A year ago I had "Growing Up Brady" shooting for NBC on the Paramount backlot in L.A. At the time there seemed to be an appetite at the networks for this kind of "Nostalgia-driven Americana" (my phrase) and producers were scurrying about trying to find the next big pop culture icon of the past to turn into a movie. One such producer, Mark Sennet, was kicking himself for not locking up the Brady story himself. He had shot the People Magazine cover featuring the Brady cast several months earlier, but was scooped on the behind-the-scenes exclusive by another producer. He became determined to find the "next" network nostalgia movie.

And that's when I got the call. Mark said, "I've got it. The Osmonds." Note that he said "The Osmonds" and not "Donny & Marie." Even though Donny & Marie were more visible and had more pop culture cachet at the moment, his idea was to go back and do the story of the family. My first response was "Absolutely. Great idea!"

Mark did his producer thing by making contact with Jimmy Osmond. In January of 2000, Mark and I jumped in a car and drove across the California desert to Laughlin, Nevada, where "The Osmond Brothers" were playing an engagement. I have to admit, it was the first time I'd seen any Osmonds live, and I was struck by the genuine Americana and folksy goodwill that was projected from the stage that night. The other thing that struck me was the variety in their music. Rock & Roll, Country, Love Ballads, Pop, Gospel, they ranged all across the American musical spectrum.

But the true revelation came when we went backstage after the performance. Jimmy, Merrill, Wayne and Jay greeted us with the warmth and down-to-earth sincerity that they are justly famous for. I kept thinking "Wow, what nice people." Throughout my involvement in this project, that estimation was reinforced over and over again.

The brothers showed great interest in the idea of a movie being made about their earlier career. But one thing they all made clear right off the bat: They did not want to see a white-washed, sanitized version of their story. They wanted to tell the real story, the story that had never been told. They had all been through a tremendous amount of struggle and adversity. And although they had kept smiling through the good and the bad, there were scars and hurt underneath. They were insistent about exploring that. They wanted the public to see what was going on "inside" the Osmond family at the time of their greatest triumphs. Thus the approach of going "inside" this very tight-knit, and in some ways very isolated family was born.

Mark and I came away from Laughlin knowing we had a movie. Now came the "selling" part. What network was the best fit for a story about the Osmonds? Actually we felt it was sellable at any of the big three (ABC, NBC, CBS). But ABC seemed like the best bet for two reasons. They had been very successful airing these "nostalgia-driven Americana" music movies ("Sonny & Cher," "The Partridge Family," "The Beach Boys") and of course the original "Donny & Marie" show had been a big hit at the network in the 70s. So we targeted ABC as our first stop ("first" because these movies are rarely sold in one shot -- TV movie producers always think in terms of a backup plan).

Next came the working out of the pitch. What was the story we wanted to tell? As I did my research on the Osmonds one thing kept jumping out at me -- the huge risk the family took by leaving "The Andy Williams Show" and their rock solid status as TV variety performers to venture into the wild and woolly world of Rock & Roll. Especially given the Osmonds' religious beliefs, attempting to conquer the "sex, drugs & rock'n'roll" arena seemed like a strangely incongruous career choice. Of course they weren't overnight sensations in that world, but the "do or die" stakes during this transition were particularly well suited for dramatization. Then came the sudden tidal wave of success followed by a series of personal and family challenges. One of the things I wanted to know was how the boys resisted the temptations presented by the hordes of screaming teenage girls who were throwing themselves at them everywhere they turned. I felt that other people on the "outside" would have the same questions, so I shaped the story to explore those issues.

It became both a "Family of Fish Out of Water" story, as well as an examination of a family dealing with the pressures of pop stardom and life lived in the spotlight. The other thing that fascinated me about the Osmonds is how they have stuck together over the years and remained bonded as a family. So many other families and groups were torn apart under the stress of their careers. How did they do it? How was this family unity preserved through the tumultuous period that saw them rise to the heights of stardom and then fall into the depths of financial ruin?

The more I delved into the family history, the more the Osmonds seemed like a perfect reflection of America in the 1970s. They began the decade with the promise of rock & roll, free expression, inspiring your peers, dedicated to a path of musical enlightenment. Their album "The Plan" embodies all those noble aspirations. Then commercial interests began to steer them in other directions. Donny's breakthrough as a teen idol put the family on a new path, and their fortunes suddenly shifted onto his narrow shoulders. By the middle of the decade they were steered back toward television, a mass entertainment medium that was less about free expression than about network ratings and selling advertising spots. And then the big leap into "empire building," taking their fortune and gaining control of their own financial destiny. Which in theory was a great idea, but this was a family of entertainers, not businessmen. It seemed to me the ride the Osmonds took in the 70s was a mirror image of the ride taken by the country as a whole, from peace and love and longhair to the bottomline corporate mentality that took hold at the start of the Reagan administration. The Osmonds personify a period of our recent history like no other family or pop group I know of. That was the larger story I wanted to tell.

When we walked into the executive's office at ABC for our pitch, we knew immediately that we were in for a friendly reception. He was a longtime Osmond fan! He had seen the Osmonds perform when he was a kid! He'd bought all the albums, knew all the music, saw Mother Osmond as a universal maternal figure! Needless to say, the pitch went well. Mark Sennet and I walked out of ABC that day sky high. And then we embarked on the "road is long, with many a winding turn" journey that culminated in a script that launched the production which the country will see in February of next year.

There is much more to tell about that journey, but time prevents me. I'll just say it was a wonderful creative experience for me and I hope the Osmonds feel I did justice to their personal history.

My thanks to the Osmond family for all their support and contributions. I met and spent time with all of them and I can truly say they are decent caring people who practice what they preach. God bless them.