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
Un día de boda (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).