Such Good Friends directed by Otto Preminger

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Through his son Erik, who was working as his story editor, producer Otto Preminger heard about a manuscript by Lois Gould that was rumored to be a hot property. He negotiated with the author and purchased the film rights for $200,000 in February 1970, three months before the book was published.

The novel, narrated in stream-of-consciousness mode by Julie Messinger, proved to be difficult to adapt for the screen. Joan Micklin Silver initially tackled the project, but Preminger found her to be too much of a feminist who was more psychologically attuned to the character than he thought was necessary. He then hired Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne and worked with them for several months.

Finally, in early 1971, Elaine May, his original choice for screenwriter, became available. May worked on the script for ten weeks, although Preminger found it difficult to adjust to her method of writing. The two would meet for a story conference, then May would disappear and remain incommunicado for two weeks or so, finally emerging with a substantial part of the screenplay completed.

Preminger would give her notes and she would disappear again, and this routine continued until the script was finished. Not wanting her name attached to work started by others, May insisted she did not want screen credit and used the pseudonym Esther Dale, the name of a Hollywood character actress, instead of her own. Preminger later used May's involvement in the film to help promote it, a move the screenwriter resented, as she felt he was "more honorable than that."

Preminger and leading lady Dyan Cannon clashed throughout filming. She was constantly late, one of the director's pet peeves, and the two disagreed about everything about her character, from how she should be portrayed to how she should be dressed.

Uncomfortable with the director's perception of Julie, the actress frequently tried to incorporate some of her own vision into her interpretation, resulting in loud on-set arguments that left Cannon feeling alone, self-conscious, and very vulnerable. Upon the film's completion, the two vowed never to work with each other again.
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