 Actor Zachary Scott optioned the novel in 1962, but after he passed his widow sold the rights to brothers Robert and Raymond Hakim.The Hakims spent $400,000 and began hiring talent, including director Alan Bridges and actors Richard Burton and Richard Chamberlain, and scouting filming locations in Almería, Spain, when Lowry's widow Marjorie determined that she had been excluded from creative consulting as stipulated in her contract, and filed a lawsuit, withdrawing the brothers’ film rights.Several prominent directors, including Jules Dassin, Ken Russell, Joseph Losey, Jerzy Skolimowski, and Luis Buñuel all expressed interest in helming the project but all passed.Producer Wieland Schulz-Keil, a longtime admirer of Lowry’s novel, bought the film rights in early 1982 and approached director John Huston on the set of "Annie".