Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (film)

Several changes were made in adapting the film from the book. Many unused characters were eliminated or combined into composite ones. John Berendt states at the end of his book: "All the characters in this book are real, but it bears mentioning that I have used pseudonyms for a number of them in order to protect their privacy." To create further distance, several character names in the movie are different than in the book.

• John Berendt was removed from the journalistic role; the fictional John Kelso was introduced in his place, and a love interest was added for the film.
• Danny Hansford is renamed Billy Hanson in the film
• Lee Adler, the former member of the Telfair Museums board, becomes Lorne Atwell. Adler, who lived with his wife across West Wayne Street from Mercer House, died in 2012, aged 88[7]
• George Oliver, the judge in Williams' trial, is now Samuel L. White. Oliver died in 2004 at the age of 89[8]
• Spencer Lawton, the district attorney who prosecutes Williams, is renamed Finley Largent
• Greg Kerr, one of those called to witness, becomes George Tucker
• Prentiss Crowe's lines about the deceased being "a good time not yet had by all" were instead spoken by Serena Dawes
• Sonny Clarke, a member of the Oglethorpe Club, said the line, "They're saying he shot the best piece of ass in Savannah" in the book, but it was given to Joe Odom in the movie

The multiple trials were combined into one on-screen trial. Williams' real life attorney, Sonny Seiler, played Samuel L. White, the presiding judge of the trial. Seiler was originally cast as a juror, but Eastwood persuaded him to take on the role of the judge. "I said, 'I'm not an actor,' and Clint said, 'Of course you are. All lawyers are actors, and you are one of the best. If you do this for me, I won’t have to hire a dialect coach.'"[9] Seiler's daughter, Bess Thompson, appears in the movie as the "pretty girl"[10] in Forsyth Park who asks if she can have her picture taken with Uga.[11]

Advertising for the film became a source of controversy when Warner Bros. used elements of Jack Leigh's famous photograph in the posters without permission, infringing copyright law.[12]

115 East Jones Street, built in 1853, was the venue for Joe Odom's party

While entertaining the role of being the film's director, Clint Eastwood visited Savannah, Georgia, where the entire film would be shot, in 1996. "I didn't get to know too many people at that time — mostly places — but I did meet some people who knew about the Jim Williams episode. And I met the attorney, Sonny Seiler, who was very, very helpful in making everyone understand what the attitude and atmosphere was in Savannah in the 1980s," he said.[13] Principal photography began in spring the following year.[14]

Several scenes were filmed in and around Monterey Square. Jim Williams' Mercer House is located in the southwestern ward of the square, at 429 Bull Street. Williams' sister, Dorothy Kingery, became the owner of the house after her brother's death. After initially agreeing to permit filming to take place inside the home, she developed cold feet. "Clint Eastwood came from California the next day," Kingery said. "We talked about my concerns, and he addressed those."[11] While most of the scenes were filmed inside the home, the fight and shooting scenes were done in a California studio.[11] When it came to the Christmas party scenes, the house contained so many valuable pieces of art and furniture that it presented a security problem. Eastwood decided, therefore, not to use extras. He instead sent out engraved invitations to the same locals that Williams used to invite to his parties.[5]

The Hugh Comer House, where John Kelso is greeted upon his arrival in Savannah. The gate in the fence that Kelso walks through has since been removed

John Kelso is shown being welcomed by Mrs. Baxter to the Italianate house at 2 East Taylor Street — the 1880-built former home of Hugh Comer (1842–1900), president of Central of Georgia Railroad,[15] on the square's northeastern ward. Kelso does not stay there in the movie, however; his carriage-house apartment was built on a soundstage in Burbank, California.[16] Window shots from inside the carriage house were filmed across from 115 East Jones Street, which Joe Odom was looking after for its owner, who was in New York. (Odom's house, constructed by Eliza Jewett in 1847, was at 16 East Jones.)[17] Kelso's six-month rental, shown at the end of the film, is 218 West Jones Street, which is now valued at over $1.4 million.[18]

Armstrong House, the former home of Bouhan Falligant LLP. The firm moved to One West Park Avenue in 2017

The scenes at Sonny Seiler's offices were filmed at the Armstrong House, 447 Bull Street, south of Monterey Square and close to the northern edge of Forsyth Park. John Bouhan was one of the partners of Bouhan, Williams & Levy, which moved into Armstrong House in 1970. Bouhan died the following year,[19] but it is his dog, Patrick, that was continued to be walked by the law firm's porter, William Glover (James Moody), long after Bouhan's death.[20] In 2017, Bouhan Falligant LLP moved to One West Park Avenue[21] after developer Richard C. Kessler bought Armstrong House. Seiler retired just before the move.[22]

The courthouse scenes were filmed at the Tomochichi Federal Building and United States Courthouse, on the western side of Wright Square. Dixie's Flowers, the flower shop Mandy works at, is in the northeastern ward of the square, at 6 East State Street.

This apartment, at 418 East Liberty Street, doubled as the home of Chablis Deveau

The residence used as The Lady Chablis' home is 418 East Liberty Street. The Myra Bishop Family Clinic she walks to is at 311 Habersham Street, about 500 feet away.

Kelso has breakfast at Clary's Cafe, at 404 Abercorn Street. Photos of the cast taken during down time from filming are hung by the door to the diner.

The Married Women's Card Club is at 126 East Gaston Street.

Churchill's Pub was located at 9 Drayton Street at the time of filming, but it was damaged in a fire six years later and closed.[23]

The Debutante Ball was filmed at the Savannah Inn and Country Club. (It later became Wilmington Island Club but was renamed back to Savannah Inn and Country Club in 2018.)

Bonaventure Cemetery, on the city's eastern edge, is featured on several occasions, although Minerva performs her mysterious incantations at the "colored cemetery" just beyond it in the movie. (In the book, said cemetery is in Beaufort, South Carolina, within walking distance of Minerva's home.)

Forsyth Park is the venue for the dog-walking scenes, including the cameo appearance of Uga V, the English bulldog live mascot of the University of Georgia, playing his father, Uga IV. Uga V died two years after filming.[24] The Uga mascots live in Savannah between football games.

After location filming ended in June 1997, a fundraiser was held at and for Savannah's Lucas Theatre, which was built in 1921. Spacey donated $200,000 in Williams' honor to assist in the $7.6-million renovation of the theatre.[25] "I love Savannah. I had a great time here," said Spacey, an Oscar winner in 1996 for his role in The Usual Suspects. "I plan to visit again. And once this (theater) gets done, I'll bring a play here."[25] It was hoped that the movie's premiere would take place at the Lucas,[25] but it was instead held on November 17 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. Its Savannah premiere occurred on November 20 at the Johnny Mercer Theater. It opened nationwide the following day.