 In 1997 , Alan Ball resolved to move into the film industry after several frustrating years writing for the television sitcoms Grace Under Fire and Cybill . He joined the United Talent Agency , where his representative , Andrew <unk> , suggested he write a spec script to " reintroduce [ himself ] to the town as a screenwriter " . Ball pitched three ideas to <unk> : two conventional romantic comedies and American Beauty , which he had originally conceived as a play in the early 1990s . Despite the story 's lack of an easily marketable concept , <unk> selected American Beauty because he felt it was the one for which Ball had the most passion . While developing the script , Ball created another television sitcom , Oh , Grow Up . He channeled his anger and frustration at having to accede to network demands on that show — and during his tenures on Grace Under Fire and Cybill — into writing American Beauty . 
