A long time ago... in a galaxy far, far away...   Oops, wrong project... The idea for Daughter of RA started in the fall of 1997.   But before we get much further, we want to take the time to tell you a little about the writers.   First, their names are Rick and Carol.   Rick (this site's designer/webmaster) and Carol met at the company where they worked together.   It was at this time they discovered a shared interest in ancient Egyptian history.   A few nights earlier, Rick had seen an hour long program on a cable TV channel about a mysterious Egyptian Queen named Hatshepsut.   We won't go into any detail about her story (it's on THE STORY page) other than to say her life was very intriguing.   A little research revealed a full-length motion picture of her life has never been made. Well, the light bulb went off over Rick's head.   He asked Carol if she'd be interested in writing a screenplay about Hatshepsut and the rest is... history... and a very good script. Extensive research went into writing this story.   A main goal was to portray the characters, scenes, and lives of the ancient Egyptians as accurately as possible.   One of the main items we came away with was that the Egyptians loved life.   Now that may seem a little strange when we all know the effort they made into planning for the afterlife.   But it was this love of living that drove the preparation for death.   Afterall, if your average life span is 30, it doesn't take an Einstein to figure you have very little time on this earth.   In our studies, we discovered they used slang (we use some of it in the script), were addicted to board games, enjoyed writing love poetry, invented beer, and loved to party.   We wonder if their invention of beer had anything to do with all the partying.   The ancient Egyptians are credited with inventing a calendar of 12 months with each month being 30 days.   A quick bit of arithmetic will show you that is only 360 days.   Well, it didn't take long for spring to be where fall should have been and so on.   Their solution... add 5 days at the end of the calendar (6 days every fourth year) and throw a big party before starting the year over again.   Pretty inventive!   They also were the first to use wood furniture and we still use the basic design they created thousands of years ago.   Anyway, we came away with the knowledge that even though we are separated from them by thousands of years, we are still pretty much the same. The research for the screenplay gave us the opportunity to visit several cities, see some great museums, and interview some of the leading American Egyptologists.   Our U.S. trips took us to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, and Richmond.   From these trips we came away with not only a wealth of knowledge, but a deep respect and admiration for the Egyptologists and Archeologists who were so generous with their time and expertise. But the ulimate trip came in January 1999 (and again in October 1999) when we went to Egypt.   It was an awesome experience to see and touch objects we had only previously seen in books or TV.   When you see what human beings (and not aliens) were able to accomplish without machinery over 3,000 years ago, it is truly inspiring.   We got to walk through the Temple of Karnak, see and touch Hatsheput's obelisk, stand in the inner sanctum of Amun-Ra, and walk through Hatshepsut's mortuary temple.   You can also get a real appreciation for the destruction that was wrought upon her monuments and temples after her death.   It is apparent someone wanted to erase her existence!   The trips really helped set the tone and put into perspective the story we were trying to develop. What we really came away with was a genuine appreciation for the woman and her deeds.   It is obvious she was a very intelligent and strong leader.   Not only did she become the only female king in ancient Egypt, but she did it with the support of Egypt's extensive government bureaucracy.   We feel her assumption of kingship was more than a desperate attempt to hold onto power.   With her royal lineage, she still would have held great power and influence.   Afterall, she was daughter of a king, sister of a king, wife of a king, and daughter of the Great Royal Wife.   If you add that up along with her obvious intelligence and political saavy, she would have been a force to reckon with for the rest of her life.   Something drastic had to happen for her to become Pharaoh and for the male-dominated government to permit it. We want to end this section with a thanks to Hatshepsut for being an inspiration to anyone who learns about her life and accomplishments.   It was Hatshepsut herself that gave us the title of our story.   We had gone round and round looking for a name.   Nothing we came up with was really satisfying.   Then, in October 1999, Rick was reading the heiroglyphs on her recently reassembled Red Chapel at the Temple of Karnak. There they were, Hatshepsut's own words:   Daughter of RA! In closing, we feel Daughter of RA would make an exciting and visually beautiful movie.   The sets and costumes would turn the theater into a two hour time machine.   We sincerely hope the moviemaking industry agrees.   If anyone wishes to write to us, we can be emailed at:   This is especially true for agents, producers, or members of the studios creative staff.   Thanks again for taking the time to visit the site.