Meanwhile, the "Death Wish" films continued to enjoy popularity in the video and television market. Golan came up with the idea of a fifth "Death Wish" film to serve as a much-needed hit for the company. Financing to start the film production was secured through a loan from the Lewis Horwitz Organization. Golan still owned an unused screenplay for a "Death Wish" film, submitted in the late 1980s by J. Lee Thompson and Gail Morgan Hickman. He decided against using it, since it would be too costly to produce. Instead, he hired Michael Colleary to write a new script. Golan initially reserved directorial duties for himself. His preoccupation with directing "Crime and Punishment" reportedly prevented him from doing so. Michael Winner was available to direct, but was never asked to do so. According to Winner, his lack of interest in directing "" (1987) may have led Golan to count him out. Golan then hired Steve Carver for the job, an experienced director in the action film genre. Carver recalled discussing with Bronson over the depiction of Paul Kersey. Bronson wanted the character to become more sympathetic and less violent. Carver and screenwriter Stephen Peters started co-operating in revising the script. Carver worked on pre-production for two months before Golan decided to replace him. His replacement was Allan A. Goldstein, who held dual citizenship as a Canadian and American. Carver believes that it was Goldstein's Canadian ties which influenced the decision. Goldstein himself was surprised, since he specialized in drama films. "Death Wish V" was his first action film. He tried familiarizing himself with the film series by watching the previous entries for the first time. He soon started revising the script. He attempted to insert humor and black comedy elements. The film was shot in Toronto. For tax purposes, several of the roles had to be filled with Canadian actors. Among them were Robert Joy, Saul Rubinek, Kenneth Welsh, and teenager Erica Lancaster. The previous films of the series were mostly shot on location, but the fifth film was mainly shot in a studio. All the scenes involving the dress factory were shot in a studio. Charles Bronson and producer Menahem Golan were not on speaking terms during the filming, only communicating by using director Allan A. Goldstein as an intermediary. Goldstein himself was uncertain of the reasons behind this adversarial relationship. Golan was not present for most of the shooting, preoccupied with filming "Crime and Punishment" (2002) in Russia.