As a result, he maintained strong opinions regarding cast, and petitioned heavily for Morita's inclusion.
Kamen drew inspiration from the real life events of an 8 year old Tum Pai student's story in Hawaii 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 LaRusso defend himself and compete in a karate tournament against his bullies. As a result, LaRusso is taught karate by a handyman and war veteran named Mr. There, LaRusso encounters harassment from his new bullies, one of whom is Johnny Lawrence (Zabka), the ex-boyfriend of LaRusso's love interest, Ali Mills (Shue). The Karate Kid follows the story of Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), an Italian-American teenager from New Jersey who moves with his widowed mother to the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is the first installment in the Karate Kid franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and William Zabka. The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G.
