This was the first New Zealand produced film to attain general release in the USA.
When Warren Oates gets out of his jeep after arriving at the motel, the paper he is holding (apparently a sheet of directions to the motel) is actually a page of the script which he used as a prompt for this scene.
Actor-writer Ian Mune has said of the casting of Warren Oates in this picture: "We couldn't pay him anything by international standards, so we offered him a sort of working holiday, flying him down here and sending him for a South Island holiday after about ten days shooting. Oates said: "Anytime anyone wants me to go somewhere exotic, I'll go!".
The film's DVD special features state: "Sleeping Dogs (1977) was a major factor in convincing New Zealand politicians that a Film Commission financed with public funds should be established".