The King of Comedy (film)

The King of Comedy
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Martin Scorsese
Written by	Paul D. Zimmerman
Produced by	Arnon Milchan
Starring	Robert De Niro Jerry Lewis Tony Randall Diahnne Abbott Sandra Bernhard
Cinematography	Fred Schuler
Edited by	Thelma Schoonmaker
Music by	Robbie Robertson
Production company	Embassy International Pictures
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	December 18, 1982 (1982-12-18) (Iceland) February 18, 1983 (1983-02-18) (United States)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$19 million[1]
Box office	$2.5 million[2]

The King of Comedy is a 1982^[3] American satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro (in his fifth collaboration with Scorsese), Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard.^[4] Written by Paul D. Zimmerman, the film focuses on themes such as celebrity worship and American media culture. 20th Century Fox released the film on February 18, 1983, in the United States,^[5] though the film was released two months earlier in Iceland.^[6]

In the film, an aspiring stand-up comedian is increasingly obsessed with a successful comedian who he met by chance. He dreams of being the veteran comedian's colleague and friend, while the other man intentionally avoids his stalker. The younger comedian has the idea of kidnapping his idol, and blackmailing the television network which employs said idol. The kidnapping earns him the fame which he wanted, which he uses to publish a successful memoir and to film a television special.

Production began in New York on June 1, 1981, to avoid clashing with a forthcoming writers' strike,^[7] and opened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983.^[8][9] The film received mostly positive reviews from critics but was a flop at the box office, grossing only $2.5 million against its $19 million budget. It is the first production of Embassy International Pictures, later Regency Enterprises.