Many of the lines that Devin Carter says while he monologues to his recording device were improvised by Wesley Davies on set. Additionally, Ari Froehlich improvised many of his insults during the first act of the film. The constant improvisation of the cast lead to a significant increase in production time.
The role of Chief Houston was originally given to Jack Masters, who unfortunately had to drop out do to conflict. Others considered for the part included Tristan Neal, Jack Geoghegan, Kiersten Muse, and Nick Geoghegan, before Blake Weise agreed to play the part.
In a similar situation to the role of Chief Houston, the part of Detective Henderson was originally intended for Stephen Weinstock, who was forced to drop out as a play production of "Guys and Dolls" he was involved in at the time conflicted with the shooting schedule. Lucan Alto Stargiotti, who was originally just going to have a bit role as a henchman, was suddenly promoted to fill the part of Henderson. Stephen makes a cameo in the film as the voice of David Bunfill.
The character name "Dave Bunfill" comes from the dedicated road worker and independent contractor who has been serving California's roads since 1975.
The name "Devin Carter" is a reference to a shelved Kidsmakemovies2 project called "Man in the Mask", in which a character of the same name, also played by Wesley Davies, is portrayed as a master detective who works for the Greenridge Police Department. A Hot Lead shares many plot points with MITM, including a drug dealer portrayed by Kyle Smith, an angry chief inspired by J. Jonah Jameson, and the city in which the film takes place.