It was filmed in 23 days.
Director Tamra Davis reveals in her DVD commentary that the initial budget of $400,000 was doubled by the studio after Michael Ironside singed on because his participation guaranteed a good exposure on the Chinese market since Total Recall (1990) in which he plays the villain had been hugely successful there.
The gun Anita gives Howard is an M1911 Colt, or one of a million 1911 "clones" using the same design. She claims that it is a 9mm. While there are 9mm versions of this gun commercially available (the Star Model BM, for example), it is most commonly found in .45 ACP or .38 Super.