Editing Pieces of April (section)

== Production ==
===Pre-production===
Hedges started working on the script for ''Pieces of April'' about eight or nine years before the film was released, though eventually forgot about the project. After his mother was diagnosed with cancer, she encouraged him to continue writing. Hedges went looking through his old drafts and remembered that the mother in ''Pieces of April'' also has cancer. After telling his own mother of this, she told him it sounded like a project he should work on. Hedges says he only began putting serious effort into the script after his mother had died.<ref name=about>{{cite web |url=http://www.aboutfilm.com/features/piecesofapril/feature.htm |title=Interviews: Pieces of April |work=About Film |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812093425/http://aboutfilm.com/features/piecesofapril/feature.htm |archive-date=August 12, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> He said that while the film was not autobiographical, it was definitely impacted by his mother's death, concluding that he wanted to make a film that was not about her, but instead a tribute to her;<ref name=all>{{cite AV media |date=2003 |title=All the Pieces Together |medium=Pieces of April, DVD featurette |publisher=[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]}}</ref> the film is dedicated to her memory. Hedges was additionally inspired by a true story about a group of friends who had "borrowed" an apartment to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner. When they went to cook their turkey they discovered their oven did not work, so had to go door to door in the building to try and use one of their neighbors'. ''Pieces of April'' was in pre-production on three occasions, each time with a budget of around $7 million, though attempts to get the film off the ground repeatedly failed. The fourth time Hedges attempted to get the film developed, he took it to independent company InDigEnt, who signed it immediately, albeit on a much smaller budget of $300,000.<ref name=director/>

===Casting===
[[Katie Holmes]] had always agreed to play the lead role; Hedges said he thought she was drawn to the role as it differed so much from characters she had previously portrayed.<ref name=director/> [[Oliver Platt]] and [[Patricia Clarkson]] had already agreed to work on the film the third time it was in pre-production with a budget of $7 million, though were happy to remain on board with the reduced wages the new budget offered, which only gave cast and crew $200 and $100 a day respectively; Hedges was paid $10 to write and another $10 to direct the film.<ref name=about/> [[Sean Hayes]] called Hedges from the set of ''[[Will & Grace]]'', asking for the part of Bobby. Hedges explained that Bobby was to be African-American, and instead suggested the role of Wayne. Hayes asked if he could fly to New York to audition, at which point Hedges informed him there was no need as he was already hired. [[Sisqó]] also originally applied for the role of Bobby, though Hedges did not think he was suited to the role as he was shorter than Holmes, and instead suggested he play Latrell. [[Derek Luke]] was the last person to audition for Bobby, and Hedges was so impressed with his performance he hired him immediately.<ref name=director/>

===Filming===
''Pieces of April'' was filmed in 16 days. Due to the tight schedule many locations, such as the Burns family home and the [[Salvation Army]] store, were only available for a single day. Due to time limitations, some scenes showing the Burns family driving to visit April were actually shot while the actors were driving to additional filming locations.<ref name=director>{{cite AV media |date=2003 |people=Peter Hedges |title=Director's Commentary |medium=Pieces of April, DVD|publisher=[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]}}</ref> Two apartments in New York were used for filming, one for shots of hallways and stairs and one for the inside of apartments. Some original residents of the apartments were used as extras. Filming was often challenging as the spaces to work in were small. ''Pieces of April'' was shot digitally with hand-held cameras, and almost exclusively used close and medium shots due to limitations in resolution in wide digital shots at the time. Many scenes were filmed with two cameras at the same time, allowing them to be filmed in one take.<ref name=director/>

===Soundtrack===
{{main|Pieces of April (soundtrack){{!}}''Pieces of April'' (soundtrack)}}
The film's title is taken from a 1972 [[Pieces of April (song)|song of the same name]] by [[Three Dog Night]]. Hedges had intended to use the song at the end of the film, though [[Stephin Merritt]], who was hired for the film's score, advised him against doing so. Hedges instead asked Merritt to compose an original song to close the film.<ref name=director/> Merritt's soundtrack to the film was released on [[Nonesuch Records]] on November 4, 2003 to mostly favorable reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/pieces-of-april-soundtrack/stephin-merritt |title=Pieces of April (Soundtrack) |work=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=December 12, 2019}}</ref>