Trivia / The Way We Were

• Dawson Casting: The film starts with the leads in college, however both actors were in their thirties while filming.
• Hostility on the Set: According to Arthur Laurents, the atmosphere on the film set was tense. He was often frustrated over Sydney Pollack's decisions as a director. Laurents fought to keep certain lines and scenes in the film that Pollack wanted to cut or change. Barbra Streisand was an ally to Laurents most of the time when conflicts arose, often supporting his suggestions.
• Self-Adaptation: Arthur Laurents adapted his own novel.
• Stillborn Franchise: A decade after the film was released, Robert Redford contacted Arthur Laurents to discuss the possibility of collaborating on a new project, and eventually the two settled on a sequel. In it, Hubbell and his daughter, a radical like Katie, would meet, but be unaware of their relationship, and complications would ensue. Both agreed they did not want Sydney Pollack to be part of the equation. Laurents sent Redford the completed script, but aside from receiving a brief note acknowledging the actor had received it and looked forward to reading it, he never heard from him again. In 1982, Pollack approached Laurents about a sequel producer Ray Stark had proposed, but nothing transpired following their initial discussion. In 1996, Barbra Streisand came across the sequel Laurents had written, and decided she wanted to produce and direct it, as well as co-star with Redford, but did not want to work with Stark. Laurents thought the script was not as good as he remembered it being, and agreed to rewrite it once Stark agreed to sell the rights to the characters and their story to Streisand. Again, nothing happened. The following year, Stark asked Laurents if he was interested in adapting the original film for a stage musical starring Kathie Lee Gifford. Laurents declined, and any new projects related to the film have been in limbo.
• Uncredited Role: Among those who made contributions to the script were Dalton Trumbo, Alvin Sargent, Paddy Chayefsky, and Herb Gardner.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Warren Beatty and Ryan O'Neal were both considered for Hubbell Gardner.
  • Peter Bogdanovich turned down the chance to direct. He later regretted his decision.
• Write What You Know: Arthur Laurents based the story upon his life-long romance with gay partner Farley Granger.
• Write Who You Know: Hubbell Gardiner was drawn from several people Laurents knew. The looks and personality came from two primary sources - writer Peter Viertel and a man Laurents referred to only as "Tony Blue Eyes", an acquaintance who inspired the scene where the creative writing instructor reads Hubbell's short story to his class.

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