The stars of the film were 7 and 11 years old, rather than 8 and 10, creating a much larger age difference than the story accounts for.
Shooting took place every day for five weeks straight, including weekends. The lead actors, director and sound recordist did not get any days off.
The shoot was done primarily in Central Park in the NYC summer heat wave. Nearly a week of filming had to be made up due to the overwhelming temperatures.
The story includes every major sight in Central Park.
The name of James' childhood friend, Donnie, is a reference to Jake Gyllenhaal's character in Donnie Darko.