The original title of the film was "Monkey Dance on Stage", as the film originally followed Jackie, a young black production assistant, as the main protagonist. However, after extensive rewrites and big changes in the film's structure, it was thought by many executives that the film's title was too metaphorical and would "leave too much for interpretation". Will opted to change it to a more literal name after that.
The reporter scene in the beginning of the film, was based on an article released in 1997 criticizing Jerry Springer for "throwing television into the gutter"
Television Icons Jerry Springer, Maury Povich and Phil Donahue were cited as references for the character Dick Andy.
The milk that Dick drinks throughout the film, was occasionally heavy whipping cream, due to the ongoing milk shortage at the Monroe Dollar Tree at the time of production.