Terms of Endearment

Name: Terms of Endearment
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: 1983-11-20
Duration: 2 h 12 min
Rating: 7.4
Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels

Come to laugh, come to cry, come to care, come to terms.

Terms of Endearment (1983)

Timing: 2:12 (132 min)

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7.1/10
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7.4/10
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Everything about the movie

Video 13

Photo 54

Actors and characters

Video for the film Terms of Endearment — James L. Brooks | Best Director for 'Terms of Endearment' | Behind the Oscars Speech

2:01

Photo 54

Release date

Country

Production

Genre

Budget

$8 000 000

Box office

$164 223 489

Website

Director

James L. Brooks

Actors

Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels, John Lithgow, Lisa Hart Carroll, Betty King, Huckleberry Fox, Troy Bishop
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

James L. Brooks

Camera operator

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Composer

Michael Gore

Artist

Polly Platt

Audition

Juliet Taylor, Ellen Chenoweth

Editing

Richard Marks
Whole Team (53)

Short description

Aurora, a finicky woman, is in search of true love while her daughter faces marital issues. Together, they help each other deal with problems and find reasons to live a joyful life.

What's left behind the scenes

Shirley MacLaine turned down an offer to play Dr. Lesh in Tobe Hooper's horror film 'Poltergeist' (1982) in order to star in 'Terms of Endearment'. Her performance as Aurora won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. The role of Dr. Lesh in 'Poltergeist' was played by Beatrice Straight.
Initially, Jennifer Jones (1919-2009) held the rights to the novel and wanted to play the role of Aurora herself. Sissy Spacek was originally considered for the role eventually played by Debra Winger. Jones and her millionaire husband, Norton Simon (1907-1993), bought the screenplay from James L. Brooks, but Brooks decided it was better not to tailor Aurora's character to a specific actress and convinced Paramount Pictures to purchase the rights from Jones and Simon. While accepting the Oscar for the film, Brooks gave special thanks to Jennifer Jones Simon.
During filming, Debra Winger exhibited erratic behavior, as she was recovering from a serious cocaine addiction at the time. At one point, she and Shirley MacLaine nearly came to blows.
The role of Emma was originally written for actress Sissy Spacek.
John Lithgow ended up in the film's cast because he was replacing another actor. All of his scenes were filmed in three days during a break from filming with Herbert Ross (1927-2001) on the drama 'Bound for Glory' (1984).
The character of Garrett Breedlove does not exist in the original novel; he was specifically introduced into the script in the hope that Burt Reynolds (1936-2018) would agree to the role. Reynolds read the script, liked it, but was already committed to filming Hal Needham's (1931-2013) comedy-drama 'Stroker Ace' (1983). Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Harrison Ford also turned down the role of Breedlove, before Jack Nicholson accepted it. In preparation for the role, Nicholson specifically traveled to Houston, where he spoke with astronauts.
The character of Garrett Bridle 없는 does not exist in the original novel; he was introduced into the screenplay in the hope that Burt Reynolds (1936-2018) would take the role. Reynolds read the script and liked it, but he was already filming Hal Needham's (1931-2013) romantic comedy 'Stroker Ace' (1983). Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Harrison Ford also turned down the role of Bridle before Jack Nicholson eventually accepted it. To prepare for the part, Nicholson traveled to Houston to spend time with astronauts.
According to Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson also behaved quite strangely during filming, and once showed up on set almost naked. Many of the scenes they performed were pure improvisation.
According to Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson also acted out quite a bit during filming, once showing up on set practically naked. Many of the scenes they played were pure improvisation.
This is not stated explicitly, but the main part of the plot unfolds in the 1970s. Approximately midway through the film, a 1979 calendar can be seen on the wall. During this period, NASA had absolutely no need for Garrett's services. The last mission of the Apollo program ended in 1975, and the next crewed spaceflight was the first Space Shuttle flight in 1981.
Towards the end of filming, the director and one of the screenwriters, James L. Brooks, were congratulated on the upcoming completion of the first film and given a comic book 'Life in Hell' by Matt Groening. Brooks was so impressed with the comics that he asked Groening to create short animated films for 'The Tracey Ullman Show' (1987-1990), which subsequently gave rise to the animated series 'The Simpsons' (1989).
Shirley MacLaine turned down the offer to play Dr. Lesh in Tobe Hooper's horror film *Poltergeist* (1982) to star in *Terms of Endearment*. Playing the role of Aurora earned the actress an Academy Award for Best Actress. Dr. Lesh in *Poltergeist* was played by Beatrice Strait.
During filming, Debra Winger was characterized by somewhat erratic behavior, as she was at the time recovering from a serious cocaine addiction. At one point, she and Shirley MacLaine nearly came to blows.
This is not explicitly stated, but the bulk of the plot takes place in the 1970s. Around the middle of the film, a 1979 calendar can be seen on the wall. During this period, NASA had absolutely no need for Garrett's services. The final Apollo program mission ended in 1975, and the next manned spaceflight was the first shuttle flight in 1981.
Initially, Jennifer Jones (1919-2009) owned the rights to the novel, and she wanted to play the role of Aurora herself. Sissy Spacek was initially considered for the role played by Debra Winger. Jones and her millionaire husband Norton Simon (1907-1993) bought the screenplay from James L. Brooks, but he decided it would be better not to tailor the character of Aurora to a specific actress, and convinced Paramount Pictures to acquire the rights from Jones and Simon. When receiving the 'Oscar' for this film, Brooks specifically thanked Jennifer Jones Simon.
John Lithgow joined the cast as a replacement for another actor. All of his scenes were filmed over three days during a break from filming Herbert Ross's (1927-2001) drama 'Free Spirit' (1984).
Near the end of filming, director and co-screenwriter James L. Brooks was congratulated on the upcoming completion of his first film and given a copy of Matt Groening's 'Life in Hell' comic strip. Brooks was so impressed by the comics that he asked Groening to create short animated clips for 'The Tracey Ullman Show' (1987-1990), which subsequently gave rise to 'The Simpsons' (1989).