by Don Nelson. With almost three millions attendances in France and nearly 30 million worldwide, the movie was a big success. In 1978, Balasko played in "Si vous n'aimez pas ça, n'en dégoûtez pas les autres", with Gérard Jugnot and Thierry Lhermitte, and in "Les Petits Câlins", directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, alongside Dominique Laffin, Françoise Bertin and Gérard Jugnot. Then, she was in La Tortue sur le dos. Balasko had the leading role in the comedy "Pauline et l'Ordinateur", for which she wrote the dialogue and where she acted next to Gérard Jugnot, Éva Darlan, Jacques Attali and Marie-Anne Chazel. Finally, she played Nathalie Morin in the cult comedy Les Bronzés, directed by Patrice Leconte, with her friends from Le Splendid, Marie-Anne Chazel, Michel Blanc, Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Christian Clavier and Dominique Lavanant. The movie was a hit with more than two million attendances. In 1979, Balasko played Emma-Ammé in one episode of the TV Mini-Series, "Les Quatre Cents Coups de Virginie", alongside Anémone. Then Nathalie Morin again, in the sequel Les Bronzés font du ski with the same cast, which was also a success with more than a millions attendances. She also appeared as a client in the movie "Les héros n'ont pas froid aux oreilles", with Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Jugnot, Roland Giraud, Gérard Lanvin, Michel Blanc, Thierry Lhermitte, Marie-Anne Chazel and Christian Clavier. 1981–1990: directing debut 1981 was very successful for Balasko. First, she played Louise in Clara et les Chics Types. Later, she had the leading role in the very successful comedy Les hommes préfèrent les grosses. The movie was a commercial success. It was directed by Jean-Marie Poiré, who co-wrote the film, with Balasko. After this, she was in another comedy named Le Maître d'école, directed by Claude Berri. This film was also commercially successful, the #9 movie at the French Box Office in 1981. She then played Colette, a supporting role, in Hotel America, directed by André Téchiné, also starring Catherine and Patrick Dewaere. In 1982, Balasko was in another cult movie, Le Père Noël est une ordure, directed for the third time by Jean-Marie Poiré. The film was commercially successful. In 1983, Balasko had two comedy hits. Papy fait de la résistance, which was #7 in the 1983 French box office. and Signes extérieurs de richesse, another success. In 1984, Balasko played a supporting role in the comedy P'tit Con, directed by Gérard