De Palma scripted and filmed "Blow Out" in his home town of Philadelphia. The film's $9 million budget was high for De Palma, and Filmways spent an additional $9 million to market the film. De Palma considered Al Pacino for the role of Jack Terry, but ultimately chose John Travolta, who himself lobbied De Palma to cast Nancy Allen for the role (the three had previously worked together on "Carrie"); De Palma hesitated at first — he and Allen were married at the time, and did not want Allen to have a reputation for only working in her husband's pictures — but ultimately agreed. In addition to Travolta and Allen, De Palma filled the film's cast and crew with a number of his frequent collaborators: Dennis Franz ("Dressed to Kill", "The Fury", "Body Double"); John Lithgow ("Obsession", "Raising Cain" in later years); cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond ("Obsession"); editor Paul Hirsch ("Hi, Mom!", "Sisters", "Phantom of the Paradise", "Obsession", "Carrie", "The Fury"); and composer Pino Donaggio ("Carrie", "Home Movies", "Dressed to Kill").