Editing Walter Matthau (section)

===1980s===
Matthau produced some films with [[Universal Pictures]], with his son [[Charles Matthau|Charlie]] also becoming involved in his production company, Walcar Productions, but the only film that he produced was the third remake of ''[[Little Miss Marker (1980 film)|Little Miss Marker]]'' (1980).<ref>{{cite magazine |page=4|title=Matthau & Son Tied To Universal|magazine=[[Variety (Magazine)|Variety]] |date=April 12, 1978}}</ref>

He was nominated for the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]] for his portrayal of former CIA field operative Miles Kendig in the elaborate spy comedy ''[[Hopscotch (film)|Hopscotch]]'' (1980), reuniting with Jackson. The original script, a dark work based on the novel of the same name, was rewritten and transformed into a comedy in order to play to Matthau's specific talents. The rewrite was a condition of his participation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Hopscotch (1980) - Articles - TCM.com|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/23573/hopscotch#articles-reviews|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref> Matthau participated in the script revisions, and the film's director [[Ronald Neame]] observed that Matthau's contributions entitled him to screen credit, but that was never pursued.<ref name="Hopscotch">{{Cite web|title=Hopscotch|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56438-HOPSCOTCH?sid=d51fbd14-6418-45ca-8428-9133929f2363&sr=10.472283&cp=1&pos=0|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref> Matthau wrote the scene in which Kendig and Isobel—apparently strangers—meet in a [[Salzburg]] restaurant and strike up a conversation about wine that ends in a passionate kiss. He also wrote the last scene of the film, where Kendig, presumed to be dead, disguises himself as a [[Sikhs|Sikh]] to enter a bookshop. He also helped to choose appropriate compositions by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] that made up much of the score.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hopscotch (1980) - Articles - TCM.com|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/23573/hopscotch#articles-reviews|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=Turner Classic Movies}}</ref><ref name="Hopscotch"/> [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM's]] Susan Doll observes that "''Hopscotch'' could be considered the end of a long career peak or the beginning of (Matthau's) slide downhill, depending on the viewpoint", as character parts and supporting parts became the only thing available to an actor his age.<ref name=":0" />

The next year, he was nominated again for the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy]] for his portrayal of the fictional [[Associate justice|Associate Justice]] Daniel Snow in ''[[First Monday in October (film)|First Monday in October]]'' (1981). The film was about the (then-fictional) first appointment of a woman (played by [[Jill Clayburgh]]) to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. It was scheduled for release in 1982, but when [[Ronald Reagan|President Ronald Reagan]] named [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] in July 1981, the release date was moved up to August 1981.{{CN|date=January 2023}} ''[[The New York Times]]'' critic [[Janet Maslin]] disliked the film but praised Matthau's performance.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=August 21, 1981|title=First Monday in October|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/21/movies/first-monday-in-october.html|access-date=June 21, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 

Matthau reunited with Lemmon in the comedy ''[[Buddy Buddy]]'' (1981). He also portrayed Herbert Tucker in ''[[I Ought to Be in Pictures (film)|I Ought to Be in Pictures]]'' (1982) with [[Ann-Margret]] and [[Dinah Manoff]]. He co-starred with [[Robin Williams]] in the 1983 dark comedy film [[The Survivors (1983 film)|''The Survivors'']]. Although a box-office dud that barely grossed its budget, the film found a new audience via repeated broadcasts on cable TV in the following years.{{cn|date=August 2024}} He took the leading role of Captain Thomas Bartholomew Red in [[Roman Polanski]]'s swashbuckler ''[[Pirates (1986 film)|Pirates]]'' (1986).

During the 1980s and 1990s, Matthau served on the advisory board of the [[National Student Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite book|title=National Student Film Institute/L.A: The Sixteenth Annual Los Angeles Student Film Festival|date=June 10, 1994|location=The Directors Guild Theatre|pages=10–11|ref=Program}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Los Angeles Student Film Institute: 13th Annual Student Film Festival|date=June 7, 1991|location=The Directors Guild Theatre|page=3|ref=Program}}</ref>