Writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski conceived the idea for a biopic of Ed Wood when they were students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Alexander even proposed making a documentary about Wood, "The Man in the Angora Sweater", in his sophomore year at USC. However, Karaszewski figured, "there would be no one on the planet Earth who would make this movie or want to make this movie, because these aren't the sort of movies that are made." Irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family films for their work on "Problem Child" and "Problem Child 2", Alexander and Karaszewski wrote a 10-page film treatment for "Ed Wood" and pitched the idea to "Heathers" director Michael Lehmann, with whom they attended USC film school. The basis for their treatment came from Rudolph Grey's "Nightmare of Ecstasy", a full-length biography, which draws on interviews from Wood's family and colleagues. Lehmann presented their treatment to his producer on "Heathers", Denise Di Novi. Di Novi had previously worked with Tim Burton on "Edward Scissorhands", "Batman Returns" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and a deal was struck with Lehmann as director and Burton and Di Novi producing.