The producers of ``Witness'' provided a turning point in the careers of Harrison Ford and Peter Weir.

“Witness” Synopsis

Rachel, a widow, and her son Samuel were "Amish" who respected the precepts without violating their sect, and continued to live in a pre-modern way. On their way from their village to visit relatives, they happen to witness a murder. John Book, the detective in charge of the case, tries to protect the mother and child by using them as witnesses, but immediately after it is revealed that the culprit is within the police force, he is attacked and seriously injured. He heads to an Amish village for recuperation and escape, but assassins are closing in on him every moment.

Index

• Scripts that were repeatedly rejected by 20th Century Fox
• Search for a director whose names have come and gone
• H. Ford's transition from star to acting talent
• Visual beauty influenced by Vermeer's masterpiece
• A miraculous movie that made everyone involved step up.

Scripts that were repeatedly rejected by 20th Century Fox

``Witness'' (1985) was nominated for eight categories at the 58th Academy Awards (winning for Best Screenplay and Best Editing), and is a masterpiece that made the name of Australian master director Peter Weir famous in Hollywood. . However, like many great movies, it was the product of a tightrope walk that resulted from the accumulation of many coincidences.

Producer Edward S. Feldman acquired the script for ``Called Home'' in 1983. It was written by TV screenwriters William Kelly and Earl W. Wallace, and had been tossed around in Hollywood for years. The story is about a rough detective from Philadelphia who hides out in the home of a mother and son belonging to the Amish, a Christian sect that follows strict rules.

Feldman was intrigued by the combination of a traditional crime film and the Amish, a community isolated from the rest of the world. At the time, many Americans had only a vague image of the Amish as people who still lived their lives as they did in the 18th century.

“Witness” preview

Feldman had a "first look contract" with 20th Century Fox, meaning he would negotiate any projects with Fox first. However, Joe Wyzan, the head of Fox, flatly dismissed the idea, saying, ``A movie set in the countryside is not a good idea.''

The script was 187 pages long and would have been three hours long if shot as is, so Feldman asked Kelly and Wallace to rewrite it and trim it down to about two-thirds the length. I paid the $25,000 rewrite fee out of my own pocket. When he brought the project to Fox again, Wyzan simply dismissed it, saying, ``The script is really good, but we don't make country movies.''

Feldman thought it was time to secure a star actor. The script reminded me of Gary Cooper in `` Friendly Persuasion '' (56), and I decided to go with Harrison Ford. Ford became a star with two major franchises, `` Star Wars '' and `` Indiana Jones, '' but he specialized in attraction films, starring in ` `Hanover Street '' (1979) and `` Blade .'' Blade Runner ' (1982) did not do well at the box office. In order to carve out a future career, it was about time for him to show off his acting skills in earnest.

Fascinated by the script, Ford agrees to appear in the film almost immediately. Once the lead actor was chosen, the first look contract was once again violated, and Feldman went to 20th Century Fox three times to negotiate. Fox and Ford had a good relationship on ``Star Wars,'' but Wizan simply dismissed the idea, saying, ``We still don't make country movies.''

Would Wizan have made a ``country movie'' if he had known that it would become a huge success? In any case, Wizan only stayed at Fox for 18 months, retiring the following year in 1984. If the timing had been slightly different, Detective John Book/Witness might have been produced by Fox. But if things had gone so smoothly, Feldman wouldn't have been able to get a great director in Peter Weir.

Search for a director whose names have come and gone