Although there was a script reported to be between 400 and 600 pages long, all of the scenes were improvised.
Christian Bale had no lines to learn and writer and director Terrence Malick only gave him the character description.
During filming, writer and director Terrence Malick would use a technique he called "torpedoing", where he would unexpectedly send people into the scene to get a reaction from the actors and actresses who were performing.
During filming, Christian Bale thought Teresa Palmer was a stripper. It was not until about a week after working with her that he saw a billboard for Warm Bodies (2013) with her face on it and realized she was an actress.
According to Christian Bale, Terrence Malick didn't tell the actors and actresses what the movie was about.