Meghan White wrote up her interview with the screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. Some interesting insights into the scenes added to the film that were not in the original short story are offered. DIANA OSSANA: When I first read the short story in October 1997, I knew immediately that this was a masterpiece of a short story, with the potential to touch many, many people. And so yes, it was most definitely my intention to adapt it into a screenplay. I asked Larry to read it because I wanted him to agree to adapt it with me, and to ask him as well to option the rights together with me. We weren’t certain in what incarnation it would reach the screen, although we were fairly certain it would be an independent film with a modest budget. We never did lose faith in the power of Annie’s story or in our screenplay, even though it took eight years to get it up and going. It was worth every bit of hard work it took to get this film made. We feel very, very fortunate
MW: Would Proulx’s story have appealed to you as much if it had been a tale of forbidden love between a man and a woman?
DO: If I had read a story about forbidden love between a man and a woman that were written as powerfully, precisely and affectingly as Annie’s, the answer is yes, of course. But it was THIS story I read—Annie’s story—about a forbidden love between two men.
http://www.cinemalogue.com/2006/02/14/brokeback-interview/
