Anderson made his directorial debut in 2003 with the film "The Big Empty", starring actors Daryl Hannah and Jon Favreau, and became fascinated by the usage of the word "fuck". In an interview with the "Democrat and Chronicle", Anderson suggested he cursed a lot more than he used to after the film's production. He decided to research the film's topic due to the word's versatility and his interest in language as a writer. Early exposure by Anderson to public perception of the word "fuck" came from "Class Clown" by comedian George Carlin, which included his monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television".