Development
Sorkin wrote much of his story on cocktail napkins while bartending at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.[11] He and his roommates had purchased a Macintosh 512K; when he returned home, he would empty his pockets of the napkins and type them into the computer, forming a basis from which he wrote many drafts.[12]
In 1988, Sorkin sold his play's film rights to producer David Brown before it premiered, in a deal reportedly "well into six figures".[13] Brown had read a New York Times article about Sorkin's one-act play Hidden in This Picture, and he learned that Sorkin also had a play called A Few Good Men that was having off-Broadway readings.[14] Brown was producing a few projects at TriStar Pictures, and tried to interest them in adapting A Few Good Men, but his proposal was declined due to the lack of star actors. In 1990, Variety announced that the film would be financed by Groupe Canal+ and Brown's company World Film Services. Brown received a call from Alan Horn at Castle Rock Entertainment, who was anxious to make the film. Rob Reiner, a producing partner at Castle Rock, opted to direct.[14]
Reiner and Sorkin spent eight months writing the screenplay. William Goldman did an uncredited rewrite; Sorkin liked his changes so much that he incorporated them into the stage version. One of the most significant changes was the removal of a forged logbook that served as the trial's "smoking gun" in the play.[15]
The film had a production budget of between $33 and 40 million.[1][2] Tom Cruise was cast as Kaffee on March 22, 1991, and was given a $12.5 million salary. Demi Moore was cast as Galloway.[16] Wolfgang Bodison was a film location scout when he was asked to take part in a screen test for the part of Dawson.[17] James Woods auditioned to play Jessep, but Jack Nicholson was cast. Nicholson was paid $5 million for 10 days of shooting, earning $500,000 a day.[16] Nicholson said, "it was one of the few times when it was money well spent." He later criticized Columbia Pictures for moving the film's release date to directly compete with his other film that year, Hoffa.
The film starts with a performance of "Semper Fidelis" by a U.S. Marine Corps marching band. A Silent Drill was performed by the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets Fish Drill Team (portraying the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon).[18][19]
Commentators have suggested several former Navy JAG lawyers who might have been the model for Kaffee. These include Don Marcari, now an attorney in Virginia; former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias; Chris Johnson, now practicing in California; and Walter Bansley III, now practicing in Connecticut. But Sorkin has said, "The character of Dan Kaffee in A Few Good Men is entirely fictional and was not inspired by any particular individual."[20][21][22][23][24]
Cruise said that he modeled his performance on Church of Scientology chairman David Miscavige, with whom he is friends.[25] Cruise insisted on using the church's Clearsound sound reproduction technology, which he claimed captured his voice better.[16]
Filming
Filming began on October 21, 1991, at the Arlington Memorial Bridge in Washington D.C. The film's Guantanamo Bay scenes were filmed in Southern California at Crystal Cove State Park, Fort MacArthur, and Naval Air Station Point Mugu. Although 200 off-duty Marines were allowed to serve as extras for the film, the U.S. Department of Defense denied the production permission to film at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The courtroom scenes were filmed at Culver Studios in Culver City, California.[16]
