“I don’t think screenplay writing is the same as writing — I mean, I think it’s blueprinting.” – Robert Altman
The Return of Thomas Magnum
In 1991, I was attending the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, as a full-time communications student with a major in film. At this time I had envisioned my first, big screen writing assignment. The Return of Thomas Magnum – a made for TV movie – was written over a two year period after learning Tom Selleck had an interest in a making the TV series into a movie. I soon traveled to Hawaii to become familiar with the area prior to returning home to write the script.
In a letter addressed to my agent from Banana Road Productions, (dated January 5, 1993), a writer was already secured to develop a script, and therefore, they were not accepting submissions.
Below is my first draft screenplay submission:
(View screenplay) The Return of Thomas Magnum by Steven J. Repergel. Based on the Television Series, MAGNUM, p.i. First Draft September 14, 1992. (Note this screenplay was scanned from a first draft, hardcopy version. It was originally created on an Atari computer system and stored on 5-1/4-inch floppy disks).
The following screenplay can be viewed by using Adobe Reader or Acrobat. Please note the teleplay you are about to view is copyrighted by the author through the Library of Congress. Please do not redistribute or use without the permission of the author.