Aside from a few days of exterior shooting in Manhattan, the film, budgeted at $25 million, was made in Los Angeles. Principal photography began on October 6, 1986 and ended in early February. When the film previewed in October 1987, audience feedback was very positive, leading Streisand to believe it was powerful enough to sell itself. She refused to promote it other than in a three-part interview with Gene Shalit on "The Today Show", although she later participated in a press conference when the film was released in foreign markets.