Director Jim Jarmusch was dismayed to discover all the money he paid for the rights to Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" went to the record company, with nothing going to Hawkins himself. When the film earned a profit, Jarmusch took it upon himself to track down Hawkins (who was living in a trailer park, at the time) and give him some money. It was the beginning of a friendship that lasted until Hawkins' death. According to Jarmusch, Hawkins continuously swore he'd pay him back, despite Jarmusch's insistence that the money was a gift.
In the scene where Willie and Eddie pick up Eva from the Hot Dog stand, director Jim Jarmusch can be seen eating a hot dog while wearing a beanie in the background.
Started out as a 30-minute short subject film (shot in 1982) and was later expanded into a 3-part feature. The first section, "The New World," takes place in New York, the second, "One Year Later," in Cleveland, and the last, "Paradise," in Florida.
The film's scenes are each a single shot followed by a few seconds of black screen.
The whole film is a sequence of shots with live sound. Editing consisted simply of putting them end to end.