The early drafts for a script were written in 1977, and the same year a team consisting of Jan Troell, the producer Bengt Forslund, the original writer of the novel Per Olof Sundman and a few other people went to Spitsbergen for location scouting. Troell was at the time in the post-production process of his film "Bang!", and when "Bang!" was selected for the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, the plan was to use the festival to attract investors. However, "Bang!" was poorly received and the interest faded even from the Swedish Film Institute. The project was put on hold and Troell went to the United States to direct "Hurricane", an assignment he was offered after the previous director Roman Polanski had suddenly left the country to avoid sentencing for unlawful sexual intercourse with a thirteen-year-old in Los Angeles.