Fact #181856

Terry Southern (screenwriter) : The way it evolved was that Peter Sellers and Joe McGrath had been working together with Richard Lester on his Running Jumping, Standing Still Film, so they got to be good friends. McGrath had been working as an assistant to Richard Lester. McGrath wanted to direct something on his own. He asked Peter what would be a good movie to direct. And that turned out to be The Magic Christian. Peter had bought a hundred copies of my novel to give out on birthdays and Christmas. Joe McGrath thought it was a match made in heaven so Peter immediately started to develop the property. Peter had a contract with some studio which had produced his last movie. He told them Christian was going to be his next movie and he wanted Joe to direct. Did they want to finance it or did they want him to find some one else? Their first reaction was "Yes, we'll do it."

The producers wanted to get what they called some extra box office appeal. Peter had seen me hanging out with Paul (McCartney), I think, and said "Well, Terry knows the Beatles maybe we can get one of them." Ringo had said that he would like to be in the movie. So I said, "How about getting Ringo and then we can do something." I've forgotten who came up with the specific idea of having one of The Beatles as Guy Grand's son, Youngman Grand, but I was willing to try it.
(Source : not known)