The Lizard King (film)

Production

The movie was based on an idea by director Geoffrey Nottage. Producer Jan Chapman had just made two telemovies written by Louis Nowra and hired Nowra to write the script. Nowra was reluctant to work on a project that came from someone else's idea but enjoyed collaborating with Chapman and had just read Jules Verne's Mistress Branican which had a similar plot and felt the offer was too serendipitous to refuse. Nowra later said he thought Nottage did a good job as director but was dissatisfied with the limitations of working for television.