 The investigation is met with hostility by the town's residents, local police, and the Ku Klux Klan.Screenwriter Chris Gerolmo began work on the script in 1985 after researching the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.He and producer Frederick Zollo presented the script to Orion Pictures, and Parker was subsequently hired by the studio to direct the film.