The screenplay for "Downhill Racer" is loosely based on the 1963 novel "The Downhill Racers" by Oakley Hall. In February 1966, the film rights to the book passed from director Mark Robson to Paramount Pictures at a cost of $15,000 for producer Steve Alexander and screenwriter Graham Ferguson. After attempts to develop the project stalled, the new head of Paramount production, Robert Evans, used the project to entice Roman Polanski, a skiing enthusiast, to direct the film "Rosemary's Baby" for the studio. Although Robert Redford passed on Polanski's offer to star in both films, the young actor soon attached himself to the skiing film, taking it on as a pet project. Redford soon persuaded novelist James Salter to write a screenplay for the film, introducing him to Polanski and his partner, Gene Gutowski, who agreed to work on the film.