The movie was filmed in the writer's hometown and the factory is his parents' actual factory.
Several members of the writer's family appears in the film. His brother plays one of the Drug Enforcement Agents. His father is the neighbor in the trampoline scene. His mother appears briefly in the scene when Jim nearly hits a tree. Finally, Jim's nieces Sarah and Rachel are the writer's actual nieces.
This movie marks Casey Affleck's first leading role. Director Steve Buscemi said he knew Affleck would be able to carry the movie after watching his performance in "Gerry".
The shoot took 16 days.
The actors and producers received reduced pay to keep the film on budget as the producers had difficulties securing finance for the production.