Where to watch Rain Man (1988)

Trivia & production notes

• Barry Morrow based the character of Raymond Babbitt on his real-life friendships with Kim Peek and Bill Sackter, two men known for their intellectual disabilities and savant abilities.
• Steven Spielberg was attached to direct Rain Man for five months before leaving to make Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a decision he later regretted.
• Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman were both sent the Rain Man script, with agents envisioning Murray as Raymond and Hoffman as Charlie, the opposite of how the roles were eventually cast.
• Dustin Hoffman spent a full year preparing for the role of Raymond by researching and observing autistic people and individuals with savant syndrome.
• Hoffman initially attempted to mimic Kim Peek's savant syndrome mannerisms but found the approach unsuitable, leading him to instead portray Raymond as someone with both autism and savant abilities.
• Dr. Ruth Sullivan, the founding president of the Autism Society of America and mother of savant Joseph Sullivan, served as a consultant on the film.
• Principal photography took place almost entirely during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, with the final scene particularly affected by the lack of available writers.
• Scriptwriter Ronald Bass delivered his final draft only hours before the Writers Guild strike began and spent no time on set during filming.
• Barry Morrow originally wrote a different ending for the film but changed it so that Raymond would return to the institution, believing this version would resonate more with audiences.
• Hans Zimmer composed the Rain Man score, which received a nomination for Best Original Score at the 61st Academy Awards.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Rain Man, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.