The role of Sheila Shea was originally written for
Sandy Dennis. Co-star
Paul Dooley was seriously allergic to cats though. When cat-lover Dennis would come to the script readings with up to five cats at a time, he was briefly hospitalized. The role was then offered to
Shelley Duvall, who had worked with director
Robert Altman on six pictures, but she turned it down. As a result,
Allan F. Nicholls then re-wrote the role of Sheila Shea from an earth mother type to the young singer-groupie played by
Marta Heflin. Both stars had appeared in the director's previous film
A Wedding (1978) which had premiered the previous year in 1978. Duvall and Altman would collaborate on a motion picture one more time the following year with
Popeye (1980).
