Vincent D'Onofrio purposefully developed a bad and uneven suntan, gained a significant amount of weight, bleached his hair, and wore improperly fitting skateboard apparel. When he reported to the set, he arrived in character.
Vincent D'Onofrio purposefully mouth breathed during the entire production to create a unique timber and respective speech patterns. He then added a "nose squeak" after finding that some persons who lost their nose secondary to trauma or cancer produce a high pitch sound after completing certain sounds.
Writer Tony Gayton said that the script to this movie was not written to be produced but to be a writing sample, something wild and experimental he could show producers to get work. He was very surprised when Castle Rock wanted to produce it.
Warner Brothers was not comfortable with the significant drug content and the John F. Kennedy assassination sequence, and initially wanted an edited version of the film for a wide theatrical release. The scenes remained, but the film then was only given a limited theatrical release.
Val Kilmer researched his role by spending time with drug abusers in Riverside and the greater Los Angeles area.
Rosario Dawson: One of the sleeping tweakers after a party (she seen lying face up) just after the credit sequence.