The Color of Money turns 40 this week. Martin Scorsese’s pool-hustler sequel had its world premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on October 8, 1986, and went into wide release in the United States on October 17, 1986. Shot in and around Chicago, much of the filming took place in pool and billiard halls rather than built sets. It became the film that gave Paul Newman his first Academy Award and gave Tom Cruise one of his earliest leading-man showcases. Here are eight facts you did not know.
The author died the day the proofs arrived
Walter Tevis wrote The Color of Money as a sequel to his novel The Hustler. He died the same day producer Irving Axelrad received galley proofs of the book. A screenplay was written by Tevis, but the filmmakers decided not to use it.
Newman made the first call
Paul Newman called Martin Scorsese in September 1984 and asked if he was interested in directing a sequel to The Hustler. The original screenplay sent to Scorsese was written by Darryl Ponicsan, and Scorsese said it incorporated the first twelve minutes of the original film. The film was shot in 49 days at a cost of $14.5 million, $1.5 million under budget.
Tom Cruise bought a pool table
Tom Cruise mentioned that, to prepare for the role, he bought a pool table for his apartment and practiced for hours on end. Cruise performed most of his own pool shots in the film.
The difficult jump shot was done by Mike Sigel
The exception was a jump shot over two balls to pot another. Scorsese believed Cruise could learn the shot, but that it would take too long, so professional player Mike Sigel performed it. Sigel was also a technical director on the film.
Scorsese almost shot it in black and white
Scorsese considered shooting the film in black and white. He cited the influence of techniques and lighting in the 1947 Powell-Pressburger film Black Narcissus. In particular, he stated that the extreme closeups of Tom Cruise around the pool table were inspired by those of the nuns in that film.
The Balabushka was a Joss
The valuable Balabushka cue stick seen in the movie was not actually a Balabushka. Standing in for it is a Joss J-18, which became the Joss 10-N7, made to resemble a classic Balabushka. Touchstone Pictures released the film after both 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures declined.
Jean-Pierre Léaud was briefly considered
French actor Jean-Pierre Léaud was briefly considered for the role of Vincent Lauria. Richard Price adapted Tevis’s novel, and although the film features some characters from the novel, it was not written to be a sequel.
Newman finally took home Oscar
The film had its world premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on October 8, 1986. For The Color of Money, Paul Newman received the Academy Award for Best Actor, his first Academy Award and his seventh nomination. After its run, the film grossed $52,293,982 domestically.
Which of these eight details surprised you most? Tell us your favourite fact from The Color of Money.
Facts from Wikipedia: The Color of Money, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.