In an almost unprecedented move George C. Scott released this film in a unique way. He would sell the theatre a print and then split advertising costs with the theatre. The theatre would then keep all and any money they made when they showed the film. Scott was a major movie star at the time and this was a major effort to buck the whole system of how films were, and are to this day, distributed. Unfortunately the film did not find an audience but remains a daring attempt to change the way filmmaker and distribution work together.
During the filming, John David Carson stayed with George C. Scott and his wife, Trish Van Devere, on their boat, the Elegante, that was moored about one-half mile off Puerta Vallarte.
John David Carson, George C. Scott, and Trish Van Devere first worked together in The Day of the Dolphin (1973), where Carson had a small part.
George C. Scott was shocked when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) gave the film an R rating (due to the themes of incest), and subsequently made an effort to appeal the rating in order to get a PG, to no avail. When the film flopped at the box office, Scott blamed it on the R-rating. (Though the scathing reviews might have had more to do with it.)