Editing Tron (section)

=== Origins ===
The inspiration for ''Tron'' occurred in 1976 when Steven Lisberger, then an animator of drawings with his own studio, looked at a sample reel from a computer firm called [[Mathematical Applications Group, Inc.|MAGI]] and saw ''[[Pong]]'' for the first time.<ref name="Culhane">{{cite news|last=Culhane |first=John |title=Special Effects are Revolutionizing Film |work=[[New York Times]] |date=July 4, 1982 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E3DB123BF937A35754C0A964948260&sec=technology&spon=&pagewanted=all |access-date=January 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120915/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E3DB123BF937A35754C0A964948260&sec=technology&spon=&pagewanted=all |archive-date=September 15, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He was immediately fascinated by video games and wanted to do a film incorporating them. According to Lisberger, "I realized that there were these techniques that would be very suitable for bringing video games and computer visuals to the screen. And that was the moment that the whole concept flashed across my mind".<ref name="Patterson, Richard">{{cite news | last = Patterson | first = Richard | title = The Making of ''Tron'' | work = [[American Cinematographer]] | date = August 1982 }}</ref> The film's concept of entering a parallel game world was also inspired by the classic tale ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]''.<ref name="Tron">{{cite magazine |title=The Making of Tron |magazine=Video Games Player |date=September 1982 |volume=1 |issue=1 |publisher=Carnegie Publications |pages=50–5 |url=https://archive.org/details/Video_Games_Player_Vol_1_No_1_1982-09_Carnegie_Publications_US/page/n49/mode/2up}}</ref>

Lisberger had already created an early version of the character 'Tron' for a 30 second long animation which was used to promote both Lisberger Studios and a series of various rock radio stations. This backlit [[cel animation]] depicted Tron as a character who glowed yellow; the same shade that Lisberger had originally intended for all the heroic characters developed for the feature-length ''Tron''. This was later changed to blue for the finished film (see [[#Production|Pre-production]] below). The prototype Tron was bearded and resembled the [[Cylon (1978)|Cylon]] Centurions from the 1978 TV series ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]''. Also, Tron was armed with two "exploding discs", as Lisberger described them on the 2-Disc DVD edition ([[List of Tron characters#Rinzler/Tron|see Rinzler]]).

Lisberger elaborates: "Everybody was doing backlit animation in the 70s, you know. It was that disco look. And we thought, what if we had this character that was a neon line, and that was our Tron warrior&nbsp;– Tron for electronic. And what happened was, I saw ''Pong'', and I said, well, that's the arena for him. And at the same time I was interested in the early phases of computer generated animation, which I got into at MIT in Boston, and when I got into that I met a bunch of programmers who were into all that. And they really inspired me, by how much they believed in this new realm."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/Tron/687709/interview_justin_springer_and_steven_lisberger_coproducers_of_tron_legacy.html |title=Interview: Justin Springer and Steven Lisberger, co-producers of Tron: Legacy |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120915/http://www.denofgeek.com/Tron/687709/interview_justin_springer_and_steven_lisberger_coproducers_of_tron_legacy.html |archive-date=September 15, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

He was frustrated by the clique-like nature of computers and video games and wanted to create a film that would open this world up to everyone. Lisberger and his business partner [[Donald Kushner]] moved to the West Coast in 1977 and set up an animation studio to develop ''Tron''.<ref name="Patterson, Richard" /> They borrowed against the anticipated profits of their 90-minute animated television special ''[[Animalympics]]'' to develop storyboards for ''Tron'' with the notion of making an animated film.<ref name="Culhane" /> But after ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' mentioned the project briefly during its early phase, it caught the attention of computer scientist [[Alan Kay]]. He contacted Lisberger and convinced him to use him as an adviser on the movie, then persuaded him to use real CGI instead of just hand-animation.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=WOwyRnZ1oxoC&dq=Tron+hand-animated+back-lit+Variety+Alan+Kay+Xerox+PARC+Lisberger&pg=PA160 Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation]</ref>

[[Bonnie MacBird]] wrote the first drafts of Tron with extensive input from Lisberger,<ref name="mm">{{cite web |url=https://mediamikes.com/2011/09/interview-with-trons-bonnie-macbird/ |title=Bonnie MacBird talks about co-writing 1982's "TRON" |first= Mike  |last=Gencarelli |date=September 27, 2011 |website=Media Mikes |access-date=September 18, 2020}}</ref> basing the original personality of Alan on Alan Kay.<ref name="nf">{{cite web |date=October 30, 2012 |title=NTF Exclusive – Tron 30th Anniversary Screening Review! |url=https://nukethefridge.com/ntf-exclusive-tron-30th-anniversary-screening-review/ |access-date=September 18, 2020 |website=Nuke the Fridge |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918215655/http://nukethefridge.com/ntf-exclusive-tron-30th-anniversary-screening-review/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> As a result of working together, Kay and MacBird became close and later married.<ref name="mm"/> She also created Tron as a character (rather than a visual demo) and Flynn.<ref name="mm"/> Originally, MacBird envisioned Flynn more comedically, suggesting the then 30-year-old [[Robin Williams]] for the role.<ref name="nf"/> Besides many story changes after the script went to Disney, including giving it "a more serious tone with quasi religious overtones",<ref name="mm"/> and removing most of the scientific elements,<ref name="mm"/> none of her dialogue remains in the final film,<ref name="ts">{{cite web |date=2002 |title=March 2002 Q&A; with Bonnie MacBird |url=http://www.tron-sector.com/Articles/article.asp?ID=13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030109182549/http://www.tron-sector.com/Articles/article.asp?ID=13 |archive-date=January 9, 2003 |access-date=September 18, 2020 |website=Tron Sector}}</ref> and there was a "rather bitter credits dispute."<ref name="ts"/>

The film was eventually conceived as an animated film bracketed with live-action sequences.<ref name="Patterson, Richard" /> The rest involved a combination of computer-generated visuals and back-lit animation. Lisberger planned to finance the movie independently by approaching several computer companies but had little success. However, one company, [[Information International Inc.]], was receptive.<ref name="Patterson, Richard" /> He met with Richard Taylor, a representative, and they began talking about using live-action photography with back-lit animation in such a way that it could be integrated with computer graphics. At this point, there was a script and the film was entirely [[storyboard]]ed, with some computer-animation tests completed.<ref name="Patterson, Richard" /> He had spent approximately $300,000 developing ''Tron'' and had also secured $4–5 million in private backing before reaching a standstill. Lisberger and Kushner took their storyboards and samples of computer-generated films to [[Warner Bros.]], [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], and [[Columbia Pictures]]&nbsp;– all of which turned them down.<ref name="Culhane" />

In 1980, they decided to take the idea to [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Productions]], which was interested in producing more daring productions at the time.<ref name="Patterson, Richard" /> Tom Wilhite, Disney's vice president for creative development, watched Lisberger's test footage and convinced [[Ron W. Miller|Ron Miller]] to give the movie a chance.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1981/04/19/the-disney-draw/e5d46970-9d52-4597-a427-fa8f2467e839/ The Disney Draw – The Washington Post]</ref><ref>[http://jimhillmedia.com/guest_writers1/b/leo_n_holzer/archive/2010/12/15/former-disney-ceo-ron-miller-recalls-his-own-quot-tron-quot-legacy.aspx Former Disney CEO Ron Miller recalls his own "TRON" legacy]</ref> However, Disney executives were uncertain about giving $10–12 million to a first-time producer and director using techniques which, in most cases, had never been attempted. The studio agreed to finance a test reel which involved a [[flying disc]] champion throwing a rough prototype of the discs used in the film.<ref name="Patterson, Richard" /> It was a chance to mix live-action footage with back-lit animation and computer-generated visuals. It impressed the executives at Disney and they agreed to back the film. MacBird and Lisberger's script was subsequently re-written and re-storyboarded with the studio's input.<ref name="Patterson, Richard" /> At the time, Disney rarely hired outsiders to make films for them, and Kushner found that he and his group were given a chilly reception because they "tackled the nerve center&nbsp;– [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|the animation department]]. They saw us as the germ from outside. We tried to enlist several Disney animators, but none came. Disney is a closed group."<ref name="Ansen2">{{cite news | last = Ansen | first = David | title = When You Wish Upon a ''Tron'' | work = [[Newsweek]] | date = July 5, 1982 }}</ref> As a result, they hired [[Wang Film Productions]] for the animation.