When lifelong friends Erik Moe and Peter Rudy left Wisconsin for warmer climes in the early 90’s, they took a piece of their native state with them, namely, a shared obsession with Wisconsin high school hockey. Former teammates at Madison Edgewood High School and Lawrence University (Appleton, WI), Moe and Rudy initially conceived of No Sleep ‘til Madison as yet another excuse to return to the Midwest to watch some hockey games.

No Sleep began as a documentary, evolved into a short video project, and eventually grew into a full-length narrative feature. The screenplay was written over a two-month period in August, 1999, with Rudy commuting from San Francisco to Los Angeles, where Moe worked out of an office on the Universal Studios lot. A first draft of the screenplay received a favorable response from Moe’s industry’s contacts, including actor Jim Gaffigan (Three Kings, The Ellen Show, Welcome to New York), who agreed to star in the film. To oversee the production end of things, Moe and Rudy turned to another childhood friend now based in Chicago, veteran commercial producer Ivo Knezevic.

Knezevic brought to the project a wealth of line production experience. He quickly worked out an arrangement with Chicago-based casting directors Rachel Tanner and Mickie Paskal, who assembled the group of Chicago actors who comprise most of the film’s cast.

As the project took shape, one lingering doubt remained. Neither Moe nor Rudy had any directing experience. Enter film and commercial director David Fleer, whose past life in a popular Madison-based pop band made him ideally suited for the film’s unique three-pronged directing approach. Fleer eagerly signed on as the project’s fourth and final partner.

Working under the guidelines of SAG’s Low Budget Agreement, principal photography began in and around the filmmakers’ hometown of Madison, Wisconsin in February, 2000. The film faced all the usual "indie film" obstacles: a dwindling supply of money, auto wrecks, a temperamental laundry truck, and for one horrifying three-hour period, $50,000 worth of misplaced film gear. Even the weather proved unpredictable; what began as a winter wonderland quickly transformed into a muddy early spring. Shooting schedules were modified, scenes altered, and filming finished on time 22 days later.