 Stockbridge police chief William Obanhein ("Officer Obie") plays himself in the film, explaining to "Newsweek" magazine that making himself look like a fool was preferable to having somebody else make him look like a fool.Judge James E. Hannon, who presided over the littering trial, also appears as himself in the film.Many of Guthrie's real-life associates in Stockbridge made appearances as extras, and Penn, who himself had a home in Stockbridge, spent time living among them in an effort to grasp their lifestyle.