An item in the 4 Jan 1966 DV announced that Phil Feldman was set to produce You’re a Big Boy Now, as adapted by writer-director Francis Ford Coppola, from David Benedictus’s novel of the same name. Then a twenty-six-year-old graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Coppola received a reported $1-million in backing from Seven Arts Pictures. In addition to being a commercial effort, You’re a Big Boy Now served as his UCLA master’s thesis picture. Coppola had previously made his feature film directorial debut with Dementia 13 (1963, see entry).
       Rehearsals began as early as mid-Apr 1966, as indicated in the 15 Apr 1966 DV. An article in the 12 Dec 1966 LAT stated that, in addition to the shooting script, Coppola wrote a “rehearsal script” including dialogue for wordless scenes, to help the actors develop their characters. Principal photography began on 1 Jun 1966, according to a DV production chart published two days later. Filming took place entirely in New York City. A key location, the New York City Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, initially rejected requests to shoot there; however, Mayor John Lindsay intervened and helped reverse the decision. Other location shooting took place at Mays department store on 14th Street, where several cameras were hidden inside “cardboard cartons throughout the store” to catch the action of a chase scene, as noted in LAT and the 7 Aug 1966 NYT.
       A 6 Jul 1966 NYT news brief announced that actor Peter Kastner had been hospitalized with a leg infection. A six-day production hiatus ensued. While previous reports put the budget at $1-$1.1 million, the 12 Dec 1966 LAT claimed the picture was brought in for $750,000. An item in the 1 Feb 1967 DV stated that Coppola was not paid a writing fee, since he’d written the screenplay during his spare time on Is Paris Burning? (1966, see entry), for which Seven Arts had paid him a weekly salary. Coppola stated, “But I’m not complaining. I did it (‘Big Boy’) to keep my sanity during filming in Paris.” Coppola’s deal with Seven Arts reportedly gave him ten-percent ownership of You’re a Big Boy Now.
       Following a successful rough-cut screening, Seven Arts scheduled a one-week engagement, beginning 9 Dec 1966, at Los Angeles, CA’s Fine Arts Theatre, Wilshire, in order to qualify the film for Academy Awards consideration. An advertisement in the 5 Dec 1966 DV announced the decision with the headline, “Seven Arts has got a hot print on its hands!” The film was later set as the opening night attraction of the New York Film Festival, to be shown on 2 Apr 1967, according to the 15 Feb 1967 DV. It was also selected to be screened in competition at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. Following mixed-to-positive critical reception, Geraldine Page received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and the film received the following Golden Globe Award nominations: Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture (Geraldine Page); and Actress in a Leading Role—Musical or Comedy (Elizabeth Hartman). In 1968, Peter Kastner was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles.
       A soundtrack album, featuring original music by The Lovin’ Spoonful, was released by the Kama-Sutra Label, as indicated in the 11 Jan 1967 Var.
       The film featured real-life married couple, Rip Torn and Geraldine Page, in the roles of husband and wife, “I.H. Chanticleer” and “Margery Chanticleer.”