As noted in an 8 Dec 1987 DV article, executive producer and financier Joseph H. Kanter and co-producer Gene Kirkwood optioned film rights to William Kennedy’s 1983 novel, Ironweed, before it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. Although a 27 Mar 1984 DV brief reported that Stuart Rosenberg would direct, no further mention of Rosenberg’s name was found in AMPAS library production clippings.
       The 20 Mar 1985 DV announced that David Lynch was attached to direct, with Sam Shepard set to star as “Francis Phelan.” However, Lynch dropped out of the project when his shooting schedule on Blue Velvet (1986, see entry) came into conflict with Ironweed.
       Brazilian director Hector Babenco became interested in the project after reading Kennedy’s novel and meeting the writer through a mutual friend, as noted in a 13 Dec 1987 NYT article. Babenco was hired to replace Lynch, and later spent five weeks collaborating on the script with Kennedy at his home in Albany, NY. Babenco then brought the script to Jack Nicholson, who agreed to play the leading role. With Nicholson attached, Babenco got the interest of producer Keith Barish, whose company, Taft Entertainment Pictures/Keith Barish Productions, agreed to finance the production, originally budgeted at $17.5 million, according to a 13 May 1986 DV item. Various contemporary sources cited higher budgets of $23-$26 million. An article in the 31 Aug 1987 issue of People item stated that the film ultimately cost $27 million, of which Jack Nicholson was paid $5 million, and Meryl Streep an estimated $2.5 million.
       The film marked Hector Babenco’s first U.S. production, and a re-teaming of Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, who completed filming Heartburn (1986, see entry) in Oct 1985. A 25 Jul 1986 HR item stated that Streep was Nicholson’s first choice for his co-star. As noted in a 2 Jun 1986 People item, Streep had planned a yearlong break from acting after the May 1986 birth of her daughter, Grace Gummer, but she cut the hiatus short to accommodate shooting.
       Patti Hansen was previously cast in the film, but left the project after becoming pregnant, according to the 9 Jan 1986 LADN. Actors Harry Dean Stanton and Bob Balaban were also reportedly cast, according to items in the 6 Jan 1987 HR and 2 Mar 1987 DV; however, neither appear in the final film. An 18 Dec 1986 LAHExam brief stated that Jack Nicholson wanted the rock band U2 to compose music for Ironweed, but U2 did not become involved.
       According to a 23 Feb 1987 DV item, principal photography began that day in Albany, where the story is set. Production notes in AMPAS library files and a 12 Mar 1987 NYT article cited the following locations: the site of the former Boulevard Cafeteria, which stood in for “The Gilded Cage” bar; a three-block section of Lark Street, where the trolley strike of 1901 was filmed; a library in Troy, NY; a “haunted” house in the Slingerlands hamlet of Bethlehem, NY; a residence in Cohoes, NY; and a warehouse in the town of Colonie, NY. For the trolley strike scene, a turn-of-the-century trolley was borrowed from a local museum, and streets were covered in 1,100 tons of dirt and gravel.
       Due to the period setting, crew members removed some street signs and traffic lights, which unintentionally caused a three-car accident involving an Albany police sergeant and two civilians, as stated in a 6 May 1987 LAT item.
       The 5 Mar 1988 LAHExam noted that a scene involving a pack of dogs meant to attack actress Priscilla Smith was halted when the dogs began attacking Jack Nicholson, instead. Nicholson became fed up and refused to continue filming, but was coaxed back to the set after an hour. The scene ultimately required fifteen takes.
       Rumors of troubles on set, particularly between Hector Babenco and Jack Nicholson, circulated during filming. Items in the 28 Mar 1987 and 20 Apr 1987 issues of New York stated that Nicholson fought with Babenco over how many takes to shoot of each scene. Meanwhile, executive producer Rob Cohen kicked producer David Weisman off the set as a result of “volatile personalities.” Despite his ousting, Weisman insisted he would remain a producer, although he receives no onscreen credit. In the 25 Apr 1987 Long Beach Press-Telegram, producer Keith Barish denied reports of conflict, and was quoted as saying, “There hasn’t been one fight in the company.” The only problems Barish acknowledged were rain delays, which set the shooting schedule back six days. Nevertheless, in a 14 Jul 1987 HR article, Babenco referred to the shoot as “an exercise in madness and loneliness.” According to a 6 Mar 1988 LAT item, executive producer Denis Blouin upset Albany officials by calling the city “the armpit of America.” Mayor Thomas Whalen, III, and Alderman Nebraska Brace, who appears in the role of “Andy,” spoke out against Blouin’s comment.
       A 22 Apr 1987 LAHExam brief noted rumors that Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, who had been married to Don Gummer since 1978, had an affair during filming, but Nicholson’s press agent denied it. As noted in the 20 May 1987 Var, Nicholson turned fifty during the shoot. His on-off girl friend, Anjelica Huston, came to Albany to celebrate, as did Art Garfunkel, Michael Douglas, and Nicholson’s agent, Sandy Bresler.
       Principal photography was scheduled to conclude in May 1987. Post-production was completed in Los Angeles, CA.
       The film premiered in Albany on 17 Dec 1987, as stated in the 25 Nov 1987 Var. Proceeds from the event were donated to local charities. A Los Angeles premiere, hosted by AFI, followed on 18 Dec 1987. The event raised $50,000 for AFI, as noted in the 21 Dec 1987 LAT. Hector Babenco reportedly skipped opening festivities to return to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Babenco was quoted in the 13 Dec 1987 NYT as stating, “I don’t belong to this society,” and lamented the way movies were “criticized, consumed, produced and financed” in the U.S.
       To qualify for Academy Award consideration, the film opened in Los Angeles and New York City, at the Tower East Theatres, on 18 Dec 1987.
       Critical reception was mixed. The 14 Dec 1987 HR review called Ironweed “relentlessly gloomy” but lauded Nicholson’s and Streep’s performances, while the DV review of the same date called it “a film without an audience and no reason for being other than its own self-importance.” The 18 Dec 1987 NYT review also praised the acting, but questioned why audiences would choose such a “downbeat and actionless” film over other big-budget Christmas fare.
       For his work in Ironweed and The Witches of Eastwick (1987, see entry), Jack Nicholson tied with Steve Martin for Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s Best Actor of 1987. Nicholson and Streep received Academy Award nominations for Actor and Actress in a Leading Role.
       End credits which include the following statements: “The production company wishes to thank: Lt. Col. B.A. Gill & St. Joseph’s Church; County and City of Albany; Russell Sage College, New York State; Troopers Mounted Police; Delaware and Hudson Railway Company; The New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture and Television Development; The people and cities of the state of New York”; and, “‘At the Circus’ poster with permission of the Estates of Chico and Harpo Marx and Groucho Marx Productions, Inc.” As noted in a 19 Jul 1987 NYT article, At the Circus was not released until 1939, but Babenco found the poster aesthetically pleasing and therefore instructed the art department to add a “Coming Soon” sticker to the poster, as the story is set in 1938. End credits conclude with: “In Memoriam: Jon O’Connell, a fellow craftsman.” O’Connell was credited on the film as a master set painter.
       Songwriter Hoagy Carmichael's name is misspelled "Hogie Carmichael."