Years later, Meryl Streep admitted she did this film after her fiancé John Cazale's death earlier that year, as a way to cope with his loss. She noted, "I did this film on automatic pilot," Streep remembered, "I couldn't have worked with a more lovely, more understanding person than Alan Alda."
First cinema movie with a produced screenplay by Alan Alda. Alda spent three years writing the script, incorporating in it a number of the problems an actor faces. Alda was also the film's lead actor as well as being the writer and was still appearing in the TV comedy series M*A*S*H (1972) when this movie was made and released.
Actress Meryl Streep won a number of Best Supporting Actress awards for her role in this movie. These included the New York Film Critics Circle Award, the National Society of Film Critics Award, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award. Most of these were awarded to Streep for her performance not only this film but also for Manhattan (1979) and/or also for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).
One of three 1979 movies starring actress Meryl Streep released in that year. The pictures are Manhattan (1979), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), and The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979).