Trivia

Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez shaved their heads for the roles as they didn't want to wear bald caps.

Initially, Showtime sent the script to Charlie Sheen and asked him to play Artie. At that time they had no one in mind for Jim. Sheen then sent the script on to Emilio Estevez, who loved it and expressed a desire to direct. Sheen then got back to Showtime, telling them he wouldn't appear unless Emilio both acted and directed.

In the scene where Jim (Emilio Estevez) is shooting a film and Artie (Charlie Sheen) arrives on the set, they hug and fall onto a bed, and the film jumps several times, along with a number of quick whiteouts. This effect was not intentional. Director of photography Paul Sarossy forgot to charge the battery on the Steadicam, and as it ran out, it produced this effect. Sarossy was deeply upset by his mistake, but when Estevez saw the footage, he liked it, and decided to use the same technique several times in the film.

The real Jim Mitchell was invited to work on the film as a historical consultant but he declined. However, Artie Mitchell's second wife, Karen (played by Nicole de Boer) did work on the film.

Prep time for the film was only 6 weeks. Once production began, Showtime wanted the film to be shot in only 24 days, but director Emilio Estevez and actor Charlie Sheen both returned part of their salaries so as to ensure they could get a longer shoot from the production company. They wanted 50 days, but in the end, the film was shot in 36 days.