‘Schmigadoon!’ Creator Cinco Paul Reflects on First Comedy Script ‘Band of Gold’ — and Still Hopes to Get It Made

variety.com:

Hunter Ingram In Variety’s feature, The One That Got Away, Emmy nominees reflect on one of their projects that never saw the light of day, was canceled too soon or that they’d like to revisit some day.Picture it: Southern California, 1994.Cinco Paul is fresh out of USC School of Cinematic Arts, churning out his first post-grad comedy script — an homage to screwball comedies including “What’s Up, Doc?” and “Bringing Up Baby,” called “Band of Gold.”“At the time, there were big splashy spec sales happening all over the place and this was mine,” he says. “It kind of launched my career, but unfortunately, it never got made.”Nearly 30 years later, Paul, the creator and Emmy-nominated lyricist of Apple TV+’s musical love letter “Schmigadoon!,” has never lost his wistful fondness for the script, which had been bought by Sony and even attached a few directors.

Had it made it to the screen, the story would have been in good company in the heyday of the ’90s rom-com, joining a string of titles named for classic love songs such as “One Fine Day,” “It Takes Two” and “When a Man Loves a Woman.”“Band of Gold” is the uptempo R&B classic made famous by Freda Payne. “My story was about this buttoned-down, uptight doctor who’s about to get married to the wrong woman,” Paul recalls. “He’s entrusted with the family heirloom wedding ring a couple of days before the wedding and he accidentally sews it up inside a patient.”In true meet-cute-with-a-sideof-medical-malpractice fashion, the woman on the operating table happens to be the future love of the doctor’s life — they just don’t know it yet.“She is exactly what he needs,” Paul continues. “She’s more wild and carefree, so she kind of loosens him up.