Because this movie was so poorly received at the box office, Andy Kaufman's "The Tony Clifton Story," a movie about the life and times of his alter-ego Tony Clifton, was scrapped by the movie studios.
Sigourney Weaver was offered the role of Aqua, and was interested in being in the film. Her agent talked her out of taking the part.
Universal Pictures gave Andy Kaufman a blank check to make this film after focus group testing indicated that children liked robots, apparently in the wake of R2-D2 and C-3PO.
Because of the weather at the New Mexico shooting location, Stan Winston's elaborate robot makeup, which took several hours to apply, gradually wilted in the heat, limiting how much footage could be shot in a day.
Allan Arkush, who had never helmed a big-budget project, staged scenes at a glacial pace that frustrated everyone but him.