Walter Matthau once said of this movie: "It's filled with very real emotions . . . there were a few seconds while I was acting when I flashed back to my childhood when my father deserted us . . . I was exhausted at the end of each day. Some roles are easier but comedy, such as Neil Simon writes, is twenty times more difficult than straight acting or tragic acting. I prefer the challenge of comedy. It requires a great deal more energy, a great deal of kinetic output."
In this picture, Dinah Manoff reprises her Tony Award winning role for Best Featured Actress as Libby Tucker from the Broadway play 'I Ought to Be in Pictures'. Manoff also had won the 1980 Theatre World Award for that stage role.
This film was made and released about two years after its source play by Neil Simon was first performed in 1980. The play 'I Ought to Be in Pictures' originally opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on 3rd April 1980 and completed its run on 11 January 1981 after 324 performances.
Dinah Manoff was the only member of the original Broadway cast to reprise her role in this filmed adaptation of the play 'I Ought to Be in Pictures'.
The play 'I Ought to Be in Pictures' was Neil Simon 18th play. It's setting described in the play's intro reads: "West Hollywood, California. The present." The play is a three character comedy-drama.