According to a 9 Aug 1982 New World article, animator and video game lover Steven Lisberger conceived Tron in 1978, and publicity materials in AMPAS library files suggested that the story was originally supposed to center around a cartoon football player. The 25 Jan 1980 LAHExam, stated that Lisberger intended to develop the film on a meager $4 million budget, with release expected in early 1981. A 23 Oct 1982 Screen International article stated that he was eventually forced to abandon his plans for independent funding when his 1980 animated television feature, “Animalympics,” was not as widely received as expected. A 5 Aug 1982 LAHExam item noted that storywriter Bonnie MacBird spent a year and a half working on the screenplay, but the plot and character development drastically changed throughout the rewrite process. A 19 Aug 1982 Rolling Stone article reported that Lisberger and producer Donald Kushner, who does not receive onscreen writing credit, completed thirty-six script outlines and eighteen drafts, spending $300,000 of their own money to compile packages containing complete storyboard designs, explanations of the special effects, and a sample reel, which they then presented to potential studio backers. Although News World indicated that many studios were unwilling to allow Lisberger to direct due to his lack of previous feature film experience, Walt Disney Productions bought the project in summer 1980, granting the filmmakers $50,000 to develop additional test footage. According to the 25 Jan 1980 LAHExam, this stage of pre-production lasted another six months, until Disney approved a production budget of $13 million. An additional $9 million was eventually spent on research and development, as well as overtime costs to complete the picture in time for a summer 1982 release. The 31 Jul 1982 LAT indicated that the studio hoped Tron would help the brand regain their teenage and young adult audiences.
       On 21 Jan 1981, Var, listing the budget at only $10 million, stated that the project was expected to begin its ten-week production schedule on 13 Apr 1982. The following month, a 24 Feb 1981 Var brief speculated that Peter O’Toole was considered to star, but he does not appear in the final film. The 7 Apr 1981 DV and 1 May 1981 HR production charts confirmed that principal photography began 20 Apr 1981, a week later than anticipated, in Los Angeles, CA.
       The Feb—Mar 1982 Business Screen indicated that various computer animation firms bid for the opportunity to work on the picture, yielding the four that were ultimately selected: Magi Synthavision of Elmsford, NY; Digital Effects Inc., in New York City; Information International, Inc. (Triple I), in Culver City, CA; and Robert Abel and Associates in Los Angeles. The 10 Feb 1982 Var stated that by connecting a television monitor to a telephone wire at Magi in NY, filmmakers on the West Coast were able to immediately view the work and request adjustments that could be completed within the same day. This eliminated the need to ship prints back and forth across the country, saving time and money.
       Publicity materials stated that the reclusive French comic artist, Jean "Moebius" Giraud, came to Los Angeles to work on the project for three months beginning in early 1981, providing costume and character design sketches. With very few guidelines limiting his imagination, conceptual artist Peter Lloyd created postcard-sized sketches of scenes and landscapes to be approved and later rendered into full color production drawings. According to the 10 Feb 1982 Var, computers then translated the two-dimensional art into three-dimensional images, which were scanned by a device that produced conventional film. All live-action sequences with the actors were shot around Los Angeles and at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in Livermore, CA, on black and white film and individually “painted” with color, highlights, and shadows. The Aug 1982 GQ explained that the process of “backlighting” involved transferring the film image to high-contrast “Kodaliths.” The clear portions were then back lit with a colored light and rephotographed. The Aug 1982 International Photographer reported that the “electronic world” was filmed on sound stages at Walt Disney Studios, where the actors interacted with minimalistic black sets and props. According to Rolling Stone, Tron had a total of 1,100 special effects shots, 800 of which involved actors. The computer-generated environments entirely replaced the use of miniatures and matte paintings; instead, each frame was exposed anywhere from twelve to forty-five times. The high-resolution video screens contained twenty-four million pixels, each with a specific color and brightness. Publicity materials noted that Magi used a Perkin Elmer System 3240 and a Celco CFR 4000 computer projector, while Triple I used a Foonley F-I. Each frame of animation required 5-75 million calculations.
       The 2 Jul 1982 issue of BAM magazine explained that sound effects designer and synthesizer Frank Serafine achieved the unique soundtrack by processing various everyday noises through a Fairlight CMI digital synthesizer at different speeds. For example, the slowed-down purr of Lisberger’s pet cat became the “Master Control Program” rumble, screeching monkeys were used to simulate the throwing noise of the “Identity Discs,” and virtual explosions were created by popping firecrackers inside a warehouse. GQ stated that the “Solar Sailer” was the modified sound of a Goodyear blimp.
       According to International Photographer, principal photography completed in Jul 1981, with postproduction expected to continue through spring 1982. Various contemporary sources listed the budget at $15 million, $17 million, $19 million, $20 million, and $22 million, but the exact cost has not been determined.
       Tron lent itself to a large publicity campaign, headed by Disney’s distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution Co., Inc. The 26 May 1982 Var indicated that Disney approved officially-licensed merchandise from thirty-four manufacturers, which were expected to collect $400 million in domestic sales. A paperback novelization of the screenplay by Brian Daley was published 12 May 1982.
       The 16 Jul 1982 LAT reported that the premiere was held 8 Jul 1982 at Disney Studios in Burbank, CA, with proceeds benefitting the California Institute of the Arts.
       Despite its groundbreaking visual effects techniques, Tron was considered a financial disappointment and received mixed critical reception. On 26 May 1982, Var announced that although the film was booked in 1,100—1,200 theaters across the country, Buena Vista was only able to secure one New York City theater, the Loews Stage 2, due to high demand for other popular summer releases. The 31 Jul 1982 LAT stated that despite its $3.8 million advertising campaign, the film grossed only $4.8 million during its 9 Jul 1982 opening weekend. In the article, Lisberger explained that multiple Wall Street analysts reacted unenthusiastically to the picture in a pre-screening, which created negative speculation about its success, and caused Disney stock to plummet in the days prior to its release. Screen International also suggested that the problem was related to Disney’s desire to rush the film into a summer 1982 release, placing it against the massively successful E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982, see entry). In a 24 Feb 1984 DV news item, Disney disputed earlier reports that Tron only grossed $26 million, claiming that its actual domestic earnings totaled nearly $50 million.
       The 18 Sep 1982 Var announced that, following its initial ten-week theatrical run, fifty 70m prints were scheduled to enter nation-wide re-release on 6 Oct 1982, with an emphasis placed on college towns, to coincide with the growing popularity of Bally Manufacturing Corp.’s Tron arcade game.
       Tron received Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Sound, and has since become known as a landmark achievement in the development of modern computer-generated filmmaking. Its “cult” status also prompted the continuation of the franchise through various home video games, books, and comics, and a short-lived animated television series featuring Bruce Boxleitner, Tron: Uprising (Disney XD, 18 May 2012--28 Jan 2013). Steven Lisberger acted as a producer and consultant for Disney’s 2010 sequel, Tron: Legacy (see entry), set twenty years after the events of the first film and again featuring Boxleitner, with Jeff Bridges reprising his role as “Kevin Flynn.” The sequel was also considered a box-office disappointment, and, as of Aug 2014, the proposed third Tron feature has not yet been produced.
       Employees of Cuckoo’s Nest Productions in Taipei, Taiwan, are credited in Chinese. End credits give “Special thanks” to: “Anicam; Delta Labs Inc.; Atari Corp.; Syntauri Corp.; Apple Computer Inc.; L. Basset; Mountain Hardware Corp.; Charles Haas; Crown International; Jetcopters Inc.; Goodyear Rubber and Tire Corp.; Lexicon Inc.; Pacific Telephone; Olympia, U.S.A.; Federal Screw Works; After Image Inc.; Electro Voice Inc.; Gary Demos; Eastern Acoustical Works; John Whitney, Jr.; Apt Holman Corp.; TBS/Video H.&A. Landaker; Fairlight Corp.; Sam Schatz-Disc Co-Ordinator; E. Rotberg; E.E.G.; Morgan Renard; Music Technology, Inc.; Daimon Webster; Cinema Air; BTX Corp.; Advanced Music Systems; Audio and Design Recording, Inc.; R.H. and A.H.K. Associates.”
      Various contemporary sources alternately referred to the film as Tron and TRON, due to the design of its onscreen title card. Although a 3 Jul 1981 DV "Film Assignments" column listed Charles Haas as a writer, Haas is only mentioned onscreen in the "Special Thanks" section.