It took the filmmaker 6 years to make. The first year was spent only filming interviews with Mr. Rude's friends and comic book colleageus. The filmmaker had been filming for 2 years when he overheard Mr. Rude tell a fan at San Diego Comic Con that he was quiting comics to become a fine artist. The filmmaker suddenly knew what the framework for the film was going to be.
The Filmmaker and Mr. Rude were almost arrested while filming the hitchhiking scene on the shoulder of the highway in Arizona.
Work in progress screened on March 28, 2014 at Wizardworld Louisville Comic Con.
The Filmmaker attended DragonCon to begin filming Steve Rude, who was an honored guest. Mr. Rude changed his mind about being filmed and the Filmmaker spent all weekend gaining his confidence. By the end of the weekend, they both made a handshake deal and proceeded to continue with the film.
The Filmmaker and Mr. Rude had a fallout over the final edit. One of the issues Mr. Rude had was that the film did not make him look bad enough.