might Not Know About The Film Sid & Nancy |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/sid-vicious-nancy-spungen-alex-cox-film-gary-oldman-chloe-webb-courtney-love-guns-n-roses |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=louder |language=en}}</ref>

Cox's film, originally titled ''Love Kills'', is based on the mutually destructive, drug and sex filled relationship between Sid and Nancy. Nancy's parents, Deborah and Frank Spungen, wanted no part in a film depicting their child's death. (Deborah Spungen had already written a memoir about her daughter's life and death, ''And I Don't Want to Live This Life'', published in 1983.) Sid's mother, Anne Beverley, initially tried to prevent the film from being made, but after meeting with Cox, decided to help the production, even lending Vicious' own heavy metal chain and padlock for Oldman to wear in the film.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2016-08-31 |title=13 Vicious Facts About Sid and Nancy |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/85303/13-vicious-facts-about-sid-and-nancy |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=Mental Floss |language=en-US}}</ref> Some of the supporting characters are composites, invented to streamline the plot.

''Sid and Nancy'' was a co-production with [[Zenith Productions]] (an independent film company in London) and [[Embassy Pictures|Embassy Home Entertainment]] (a US-based distribution company). The screenplay was written by Alex Cox and Abbe Wool. Cox explained, "We did about four to six drafts... I interviewed a lot of people who had been involved in the scene... I met with [the Sex Pistols], but I didn't spend a lot of time with them. I met [[Glen Matlock]], [[John Lydon]] and [[Paul Cook]], but I never met [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]].”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.money-into-light.com/2012/08/alex-cox-talks-to-paul-rowlands-about.html |title=Alex Cox talks to Paul Rowlands about ‘Sid and Nancy’ |work=Money into Light|access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref> Cox claimed the film is "pretty accurate to how it all happened, I think. It's enhanced to make things more grandiose and dramatic at times, but it's faithful to the characters.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.money-into-light.com/2012/08/alex-cox-talks-to-paul-rowlands-about.html |title=Alex Cox talks to Paul Rowlands about ‘Sid and Nancy’ |work=Money into Light|access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref>

Work on the film was almost complete when the financers received a letter from a party claiming to own the title ''Love Kills'' and threatening legal action. Cox reluctantly changed it at lawyers' insistence, later describing the title ''Sid and Nancy'' as "bland". He apparently did like the title given the Mexican video version; ''Two Lives Destroyed by Drugs''.<ref name=":0" />

===Casting===
According to director Cox, he had originally considered [[Daniel Day-Lewis]] for the part of Sid Vicious;<ref name=vt>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/mar/06/sid-nancy-reel-history-alex-cox|work=The Guardian|title=Sid and Nancy: an intriguing glimpse into a dysfunctional relationship|author=Von Tunzelmann, Alex|date=6 March 2013|access-date=16 May 2017}}</ref> however, Cox offered Oldman the part of Vicious after seeing him play the lead role of Scopey in a 1984 production of [[Edward Bond]]'s ''The Pope's Wedding''. Oldman twice turned down the role before accepting it, because, in his own words: "I wasn't really that interested in Sid Vicious and the punk movement. I'd never followed it. It wasn't something that interested me. The script I felt was banal and 'who cares' and 'why bother' and all of that. And I was a little bit sort-of with my nose in the air and sort-of thinking 'well the theatre – so much more superior' and all of that." He reconsidered based on the salary and the urging of his agent.<ref>Gary Oldman interview by [[Terry Gross]]. ''[[Fresh Air]]''. [[NPR|National Public Radio]]. 12 February 1998.</ref> - "My agent at the time put a lot of pressure and bullied me into it", according to an Oldman interview, included in an early DVD version of the film.<ref name=":0" /> He lost weight to play the emaciated Vicious by eating nothing but "steamed fish and lots of melon", and was briefly hospitalised when he lost too much. Alex Cox stated, “Gary came from the same neighborhood as Sid, [[Bermondsey]], and he had the same understanding and desire to escape, to create a new persona and life for himself. He was good to work with. It was one of his first films and he worked very hard.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.money-into-light.com/2012/08/alex-cox-talks-to-paul-rowlands-about.html |title=Alex Cox talks to Paul Rowlands about ‘Sid and Nancy’ |work=Money into Light|access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref> Oldman later dismissed his performance, saying: "I don't think I played Sid Vicious very well".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/gary-oldman-playboy-interview|title=Playboy Interview: Gary Oldman|last=Hochman|first=David|date=25 June 2014|website=[[Playboy]]|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123231957/http://www.playboy.com/articles/gary-oldman-playboy-interview|archive-date=23 January 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[Courtney Love]] rang co-writer Abbe Wool<ref name=":0" /> and recorded a video audition for the role of Spungen.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|title=Strange Love|author=Hirschberg, Lynn|date=September 1992|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/love-story-of-kurt-cobain-courtney-love|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161215104313/http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/love-story-of-kurt-cobain-courtney-love|archive-date=15 December 2016|url-status=live|access-date=20 September 2020}}</ref> Cox was impressed by Love's audition, but has said the film's investors insisted on an experienced actress for the co-leading role. Therefore, instead, Cox wrote the minor role of Gretchen, one of Sid and Nancy's New York junkie friends, specifically for her benefit.<ref>{{cite episode|network=[[VH1]]|air-date=June 21, 2010|title=Courtney Love|series=[[Behind the Music]]|publisher=Viacom Media Networks}}</ref> Cox would later cast Love as one of the leads in ''[[Straight to Hell (film)|Straight to Hell]]'' (1987). [[Chloe Webb]], who had appeared in several small television roles at the time, was instead cast in the role of Spungen.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/08/05/love-among-the-dumpsters-alex-cox-and-roger-deakins-on-the-makin/|date=5 August 2016|archive-date=20 September 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200920053318/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/08/05/love-among-the-dumpsters-alex-cox-and-roger-deakins-on-the-makin/|title=Love among the dumpsters: Alex Cox and Roger Deakins on the making of Sid & Nancy|last=Robey|first=Tim}}</ref>

In his 2007 autobiography, [[Guns N' Roses]] guitarist [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] revealed that the casting director hired all five members of Guns N' Roses as extras for a club scene, having coincidentally scouted them in different locations without their knowledge. He said "all of us showed up to the first day of casting, like 'Hey...what are you doing here?'" However, Slash was the only one in the group to stay for the entire shoot.

Webb and Oldman improvised the dialogue heard in the scene leading up to Spungen's death but based it on interviews and other materials available to them. The stabbing scene is fictionalized and based only on conjecture. Cox told the ''[[NME]]'': "We wanted to make the film not just about Sid Vicious and [[punk rock]], but as an anti-drugs statement, [https://www.cinemather.com/titles/dG1kYnxtb3ZpZXwxNDkyNA==/sid-and-nancy the turbulent couple definitely falls into the depths of drug addiction.]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cinemather |url=https://www.cinemather.com/titles/dG1kYnxtb3ZpZXwxNDkyNA==/sid-and-nancy |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=www.cinemather.com}}</ref>

The original music is by [[Pray for Rain (band)|Pray for Rain]], [[Joe Strummer]], and [[The Pogues]]. A track by [[Tears for Fears]] ("Swords and Knives") was also recorded for the film but was rejected by the filmmakers for not being "punk" enough. The track later appeared on the band's ''[[The Seeds of Love|Seeds of Love]]'' album in 1989.<ref>{{cite book |last= Thrills|first=Adrian |title=Tears For Fears – The Seeds of Love |year=1990 |publisher=Virgin Books |location=London |isbn=0-86369-329-6 |page=44}}</ref>

Prominent musicians made appearances in the film including [[Circle Jerks]], [[Courtney Love|Love]], [[Iggy Pop]], [[Nico]] and [[Edward Tudor-Pole]] of [[Tenpole Tudor]].

===Filming===
With principal photography lasting eleven weeks, ''Sid and Nancy'' was primarily shot in London and New York City, though additional photography (particularly the sequences of the Sex Pistols' North American tour) was completed in [[Los Angeles]] and [[El Centro, California]].<ref name=ep>{{cite web|work=Essentially Pop|url=https://essentiallypop.com/epop/2016/08/sid-nancy-are-a-romeo-juliet-tale-with-a-twist-in-30th-anniversary-re-release/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200920194203/https://essentiallypop.com/epop/2016/08/sid-nancy-are-a-romeo-juliet-tale-with-a-twist-in-30th-anniversary-re-release/|url-status=live|archive-date=20 September 2020|title=Sid & Nancy Are a Romeo & Juliet Tale With a Twist in 30th Anniversary Re-Release|last=Hafey|first=Lisa|date=3 August 2018}}</ref> 

Of the film's [[Director of Photography]], [[Roger Deakins]], Alex Cox recalled, 

<blockquote>He was great. A great talent and a great guy to work with. We actually wanted to make the film in black-and-white. When it was clear we wouldn't be able to do it, we discussed how we could photograph the film in a monochromatic way at times, and how we could treat the print. Roger contributed some great ideas. There were two lenses he used on the movie - an 85mm and a 35mm. This was much more reduced than I would normally go for but it worked very well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.money-into-light.com/2012/08/alex-cox-talks-to-paul-rowlands-about.html |title=Alex Cox talks to Paul Rowlands about ‘Sid and Nancy’ |work=Money into Light|access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref></blockquote>

Regarding the film's rough cut, Alex Cox stated, “There was tons of material but I had a great editor in David Martin. The first cut of the movie was about three hours long. Everything that got cut out deserved to get cut out.”<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.money-into-light.com/2012/08/alex-cox-talks-to-paul-rowlands-about.html |title=Alex Cox talks to Paul Rowlands about ‘Sid and Nancy’ |work=Money into Light|access-date=29 April 2025}}</ref>