Carol Sobieski wrote the first draft of the screenplay, which the director and producers thought were wonderful - but it wasn't the movie they wanted to do. Next,
Fannie Flagg was brought on to do another draft and she finished seventy pages before quitting. With no money left to hire another writer, director
Jon Avnet took it upon himself to write the screenplay and spent the next three years doing so. He did, however, stay in close contact with Flagg to make sure he stayed true to her book.
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