The contest in the film is based on a South African tradition called the Oswenkas, which the writers first read about in a newspaper article in 2002.
The character of Gracie was written with a slight limp, but it was dropped by director Andrew P. Jones and Lynn Whitfield. However, during filming, Ms. Whitfield injured her foot, which resulted in the character having a slight limp in some scenes.
Actress Linara Washington (Lucy) and director Andrew P. Jones met during casting in 2007, and married on October 2, 2011.
Actor Glynn Turman (Clarence) took the laces out of his shoes which forced him to walk and shuffle a certain way which helped him with his character.
The film was shot in the small town of Bartlett, Texas (outside of Austin), which coincidentally turned out to be where producer/actor Reginald T. Dorsey's grandmother was born.