Because of the erratic conditions encountered during the production of The Shipping News (it proved to be Newfoundland's snowiest winter in 120 years), the film's cast and crew bonded more intensely than usual.

Dame Judi Dench and Kevin Spacey grew the closest. Spacey took Dench, still recovering from the death of her husband, under his wing, teasing and flirting with her. On their weekend off, they flew to New York City, where they went to see The Producers -- and where Spacey taught Dame Judi to ride a motorized scooter in Central Park.

"When I heard that," producer Linda Goldstein Knowlton later recalled, "I simultaneously thought, 'That's so great!' and 'How's our insurance!?'"