 but it wasnt  the movie they wanted to do. Next, Fannie Flagg (qv) 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 (qv) 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.