This movie was inspired by a diary that Writer and Director Allan Moyle found in a secondhand couch that he bought. The diary was from a young mentally disturbed woman that featured words and drawings about her life on the streets.
Several scenes which suggested a possible lesbian attraction between Nicky Marotta (Robin Johnson) and Pamela Pearl (Trini Alvarado) were ultimately cut from the final finished version of this movie.
Writer and Director Allan Moyle was fired before production was finished. According to Moyle, this was because he refused to re-shoot the movie to add more songs, as the producers wanted a double (vinyl) soundtrack album. Scenes such as the teen girls getting ready to go to the concert were filmed by the second unit.
Robin Johnson was advised to audition for the role of Nicky after she was spotted by someone involved in the production walking down a street. Also, she did a lot of improvisation during her first audition.
Despite playing a supporting role, Tim Curry received top billing as he was the only cast member largely known to movie audiences. Curry filmed all of his scenes over just two days.