In the novella, there is no wind, not even a light breeze when they are in Bangor. Since this was virtually impossible to execute for the movie they simply created dialogue to explain that even with a wind down here the clouds are not moving.
Much of the story derives from Stephen King's own fear of flying; King often writes true life-experiences into his novels.
Stephen King has said that the character of Bob Jenkins, a writer of mystery novels, is based on himself.
This was the first of three Stephen King adaptations in which David Morse has appeared. It was followed by The Green Mile (1999) and Hearts in Atlantis (2001).