Bogdanovich followed up "The Last Picture Show" with the popular comedy "What's Up, Doc?" (1972), starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, a screwball comedy indebted to Hawks' "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) and "His Girl Friday" (1940). While he relied on homage to bygone cinema, Bogdanovich solidified his status as one of a new breed of A-list directors that included Academy Award winners Francis Ford Coppola and William Friedkin, with whom he formed The Directors Company. The Directors Company was a generous production deal with Paramount Pictures that essentially gave the directors carte blanche if they kept within budget limitations. It was through this entity that Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon" (1973) was produced.