Kris Kristofferson said, "Filming with Barbra Streisand is an experience which may have cured me of the movies."
Kris Kristofferson did not get along with the director. According to Kristofferson, Frank Pierson, himself a World War II veteran, looked down on Kristofferson for being in the Army, but not going to war in Vietnam. Kristofferson later said, "I was too drunk to give a shit."
Barbra Streisand wanted Elvis Presley for the part of John Norman Howard. She even went to Las Vegas to see Elvis after one of his performances in 1975, and talked to him directly. Elvis wanted to do it, but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was angry that Streisand hadn't come to him first. He told the producers that if they wanted Elvis, his name had to be at the top of the movie poster, above Streisand's. He also asked for a very large sum of money. Elvis hadn't been in a movie since 1969, and nobody knew what he could do at the box office.
The version of "Evergreen" during the recording studio scene is a live recording, filmed in a single take. This was done at the insistence of Barbra Streisand, as she hates doing lip sync work. She wanted to be able to have closeups during the scene (which would expose any flaws in lip sync), and she wanted a more "natural" feel to that version (as evidenced by the kissing and laughing). Kris Kristofferson, however, was reluctant about singing live on-screen and had to be talked into it. A more formal studio recording was used for the final credits and soundtrack album.
The rock concert footage was shot before a crowd of 47,000 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson headlining. Other acts included Peter Frampton and Santana. A ticket cost $3.50.
Robert Englund: An aggressive bar patron who approaches John while he is watching Esther perform for the first time and spoils her act with a bar fight.