Anderson almost did not make the film when he could not find an actor to play Max but felt that Schwartzman "could retain audience loyalty despite doing all the crummy things Max had to do".
Anderson nægtede næsten at lave filmen, da han ikke kunne finde en skuespiller til at spille Max, men mente, at Schwartzman "kunne beholde publikums loyalitet selvom han gøre alle de mærkværdige ting, Max skulle gøre".