PRODUCTION NOTES

Director Roger Donaldson had been working on this movie for over 20 years before he started filming it. Many of the props used for filming were actually owned by Munro, including all the exploded pistons and the piston mould that Hopkins uses for a scene in the film. These were on display at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery.
The location used for Burt Munro's workshop in New Zealand took place on land once used as the headquarters for the notorious Black Power gang during the 1990s until the house burnt down in 1998. A house has been built on the plot since the film was released.
In interviews Hopkins has stated that Munro was one of the easiest roles that he has ever played in his career, simply because Munro's view on life was not all that different from his own.

[edit] Historical accuracy
The historical Munro married Florence Beryl Martyn in 1927, whom he later divorced. The couple had four children together. However, no mention is made of children in the film, but it is implied that he was married and either estranged or divorced.
Munro in the film recalls the death of a twin brother named Ernie, who died when a tree fell on him. However, the historical Munro had an older brother who was killed when a tree fell on him. Munro also had a stillborn twin sister.
The historical Munro had set numerous speed records in New Zealand during the late 1930s through the early 1970s. However, these records are only implied in the film.
The Bonneville run in the film is a composite of several runs Munro made, the first in 1956. In 1962 at Bonneville, he set the record of 178.971 MPH.
Munro's fastest complete run at Bonneville was 190.07 MPH. He never set a record of 201 MPH at Bonneville as the film portrays, but did reach 205.67 MPH on an uncompleted run, on which he unfortunately crashed.[4] Munro does crash after his 201 MPH record-breaking run, which is officialised unlike the 205.67 MPH run.
Munro was never known to urinate on his lemon tree; film director Roger Donaldson added that detail as a tribute to his own father, who did.
The May 1957 edition of Popular Mechanics (p6) has a letter to the editor about H.A. "Dad" Munro and his 1920 Indian Scout
At the end of the film, Speed Week participants throw money into "the hat" and Burt Munro is presented with a bag of cash after he sets the speed record. In fact, Munro had to take up a collection before Speed Week as U.S. Customs required a cash bond before releasing his motorcycle.[5]

[edit] Hopkins' portrayal of a New Zealander
The Welsh-born Hopkins did not employ the kind of Kiwi accent which the real Munro would have had — the review in The New Zealand Herald said that "his vowels swoop from the Welsh valleys to the high veldt without ever alighting in Southland" [Munro's home region of New Zealand]. Nevertheless the same reviewer said Hopkins gives a "generous, genial and utterly approachable performance … he nails the backyard eccentric genius dead centre … he has inhaled the nature of a mid-century Kiwi bloody good bloke and he inhabits the part to perfection".[6]