Editing Sid and Nancy (section)

===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" />