Kurt Russell was helicoptered in and out of the areas of shooting, so he could be with his family in Los Angeles at night. His contract had a 12 hour turnaround, meaning Kurt had to be home for at least 12 hours before leaving again to go back to the set. A private car would pick up Kurt Russell at home, drive him to the airport where he would take a private jet to a regional airport nearest to where the crew was filming. Finally, a helicopter would bring Kurt from the regional airport right to his make-up trailer. The crew would film with Kurt for an hour before lunch and at around 4pm they would have to stop shooting when the helicopter arrived to take Kurt home.

M.C. Gainey said that Earl was the darkest character he ever played in a film and regretted it afterwards.

Writer and director Jonathan Mostow got the idea for the film while driving through Las Vegas with his wife.

Kurt Russell said J.T. Walsh might just be his favorite American actor. He also recalls how both he and Jonathan Mostow had independently decided on who should play the trucker and were pleased to discover they were both thinking of Walsh. "He's flawless. Nothing fake, nothing phony."

Red's (J.T. Walsh's) 18-wheeler is visible in the background behind Earl (M.C. Gainey), when he first approaches Jeff at the gas station.