 This film initially cost $7000 to make. Director  Rodriguez, Robert (qv) raised $3,000 of the $7,000 by volunteering  to be a human "laboratory rat". He was used to test a cholesterol  reducing drug. Paid $100 a day for 30 days, he wrote most of the  script while locked in the lab. Marquardt, Peter (qv) was a fellow  "rat", but could not speak Spanish. He delivered his lines from card  held in his hand or out of shot. Most of the $7,000 was spent on  film for the camera. The version seen in most cinemas has had  approximately $1 million of post