I interned at Longbow Productions in 1994 while they were making this film during the first semester of my third year at the University of Southern California. I was a Journalism major with a Cinema-TV emphasis so I decided to write my Investigative Reporting final piece on the process I witnessed take place. The film was based on the true life experience of a woman who had sold the rights of her story to Longbow only to grow severely disillusioned. Ann Dion (Lindsay Wagner's character) was a Canadian mother who had weathered the mean urban streets to rescue her daughter from a life in prostitution after the girl ran away. As the story was tweaked and twisted around to placate the whims of Hollywood executives, Dion felt her POV was being compromised. The producers justified their actions by underlining their obligation to make the less desirable (or attractive)characters palatable to American audiences while sending an educational message about the pitfalls of teenage delinquency at the same time. In reality, the pimp who hustled Dion's real life daughter into the sex trade was a black man but ABC Standards & Practices felt that Chad Lowe would be more appropriate in the role because he was white. The network was leery of stereotyping black people as indicative of a crime laden culture by using a black actor. They were bound by political correctness and the possibility of public outcry. The film ultimately resulted in coming off a little preachy when they added an additional public service announcement voiced by Lindsay Wagner who warned parents about how to look out for signs their daughter may be playing hooky to be a hooker. Ann Dion said she felt as if she herself had been pimped out after her story was "sold out from under her." The film added a disclaimer, "based on a true story", to absolve themselves of having to account for changing what Dion felt were pertinent details about her own life to satisfy audiences.
