Director Derek Cianfrance interviewed Jeffrey Manchester four days a week for four years getting as much information as possible. He was blown away by the stories he heard and simply could not believe them. When asking the arresting officers if the stories were true they said "Yeah, that's what happened".
The truck driver Jeffrey Manchester befriends is played by Charles Cummings, the true-life truck driver who unwittingly assisted Manchester's escape. Cummings is seen also in an interview clip during the end credits.
At the time of this posting, Jeffrey Manchester had not seen the movie and only a clip of Tatum skating around in the Toys R Us with the teddy bear. Jeff says, "That makes me so happy to hear. The thing that most people don't realize is that if you lock yourself in a toy store for six months, it has a way of bringing out your inner child, and I'm really happy that Channing got a chance to experience that."
Jeffrey Manchester initially wanted someone "uglier" than Channing Tatum to portray him until he talked to Tatum. Manchester said, "You know, Channing and I have a lot in common. We both have a very high motor. We both played defensive end and we're both extremely good looking".
Cinematographer Andrij Parekh used 35mm film to add to the feel of viewing the events that took place in the 1990s and early 2000s.