By 1977, comedian Steve Martin was experiencing wild success. He wished to cross over to a film career, believing it promised more longevity. Basing his film proposal on a line from his act—"It wasn't always easy for me; I was born a poor black child"—he fleshed out his ideas into a series of notes he intended to deliver to studios. With confidence in his budding standup career, he imagined it would not be difficult to break into Hollywood. Instead, he found it more difficult than expected. Bill McEuen was acquainted with Paramount Pictures president David Picker, and passed along his notes, which the studio read carefully. It described a series of odd jobs lead character "Steve" would hold in his saga, but Paramount passed on the project.
Movie's ratings
Production
The Jerk
(1979)1
" From rags to riches… to rags."
Country | |
Runtime | 1 hr 34 min |
Premiere: World | January 12, 1980 |
Premiere: USA | $73 691 419 December 14, 1979 |
theaters | 525 |
rollout | 21 days |
Digital: World | June 25, 2013 |
Parental Advisory | Profanity, ... |
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Production Companies | |
Also Known As | Easy Money (United States) |