Trivia / The Last of Sheila

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• Actor-Shared Background: A weird example in which it wasn't done with the knowledge of the actor themselves. When they sought Raquel Welch for the film, she was told that her character Alice and her husband Anthony were based off on Ann-Margret and her husband Roger Smith. In reality, Alice Wood was based on Welch herself, and Anthony was based on her husband, producer Patrick Curtis, with whom Welch was divorcing at the time, meaning that Welch unwittingly ended up playing a stylized version of herself in the film.
• All-Star Cast: Almost everyone in the main cast was a big name for filmgoers in The '70s, with the exception of Ian McShane (whose stardom wouldn't come until later), and Joan Hackett (who was still a recognizably-prolific character actress).
• Development Hell: A plan for a remake has been kicking around Hollywood for the last few years.
• Enforced Method Acting: Word of God Richard Benjamin related in the commentary track that one night after filming, James Mason invited Benjamin out for drinks. Benjamin said about 15 minutes into their conversation, he figured out that Mason was doing an improvised rehearsal of their third act film confrontation.
• He Also Did: One of the quirks of the film is its co-writers: The oddball duo of Anthony Perkins, best known as playing Norman Bates in Psycho, and Stephen Sondheim, best known as the creator of Broadway musicals. It is the only screenwriting credit either Perkins or Sondheim ever received.
• Hollywood Pudgy: Meta-wise. In her frequent bikini or otherwise scantily-dressed scenes, Dyan Cannon looks like she could walk straight onto a Victoria's Secret runway. Dyan Cannon said later that she had to gain eighteen pounds for the role. The chain we see Cannon wearing around her belly when she's seen in her bikini during the film was actually her marker so she didn't gain too much weight as the length represented the maximum amount of weight she wanted to gain for the role. Word of God This was mentioned in the commentary track by Cannon herself.
• Hostility on the Set:
  • Raquel Welch alienated most of her castmates, leading James Mason to call her "the rudest, most unprofessional actress I've ever had the displeasure of working with," which led to his infamous statement of "If I could, I would spank her from here to Aswan."
  • Welch also clashed with director Herbert Ross, even announcing she was suing Ross for assault and battery as a result of an incident in her dressing room. She claimed she had to flee to London during the shoot "to escape physical harm". However, she then returned to Nice to shoot the film's final scenes, although she was provided with a bodyguard. Warner Bros. later issued a statement supporting Ross and criticizing Welch for her "public utterances".
  • Ian McShane said that Welch "...isn't the most friendly creature. She seems to set out with the impression that no one is going to like her."
• Real Life Writes the Plot: Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim regularly hosted parties featuring scavenger hunts like Clinton coordinates in the film. This film's director, Herbert Ross, encouraged them to write a screenplay based on the scavenger hunts, and the pair created this screenplay.
• Troubled Production: The logistics of filming in a yacht far from Hollywood created numerous problems that delayed production, and most of the movie ended up being filmed on sets. Also, as mentioned before, Raquel Welch clashed with director Herbert Ross and alienated most of her castmates.
  • Filming the café scene was disrupted when the group known as "Black September" informed police that a bomb had been placed near the set and would be detonated unless everyone left. With help from the local police, the actors, actresses, and crew carried on and finished shooting on schedule.
• Write What You Know: Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins used to hold parties for friends featuring elaborately-staged games, so they adapted that concept into this screenplay.

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