On 18 Feb 1966, a DV news item indicated that producer Raymond Wagner had approached actor James Garner to star in Me and the Arch-Kook Petulia, based on the soon-to-be-published novel of the same name by John Haase. The following month, a 7 Mar 1966 DV brief announced that Julie Christie would star in the picture, to be directed by Richard Lester. A distribution deal was said to be in the works, and Warner Bros.—Seven Arts, Inc.’s involvement was confirmed in the 14 Apr 1966 DV, which named James Garner as Julie Christie’s co-star. The 23 May 1966 DV also noted that Paul Newman was being sought for a role, but neither Garner nor Newman appeared in the final film.
       As stated in the 5 Nov 1967 LAT, the title was briefly changed to Romance before the final title change to Petulia.
       The project was considered a U.S.–Great Britain co-production, partly because Richard Lester’s company, Petersham Films, was based in England, as mentioned in the 6 Jul 1966 Var. However, since production took place in the U.S. and Mexico, and the crew was not entirely British, Petulia did not qualify for England’s Eady Plan subsidy. Lester, who was born and raised in the U.S. but was a resident of England at that time, was classified as British by the Directors Guild of America (DGA), as stated in the 15 May 1968 Var, which identified eleven other crew members as British: executive producer Denis O’Dell, director of photography Nicolas Roeg, camera operators Paul Wilson and Freddie Cooper, film editor Antony Gibbs, assistant editor Kevin Connor, production designer Tony Walton, design consultant David Hicks, wardrobe mistress Diane Jones, continuity person Rita Davison, and composer John Barry.
       The setting of John Haase’s novel, in and around Los Angeles, CA, in the areas of Balboa, Santa Monica, and Hollywood, was moved to San Francisco, CA. In the 30 Apr 1967 LAT, Richard Lester was quoted as saying that Los Angeles was “too powerful a city” for the “sad love story,” and that he considered San Francisco a “more subtle” backdrop. Other cities considered before San Francisco were London, England; Rome, Italy; and Paris, France. Principal photography began in San Francisco on 10 Apr 1967, according to a 28 Apr 1967 DV production chart. In the 18 Mar 1968 DV, the production was said to be “the first major studio attempt” to shoot a film entirely in San Francisco “without any studio work.” Locations included the Filbert Steps, the Embarcadero, the Presidio, Fort Scott, Tiburon, Sausalito, Muir Woods, and the Fairmont San Francisco ballroom, according to items in the 30 Apr 1967 LAT and 26 May 1967 DV. Eleven weeks in San Francisco were set to be followed by one week of shooting in Tijuana, Mexico.
       The 5 Apr 1967 and 12 Apr 1967 Var stated that Kim Hunter and Diana Hyland had been cast. The rock and roll band, Jefferson Airplane, was also slated to appear in the picture, according to a 21 Apr 1967 DV item, and a restaurant maitre d’ named Moreno was cast as himself, the 5 May 1967 DV stated. John Wasserman, a drama critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, reportedly acted as George C. Scott’s stand-in “to get an inside view of Lester’s technique,” as noted in the 10 May 1967 DV.
       In an article about Sean Connery’s upcoming picture, Shalako (1968, see entry), the 21 Jun 1967 Var stated that Connery had just completed filming Petulia. No other mention of Connery’s name in association with the production were found in contemporary sources.
       During filming, Haase planned to visit the set and write about his experiences for West magazine. However, Lester unexpectedly barred him, according to a 7 May 1967 NYT article, prompting Haase to write a scathing account of the project’s development in the 23 Jul 1967 LAT. In the article, the author stated that Robert Altman had initially been set to direct, at which point Haase had worked closely with Barbara Turner, who was attached as screenwriter at the time. Altman ultimately had to leave the project due to a conflicting television commitment, and Lester was brought on to replace him. After Lester hired Charles Wood to revise the screenplay, he asked Barbara Turner to write an additional draft, to return Petulia’s character to an earlier iteration. According to Haase, Turner vehemently disliked Woods’s script and briefly attempted to join forces with Haase to rescind the studio’s option on the novel. Haase expressed his own disappointment with the final screenplay, which Lawrence B. Marcus wrote, and was quoted in NYT as saying that “Petulia Danner’s” character had been turned into a “completely irresponsible nut.” Haase claimed the central love story was ruined, and that certain scenes were added only to highlight Lester’s talent as a director, including “scenes in a roller skating rink, bull fights, [and] two doctors having lunch in a topless restaurant.”
       Petulia was scheduled to debut as a U.S. entry to the Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 1968, as noted in a 15 Apr 1968 DV item. Theatrical release followed at New York City’s Plaza Theatre on 10 Jun 1968. A Los Angeles premiere was scheduled to take place on 20 Aug 1968 at the newly refurbished Picwood Theatre, where general release followed the next day. After several months in theaters, an 8 Jan 1969 Var box-office chart listed domestic film rentals of $1.6 million, to date. The picture had initially been budgeted at $3.5 million, according to the 29 Nov 1967 Var.