Jake Kasdan wrote the part of Daryl Zero specifically for Bill Pullman after meeting the actor on the set of The Accidental Tourist (1988), directed by his father, Lawrence Kasdan.
Zero's epic deduction regarding the origin of full-size mattresses is fictional. "None of this is true." The film's art department did research to try and blend some truth into the mix, but nope, it's all a lie.
They shot two days in Los Angeles, but 95% of the film was shot in Portland, Oregon where most of it is set.
The restaurant conversation between Arlo and Stark was filmed in Portland's Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The grates separating the booths leave the pair looking like they're in a confessional booth which fits Stark's admission.
"My father shot the rodent-cam shot," he says, referring to Lawrence Kasdan filming the floor-level tracking shot through the restaurant. "Some people, it's their favorite shot in the movie. Some people hate it."