In 1989, Myles took the project to Beacon Pictures, an independent film company established that year by Armyan Bernstein, a former television journalist turned screenwriter and producer. Clement and La Frenais traveled to Los Angeles to discuss the project with Alan Parker, and gave him a copy of the novel. Upon reading the novel, Parker was intrigued by its dialogue and humor, stating, "The book was all dialogue with very little description, but by the use of this wonderful language, and almost nothing but language, in a few lines [Doyle] was able to make his characters as vivid and strong as a dozen pages of purple Joycian prose." He signed on to direct the project after concluding work on his previous film "Come See the Paradise" (1990). After Beacon agreed to finance the film, 20th Century Fox acquired the North American distribution rights, and Parker was given creative control. The film was an international co-production between companies in the United Kingdom and the United States. Randall-Cutler's The First Film Company and Parker's Dirty Hands Productions, both based in England, were enlisted as production companies. Parker and the producers later attended the 1990 Cannes Film Festival to secure worldwide pre-sales.