 Michael Apted (qv) was all set to direct Thomas Rickman (qv)s  script in 1982 until Warner Brothers baulked at the $16 million  price tag, leading man Tommy Lee Jones (qv) and the fact that  American football movies never do any business overseas. During its  6 years in development hell, Warren Beatty (qv),  Robert Redford (I) (qv) and Robert De Niro (qv) all circled the  project.