The film received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA (no one under 18 admitted). Clark appealed the rating, and lost. The MPAA recommend that Clark not cut the film because they felt it would lose some of its impact.
Harmony Korine and Larry Clark discovered Rosario Dawson sitting on the stoop of an East Village tenement.
Justin Pierce broke his wrist in a fight with a club bouncer during production. He could not get a cast put on until after filming. During the night pool scene, he holds his broken wrist above his head to limit the pain.
After reading the script, Oliver Stone tried to court Harmony Korine into writing him a similar screenplay.