Director Michael Apted found it challenging working with Grant and Hurley. "It's not something I'd recommend, however genial the people are... It was tricky. We had the same agendas, mercifully, so it was all right... Producers are powerful. And actors are powerful these days. So, to have the double whammy up there, it makes your job harder. The other challenge I had was that this was the first film they (Hurley and Grant) produced. They were learning as they were doing... I didn't know whether they were going to be dilettante producers... They really got their hands dirty. They weren't just swanning in for the glamour bits. They were there the whole time in the trenches."