Aram Nicholas is a fictionalized version of film director Peter Bogdanovich. Bogdanovich was dating Dorothy Stratten around the time that they collaborated on They All Laughed (1981). In this film, the title of that collaboration was changed to "Tinsel Time". This was due to Bogdanovich threatening to sue if he was unhappy with how he was portrayed. Although, all the other films she appeared in had their names changed too, like Skatetown USA (1979) to Ball Bearings and Autumn Born (1979) to Wednesday's Child.
Hugh Hefner said that Eric Roberts' portrayal of Paul Snider was right on the money. However, William Sachs who had directed Dorothy Stratten in the sci-fi comedy Galaxina (1980) claims that it was an inaccurate portrayal, and that Snider would rarely ever talk to anyone who wasn't Dorothy and would just look at others with a creepy 'death stare'.
Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner sued the producers after the film was released because he did not like how he was portrayed.
'The Virgin Film Guide' states that actress Mariel Hemingway "underwent breast augmentation for the role" of playing Dorothy Stratten. Hemingway received breast implants shortly before playing the part of Playboy model-actress Stratten but has allegedly denied that that was the reason she got them. Hemingway's silicone breast implants were removed years later after they had ruptured, leaking silicone into her bloodstream.