 John Sayles (qv) had written the screenplay for this film before  writing the screenplay for his debut film,  _Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)_ (qv). Sayles failed to get funding  for a film about a lesbian love affair in the 1970s, and those who  felt comfortable with the material were not comfortable with the  film being directed by a man. So, Sayles put the Lianna screenplay  on hold until gaining success with his two first films, Return of  the Secaucus 7 and _Baby Its You (1983)_ (qv).