The film was inspired by Tom Hanks's tearful speech when he accepted his 1994 Oscar (for his role in Philadelphia), in which he mentioned his high-school drama coach Rawley Farnsworth, and his former classmate John Gilkerson, "two of the finest gay Americans, two wonderful men that I had the good fortune to be associated with."
Filmen inspirerades av Tom Hanks tårfyllda tal då han mottog en Oscar 1994 (för sin roll i Philadelphia), där han nämnde sin dramalärare i high school Rawley Farnsworth och sin tidigare klasskamrat John Gilkerson, "två av de finaste homosexuella amerikanerna, två underbara män som jag hade lyckan att förknippas med."