The film begins with the title cards “True Stories,” and, “A film about a bunch of people in Texas.” Sections of the film are divided with title cards: “Shopping is a Feeling,” “Puzzling Evidence,” and “Architecture.” All credits appear at the end of the picture.
       The narrative begins with the following voice-over and onscreen narration by writer-director David Byrne, transposed over documentary and motion picture film footage: “This is where the town begins. This part of the country has been through a lot of changes. Not all small ones, either. I think they’re in the process of going through another one. You know, there’s bound to be at least one person who remembers when everything was just open land, like it is right here. And some people can just look at the land, just look at it, until you know what happened there. This whole area was once underwater. Almost still looks like it. After that, there was a period when dinosaurs roamed all over the place. I used to be fascinated by dinosaurs when I was a kid. A lot of kids were. Recently, the bones of a woman who lived twenty thousand years ago were found here. They nicknamed her “Midland Minnie.” The first inhabitants here refer to themselves simply as “The People.” Other groups they came in contact with were referred to as “Friends.” Texas comes from the Caddoan word, “Friend.” However, the Caddo were the first to be wiped out by the early white settlers. A group of Spanish settlers offered the Indians a chance to become slaves. Indians thought about it and decided it was not a good idea and killed the Spaniards. The Spaniards were fighting the Mexicans, the Mexicans fought the Americans, the Americans were fighting the Wichitas, the Wichitas were fighting the Tonkawa, the Tonkawa fought the Comanches, the Comanches fought everyone. Meanwhile, most of the people who now lived here spoke Spanish. Covert military operations to seize Texas for the U.S. of A. were begun in 1835. Eventually, they did get Texas. Land-grabbers, railroad companies moved in. The economy boomed. Some people got rich. First on cotton, then cattle, then oil, and now, microelectronics. The silicon-based transistor was first proposed here, in 1949. In 1958, Mr. Jack Kilby invented the integrated circuit. He was working for Texas Instruments then. He doesn’t work there anymore. This is the 150th anniversary of the state of Texas. Prince Charlie, Duke of Windsor, Prince of Wales -- even he came here for the Sesquicentennial opening ceremonies. This, out here, this is Virgil, Texas. Their celebration is going to happen this Friday. They’re going to have a parade that runs down the main street in the morning, and then, outside of town, that night, they’re going to have a talent show. You know, in a couple of years, this will probably be all built up. Radio reception is great here. Although the center of town is pretty old, around the outside, there’s been a lot of people moving in. A lot of construction. This is where the stage for the performances is going to be built. It will only take a couple of days ‘cause its all pre-fab. They’ll get it done just in time, I hope. You think there’ll be enough parking, huh? Be there soon. Many of Virgil’s fesivities are sponsored by Vericorp. It’s a major public relations effort. They’re calling it a “Celebration of Specialness.” But this place is completely normal. Anyway, this is the Vericorp building just outside Virgil. It’s cool. It’s a multipurpose shape, a box. You have no idea what’s inside there.”
       Byrne’s narration continues throughout the picture, as he drives a red Chrysler convertible around Virgil and meets its residents. He concludes the film with: “This is not a rental car. This is privately owned. Well, I really enjoyed forgetting. When I first come to a place, I notice all the little details. I notice the way the sky looks, the color of white paper, the way people walk, doorknobs, everything. Then I get used to the place and I don’t notice those things anymore. So only by forgetting can I see the place again, as it really is.”
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, Byrne, who was best known at the time for fronting the rock ‘n’ roll band Talking Heads, derived the narrative of True Stories from his clippings collection of “human interest stories culled from tabloid newspapers.” For example, the character performed by Swoosie Kurtz, “The lazy woman,” was inspired by an article in Weekly World News and “The cute girl” segment with Alix Elias was based on various personalities Byrne noticed on television, including a show host who painted pictures of puppies. Byrne noted that he was fascinated by the characters because “they had their own eccentricities, but they weren’t ashamed of them.”
       On 31 Aug 1984, Var announced that director Jonathan Demme’s documentary of Talking Heads’ concerts, Stop Making Sense (1984, see entry), was set to open behind schedule in Oct 1984, to coincide with the release of the band’s album of the same name. At that time, Byrne was already composing music for True Stories and writing the script with Stephen Tobolowsky and Beth Henley, whose 1978 play, Crimes of the Heart, won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1981. A 5 Sep 1984 DV brief stated that the writers were still at work on the screenplay, and the project had yet to be financed. Byrne, who was then thirty-four years old, planned to make his directorial debut with the film, as well as perform a starring role. He noted that the other members of the Talking Heads would be featured in the picture, but would not be cast in character roles.
       Over four months later, the 27 Mar 1985 DV announced that principal photography was scheduled to begin Sep 1985, and the Talking Heads were currently recording the soundtrack. The band’s manager, Gary Kurfirst, was set to produce True Stories, after performing the same duties on Stop Making Sense. A 17 Oct 1985 DV news item explained that executive producer Edward R. Pressman was so impressed by Byrne’s art, and by his efforts on Stop Making Sense, that he sent a letter inquiring about Byrne’s future film projects, and Kurfirst set up a meeting between the two men.
       Casting occurred in summer 1985, in New York City and Los Angeles, CA, as stated in production notes.
       On 30 Oct 1985, DV confirmed that True Stories began principal photography mid-Sep 1985 in McKinney, TX, on a closed set; however, McKinney is not acknowledged as a location in onscreen credits. The film had a six-week production schedule. According to production notes, Byrne began scouting TX locations in 1984 after completing a first draft of the script, and selected flat, “austere” environments to draw greater attention to the houses and characters in the film, so they appeared “more iconographic, like a child’s drawing.” Although other TX towns are acknowledged in the end credits, production notes stated that most of the location filming took place in and around Dallas. There, the filmmakers held an additional casting call for the picture’s climactic “Celebration of Specialness” scene and viewed over 130 “unusual talent acts.” Byrne stated in production notes that the script included a “town celebration” sequence before he discovered that TX was preparing celebrations for its 1986 Sesquicentennial festivities, and that such events provided ideal locations in which to shoot the film’s festival. The “Celebration of Specialness” parade scenes were created with film and video documentary footage of actual parades in the Dallas/Fort Worth-area, as well as nearby small towns. In addition, actors were filmed in character as they joined an actual Mexican Independence Parade.
       Although True Stories’ town of Virgil, TX, is a fictional place, Byrne emphasized that it was meant to provide a metaphor for “contemporary life in general.” Similarly, director of photography Ed Lachman used the 1977 book of consumer photography, American Snapshots, with selections by Ken Graves and Mitchell Payne, as the foundation for his “cinematic approach,” according to production notes. Referring to his technique as “snap-shot reality,” Lachman stated that True Stories was visually designed to evoke common experiences and the informal ways in which people capture them, such as they would with Polaroid cameras.
       Audio post-production was conducted at Russian Hill Studios in San Francisco, CA, over the span of two months, in preparation for the release of two soundtrack albums: “True Stories” featured the Talking Heads exclusively while “Sounds From True Stories” included work by additional artists, David Byrne solo pieces, and one additional Talking Heads song.
       On 18 Aug 1986, HR announced that Warner Bros. Pictures had acquired domestic and international distribution rights, and a release was planned for Oct 1986.

      End credits include: "With thanks to Assistance League of Dallas, Arlington High School Drama Department, Annie Waldrop, Yves St. Laurent Tuxedoes, Reebok, Chorus Line, Blue Bonnet, Natural Foods Grocery"; and, “Filmed on location in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, and Tarrant Counties in Texas.” In addition, “Special Thanks” acknowledgements are credited to: Warner Bros. Records, Texas Film Commission, Jonathan Demme, Joan Tewkesbury, Elliott Hoffman, Willard Watson’s Yard, Colin County 4-H Council, City of McKinney, Jack Kilby, L. T. Felty, Panasonic Industrial, Showco. End credits conclude with the quote: “If you can think of it, it exists somewhere.”