David Thewlis, who wrote the screenplay, was not meant to direct the film, let alone be in it. He has since said that "it's just too much stress. It's just awful", and that with Cheeky he "didn't have a very good time and I don't like the finished product... It's not rubbish, but it's not what it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be something much stranger. It was supposed to be very inspired by Buñuel, but you'd struggle to see that."