James Earl Jones, who plays the stuttering shop clerk, actually did have a stutter like his character.
Henry describes his tombstone reading "1951 dash 2014" and then says "it's not the dates that matter... it's the dash." This comes from a famous poem by Linda Ellis entitled "The Dash" written in 1996.
The movie marks the return of Phil Alden Robinson in directing a movie, after twelve years of absence.
The movie is a remake of the Isreali movie Mr. Baum (1997), which was directed/written by/starred Assi Dayan, the son of Israeli general and Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan.
Robin Williams guest starred in a 1994 episode of "Homicide: Life on the Street" (titled "Bop Gun") as a man whose wife, both of whom were vacationing in Baltimore, was fatally shot in front of him. One of the detectives investigating the murder was played by Melissa Leo, who plays his wife in the film.