Hoot marks the big screen directorial debut of Wil Shriner, a veteran TV host (“The Wil Shriner Show”), director (“Frasier,” “Becker,” “Everybody Loves Raymond”), actor (Peggy Sue Got Married) and comedian, who also adapted the screenplay from Hiaasen’s 2002 novel.
Frank Marshall (The Bourne Supremacy, Seabiscuit, The Sixth Sense, Raiders of the Lost Ark) produces along with singer/songwriter/author Jimmy Buffett, who marks his debut as a movie producer and provides five songs for the film. The executive producers are Toby Emmerich, Kevin Reidy and Gregg Taylor. The co-producers are Wil Shriner, Carl Hiaasen, Mark Kaufman and Michael Disco.
Shriner has assembled a talented team of veteran craftsmen behind the
camera, including two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Michael
Chapman (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Fugitive), production designer
Stephen J. Lineweaver (Jerry Maguire, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls),
costume designer Christopher Lawrence (Showtime, S.W.A.T) and film
editor Alan Edward Bell (The Story of Us, Alex & Emma). Susan Humphrey, of Florida’s Birds & Animals wildlife sanctuary (the Harry Potter series), oversaw the training of the various creatures (including a trio of burrowing owls) used before the cameras.
Hoot, which filmed almost entirely on location in the Sunshine State, with additional photography in Montana and Los Angeles, began principal photography on July 6th, 2005 and wrapped production on September 2nd, 2005. The film’s principal locations included Ft. Lauderdale on Florida’s Atlantic coast and the Gulf Coast hamlet of Boca Grande on Gasparilla island.
