Inspired by the pet rock, S.A. Griffin began sending friends tumbleweeds in boxes in the mid 1990s.
The 1959 Cadillac Sedan DeVille used in the film was S.A. Griffin's, the same car that was used as the touring vehicle for The Carma Bums, a Los Angeles based poetry performance ensemble that toured the United States and Canada between 1989-2009. When they toured, S.A. drove and Scott Wannberg rode shotgun, same as seen in Tumbleweed in a Box.