Julie Walters of "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole". Walters appeared in the lead role of Cynthia Payne in the 1987 film "Personal Services" – a dramatic comedy about a British brothel owner. Then she played the lead character's wife, June, in the film "Buster", released in 1988. She also appeared as Mrs. Peachum in the 1989 film version of "The Threepenny Opera", which was renamed "Mack the Knife" for the screen. In 1991, Walters starred opposite Liza Minnelli in "Stepping Out" and had a one-off television special, "Julie Walters and Friends", which featured writing contributions from Victoria Wood and Alan Bennett.
Christine (1983 film) "Christine". Kobritz purchased the rights to "Christine" after finding himself attracted to the novel's "celebration of America's obsession with the motorcar." According to John Carpenter, "Christine" was not a film he had planned on directing, saying that he directed the film as "a job" as opposed to a "personal project." He had previously directed "The Thing" (1982), which had done poorly at the box office and led to critical backlash. In retrospect, Carpenter stated that upon reading "Christine", he felt that "It just wasn't very frightening. But it was something I needed to do at that time for my career."