the first movie produced under his production company was the comedy, "so this is new york" (1948), directed by richard fleischer, and based on ring lardner's "the big town." it failed at the box office. it was followed with "champion" (1949), another lardner story, this one about an ambitious and unscrupulous boxer. scripted by foreman, it was tailored to fit the talents of kirk douglas, an ex-wrestler who had recently become an actor. filmed in only twenty-three days with a relatively small budget, it became an immense box-office success. it won an academy award for best editing, with four other nominations, including douglas for best actor and foreman as screenwriter.