 United Artist agreed to make the film despite having recently  settled a lawsuit brought on by producers Paddy Chayefsky (qv) and  Howard Gottfried (qv) that challenged the companys right to lease  their previous film, _Hospital, The (1971)_ (qv), to U.S. television  network ABC in a package with less successful film. Later, UA backed  out, fearing the subject matter was too controversial. Once MGM  agreed to make the movie, UA suddenly did a reversal, choosing to  co