Ball began writing American Beauty as a play in the early 1990s , partly inspired by the media circus around the Amy Fisher trial in 1992 . He shelved the play after realizing the story would not work on stage . After several years as a television screenwriter , Ball revived the idea in 1997 when attempting to break into the film industry . The modified script had a cynical outlook that was influenced by Ball 's frustrating tenures writing for several sitcoms . Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen took American Beauty to DreamWorks ; the then @-@ fledgling film studio bought Ball 's script for $ 250 @,@ 000 , outbidding several other production bodies . DreamWorks financed the $ 15 million production and served as its North American distributor . American Beauty marked acclaimed theater director Mendes ' film debut ; courted after his successful productions of the musicals Oliver ! and Cabaret , Mendes was , nevertheless , only given the job after 20 others were considered and several " A @-@ list " directors turned down the opportunity .