Actor Johnny Depp had originally been set to play the lead character, Jean-Dominique Bauby. However, he dropped from the project due to scheduling conflicts (filming for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End).
The script, written by Ronald Harwood, was originally in English. Director Julian Schnabel convinced the studio, Pathé, to change the language to French to stay true to Bauby's life and story. Ironically, Pathé is a French studio founded in Paris by brothers Charles, Émile, Théophile and Jacques Pathé.
Julian Schnabel went as far as to learn French to make the film.