This interview was in our local newspaper on the "kids page," so I found it online to share. Hiaasen talks about his relationship with JB in the last paragraph:
"Jimmy Buffett and I have been friends a long time. It was his idea to turn the book into a movie, and I was happy to let him try. He loves Florida as much as I do, and I knew I could trust him to do right by Roy, Beatrice ,Mullet Fingers and of course the owls. Right away Jimmy found a terrific director and screenwriter, Wil Shriner, who grew up in Fort Lauderdale and cared about the story as much as we did."
Here’s the whole article:
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/news/story/0,6260,1138836,00.html