David Paterson, who wrote the screenplay, is Katherine Paterson's son. The novel is based on parts of his childhood. When he asked his mother if he could write a screenplay of the novel, she agreed. This was because he could write plays well. Production of the movie began in February 2006. The movie was shot by November. It was shot mainly in Auckland, New Zealand within two months. It took ten weeks to edit the movie. Post-production, music mixing, and visual effects took many months.