Alex Hayes and John Hughes had thrown themselves into the 17 Again script with shared enthusiasm. Collaborating closely through early November, bouncing ideas back and forth in coffee shops and over phone calls, they managed to hammer out a complete first draft by Thanksgiving 1980. Alex spent the long holiday weekend reading and rereading the pages. While thrilled with the rapid progress and Hughes's undeniable talent for capturing the teen voice and comedic situations, Alex also felt there were some crucial loose ends needing attention. The core premise was strong, Ned was hilarious, but the emotional arc – how Mike truly reconnected with Scarlet and, just as importantly, his kids – felt underdeveloped. He knew the story needed a more powerful, resonant heart to appeal beyond just teenagers to the wider family audience he envisioned.
He marked up his copy of the script and arranged another working session with Hughes, this time at Hughes's slightly cluttered, book-and-record-filled apartment, shortly after the holiday.
"John, this is brilliant," Alex began, gesturing to the manuscript. ""The pace, the dialogue, it flies. But I've been thinking about how Mike actually fixes things. Especially with Scarlet and the kids. Right now, he sort of stumbles through, helps them out situationally, but the deep rift... how does he bridge that convincingly, especially when he's stuck as Mark?"
Hughes leaned back, considering. "It's tricky. He can't just reveal himself. We need a way for 'Mike's' voice to reach them, even through the 'Mark' filter."
"Exactly," Alex agreed. "And the kids... Maggie and Tom. They feel a bit disconnected, not just from Mike, but from each other. Maggie sees Tom getting bullied by her own boyfriend, Stan, and doesn't intervene in the draft. That doesn't feel right. There should be a moment where that changes, where they connect."
Hughes nodded, already flipping through pages. "Point taken on the kids' dynamic. We need a catalyst for Maggie. Maybe Stan pushes things too far?"
"Maybe," Alex mused. "But how does Mike reach them personally? Apologize for years of neglect as Mike?" He paused, an idea sparked by the problem itself. "What if... what if Mark delivers something from Mike? Something personal?"
Hughes picked up on it immediately. "Like a message? A confession?" His eyes lit up. "Letters. What if Mike, before the transformation, in his pit of despair, wrote letters? Or maybe Mark claims Mike wrote letters?"
"Yes! Letters!" Alex seized the idea. "Okay, picture this: the divorce hearing. It's about to be finalized. Scarlet's resolute. Mark steps up, maybe intercepts her, and reads her a letter – supposedly from Mike. A letter pouring out all the regret, the love he still feels but couldn't express, taking responsibility."
"It allows Mike's 'adult' voice to come through Mark," Hughes added, scribbling notes rapidly. "It's dramatic, heartfelt. It gives Scarlet a reason to pause, to see the man she married, not just the mope he became. Okay, I love that for Scarlet."
"And we can use it for the kids too!" Alex continued, the pieces falling into place. "Mark finds Maggie and Tom separately, maybe after school. He gives them each a letter, again 'from Mike'. Apologizing for being distant, for the resentment, for not being the father they deserved. Saying if he had another chance..."
"...he'd be the best father anyone could hope for," Hughes finished, already seeing the scenes. "It externalizes Mike's internal change. Mark becomes the conduit for Mike's redemption. It ties the 'Mark' journey directly back to healing the 'Mike' relationships."
They spent the next hour mapping out these letter scenes, refining the potential content, ensuring it felt authentic to Mike's character. Then, they turned to the kids' relationship and the climax.
"So, Stan," Hughes said. "He needs to be dealt with, and it needs to bring Maggie and Tom together. What if we throw a party?"
"Ned's house," Alex suggested instantly. "Post-game celebration. Big win for the school team, thanks to Mark's unexpected skills."
"Chaos, music, a crowd. Stan's there, maybe bitter because Maggie recently broke up with him [perhaps after refusing his advances]. What if Tom overhears Stan making some really crude, disrespectful remarks about Maggie to his buddies?"
"Yes," Alex picked up the thread, seeing the potential immediately. "That's the trigger. Tom, maybe finding a protective streak he didn't know he had – possibly spurred by the 'letter' from his dad emphasizing family – or just fundamentally decent and fed up, confronts Stan directly. Tells him off for talking about his sister that way."
"Exactly," Hughes sketched the scene quickly, liking the shift in Tom's motivation. "Stan, furious at being called out, especially by the kid he usually bullies and about his ex, goes to physically retaliate against Tom."
"She doesn't just stop him," Alex said, wanting a strong, cathartic moment. "She defends her brother. Maybe... maybe she kicks Stan right where it counts."
Hughes laughed. "A swift kick to the family jewels from the popular girl? Audience would love it. Stan's humiliated, defeated. And in that moment, Maggie and Tom look at each other – really see each other – understanding and respect passing between them. The ice breaks. They're siblings again, united against a common antagonist."
They worked through the party scene, ensuring the confrontation felt earned and the subsequent bonding between Tom and Maggie was clear.
Finally, they discussed the ending. "After all that," Alex said, "Mike needs to choose his future. He can't stay Mark."
"The transformation reverses, maybe after he's truly reconciled with Scarlet and knows the kids are okay," Hughes suggested. "And the resolution?"
"He can't go back to his old, dead-end job," Alex stated. "The journey was about rediscovering his passion, his potential. What about the school? They need a coach after the old one retires."
"Mike takes the coaching job," Hughes concluded. "Bringing his journey full circle. He's back where he 'lost' his future, but now he's building a new one, with his family intact." They decided on a final scene, maybe six months later: Mike coaching, Scarlet and the kids cheering him on, a genuinely happy, connected family.
Alex leaned back, feeling the story settle into place. The humor was still there, the fun premise, but now it had a stronger emotional arc, a clearer path to redemption, and a resolution that felt earned and satisfying for the whole family.
"This," Alex said, tapping the revised outline Hughes had sketched. "This works. It's funny, it's got heart, and it's not just for teens. It's about second chances for everyone. This feels like the movie I wanted to make." Hughes nodded, equally pleased. The script now had its soul.
Fueled by the new breakthroughs, Alex and John Hughes dove back into the 17 Again manuscript. They meticulously integrated the letter scenes, ensuring Mike's voice felt authentic and emotionally resonant. The party confrontation was sharpened, focusing on Tom's defense of Maggie and the resulting sibling bond. They polished the dialogue, refined the pacing, and tweaked the ending sequence showing Mike embracing his second chance as a coach and family man. The collaborative energy remained strong, both driven by a shared belief in the story's potential. By mid-December 1980, after another intense round of revisions, they held a final script. It felt complete, balanced – funny, heartfelt, and hitting all the notes they'd aimed for. They were both genuinely satisfied.
Together, Alex and Hughes walked into the sleek CAA offices, the weight of the freshly printed manuscript feeling significant in Alex's hands. They delivered it personally to Nancy. She hefted the script, titled simply 17 AGAIN, and smiled, sensing their pride and excitement. "Finished? Really?"
"Really," Alex confirmed. "We think it's there, Nancy. John did incredible work."
"We both did," Hughes added graciously.
"I'll read it tonight," Nancy promised. "And I'll get it to Michael."
True to her word, Nancy passed the script to Michael Ovitz, the formidable head of the agency. A couple of days later, she relayed Ovitz's reaction to Alex. "Michael was impressed you turned around another concept this fast, especially with Can't Buy Me Love about to launch," she told Alex over the phone. "He sees the potential, likes the hook."
There was a pause. Alex braced himself.
"But," Nancy continued, her voice pragmatic, "he agrees we need to play this smart. He'll get the script out to the studios, generate some initial buzz quietly. However, the real push, the serious negotiations, have to wait until after February 6th."
"Until Can't Buy Me Love opens," Alex finished, understanding immediately.
"Exactly," Nancy confirmed. "It's the reality of the business, Alex. Right now, you're the promising kid from 'My Bodyguard'. If 'Can't Buy Me Love' is a hit, especially a hit based on your first script idea, you become a proven commodity. Your heat goes way up. CAA can leverage that success to get a much better deal for 17 Again – maybe a faster greenlight, better terms, more creative input for you and Hughes."
"And if it tanks?" Alex asked quietly.
"If it fails," Nancy said frankly, "then 17 Again has to sell itself purely on the strength of the script. It still can sell, absolutely, if the writing is good enough and it finds the right champion at a studio. But we lose that immediate leverage. Our negotiating power diminishes significantly."
Alex understood. It made perfect sense from a business perspective, even if the waiting felt like torture. All the creative energy poured into 17 Again now had to be shelved, pending the public's verdict on a completely different film.
"Okay," Alex sighed. "Okay, I get it. We wait."
With the script submitted and the next steps contingent on external factors, Alex felt a sudden need to decompress. He'd been running hard since My Bodyguard, straight into promoting it, developing Can't Buy Me Love's release, and then the intense writing collaboration with Hughes. He needed a break before the 'Can't Buy Me Love ' promotional blitz kicked into high gear in January.
"I'm heading out of town," he told Nancy. "Going down to my family's place in Eagle Lake, Texas for the holidays. Planning to stay through Christmas and New Year's, probably until mid-January."
"Good idea," Nancy approved. "Recharge your batteries. Actually," she added, "we're doing the same this year. My husband, the kids, and I are heading down to visit my cousins near Eagle Lake for Christmas week. Maybe we'll see you around."
"That'd be great, Aunt Nancy," Alex said, genuinely pleased at the prospect.
A few days later, Alex was on a plane heading east, leaving the scripts, the studio politics, and the Hollywood buzz behind. For the next few weeks, all he, Hughes, and Nancy could do was wait for February 6th and see how the dice rolled for 'Can't Buy Me Love'. The fate of 17 Again hung in the balance.