Within the guide, Itzkoff — who had entry to Williams and his household for interviews — explains that Williams was frightened “that his distinctive attributes would get misplaced within the trappings of a well-known cartoon character.” He was involved sufficient that he took the script to his longtime buddy and author Bennett Tramer, who stated, “Except you speaking like Popeye is sufficient to promote a film, there is not any story right here.”
It is onerous to think about Robin Williams’ supply of traces being something however a promoting level, however this was early in his profession, and Williams did not wish to flip a director like Altman down for his first main movie. He was additionally inspired to take the function by his buddy Christopher Reeve, who was recent off his success starring within the movie adaptation of “Superman.” That one had been a major threat. It was a really costly manufacturing for the time, with a price range of $55 million, but it surely ended up with three Academy Award nominations and reward from audiences.
Williams ended up taking over “Popeye,” hoping that he would have comparable success.