left Warner Bros to found Mirage Productions with filmmaker Sydney Pollack. Partnering with Mirage, Weinstein briefly relocated The Fabulous Baker Boys to MGM, only for the film to move once again to 20th Century Fox following Ladd, Jr.'s departure from MGM. Kloves attributes his struggles with getting the film made to Warner Bros.' reluctance to release the film's rights to a different studio "and watch it be a success for someone else", despite Warner Bros. disinterest in producing the film themselves. Pollack was retained as an executive producer. Kloves credits Rosenberg, Pollack, and Weinstein with helping him earn approval to direct the film, having been fans of his previous work. The film's development began in 1986, and was completed over the course of four years, the length of which The New York Times journalist Bernard Weinraub attributed to the film's melancholy nature and Kloves's insistence on directing. Kloves's final draft of his screenplay is dated November 4, 1988. Casting When casting The Fabulous Baker Boys began, Kloves recalled that while studio executives often dismissed his script as "dreary and depressing", most actors considered for the film found it "funny and moving". Wallis Nicita was the film's casting director. Bill Murray briefly expressed interest in starring while the film was in early development. The studio had also considered casting Murray's Saturday Night Live castmate, comedian Chevy Chase, as either Jack or Frank Baker, despite both actors having little musical experience. Brothers Dennis and Randy Quaid were offered the titular roles but turned them down. Kloves, Rosenberg, and Weinstein personally visited Jeff Bridges at his home in Montana to offer him the role of Jack Baker. After spending an afternoon asking Kloves various questions about the film, Jeff accepted because "I've had very good luck with first-time directors." Shortly after being cast, Jeff suggested his own older brother Beau Bridges for the role of Jack's older brother Frank. Initially reluctant to entertain the "gimmick" of casting brothers as on-screen siblings, Kloves relented upon meeting Beau for the first time at a restaurant. According to Kloves, "I saw Beau walk into the restaurant, and it just hit me – he was Frank Baker. By the end of the breakfast I decided to embrace it, and it's one of the better decisions I made, because at the end of the day it wasn't a gimmick – Beau was terrific." Beau recalled that the studio