A 2 Dec 1991 HR news item referred to the film by the working title, Before I Wake.
       According to a 15 Jan 1993 HR article, screenwriter Michael Lessac wrote the script between 1984 and 1986. Although several companies were interested in the property, Lessac, who previously worked in television, intended to make the vehicle his feature film directorial debut. Production notes in AMPAS library files and the 26 Nov 1990 DV indicate that A&M Films financed the project without studio support.
       The script was originally developed as a father-daughter drama, but the 2 Dec 1991 HR stated that Lessac rewrote the story for his friend, actress Kathleen Turner. Roughly 3,000 young girls auditioned for the role of “Sally Matthews,” and 1,000 boys were screened to play her brother, “Michael.”
       Despite various reports of a 1 Apr 1991 start date, the 23 Apr 1991 HR announced the start of principal photography two weeks later, on 15 Apr 1991. The 10 Apr 1991 DV noted that Tommy Lee Jones filmed House of Cards while also working on JFK (1991, see entry).
       Interiors and exteriors of the “Matthews” Victorian home were shot on the Wheatmore Dairy Farm in Archdale, NC. Scenes at the construction site took place at the Internal Revenue Building in downtown Raleigh; courtroom scenes were shot in Winston-Salem; and the Greensboro campus of University of North Carolina doubled as the exterior of “Dr. Beerlander’s” clinic. Additional sequences and soundstage work were completed at the Carolina Atlantic Studios and the Ferndale Middle School in High Point, NC. Scenes featuring autistic and Down Syndrome children were supervised by the Gateway Educational Center and The Teach Center, and several of the children’s parents appeared in the film as teachers. Once filming concluded in North Carolina, production moved to Villahermosa, Mexico, and the Mayan ruins of Comalcalco. According to the 2 Dec 1991 HR, production costs came in $600,000 under the $10.5 million budget.
       Although Twentieth Century Fox and PentAmerica, also known as Penta Pictures, were scheduled to release the film in Mar 1992, House of Cards debuted without a distributor as the closing night film of the 1993 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT. In the 15 Jan 1993 HR, Lessac said that he hoped premiering the picture at Sundance would eradicate the negative word-of-mouth that arose due to its association with Penta International’s other two poorly-received releases, Man Trouble (1992, see entry) and Folks! (1992, see entry). The 19 Jan 1993 HR announced that Miramax Films acquired domestic distribution rights during the festival.
       According to a 17 May 1993 Var advertisement, House of Cards received Best Picture and Best Actress (Kathleen Turner) awards at the Worldfest/Houston International Film Festival. The film was also screened at the AFI/L.A. Film Fest on 16 Jun 1993, as indicated by a HR item of the same date.
       End credits state: “3D graphics and animation developed with SAS/NVISION™ Software and provided by SAS Institute Inc.”; “Special thanks to Greg Shank, Animator, and to Roxanne Hicklin, Enrique Leoni and Stuart Nisbet for technical assistance”; and, “The director & producers wish to thank: Carolina Atlantic Studios; the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; North Carolina Film Commission; the Governor’s Office of North Carolina; Comalcalco Archeological Site; the people of Oxolotan; the State of Tabasco; the parents, teachers, and children of the Ferndale Middle School and Gateway Education Center as well as Connie Mashburn, Kathy Moore, Penny Barratt, Dr. Catherine Lord, Dr. Bernard Rimland, Dr. Darold Treffert, Dr. Eric Schopler, Lillian & Harold Michaelson, Sarah Black; Children from Beerlander’s school: Azalea Anderson, Baron Boyce, Derek Burris, Cady Jean Francis, Katie Martin, Sam Peter Miller, Eric Peak, Martin Sizemore, Lyndy Steed, Mack Weaver.” An incorrect dedication reads, “In memory of Anne Dollard, 1956-1988.” Dollard was a Hollywood talent agent who died in a horseback riding accident in 1989.