Michael Blake spent 10 years researching frontier history in order to write his novel, "Dancing With Wolves". He then adapted the novel to screenplay, including actual use of the Lakota language, and the result was a blockbuster that earned him an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation as well as honors for Kevin Costner, the film's star and director. Blake first worked with Costner on "Stacy's Knights," Blake's first produced screenplay. Costner was the gambling mentor of Andra Millian, who takes on the seamy gambling establishment in the west. The film did not do well at the box office, but demonstrated Blake's depth of research. Costner actually was killed midway through the film, but Blake's relationship with the star led to "Dances With Wolves," which was co-produced by Jim Wilson, the director of "Stacy's Knights". Blake announced that he was writing a sequel to "Dances With Wolves" entitled "Holy Road" although ill health delayed its progress.