Author! Author!

Author! Author! is a 1982 American autobiographical film directed by Arthur Hiller, written by Israel Horovitz and starring Al Pacino. Plot Playwright Ivan Travalian has a Broadway play (English with Tears) in rehearsal and the backers want rewrites. His wife, Gloria, moves out, leaving him with custody of five children: four from her previous marriages and his son. His two stepdaughters and his stepson, Spike, return to their respective fathers, but two of the boys, his biological son Igor and his stepson Geraldo, accompany Ivan. The stage producer lies to the investors, claiming that popular film actress Alice Detroit has signed on to play the lead on Broadway. Ivan meets with Alice, where she confesses that she is a big fan of his and would love to perform in his new play. They start dating and she eventually moves in with him and the remaining two children. One night, Ivan explains to her that he was an abandoned baby who was adopted by a family with the Armenian name "Travalian". Alice becomes depressed because she misses her former social life, so she and Ivan agree that their relationship has run its course and she moves out. His two stepdaughters run away from their father's home to live with Ivan and the police come to retrieve them, but Ivan and the children stage a standoff on the roof of their building, convincing the police and their father to let the girls stay. Spike returns to the house with his father’s blessing, meaning all the children can stay with Ivan. Ivan decides that his wife should return as well so he takes a taxi to Gloucester, Massachusetts to retrieve her. He finds her painting on a snowy dock with her new boyfriend, where she resists his efforts to force her to return for the good of the children. Realizing her selfishness, Ivan leaves her in Gloucester, returns to New York City and promises his stepchildren they will always have a home with him. They attend the opening night of the play which receives a rave review in The New York Times.