The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick
In 1985, Stephen Foster was hired by Meta Communications, led by his friend Alan Morinis, to work as vice president of development for its production division, Northern Lights Media Corporation.[2] Joe Wiesenfeld, the writer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's adaption Anne of Green Gables, was asked to write the film, but he was involved with another project.Phil Savath was hired to write the script in June 1986, but was doubtful about the project due to Foster and his company's inexperience.Don Smith, who worked at an affiliate of CTV News, gave the film $1,000 for its treatment, thousands for further script development, and a $11,000 equity position in the production financing.[6] It was given a preliminary budget of $1.5 million, based on My American Cousin which Foster believed to be in similar scale, and cost $2,354,900 to make.[10] Linda Beath, the head of production at Telefilm, supported turning the project into a feature film.Telefilm was going through budgetary problems at the time and froze all project funding resulting in Foster needing $50,000 to prevent suspending operations.Foster rejected all of the child actors that auditioned for Max Glick as he wanted Seth Green to play the role.Rubinek made multiple requests to play Teitleman, but Foster declined to answer them in order to gain negotiating leverage.Eight indoor sets were built in an abandoned Winnipeg apartment, which the production managed to delay from being turned into an urban housing project.Goldstein wanted Elkin replaced, but CIDO refused stating that a Manitoban was required for the position.South Gate Entertainment lacked enough money for a proper theatrical run and later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and instead did a home video release.Rick Groen, writing in The Globe and Mail, stated that the film was a "sweetly comic ode to the virtues of middle class life".Brian D. Johnson, writing in Maclean's, stated that the film was full of "brotherhood themes too cutely portrayed".