 No fewer than 35 writers worked on the film.  Steven E. de Souza (qv) turned in the original draft in 1987,  though Michael J. Wilson (qv)s draft in 1992 later became the  working model. When director Brian Levant (qv) came on board, he  recruited Gary Ross (I) (qv) to handle the screenplay who turned  in his draft in 1993. This was junked. Various other writers,  including Lowell Ganz (qv) and Babaloo Mandel (qv) worked on the  script, before Levant was finally happy in August 1993.