The Color of Money was a 1984 novel by American writer Walter Tevis, continuing the story of Fast Eddie Felson from The Hustler (1959). Felson is no longer a pool player, but becomes mentor to a younger, flashier version of himself.

It was adapted into a 1986 film of the same name, with Paul Newman reprising his role from the movie version of The Hustler. The film also stars Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver and John Turturro. The movie was adapted by Richard Price from the novel by Walter Tevis and was directed by Martin Scorsese. It was given an 'R' rating by the MPAA.

The movie won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Newman) and was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

At the beginning of the film, Martin Scorsese's voice can be heard as he explains the 9-ball. There were many 1980s top pool players who were part of the cast. Some of them included: Steve Mizerak , Jimmy Mataya , and Keith McCready . Another noteable cameo is from Iggy Pop who plays the role of a pool player who loses to Tom Cruise.

Paul Newman said of Martin Scorsese that the best advice he got was: "Try not to be funny."

Tom Cruise did most of the trick shots himself using a Joss N-7 custom-made cue (many people incorrectly believe that it is a Meucci ). One exception is a trick where Cruise had to jump two balls to sink another. Scorsese didn't mind letting Cruise learn the shot, but he said it would cost too much and it would take two days. Thus, the shot was performed by professional player Mike Sigel .

John Carmack of id Software has admitted that the title of the world-famous computer game Doom he helped to program comes from Tom Cruise's answer about what he carries in his cue-case: "Doom."