The film was based on a report by ABC's 20/20 show about women who go to Japan to work as entertainers but wind up as prostitutes under the control of the Yakuza. Producer Leonard Hill says NBC pressured him to cast a lead actress from an NBC show - Melinda Culea who was then on The A-Team - but he held out for Jennifer Jason Leigh. "I don't care about The A-Team" said Hill. "I may make a mediocre movie but I'm not going to make a mediocre effort."[3] However Hill did cast two other actors in the cast who were then on NBC shows, Ann Jillian and Thomas Byrd.[4]
After the initial lack of success of Over the Edge (1979), Kaplan encountered difficulties in finding budget for new films, which explains why he sought direct financial support from TV producers.[6]
Reception
One writer called it "the missing link between Kaplan's sensationalistic New World output (Night Call Nurses, The Student Teachers) and the socially conscious prestige dramas like The Accused and Immediate Family that he would make in the late '80s and early '90s."[7]
