Garrard Conley turned down the opportunity to write the adaptation himself as he believed a filmmaker would be better fit to translate his memoir to the big screen.
By the time Garrard Conley's memoir was released in 2016, only a handful of states had banned gay conversion therapy, those being Vermont, California, New Jersey, Illinois, and Oregon, along with Washington, D.C.
Every reputable American medical association has condemned the practice of "conversion therapy" and the idea that sexual orientation can be changed as false and medically and psychologically harmful. Organizations that have released statements censuring the practice include the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the American School Counselor Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and many others.
Actor and singer Troye Sivan who plays the character named Gary in the movie, has also contributed two original songs to the movie: "Revelation" and "The Good Side."
This was the first film to feature longtime friends Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe. They were previously set to co-star in a 2005 adaptation of the Australian novel "Eucalyptus," which would have been directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse. The troubled production was shut down during table reads of the script and Kidman and Crowe had looked for a new shared project ever since.