The film has no opening credits. After the Miramax Films name and logo appears, the next screen is an extreme closeup of Renée Zellweger’s eye, which dissolves into the letter C in a marquee lighting rendition of Chicago. The action begins as Taye Diggs, who portrays the "Bandleader," recites the dancer’s count “5-6-7-8,” a trademark phrase of Bob Fosse, director and choreographer of the successful 1975 Broadway musical play on which the film is based. The dialogue ends as it started, with Diggs repeating “5-6-7-8.” The exit music then begins as the title re-appears.
       Following the director, screenwriter and producers’ credits, the names of the principal cast appear, on individual screens, in the following order: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore, Christine Baranski, Dominic West, Mýa Harrison, Deidre Goodwin, Denise Faye, Ekaterina Chtchelkanova [and] Susan Misner. As the actors’ names appear, clips of their scenes from the film are shown. Following a number of additional principal production credits, the cast and character names are presented, listed in order of appearance. The remaining credits roll after the cast.
       After the song and soundtrack credits, the following statements appear: “Richard Gere’s singing and dancing performed by Richard Gere; Renée Zellweger’s singing and dancing performed by Renée Zellweger; Catherine Zeta-Jones’ singing and dancing performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones.” Danny Elfman is credited onscreen twice, first with “Original score and music by,” then again with “Original score and music written and produced by.” There is an onscreen dedication in the end credits that reads “Dedicated to Bob Fosse, Gwen Verdon and Robert Fryer.” Fosse died in 1987; Verdon, who starred as "Roxie Hart" in her long-time collaborator and ex-husband Fosse’s musical, died in 2000 and Fryer, who produced the show on stage, also died in 2000. Special thanks are also given to a number of individuals and institutions, including the City of Toronto, where the film was shot. Acknowledgment is also given to F.I.L.M. Archives and Getty Images for stock footage that was used in the black-and-white montage of Roxie's publicity campaign.
       After Chicago's Los Angeles premiere on 10 Dec 2002, its first public showing took place on 19 Dec at the Camelot Theater in Palm Springs, CA, as an early “kickoff” event for the Jan 2003 Palm Springs Film Festival. The film opened in limited release in the UK on 26 Dec 2002, and opened on fifty-five screens in New York, Los Angeles and selected North American cities on 27 Dec 2002, in order to qualify for Academy Award consideration. The number of screens on which the film was shown increased to seventy-seven on 3 Jan 2003, with additional screens added on successive Fridays until the picture was released widely throughout North America on 7 Feb 2003.
       Development of the film version of Chicago, which co-starred Chita Rivera (who had a brief role in the film as prison inmate “Nickie”) as “Velma Kelly” and Jerry Orbach as “Billy Flynn,” began shortly after the opening of the critically and commercially successful Broadway show on 3 Jun 1975. The following information about the production was obtained from press information, news items in Hollywood trade publications and feature articles in various newspapers and magazines:
       The earliest news item found on a possible film adaptation of the musical was 18 Sep 1975, when Liza Minnelli, who had recently filled in for Verdon in the Broadway production, and had earlier won an Oscar for her performance in the 1972, Fosse-directed adaptation of Cabaret (see entry), mentioned in an interview that she would appear in the screen adaptation of Chicago. Other news items in the late 1970s indicated that Shirley MacLaine, who starred in Fosse’s first film as a director, the 1969 adaptation of the Broadway musical Sweet Charity (see entry), might co-star with Minnelli, and that Martin Scorsese, who had directed Minnelli in the film musical New York, New York in 1977, would direct. Verdon was mentioned in some news items at that time as the possible choreographer of the film.
       In 1979, it was announced that Martin Richards, head of Producer Circle Co. was to produce the film, partnered with Allan Carr, who had produced the musical box office hit Grease in 1978. At that time, Broadway and Hollywood writers-composers Betty Comden and Adolph Green were mentioned as possible screenwriters for the film, which would have eight new songs, and was to begin production in Jan 1980. Throughout 1979, additional news items mentioned that Fryer would co-produce the film version of Chicago on a $10,000,000 budget, along with Richards and his partner, Mary Lea Johnson, and Carr. In 1979, according to George Christy’s “The Great Life” column in HR, Frank Sinatra was named as a possible choice to play Flynn. Several news items in 1979 noted that Minnelli was set to play Velma, co-starring with Goldie Hawn as Roxie. Other actors mentioned in 1979 as potential cast members included Valerie Perrine, Ann Miller and Nancy Walker, in unspecified roles.
       In Jan 1981, a HR news item reported that Carr had hoped to shoot the film in Chicago, with interiors to be completed in Los Angeles and prison scenes to be shot in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. According to news articles in 1980 and 1981, at one time, Hawn wanted to produce, or co-produce, the film. A 7 May 1980 HR news item mentioned that Ralph Burns, who had recently won an Oscar for scoring All That Jazz (1979, see entry), was to score Chicago. Other news items in 1982 indicate that Arthur Laurents was to write the script, and that William Friedkin was to direct. Broadway director Nicholas Hytner was mentioned as the director in May 1988. A 1 Jun 1988 DV article also noted that Kathy Bates was being sought for the role of “Matron Mama Morton."
       Although some news items throughout the 1970s indicated that Fosse had decided not to direct the film adaptation of Chicago, some suggested that he was still considering the project but felt that he did not have the right “hook” for the production. Later feature articles speculated that Fosse gave up in frustration over the lengthy development stage of the project and instead turned his attention to directing the semi-autobiographical All That Jazz. That film, with a title derived from Chicago’s most famous song, incorporates backstage scenes of the protagonist, a Fosse-like character, directing and choreographing a Broadway musical suggestive of Chicago.
       Although Carr, who died in 1999, was no longer mentioned as affiliated with the production after the mid-1980s, it is unclear at which point he left the project. Miramax head Harvey Weinstein became actively involved as a co-producer with Richards in late 1994, according to contemporary news items. Directors variously reported as being sought for the project throughout the 1990s include Baz Luhrmann, Miloš Forman, Alan Parker, David Fincher, Robert Iscove and Sam Mendes. Rob Marshall was signed as the film’s director in early 2001. Marshall, who made his feature film debut with Chicago, had previously worked on the stage and had directed the television adaptation of the musical Annie in 1999.
       In the mid-1990s, writer Larry Gelbart was hired to write a screenplay for the film, although playwright Wendy Wasserstein was also mentioned in Hollywood trade papers as writing a draft of the script. Several news items and columns, such as Liz Smith’s syndicated columns, suggested that Gelbart’s screenplay was not considered “hot” enough by Hytner, who was again connected to the project. Although Gelbart disputed the accusations, the adaptation assignment eventually went to Bill Condon, the only screenwriter credited on the film. Gelbart was listed on numerous HR “in development” and “preproduction” charts and both Gelbart and Wasserstein were listed on the initial DV production chart, but the extent of their contributions to the completed film has not been determined.
       As late as the late-1990s, Hawn, who was still frequently mentioned in connection with the film, was said to be set for the lead. From 1994 through 1999, Madonna was mentioned in many news items and feature articles as being “set” for the project in the role of Velma. A 2 Feb 1999 HR "in development" chart listed the film as starring Madonna and Hawn, with a script by Gelbart, and indicated that it was to be shot in London. Various other actresses were mentioned to be wanted for, or under consideration for, starring roles in the film. According to Liz Smith columns in the late 1990s, Barbra Streisand was offered the role of Velma by Weinstein but turned it down. As stated in news items in the late 1990s, 2000 and 2001, a number of other actresses were under consideration for the leads, among them Bette Midler, Nicole Kidman, Toni Collette, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Britney Spears, Charlize Theron, Pam Grier and Bebe Neuwirth, who starred as Velma in the 1996 Broadway revival of the play. According to a Sep 2002 NYT feature article on the film, Marshall worked with as many as ten actresses before selecting Zellweger for Roxie in Aug 2001.
       Other casting notices in trade publications included Rosie O’Donnell for the role of Mama Morton, and again mentioned Bates as a contender for the role. Names mentioned in news items for the role of Billy included John Travolta, Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey, Kevin Kline and Hugh Jackman. Names mentioned for the role of Amos Hart included Joel Grey, who also appeared in the 1996 revival, and Nathan Lane. According to a 19 Mar 2003 NYT article, singer Janet Jackson was, at one time, sought to write additional songs for the film.
       Rehearsals began for the film in the fall of 2001. According to a Jan 2003 interview with Marshall printed in the LADN, the director said that rehearsals lasted for approximately six weeks, after which the cast recorded their songs. Principal photography began in Toronto, Canada on 12 Dec 2001 [some sources list 10 Dec]. Although the film continued to appear on HR production charts through late Apr 2002, Marshall stated in the interview that the film had a sixty-day production schedule. A few exteriors for the film were also shot in Chicago. According to a 17 Jan 2003 article in Entertainment Weekly, the film's final production cost was $45 million.
       In interviews, Marshall and Condon stated that they did not want the film to imitate Fosse’s stage production, but wanted to retain its essence while opening it up and modernizing it. The stage production, which was subtitled “A Musical Vaudeville,” was characterized by sparse sets and largely black and white costumes, whereas the film has numerous lavish sets and costumes. Most of the film’s musical numbers are ironic, fantasy representations of what is happening in the story, or in Roxie’s imagination. Many of the juxtapositions of fantasy and reality are cinematic interpretations of Fosse’s stage presentation, which used different levels and sections of the proscenium to present opposing dialogue and situations.
       Most of the film’s numbers are announced by the Bandleader, as if he is introducing a vaudeville act. Shots of an audience, often applauding appreciatively or laughing at what is being presented, are frequently intercut with the musical numbers. The film’s songs are also intercut with short scenes and quick shots of what is being said or developed in the main storyline. For example, as the Cell Block Tango number is presented, each of the women on Murderesses’ Row sings and dances a description of her crime, with the dancing periodically interrupted by a brief scene of the character in jail, verbally describing what happened.
       One of the most unusual numbers juxtaposes shots of Roxie and Billy talking to reporters after her arraignment, with a musical number featuring Billy as a ventriloquist and Roxie as his dummy. As the number develops, Billy is shown as a puppet master, directing the actions of Roxie, "Mary Sunshine" and the other reporters, who are all on strings. The puppet master theme was developed by Marshall for the film.
       Another noteworthy number in the film is “Razzle Dazzle” sung by Gere and staged by Marshall, who also choreographed the film, in a circus-like atmosphere. Several feature articles about the film noted that staging of the “Razzle Dazzle” number and the subsequent trial sequence were inspired by the 1995 O. J. Simpson murder trial, in which Simpson’s primary attorney, Johnnie Cochran, turned potentially damning evidence against the prosecution to win an acquittal for his client.
       Although most of the songs from the Broadway musical were included in the film, a notable exception was the number “Class,” sung by Mama Morton and Velma in the Broadway production. The number was shot for the film, but cut from the release after previews. According to an LAT article on 3 Jan 2003, after judging audience reaction to the number, Marshall felt that the lengthy song interfered with the rhythm of the courtroom sequence. However, several reviews mentioned the song as an unfortunate omission. Other songs from the Broadway production not in the film were: “A Little Bit of Good,” “My Own Best Friend,” “I Know a Girl” and “When Velma Takes the Stand.” Another feature of the stage show that was changed for the film was the character of Mary Sunshine. In the Broadway version, near the end of Roxie’s trial, Mary Sunshine is revealed to be a man in drag. This does not happen in the film, and some sources have speculated that the filmmakers did not feel it was necessary because exposing a “drag queen” was not as shocking to contemporary audiences as it was in 1975.
       The ballad “I Move On” was written especially for the film by John Kander and Fred Ebb. The music for “Tap Dance” was written for the film by Perry Cavari. Two old songs credited onscreen were “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town)” written by Fred Fisher in 1922 and “Raisin’ the Roof,” written in 1927 with music by Jimmy McHugh and words by Dorothy Fields. “Raisin’ the Roof” was heard on a phonograph in the scene when “Fred Casely” is shot. Although “Chicago” was not in the film, melodic phrases from the song may have been incorporated into the soundtrack.
       The Maurine Dallas Watkins play Chicago, on which the Broadway musical and subsequent film were based, was inspired by two actual murder trials that took place in 1920s Chicago, while Watkins worked as reporter for the Chicago Tribune, giving a “feminine perspective” to crime stories. According to a Jan 2003 Chicago Tribune article reprinted in LAT, the case of Beulah Annan, who shot her lover, Harry Kelstedt, inspired the Roxie Hart story. Annan had a publicity-loving attorney named W. W. O’Brien and claimed that she and her lover both reached for the gun at the same time. She also (falsely) claimed to have been pregnant. Her headline news trial ended in an acquittal. The other inspiration for Watkins’s play was the case of Belva Gaertner, who shot her lover, Walter Law. Gaertner, similar to Velma Kelly in the film, claimed she had consumed too much gin to remember what happened, even though she was found holding the murder weapon and had Law’s blood on her clothes.
       Watkins's play was the basis of a 1928 silent film entitled Chicago, produced by DeMille Pictures, directed by Frank Urson and starring Phyllis Haver as Roxie, Eugene Pallette as “Fred Casely,” May Robson as Mama and Robert Edeson as Flynn. The 1942 Twentieth Century-Fox production of Roxie Hart was also based on the Watkins play. That film was directed by William Wellman and starred Ginger Rogers as Roxie, Adolphe Menjou as Flynn and George Montgomery as “Homer Howard,” a character created for the production. In the 1942 film, told in flashback, Roxie does not kill anyone but admits to murder for the publicity. At the end of the film, it is revealed that Roxie married Homer and became a housewife and mother of his six children.
       Fosse’s original Broadway production of the musical Chicago was revived in 1996, with long-time Fosse collaborator Ann Reinking choreographing the production in Fosse’s style and starring as Roxie, along with Neuwirth as Velma, James Naughton as Flynn and Joel Grey as Amos. The Broadway revival spawned a number of road company and foreign productions, including a 1998 London production staged by Mendes, that have run for several years and, according to several articles, helped to spur renewed interest in a film adaptation. Dancers Deidre Goodwin, Denise Faye and Sebastian LaCause also appeared in the 1996 production.
       In addition to being selected by AFI as one of the top ten films of 2002, Chicago won six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Supporting Actress, Zeta-Jones; Art Direction, John Myhre and Gordon Sim; Film Editor, Martin Walsh; Costume Design, Colleen Atwood; and Sound, Michael Minkler, Dominick Tavella and David Lee. Academy Award nominations also went to Marshall for Direction; Zellweger for Best Actress; Queen Latifah for Best Supporting Actress; Reilly for Best Supporting Actor; Kander and Ebb for Song (“I Move On”), Dion Beebe for Cinematography and Condon for Best Adapted Screenplay. Zeta-Jones won an award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role from BAFTA, and the film won a BAFTA for Achievement in Sound.
       The film won three Golden Globe Awards: for Best Motion Picture--Musical or Comedy; Best Actress--Musical or Comedy, Zellweger, and Best Actor--Musical or Comedy, Gere. The film also garnered five additional Golden Globe nominations: for Best Actress--Musical or Comedy, Zeta-Jones; Best Supporting Actress, Queen Latifah; Best Supporting Actor, Reilly; Best Director, Marshall and Best Adapted Screenplay, Condon. Marshall won the DGA award for Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film directing, and the film's producers won the PGA's Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award. The film garnered three SAG awards: Best Ensemble Cast, Best Actress (Zellweger) and Best Supporting Actress (Zeta-Jones). Gere received a nomination from SAG for Best Lead Actor in a Movie, and Queen Latifah was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award. Chicago was also nominated by The Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Film and was named as one of the Top Ten Films of 2002 by the NYT and named Best Film of the year by the New York Film Critics, who also named Marshall Breakthrough Director of the year. Chicago was ranked 12th on AFI's list of the 25 Greatest Movie Musicals.