After years of writing ‘spec’ scripts, Rodat received his first feature film credit on a project he co-wrote with USC alum and friend Steven L. Bloom called Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill, which won critical acclaim, but failed to find a large audience. His delightful script Fly Away Home (co-written with Vince McKewn) told the story of a father (portrayed by Jeff Daniels) and daughter (portrayed by Anna Paquin) who teach their adopted geese how to migrate. It was his script for Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan that finally catapulted Rodat to the circle of A-list screenwriters.