When Terrence (Joe Henry) remarks to Pete (John Doe) that the song Duncan (Adam Kramer) plays is "a good song...the kids' done his homework," it is an inside joke; the song was actually written by Joe Henry.

The This American Life piece the movie is loosely based off of was not played on the radio but instead it was rerecorded as though it were a World Cafe story by NPR's David Dye.

Starlee Kine, who produced the radio piece "Everyone Speaks Elton John" (which featured Kine and Jon Langford from the punk group The Mekons) has a cameo appearance as Duncan's (Adam Kramer) clingy girlfriend. Langford appears as the bartender where Pete (John Doe) and Laura (Aimee Mann) first meet. Doe plays the fictional version of Langford.

In the "who's got a song?" scene, after Rita (Karin Bergquist) recommends something by Elton John. Terrence, (Joe Henry" says, "...well, everyone speaks Elton John I guess..." This references the title of the radio piece, "Everyone Speaks Elton John" by Starlee Kine, which the movie, "Pleased to Meet Me" is inspired by.

The film was shot in August and September of 2012. Because of sound, AC units could not be run in the main studio, causing the indoor temperature to rise to more than 100 degrees while filming.