Being There is a 1979 film irected by Hal Ashby, adapted from the 1971 novel written by Jerzy Kosiński. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A. Dysart and Richard Basehart. Melvyn Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Peter Sellers was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role. This was the last Peter Sellers film to be released while he was alive.