THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED - the screenplay!

[Squishy]

...and no, I'm not comparing Jerry Lewis or Peter Jackson to Ron Jeremy. Heaven forbid. It's just an example.

...and Jerry Lewis DID catch everyone off guard in Wiseguy, didn't he?

[Abby]

He was nominated for Jesus at that time (the time the Medveds were screeching about Clown) -- he was nominated for the Nobel prize before Hardly Working, or so I thought.

If you read through the supplemental material on the Clown site, it appears as if Lewis was approached with the lead role via another party, and just fell in love with the project. And he had nothing to lose but his own money, which he did lose. There was much drama regarding financing and such, which seems to be what led him to take control. Public outrage is not what kept this film from release -- there was little outrage at the time. Jaws didn't drop until much later. Legal issues were to blame for the film's death -- issues brought about by the original producer. The Medveds merely danced on "Clown's" grave, and did so without examining the body first.

[Squishy]

Damn, Abby, you stay up late.