<P> In January 1963, Lehman invited one of his favorite directors, William Wyler, to travel to New York City with him to see the Broadway musical . After seeing the show, Wyler said he hated it, but after two weeks of Lehman's persuasion, Wyler reluctantly agreed to direct and produce the film . After hiring musical supervisor Roger Edens, Wyler, Lehman, and Edens traveled to Salzburg to scout filming locations . In two weeks they managed to see approximately seventy - five locations--an experience that helped Lehman conceptualize several important sequences . During that trip, Lehman began to have reservations about Wyler's commitment to the project, and communicated this to Zanuck, who instructed the writer to finalize the first draft of the screenplay as quickly as possible . Lehman completed the first draft on September 10, 1963 and sent it to Wyler, who had no suggestions or changes . At that time, Lehman also secretly gave a copy of the script to the agent of Robert Wise, whom Lehman still wanted as the director . Later that month, Wyler's agent approached Zanuck asking that production on the film be delayed so Wyler could direct The Collector . Zanuck told him to tell Wyler to make the other film, and that they would move ahead on schedule with another director, ending Wyler's participation . </P> <P> Meanwhile, Wise, whose film The Sand Pebbles had been postponed, read Lehman's first draft, was impressed by what he read, and agreed to direct the film . Wise joined the picture in October 1963, and flew to Salzburg with associate producer Saul Chaplin and members of his production team to scout filming locations, including many that Wyler had identified . When he returned, Wise began working on the script . Wise shared Lehman's vision of the film being centered on the music, and the changes he made were consistent with the writer's approach--mainly reducing the amount of sweetness and sentimentality found in the stage musical . He had reservations about Lehman's opening aerial sequence because they'd used a similar opening in West Side Story, but decided to keep it . Other changes included replacing "An Ordinary Couple" with a more romantic number, and a new song for Maria's departure from the abbey--Rodgers provided "Something Good" and "I Have Confidence" especially for the film . Lehman completed the second draft on December 20, 1963, but additional changes would be made based on input from Maria von Trapp and Christopher Plummer about the character of the Captain . Plummer especially helped transform a character lacking substance into a stronger, more forceful complex figure with a wry sense of humor and a darker edge . Lehman completed his final draft on March 20, 1964 . </P> <P> Lehman's first and only choice for Maria was Julie Andrews . When Wise joined the project, he made a list of his choices for the role, which included Andrews as his first choice, Grace Kelly, and Shirley Jones . Wise and Lehman went to Disney Studios to view footage from Mary Poppins, which was not yet released . A few minutes into the film, Wise told Lehman, "Let's go sign this girl before somebody else sees this film and grabs her!" Andrews had some reservations--mainly about the amount of sweetness in the theatrical version--but when she learned that her concerns were shared by Wise and Lehman and what their vision was, she signed a contract with Fox to star in The Sound of Music and one other film for $225,000 (equivalent to $1,780,000 in 2017). Wise had a more difficult time casting the role of the Captain . A number of actors were considered for the part, including Bing Crosby, Yul Brynner, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton . Wise had seen Christopher Plummer on Broadway and wanted him for the role, but the stage actor turned down the offer several times . Wise flew to London to meet with Plummer and explained his concept of the film; the actor accepted after being assured that he could work with Lehman to improve the character; Plummer later described himself as having become quite arrogant at the time, "spoiled by too many great theater roles". </P> <P> Wise also spent considerable time and effort on casting the secondary characters . For the role of Max Detweiler, Wise initially considered Victor Borge, Noël Coward, and Hal Holbrook among others before deciding on Richard Haydn . For the character of Baroness Elsa Schraeder, Wise looked for a "name" actress--Andrews and Plummer were not yet widely known to film audiences--and decided on Eleanor Parker . The casting of the children characters began in November 1963 and involved over two hundred interviews and auditions throughout the United States and England . Some of the child - actors interviewed or tested, who were not selected, included Mia Farrow, Patty Duke, Lesley Ann Warren, Geraldine Chaplin, Shelley Fabares, Teri Garr, Kurt Russell, and The Osmonds . Most of the actors selected had some acting, singing, or dancing experience . Charmian Carr, however, was a model who worked part - time in a doctor's office and had no ambition to pursue a career as an actress . After a friend sent her photo to Wise's office, she was asked to interview . Wise later recalled, "She was so pretty and had such poise and charm that we liked her immediately ." The last person to be cast was Daniel Truhitte in the role of Rolfe . </P>

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