Thom Doty was not an actor. He met Sam Akina while Sam was bartending at Lake Wilderness Golf Course, in Maple Valley, WA. Sam wrote the role of "Ca$h" for Thom after working with him on the short film "Get the F***in' Money". Many of the lines that Ca$h says in the film are things that Sam overheard Thom saying in real life.
The entire film was shot on $25,000. After a first rough cut version was edited, the producers raised another $25,000 to reshoot and recast portions of the film. Of this $50,000 - $32,000 went to film stock, processing, transfer, insurance, and equipment rental. The actual money spent on physical production was around $18,000.
Writer/Director Sam Akina wrote the roles of Ca$h, Hector Gonzales and Detective Edwards specifically for the actors who played them (Thom Doty, Jerry Lloyd and Roy Stanton, respectively). All other roles were cast.
Producer Vu Le invested his entire college savings of $25,000 to shoot the film. He had been saving up for several years while working as a Juvenile Corrections Officer in Snohomish County, WA.
Ronna Wallace, Executive Producer of Reservoir Dogs was the first Sales Agent to represent the film in 2006.