I think Patrick meant RE-writing rather than writing. Peter Falk has said in his memoirs that when you hired Pat McG to star and/or direct, rewriting was a given.
By the way--I found the source! It is from an interview that appeared in French 'Premiere' magazine when BRAVEHEART came out. So it doesn't really apply to "Ashes to Ashes", having taken place in 1995.