[1] Paul Winters (Timothy Hutton) is an overworked teenage rock star who escapes from his fans and obligations to hide out on "Sportsman's Island", where he befriends Sultan, a gentle 400-pound show biz Bengal tiger.
Sultan and the Rock Star was filmed on location in July 1979 at Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, California.
[2] During pre-production, Timothy Hutton spent two weeks at Disney's Golden Oak Ranch in Canyon County, California learning how to act around Sultan; he admitted that he was scared out of his wits for the first few days of training because it wasn't easy to be natural, loose and funny while acting with a tiger.
[3] The film was released on DVD under the title The Hunter and the Rock Star exclusively through the Disney Movie Club and DisneyStore.com on May 1, 2012.
On May 2, 2013, it was restored back to its original title and made available for rent or purchase via the "DisneyMoviesOnDemand" channel on YouTube.