Following the release of Satoshi Kon's previous film "Perfect Blue", Kon considered adapting the Yasutaka Tsutsui novel "Paprika" (1993) into his next film. However, these plans were stalled when the distribution company for "Perfect Blue", Rex Entertainment, went bankrupt. "Millennium Actress" had an estimated budget of $1.2 million. The screenplay was written by Sadayuki Murai, who used a seamless connection between illusion and reality to create a "Trompe-l'œil kind of film". "Millennium Actress" is the first Satoshi Kon film to feature Susumu Hirasawa, whom Kon was a long-time fan of, as composer.