"Double Negative" director-writer-producer Sam Irvin had previously worked for Brian De Palma as a production assistant and extra on "The Fury," as his personal assistant on "Dressed to Kill," and as the Associate Producer and Production Manager on "Home Movies." When Irvin made "Double Negative," De Palma generously allowed him the use of his editing room and equipment at 1600 Broadway, New York, during periods between film projects of his own. Because of Irvin's connection to De Palma, "Double Negative" was included as an extra bonus feature on the 2013 Blu-Ray DVD release of Brian De Palma's "The Fury" distributed by Arrow Films in the U.K. and Ireland; and by Carlotta Films in France. The DVD also includes a 50-minute interview with Irvin reminiscing about his experiences working on "The Fury."
"Double Negative" premiered as an official selection at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently played theatrically in New York and Los Angeles, paired with such feature films as Martin Scorsese's "After Hours," John Boorman's "The Emerald Forest," and Alan Rudolph's "Songwriter." It was nominated for a Gold Hugo Award for Best Short Film at the 1985 Chicago International Film Festival. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that it was "an exceptionally promising first effort."