After the movie was finished, Sir Laurence Olivier went to New York City for a short time, and had dinner in a restaurant with friends. During the dinner, he recalled to his friends something he said about the movie while Sidney J. Furie was still directing: "This piss is shit." Olivier later said a reporter must have been at the table next to his, because the next day the New York Daily News reported what he said (though with both vulgar words changed to cleaner derogatory words). This news soon spread completely across the country, and with threats of lawsuits in the air, Olivier quickly made a statement to the press claiming that in the end, the movie had been made well, and that he totally supported it. Olivier also wrote a handwritten ten-page letter to Director Richard Fleischer, not only apologizing for the restaurant incident, but also indirectly giving an explanation as to why he was making so many movies strictly for the money.

Though this movie was one of the Top 30 highest grossing movies in North America in 1980 (earning twenty-seven million dollars), Sir Lew Grade, who invested in the movie, stated that the box-office results were "disappointing", and that his company failed to recoup their advertising and distribution costs. The soundtrack album made more money than the movie.

Neil Diamond composed and sang ten new songs for this movie, which were then recorded live on film for the movie.

The movie produced three chart-topper hit songs for Neil Diamond, "America", "Hello Again", and "Love on the Rocks".

The scene where Jess (Neil Diamond) performs "You Baby Baby" in the Cinderella Club with an afro and black make-up on, was actually done as a minor tribute to Al Jolson, who did Jazzi laulja (1927) in blackface.

Sound Mixer Tom Overton said of this movie's sound recording and four 24-track music recording machines: "People are too sophisticated today to sit through a movie filmed to playback music. They want to hear what they see, and that's the way we're doing it. Neil Diamond's songs and score sound just great. We're a hell of a way from those dear old Vitaphone days to which we all owe so much."

In Terry Coleman's biography of Sir Laurence Olivier, he states Olivier received one million dollars to star in this movie. After signing on, Olivier regretted the decision, although by April 1980, three months into filming, he was receiving extra pay for each day of shooting, in addition to two thousand five hundred dollars a week for expenses. During this time, Olivier also directed a play on the east coast, and filmed additional scenes for his mini-series Brideshead Revisited (1981).

Richard Fleischer replaced Sidney J. Furie as director. During the several weeks Furie directed the movie, he was constantly re-writing the screenplay, and Catlin Adams, during that time, had no idea if her character was married to Jess (Neil Diamond) or not. Other scenes were ad-libbed on the spot without any idea where they would be placed. Furie refused to speak to any representatives from the production company (EMI) expressing concern about what was happening. Eventually, EMI threatened to close down the production if Furie did not sent them a completed screenplay within a week. Upon receiving the screenplay, EMI not only judged it to be bad (among other things, it eliminated the key "Kol Nidre" sequence), but that it would double the budget, as well as the time originally scheduled for shooting. Subsequently, Furie was fired, having already shot forty-eight hours of often unusable footage, and Richard Fleischer was contacted to salvage the project.

Though called "The Jazz Singer", ironically, this movie "doesn't feature any jazz", as reported by "Movie '81 Magazine" from Australia. Similarly, trade paper "Variety" stated that the movie's "title has nothing to do with music on display here."

Near the end of the shoot, Neil Diamond was having trouble with the scene where he storms into the recording booth in a rage and has a heated argument with Molly (Lucie Arnaz). During a break, Director Richard Fleischer looked into the glass of the recording stage and saw Diamond going berserk, smashing everything in sight. Fleischer quickly shouted action, Diamond burst into the recording booth in an absolute fury, and pulled off the scene. After shouting cut, Fleischer asked him just what happened. Diamond explained that he felt so bad he was not able to pull off the scene, he asked his band to play something that would make him angry, which was a Barry Manilow number.

Neil Diamond once said of Sir Laurence Olivier, that he was an inspiration to have around, and a revelation to watch as he worked.

Neil Diamond once said of this movie while doing publicity for it: "It was a unique experience to come up with songs that would comment on the film's storyline, yet not intrude on it. People constantly ask me why, with all my success, I find moviemaking so special. I believe that film is perhaps the greatest form of mass communication, as well as an art form, fulfilling all the elements of people's fantasies, Besides, it's a natural progression for most in the music business. Bing Crosby did it, (Frank) Sinatra and Elvis (Presley) did it, John Denver, Helen Reddy, Bette Midler, (Barbra) Streisand and Kris Kristofferson have all done it. It's tricky, and you have to be lucky, but the success rate is high. By making a movie, we allow our music to reach countless millions around the world. It's a challenge combining all our performing elements. Without that challenge, we grow stale."

The big concert finale at Hollywood's Pantages Theater utilized eleven cameras, a forty-one piece orchestra string section, employed one hundred and fifty crew, and featured two thousand four hundred audience members.

To date (November 2018), this is the only acting role for Neil Diamond (not counting the times he played himself in movies).

The scenes of Jess (Neil Diamond) in Laredo, Texas were shot on D Street in Victorville, California. The scenes of Jess driving (and breaking down) in his Mustang were shot on U.S. Highway 395 outside Victorville.

This was not the first theatrical movie to have music by Neil Diamond, as Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973) had had a background score composed by Diamond, for which it won a Best Original Score - Motion Picture Golden Globe award in 1974.

Lucie Arnaz was cast without a screentest.

The budget for the movie's sound recording amounted to almost one and a half million dollars.

Director Richard Fleischer re-shot a great deal of Sir Laurence Olivier's scenes because he felt Olivier had overacted. When Olivier asked Fleischer why they were doing these scenes again, Fleischer explained the truth in a diplomatic manner: that he did not like how the scenes had been staged originally.

This movie was shot during January, February, March, and April of 1980 and then debuted later in the year in December.

A scene was shot, but not used, of Jess visiting his father's bedside. A photo of it implies that his father is sick in the photo, though it is not clear whether this scene was meant to take place before or after Jess left for Los Angeles, so it may also have been a general scene. The shot of this can be found on the soundtrack LP's inner sleeve montage of photos from the movie.

Although Sir Laurence Olivier thought that this movie was most likely going to be a commercial hit (his original reason for signing onto the project), he advised a friend of his who stated he was looking forward to the movie against seeing it.

Producer Jerry Leider saw Neil Diamond perform at a concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles via the television special Neil Diamond: Love at the Greek (1977). It was then that Leider wanted to make a movie with Diamond.

Director Richard Fleischer told Sir Laurence Olivier that he did not like his Jewish accent, although that Olivier told him he used the same accent he played with in The Boys from Brazil (1978).

According to the DVD sleeve notes, Producer Jerry Leider "knew he would have to keep the powerful emotions from the original Jazzi laulja (1927), and at the same time provided audiences with a contemporary story. Many changes were made to the script (the original story)."

Sir Laurence Olivier stated that he would be told to be on set at 8:30 in the morning although his scenes would not be shot until 4:30 or later in the afternoon.

Lucie Arnaz replaced Deborah Raffin as Molly Bell around the time Richard Fleischer came on as the director.

The dancer character, known as Mary Dale in Jazzi laulja (1927), and which has appeared in various earlier versions of the story, was cut of this movie. An alternate female character, Molly Bell, replaced her role, that being of the Jazz Singer's wife.

After Richard Fleischer saved the movie as a director, Producer Jerry Leider told him that this was the greatest rescue since Entebbe.

This movie is listed among The 100 Worst Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie® Movie Guide".

This movie was released fifty-five years after its source stage play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson was first performed in 1925.

The original Broadway stage production of "The Jazz Singer" opened at the Fulton Theater on September 14, 1925 and ran for three hundred three performances. The play starred George Jessel.

Publicity for this movie stated that Neil Diamond had released twenty seven gold, and fourteen platinum albums.

Neil Diamond, like Al Jolson in Jazzi laulja (1927), is seen in "blackface" in this movie, but not to the same extent. Considered offensive and racist by modern contemporary standards today (as of June 2013), the existence of "blackface" in one scene in this movie, where Diamond also wears an afro wig, the "blackface" was considered an "homage" by the production to the original's famous "Mammy" sequence. The 1927 movie was made during an era when the "Black-and-white Minstrels" were, at that time, an act at the height of popularity.

First of two early 1980s movies about singing and Judaism. The second was Barbra Streisand's Yentl (1983).

Neil Diamond "won" the first Razzie Award as Worst Actor for this movie, and never accepted a dramatic role in any other movie.

This movie was "plagued by shooting problems" according to a 1981 edition of "Movie News" (Australia).

Debut theatrical movie produced by Jerry Leider.

Ernie Hudson: As a heckler.