Rosanna Arquette, Diane Lane, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kristy McNichol all auditioned and/or tested for the role of Annie which in the end was cast with The Runaways' lead singer Cherie Currie.
This movie was released the same year as the similarly themed movie Little Darlings (1980) which starred Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal. McNichol auditioned for the role of Annie in this movie with the role going to Cherie Currie.
According to a musician hired for the project, the original story concept centered around an all-girl rock band who was being groomed by an established female pop singer. The screenplay was rewritten so much, the band element of the story was dropped.
Annie (Cherie Currie)'s shoulder tattoo of a cherry is real. Currie had got the tattoo during her tenure as lead singer of The Runaways in reference to their signature song "Cherry Bomb".