The career of writer-producer Fred Barron began in 1975 when he used the history of Cambridge’s "The Real Paper" as the basis for a screenplay, "Between the Lines". When Joan Micklin Silver brought "Hester Street" (1975) to the Welles Cinema, she was joined at the Welles Restaurant by Barron and others. When someone asked what she would direct next, she answered that she was looking at screenplays. Barron stood up, left the restaurant and returned with his screenplay. The success of "Between the Lines" (1977) led to a short-lived television series, also titled "Between the Lines".