Ridley Scott and brother Tony forged a multi-picture deal with 20th Century Fox. Ridley's first proposed project under this new arrangement was based on "Crisis in the Hot Zone," an October 1992 New Yorker article written by Richard Preston, who later expanded his piece into a best-selling 1994 book. Hot Zone detailed the frightening true story of the discovery of the deadly tropical 'Ebola' filovirus, a disease which has an incubation period of only one week and kills by virtually liquefying its hosts' internal systems. It was discovered at a Primate Quarantine Unit in Reston, Virginia (located only 10 miles away from Washington D.C.), after US Veterinary Corps scientists there realized that their test monkeys were dying from suspicious symptoms at an alarming rate -- and that the microscopic cause of their deaths had contaminated the facility. "The 'Hot Zone' seemed an excellent opportunity for me to develop a science-fact thriller," notes Ridley Scott. "Jodie Foster agreed to star as the real-life 'Zone' protagonist Nancy Jaxx. We also got a very good script from James V. Hart." But Scott's Hot Zone soon encountered difficulties. Producer Arnold Kopelson decided to launch his own fictional Ebola project, entitled Outbreak. And was put into production at the same time as Scott's own effort, forcing the English director to contend with a competing film on the same subject. To further complicate matters, once megastar Robert Redford joined the Hot Zone cast as its male lead -- Karl Johnson. He also brought along his own screenwriters, reportedly to make his part larger than Jodie Foster's. This kicked off an internal power struggle, and Foster and Redford eventually bowed out of the film. Fox responded by killing the project. "Not being able to get the Hot Zone going was frustrating," Scott adds. "I would have loved to work with Jodie. I also thought it was one of those rare projects, like Thelma and Louise, that was actually about something. And losing the Hot Zone had been a little traumatic because I was so passionate about it." Scott read White Squall exactly one day after the Hot Zone project fell apart, and made this movie instead.