"A steady slow fire under this project has worked its way into a Tri-Star deal with the most popular actor in the world, Robin Williams and his wife (Marsha) as co producer," said Walter Josten, also co producer on the project. "Robin wants to do this story. I'm confident this film will get made."

Jeff Geoffray, Josten's partner at Blue Rider Pictures, also will co produce.

Although Robin Williams participation in "Damien" depends on his script approval and availability, sources said the Williamses through their production company Blue Wolf Productions have led a charge for two years to do the film and are committed to it even with Robin Williams' contractual obligation to two other films.

The estimated $35-$50 million budget depends on final casting, including a co-star, and director selection. William's salary for recent films like "The Bird Cage," "Jumanji" and "Jack," has been estimated at more than $10 million per picture, while "name" directors can receive as much as $5 million a picture. Josten declined comment on Williams's salary for "Damien."

The average cost of films, including their marketing, has doubled in the last five years, reaching $50.4 million, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

Oahu-born Chris Lee, Tri-Star vice president, will oversee the "Damien" production. Other Lee projects have included "Legends of the Fall" and "Philadelphia."

A rewrite of the original "Damien" script is being done by Charles Leavitt and is due Sept. 1, Josten said from Maui, where he is vacationing with his family. If Williams approves the rewrite, the production could start in the spring, he said.

"If the script is as good as everyone thinks it will be, I am confident a start date will be announced very soon afterward," Josten said.

Rough winter weather and sea conditions give the production company only a certain window for filming in the north shore area of Molokai, Josten said. And how much filming at Kalaupapa at all "depends on the residents' wishes," he said.

"The people there come first. We would like to film there as much as we can, but that is up to them to decide. For practical reasons we'll pick main locations on Maui and Oahu."

Allan Starski, who won an Academy Award for production design for "Schindler's List" will serve in the same capacity on "Damien."

The actual location of the Hansen's Disease settlement will be built on Maui in a place similar to the one at Kalaupapa where vegetation is sparse and the shoreline is more cliff than beach, Josten said.

"Marsha (Williams) and I totally agree that it's more important to do this picture right than to rush it," he said. "But ... next spring and summer would be ideal."

Scriptwriter Leavitt was hand picked by Tri-Star's Lee, Marsha Williams and Josten from about 10 writers after various meetings in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Williams and Tri-Star executives wanted Leavitt to "beef up" Damien's role and enhance the relationship between the doctor - Dr. Edward Arning - and the priest, similar to the dynamics between Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia."

Josten has been interested in hiring a little known Belgium director who directed "Dane" that was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1992 but Tri-Star reportedly is looking for a "name" director.

Leavitt's script is based on the O.A. Bushnell novel, "Molokai." The screenwriter this summer traveled to Molokai and Kalaupapa to meet with residents, including Kalaupapa's Richard Marks who will serve as the film's technical advisor.

Father Damien was the religious name of Joseph de Veuster who was born Jan. 3, 1840 and died April 15, 1889. He was a Belgian Roman Catholic missionary famous for his work among the lepers on Molokai. He not only ministered to their spiritual needs, but also dressed their sores, provided shelter and food, and buried them. Even after he contracted the disease himself, Father Damien continued his work until he became too ill to do so.

The seeds of the film began in 1982 during Josten's first trip to Hawaii that included a helicopter tour of Molokai's north shore.

"The visuals were so spectacular and then at Kalaupapa we saw the little church and got as real sense of the isolation," said Josten, who attended Catholic school as a child.

Six years later, in 1988, Josten was attending church at St. Augustine's in Waikiki when he visited its Damien museum and purchased two books, Bushnell's novel, and one by Gavin Daws. Two months later Josten traveled to Molokai with partner Geoffray to investigate the Damien legacy.

When the pair returned to California they began writing the first script and farming it out to other writers over the next two years. Originally, Josten was going to make "Damien" as a small independent film for about $8 million and pre-sell the foreign rights. But he said, "My hope always was to end up where we are with a major studio, a major star, and solid commitment."