It is revealed in "Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic (2013)" that Pryor completely messed up his performance during the first filming of the show. Pryor lost his train of thought and forgot most of his material. He apologized to the audience and ended the show early leaving the audience angry. Pryor pulled himself together and gave a much better performance the next night. Most of the footage in the film is from the second performance.
The entire "Mudbone" monologue, where Richard Pryor resurrects one of his famous characters and talks about the mysteries of life, is completely improvised.
The film was edited together from two live performances that were filmed back to back on December 9 and December 10, 1981. The chief giveaway is the constantly changing length of the black handkerchief in Richard Pryor's jacket pocket.
Celebrities and celebrated admirers who attended the concerts used to film this movie included Jim Brown, Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jackson Browne, Stevie Wonder, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Director Joe Layton's approach to filming star Richard Pryor in action went far beyond positioning a static camera to record the activities onstage. In order to cope with Pryor's rapid-fire delivery, Layton had two satellite stages constructed off of the main stage at the Palladium. Layton said: "This gave Richard considerable mobility, which is the hallmark of his act. I can't think of another performer as animated and unpredictable as Richard. He works to make a joke pay off, and he'll do it with extraordinary body nuances and facial takes".