This film led to director Phil Joanou and cameraman John Schwartzman being considered "persona non grata" at the USC School of Cinema-Television, as well as helping jump-start their future film careers. (Although Joanou ended up graduating, Schwartzman didn't, being told that because of the film, he would never earn enough credits.) This was due to the numerous school rules they broke while making it. Student films had to be made with USC financing and USC equipment, but they got around that by asking for favors and borrowing equipment from friends and nearby rental agencies. Films were also required to be no more than 20 minutes long, and though Joanou did prepare a 20-minute cut to placate the school, the cut that was shown at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, along with other USC films, ran for 33 minutes. The day after the screening, Joanou received numerous phone calls from agents and producers, including Steven Spielberg and Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. Spielberg offered him the chance to direct two episodes of Amazing Stories (1985), and Katzenberg got him an office at Disney and a deal to write three screenplays, with a guarantee to direct if they were produced.