the roof of the hospital. Birdy rushes to the ledge, raises his arms and jumps off the side of the roof as if he were about to fly. Thinking Birdy has plunged to severe injury, Al runs over to the ledge but finds Birdy on another level of the roof, perfectly fine. Birdy looks up at Al and says, "What?" Cast Production Development Following publication of William Wharton's 1978 novel Birdy, Alan Parker received galley proofs of the book from his agent, who advised him that the novel was going to be optioned. Upon reading the novel, Parker discussed it with his colleague, producer Alan Marshall, before turning down the opportunity to direct a film adaptation. He explained, "So much of the story happened inside the boy's head, and the poetry of the book was literary. To make it cinematic - I didn't know if I could make the jump." In September 1979, Orion Pictures optioned the novel for $150,000. In October 1982, A&M Films, a newly established subsidiary of A&M Records, acquired the film rights and commissioned Sandy Kroopf and Jack Behr to write the screenplay. Kroopf and Behr made various changes from the novel, opting to focus primarily on the friendship between Birdy and Al Columbato. They also decided to set the story during the Vietnam War, as opposed to the novel, which is set during World War II. "We were in high school in the mid-1960s," Behr explained, "so growing up then was our experience." Structuring the film required Kroopf and Behr to create a nonlinear narrative, and manufacture much of its action and dialogue from Al's narrative in the novel. They spent one year trying to sell their script to various studios, without success. In 1983, Parker received the script from A&M and, after reading it, signed on as director. He then discussed the adaptation with executives at Tri-Star Pictures. After the studio agreed to produce the film, Parker traveled to Los Angeles, where he met with Kroopf and Behr to work on the script. Casting Parker and casting director Juliet Taylor held open casting calls in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, New York City and Philadelphia. Matthew Modine originally auditioned for the role of Al Columbato, but Parker decided to cast him as Birdy, believing that the actor possessed an "introverted honest quality" that best suited the character. Modine said, "I was flabbergasted because