Buying the rights to the unpublished and unstaged play by Burnett and Allison in January 1942, Warners had, at various intervals, assigned its adaptation to scenarists Julius and Philip Epstein, Howard Koch and the uncredited Casey Robinson, while also putting at the helm one of their top directors, Michael Curtiz. Production began on May 25, with final shooting concluded on August 3. "Casablanca's" New York City premiere was rushed to take place in November, thus taking advantage of the newspaper headlines announcing Allied capture of North African ports, including Casablanca. Because of the November release, the New York Film Critics included the film in its 1942 award season for best picture (the ultimate winner turned out to be the British wartime naval saga, "In Which We Serve"), but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences insisted that since "Casablanca" was not released nationally until early 1943, it would compete at the Award ceremony taking place in 1944. Sixteen months after its New York premiere, "Casablanca" won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. There were five additional nominations: Best Actor (Humphrey Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Claude Rains), Best Cinematography, Black-and White (Arthur Edeson), Best Film Editing (Owen Marks) and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Max Steiner).