 Originally written by Larry McMurtry (qv) in 1971 as a movie  script. He intended John Wayne (I) (qv) to play Woodrow Call,  James Stewart (I) (qv) to play Gus McCrae and Henry Fonda (qv)  to play Jake Spoon, with Peter Bogdanovich (qv) directing. Wayne  turned it down, and the project was shelved. Ten years later  McMurtry bought the script back and wrote the book (on which the  series was based).