 Production began in 1972 . However , Steve Krantz had not yet paid Bakshi for his work on Fritz the Cat . Halfway through the production of Heavy Traffic , Bakshi asked Krantz outright when he would be paid , and Krantz responded that " The picture didn 't make any money , Ralph . It 's just a lot of noise . " Bakshi found Krantz 's claims to be dubious , as the producer had recently purchased a new BMW and a mansion in Beverly Hills . Because Bakshi did not have a lawyer , he sought advice from directors he had become friends with , including Martin Scorsese , Francis Ford Coppola , and Steven Spielberg , asking them how much they made on their films . Bakshi soon accused Krantz of ripping him off , which the producer denied . Bakshi began pitching his next project , Harlem Nights , a film loosely based on the Uncle Remus story books . The idea interested producer Albert S. Ruddy during a screening of The Godfather . 
