Principal photography began on October 31, 1983, in Los Angeles, and filming was complete by December 16, 1983.
Preparations for the film began immediately after the final edit of the script was complete, and casting took place between April and June 1983. As a result, he maintained strong opinions regarding cast, and petitioned heavily for Morita's inclusion. Kamen drew inspiration from his own life when writing the film. Kamen was approached by Columbia Pictures to compose a film similar to Avildsen's previous success Rocky (1976), after signing the director. Miyagi (Morita) to help defend himself and compete in a tournament against his bullies, one of which is the ex-boyfriend (Zabka) of his love interest Ali Mills (Shue). The Karate Kid follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), a teenager taught karate by Mr. It is the first installment in the Karate Kid franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and Billy Zabka. The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G.
