Was made for only $40,000.00 US.

Got US theatrical distribution without a major distributor involved.

Received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Market.

While director Hergott gave an outline to the actors, most of the performances were improvised.

Many of the actors did not know what the other actors where going to be doing, and therefore were reacting naturally.

Many of the actors did not know that the arrest was going to happen, and thought it was real. The crying and screaming during the yacht scene was real. The real cops were called after mayhem ensued on the yacht.

Director Hergott got the idea for the movie after being invited to a pyramid scheme meeting in real life. Many of the events in the movie occurred in real life.

Actors were told to remain in character the whole time they were on set. Microphones where placed around the house that were not functioning just so the actors would always remain in character.

Many of the actors did not know when other actors where acting or not. Several real fights broke out on the set as a result.

One critic stated that lead character Hergott was "not believable as a Canadian". Hergott is in fact a Canadian.

Many critics said that the arrest scene at the end was not believable. In fact, most of the actors did not know the arrest was going to be happening. The yacht party ran out of food in real life. Many of the actors were upset with director Hergott and were drinking on the
yacht. Many of the reactions on the yacht were in fact real. Characters thought the arrest was real. Many of the actors to this day will not speak to Hergott because of what happened on the yacht that night.

After being beaten up by Hank "the Tank", Hergott was sore for several days afterwards. His reactions were real during the beat up scene.

The Duke character was drunk in real life for many of his performances. This was unknown to director Hergott at the time.

Tom "the car salesman" character, played by real life Tom Trudeau, was actually a real car salesman in New Mexico before becoming an actor.

The Tom character defecated in the back yard in real life during filming. The event and reactions were caught on film, but were cut from the movie for being too over the top. The event and the
reactions can bee seen in the uncut DVD as a deleted scene. During the scenes Tom tries to blame it on the household dog before being kicked out. This is why he no longer appears for any later scenes in the movie.

Several characters "hooked up" in real life during filming, especially during the yacht scenes where drinking was involved.

The arresting officers at the end were real military police.

Several of the scenes were shot at character's real homes and places of business. Lia's house was really the actor's home. She got upset in real life over all the people at her house and the actors getting out of control. Her anger and telling Hergott to shut off the cameras was all real. As was the security car driving by when the actors are on the front lawn. Hergott left this in.

The priest blessing the exotic car is based on a real event that happened at a pyramid meeting.

Movie is based on a real pyramid scheme where a priest and judge were involved.

The number of participants at each subsequent meeting almost double each time.

The second home that was filmed at was actually Laurie Morgan's house who played the character of Annie, the owner of the same house in the story.

Many of the actors were involved in real pyramid schemes in real life in their past. They brought what they saw in real life to the story.

The bar scenes were shot in a real restaurant/bar called Nara Nara, where the Duke character worked that was located at the Irvine Spectrum in Irvine California. The establishment has since closed down.

Over 700 actors where auditioned for the movie. Over 140 characters were cast. Many with individual story lines. The camera captured over 40 hours of footage. Only the most believable performances and relevant characters where included in the final cut.

Comedian Brandon Gibson was upset in real life that his act was cut short by the arrest. His anger and reaction is included in the movie.

Many of the actor's families were upset after watching the movie, convinced that their relative was really involved in a pyramid, even though they know that their relative is an actor.

The actors signed a $5 million damages clause that they had to pretend that the movie was real for a period of time, even around their family.

Kevin (the rhino boy) came to the audition holding Cecil the rhino. He is seen holding the stuffed rhino throughout the movie.

Ross, the undercover agent appears in the movie from the beginning, always in the background.

During the third meeting, where the Viper is delivered, Hergott states that "The train's leaving for Boston, you either get on or you don't." At the end, Rae-Lyn is on her way to catch a plane to Boston.

After the beat up scene, Andreas states, "We'll be seeing you next Wednesday". All of the pyramid meetings take place on a Wednesday in the story. The next meeting is on the Yacht. This is a direct reference to John Landis and his frequent use of "See you next Wednesday" in his movies. Also see "2001 Space Odyssey" where a character says this to his family but is killed before ever seeing them again.

The characters that rolled were kept track of during filming. The pyramid board in the background has the real names as they advance positions. As characters would roll, they would gradually start wearing nicer clothes as the story advances.

The movie opened in multiplex theatres in 11 states on Dec 2nd 2005 for a minimum of a week.

Charlie the cinematographer was the night manager at the Marriot hotel where the dorm room scenes are filmed. Residents complained to Charlie claiming that a porno was being filmed by a 13 year old boy. Charlie had the front desk calls forward to the room where they were
filming. He explained that they were not filming a porno and that he was the cinematographer and that he was 25 years old.

Many of the actors played themselves and wore their own clothes.

Hergott did not set up shots ahead of time, but rather the actors improvised. Charlie the cinematographer had no idea what to focus on. Hergott told him to capture whatever he would be watching if he were standing there in real life without a camera. This added to the realism of the movie. Instead of the shots being staged, the action happened naturally, and Charlie was instructed to capture everything like it was a documentary.

Hergott was hired as president of Imperia Entertainment after getting this movie directly into multiplexes in 11 states.

Audiences in Cannes were convinced that the movie was real. Viewers would approach Audra who played Rae Lyn and ask if she really did get her money back.

Actors were allowed to either use their real name or come up with their own character name.

Both the actor's names and their character names where included in the credits in order to add to the believability of the movie.

Many of the actors to this day are not sure what was real and what wasn't during the shooting of the movie. Some actors believe the movie is a scam within a scam, within a scam. Some of the actors have compared the experience to how people must have felt during Orson Well's famous War of The Worlds radio broadcast.

The movie was shot in High Definition.

The yacht scenes were filmed over two different nights and matched up in editing.

The movie was shot chronologically the way it unfolds on screen.

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