dive in after it. At the film's end, Jane has married Robert and gotten her father a condo in a senior's complex; Louise reopens her store and takes back her husband, whom she had left; and Elaine begins dating the officer, with enough secret money to bring her back to the lifestyle she had been accustomed to. Cast Production Development Robert Kaufman had written the script for How to Beat the High Cost of Living in 1971–1972, and Kaufman (and then later with Jere Henshaw) had 20th Century-Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures, all interested in the project if he could land major, bankable stars. Kaufman and Henshaw could not get the film made until Henshaw was hired by American International Pictures as executive senior vice president in charge of production. The pair first made the financially successful Love at First Bite, which gave them the green light to make How to Beat the High Cost of Living with younger, lesser-known names. The screenplay was originally titled Moneyball. Casting In 1975, during the production's early development stages, Carol Burnett and Glenda Jackson were originally attached to the star in the film. After Burnett dropped out of the production, Jackson was to co-star with Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine, though this iteration of the cast never reached fruition. After 20th Century-Fox acquired the rights to develop the film, they sought Ali MacGraw, Goldie Hawn, and Barbra Streisand for the lead roles; Ann-Margret was also considered. After the development with 20th Century-Fox fell through and American International Pictures took over the production, offers were made to Margot Kidder, Dyan Cannon, Sally Field, and Diane Keaton, but each turned down the project. Eventually, Jane Curtin, who had garnered notoriety for her work on Saturday Night Live, was cast, alongside Susan Saint James and Jessica Lange. Many of the minor supporting cast was hired from the Oregon Repertory Theater Company, in addition to approximately two thousand locals hired as extras, as well as cheerleaders from the University of Oregon. Filming The production was originally planned to film in Salem, Oregon, but instead was shot in Eugene due to the screenplay requiring a shopping mall location that was near a river; Eugene's Valley River Center is positioned against the bank of the Willamette River. The production was budgeted at $4.75 million with a 42-day shooting schedule. Filming began on September 5, 1979 and wrapped in