However, Paramount rejected the track, believing that Leonard was incapable of creating the score for the film. Leonard later presented the instrumental to Madonna, who decided to use it for "At Close Range", the new film starring her then-husband, actor Sean Penn. Madonna wrote all the lyrics, added some melodies, and composed the bridge. She recorded a demo of the song on a cassette and presented it to the film's director James Foley, who liked it and enlisted Leonard to compose the film's score, as suggested by Madonna.