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Geisel says she gave the go-ahead for the Grinch movie because the material "had been tried and tested for decades on television," but she left nothing to chance. In July 1998, Geisel's agents notified producers by letter that How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was up for auction. In order to pitch their ideas to Geisel, the suitors ultimately had to be willing to pay $5 million for the material and hand over 4% of the box-office gross, 50% of the merchandising revenue and music-related material, and 70% of the income from book tie-ins. The letter also stated that "any actor submitted for the Grinch must be of comparable stature to Jack Nicholson, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman." Additionally, the estate wouldn't consider any director or writer who hadn't earned at least $1 million on a previous picture.
Geisel was courted by half a dozen entities, including 20th Century Fox, whose team featured William Morris agent turned producer Dave Phillips (who had been pursuing the project for years), as well as producer John Davis (Dr. Dolittle) director Tom Shadyac (The Nutty Professor) and Nicholson (who had expressed interest). But Universal, which had already made a major investment in Seuss at its theme park, came out swinging. And though revenue would have to be shared, "it was [easy] to see the ancillary opportunities," says Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider. When the studio's pitch by Grazer and director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) didn't fly, Grazer's producing partner Ron Howard was recruited to woo the widow.
Howard studied Seuss's 1957 tale of the pompous, lonesome mountain creature who, for reasons never fully explained in the book, tries to ruin Christmas for the adorable citizens of Who-ville. Howard became intrigued by Cindy-Lou Who, "since she's the only Who that you see up close [in the book]," he says, and pitched Geisel a film in which the little girl would play a larger role and the Grinch's background would be fleshed out (turns out he was a troubled youth before his exile). Geisel bit, and Howard decided to sign on as director.
"We like Universal," says Geisel, explaining her choice. "We'd already worked with them, and their word was their bond." Of Howard, she adds, "I like the grown Opie." She also liked Carrey, who had asked Geisel to meet with him after the book went up for auction. Instead of shaking her hand when they met, he spun her around, held her close and made a Grinch face. She was sold. "I grew up with it," says Carrey. "In a very simple tale, Seuss tells you a lot about human behavior; he tells you a lot about prejudice, and that no one is unreachable." While Carrey set about inhabiting the character--a task that required wearing a cumbersome costume and painful contact lenses ("I defined him as a big, thick callus," says the star)--Geisel asked for numerous revisions on the screenplay, which is credited to the team of Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (Who Framed Roger Rabbit).