Development Massy Tadjedin wrote and filmed
Last Night, which was her directorial debut after writing the screenplays for the films
Leo (2002) and
The Jacket (2005). She completed the script roughly four and a half years prior to its release; Tadjedin said she struggled with writing characters that "would come across as real people, that their struggle was believable". After a negative response from a
Warner Bros. studio executive on the script's formatting, she realized
Final Draft was the preferred software for screenwriters. the setting was later changed to New York City, which Tadjedin described as a "place where the diverse characters could come together". She clarified that the location change did not affect the plot, because she wanted to portray the characters' relationships in a more universal context rather than tied to a specific city. The
Los Angeles Times partially attributed the difficulty in selling
Last Night to a film studio to it being an adult drama, which it described as "endangered in Hollywood". Monogamy was identified by some media outlets as a related topic explored in the movie. Tadjedin likened
Last Night to a
slice of life story, a genre that she enjoyed in her childhood, Critics compared the storyline and characters to those of a
Woody Allen film, such as
The Globe and Mail calling it "a New York morality play" set in Allen's "emotional and physical terrain".
Casting According to Tadjedin, the casting was "very chemistry dependent" to ensure each relationship felt authentic. She said the addition of
Keira Knightley had "anchored the casting process". When asked if she had written Joanna for Knightley, Tadjedin said she imagined the character instead as a cross between
Natalie Wood and
Julie Christie. Knightley said her return to acting had helped improve her mental health. Tadjedin approached the male leads based on their chemistry with Knightley.
Eva Mendes was cast as Laura based on the warmth she brought to the character. The location for Michael and Joanna's
Tribeca apartment was found after a three-week search. Tadjedin explained that the international cast was not intentional, but said that "it felt really organic". Gaumont financed
Last Night, helped to release it in France, and handled sales. Gaumont CEO
Christophe Riandee said the company acquired the movie to prove its "determination to go forward with high-end English-speaking productions". Tadjedin produced the film with
Nick Wechsler and
Sidonie Dumas. Wechsler had previously attempted to put Tadjedin's other scripts into production.
Christophe Riandee and Buddy Enright were the
executive producers, and Satsuki Mitchell was a co-producer.
Susan E. Morse edited the film and the
production design was handled by Tim Grimes.
Peter Deming worked as the movie's
director of photography, and
Ann Roth created the costumes. == Soundtrack ==