Editing Suspect Zero (section)

==Production==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2017}}

===Screenplay===
The film is based on a first draft by [[Zak Penn]], which allegedly impressed [[Steven Spielberg]] so much in its depiction of serial killers' elongated middle fingers that he went home and checked his children's hands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aintitcool.com/node/12641|title=MORIARTY Captures the Shooting Draft of SUSPECT ZERO and Puts It Out of Its Misery!!}}</ref> After it was sold to [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] for $750,000, [[Cruise/Wagner Productions]] became attached to the film, with [[Tom Cruise]] and [[Paula Wagner]] producing. However the script was put onto the back burner after a deal to make the movie in 1997 with [[Sylvester Stallone]] fell through.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.weeklystandard.com/jonathan-v-last/anatomy-of-a-murder|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205172036/https://www.weeklystandard.com/jonathan-v-last/anatomy-of-a-murder|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 5, 2018|title=Anatomy of a Murder|date=10 September 2004}}</ref> Cruise had intended to star in the film initially, but instead opted to star in ''[[Eyes Wide Shut]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vejvoda|first=Jim|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/03/vampire-director-named-prime-suspect|title=''Vampire'' Director Named Prime ''Suspect''|date=August 3, 2001|website=IGN|accessdate=May 28, 2022}}</ref> Universal then courted [[Ben Affleck]] to rewrite Penn's script, but Affleck would depart the project over creative differences in November 1999.<ref>{{cite web|last=Green|first=Willow|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/suspect-zero-stalls/|title=''Suspect Zero'' Stalls|date=November 14, 1999|website=Empire Online|accessdate=May 28, 2022}}</ref> [[Christian Duguay (director)|Christian Duguay]] would sign on to direct the film, while [[Paul Schrader]] and [[Richard Friedenberg]] were brought in for subsequent script revisions.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vejvoda|first=Jim|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/03/vampire-director-named-prime-suspect|title=''Vampire'' Director Named Prime ''Suspect''|date=August 3, 2001|website=IGN|accessdate=May 28, 2022}}</ref> By August 2001, [[E. Elias Merhige]] replaced Duguay as director, with production gearing up to start in fall of that year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vejvoda|first=Jim|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/03/vampire-director-named-prime-suspect|title=''Vampire'' Director Named Prime ''Suspect''|date=August 3, 2001|website=IGN|accessdate=May 28, 2022}}</ref>

In 2002, Cruise/Wagner Productions hired [[Billy Ray (screenwriter)|Bill Ray]] to rewrite Penn's original script.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/cfd12768|title=Billy Rays of Light|date=February 25, 2002|website=Screenwriter's Utopia|accessdate=May 29, 2022}}</ref> Changes included moving the action from [[Texas]], making the lead character a burned-out, disgraced FBI agent rather than a rookie, and turning a maverick [[Offender profiling|criminal profiler]] into a [[psychic]] with the power of [[remote viewing]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

===Filming===
The film began shooting in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]] in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facts About The Movie Suspect Zero 🎥 - ESH |url=https://epicstorieshub.com/en/facts-about-the-movie-suspect-zero-en.html |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=epicstorieshub.com}}</ref> The state was chosen because it offered tax-free incentives and financial funding to film companies using New Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 September 2006 |title=Location report: New Mexico |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/location-report-new-mexico-138743}}</ref> The program was established to entice film makers to the state.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Incentives |url=https://nmfilm.com/why-new-mexico/incentives-2 |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=New Mexico Film Office |language=en-US}}</ref>