The script was written by Larry McMurtry and Shepherd from a book by Shelby Foote.
[1] Three white people plan to kidnap a child from a rich black family.
Larry McMurtry and Cybill Shepherd became friends during the making of The Last Picture Show.
They received a development deal at Carson Productions at Columbia Pictures which ultimately decided not to make the film.
However after Shepherd starred in the hit series Moonlighting she managed to set it up at Turner Broadcasting.