The cowriters of this movie, Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer, were like the main characters in Irreconcilable Differences, a married couple who collaborated on movies until they divorced in 1999.
Ryan O'Neal took the role for no salary, just points, because he really wanted to do it, but they didn't have the money to pay the actors what they usually earned. He said he loved the movie and thinks it's some of his best work.
The expensive flop musical that the Ryan O'Neal's character makes as a vehicle for Sharon Stone's character is a thinly veiled reference to At Long Last Love (1975), the expensive flop musical that Peter Bogdanovich made as a vehicle for Cybill Shepherd.